ZIA okays projects worth US$146m

the first quarter of the year, figures released by the agency show.
Forty projects were approved in the manufacturing, mining and services sectors.
This was a big jump from US$69 million approved in the same period last year, involving 45 projects.
Foreign investors accounted for the bulk of the investment proposals, with US$142 million, and locals making up the balance.
ZIA said the projects, if implemented, had the potential to create over 2 300 jobs.
Of the total investment, US$26 million was in the form of equipment imported.
ZIA said the services sector accounted for US$104 million of the proposed investment, followed by mining with US$25 million and manufacturing US$12, 5 million.
The agency said this year it expected to attract more investment, in value terms, than in previous years because of economic stabilisation and the launch of the One-Stop Shop (OSS) last year.
The OSS is supposed to reduce the red tape delays that investors were experiencing registering their business. Under the current set-up the processing of all the paperwork for new investors is supposed to take five working days from the previous 96 days.
This is because all the relevant departments that are required to complete the registration are now housed under one roof at the OSS which is situated at Investmentment House, the home of ZIA.
The OSS started operating in January and foreign direct investment is expected to increase four-fold in the next five years. The launch of the OSS is also expected to improve the country’s global competitiveness and attract more foreign investments.
Meanwhile, Cabinet last month approved the draft Zimbabwe Investment Amendment Bill that seeks to compel all investors to register with ZIA.
The Bill also seeks to operationalise the One-Stop Shop. The new law is also expected to result in the re-introduction of industrial parks and export processing zones, which are largely perceived as catalysts for FDI inflows.
EPZs, for example, are characterised by the provision of distinctive incentives to attract FDI for export production. The incentives typically range from tax holidays, duty-free export and import, free repatriation of profits with respect to the provision of infrastructure and immunity from labour laws among others.
The Bill would also provide a legal instrument that would restrict investors from employing foreigners in areas where locals can meet the skills required.
The ZIA Act was promulgated in 2006, following the repeal of the Export Processing Zones Act and the Zimbabwe Investment Centre Act. – New Ziana.