BY BYRON MUTINGWENDE
There is need for government to aggressively engage in reforms to simplify the doing business environment in order to ensure that investors can undertake their investments with ease, Dr. Desire Mutize Sibanda, the permanent secretary in the ministry of macro-economic planning and investment promotion has said.
Sibanda made the remarks recently at a workshop held in Harare to discuss the operationalization of the one stop shop investment centre under the Zimbabwe Investment Authority (ZIA).
Sibanda underscored the importance of resource mobilization and investment promotion into priority areas in order to move the country forward.
“You will agree with me that our country is experiencing a large gap in terms of domestic capital and therefore is in dire need of foreign capital injection. Furthermore, in order to mobilize these resources, there is need for an investment environment that is conducive enough to attract investment,” Sibanda said.
The permanent secretary said foreign capital which is a critical component to domestic capital, flows towards economies that have the most simplified investment approval and business start-up procedures. He said the establishment of the One Stop Shop Investment Centre (OSS) is one way of attracting foreign investment.
However, operational hurdles had stalled the establishment of the OSS. Among them was the lack of buy in from stakeholders; lack of coordinated functionality with ZIA; absence of a clear reporting structure for officials and lack of incentives for OSS seconded staff.
Monica Mutsvangwa, the deputy minister of macro-economic planning and investment promotion said there was need to improve Zimbabwe’s unsatisfactory doing business index by instituting interventions focused on growing the economy to achieve the ZIMASSET target of 7, 2% per annum.
She called on stakeholders to establish a workflow that ensures that investors are well catered for from arrival until they are established. Mutsvangwa added that there was need for an Omnibus Act that will give investment direction and clarity to all investment related matters, in particular to ZIA to regulate, coordinate and promote all national investments.
“We need to ensure that we are competitive and we even surpass our neighbouring countries in attracting investment since we are blessed with abundant mineral resources and human capital. We need to come with highly innovative investment strategies to attract substantial investments.”
She called for sound legislative and institutional arrangements that attract investments and make the country the best investment destination in the region.
