The Sunday Mail
An increasing number of foreign investors are keen to do business with Zimbabwe following the on-going shake-up within Zanu-PF and further clarification of indigenisation laws and other key policies.
The investors believe ridding the ruling party of rogue characters reflects Government’s commitment to rooting out corruption and promoting an environment ideal for business.
Government sources told The Sunday Mail that foreign trade missions and diplomats had been expressing pleasure with the developments during meetings with State officials.
The sources said the Finance and Economic Development Minister Patrick Chinamasa’s 2015 National Budget Statement on Thursday had also been well received for its clarity.
“These are the views that foreign trade missions and diplomats are expressing during meetings with Government officials; it puts to bed claims that the economy is on auto-pilot.”
Zimbabwe has over the last two months welcomed two high-profile trade missions from the previously antagonistic European Union.
The British government dispatched its first trade delegation to Zimbabwe in over two decades to explore areas of possible co-operation.
The five-member team, comprising international business consultants, was keen to support Zim-Asset.
Then Denmark’s Development Aid and Trade Minister Mogens Jensen followed and also expressed confidence in the emerging economic and political dispensation. Mr Jensen pledged to promote Zimbabwe as a positive investment destination. More EU-based trade missions are expected in early 2015.
A political analyst said even “notoriously anti-Mugabe commentators like Eddie Cross acknowledge that the VP and her factional allies are bad for business and must be sidelined”.
Minister Chinamasa announced a new indigenisation framework, which empowers line ministries to negotiate compliance plans with investors.
Investment banker and Brainworks Capital Management chief executive Mr George Manyere said this innovation would stimulate FDI flows.
“The decentralisation of indigenisation compliance plans to line ministries is a significant positive development that will have a significant catalytic effect in stimulating much-needed FDI into Zimbabwe,” he said.
“Line ministries generally have a stronger working relationship with respective businesses or companies operating or interested in investing in their sectors, and our Government’s move to allocate the responsibility to the line ministries as announced in the 2015 National Budget will enhance clarity on the implementation of indigenisation and will also result in the acceleration of indigenisation compliance across all sectors.”
Mr Manyere added: “From a local point of view, implementation of indigenisation is a collective effort whose objectives are best achieved when all arms of our Government and particularly line ministries are empowered to oversee this implementation.
“To foreign investors, a representative sample we have had discussions with pursuant to the announcement, this is a commendable and significant development as our Government has in the past few months indicated that they were working on ways of improving clarity of implementation of indigenisation across all sectors, and through this, it’s clear that our Government is walking the talk and serious about attracting FDI.
“This development will also significantly improve our Government’s communication efforts on indigenisation to the international capital markets as this will now become a collective effort by all line ministries.”
A bank executive added: “What Minister Chinamasa did was to prove to the world that Government is ready to meet investors halfway.
“For long, investors have been expressing reservations about the current legal framework with regards to the indigenisation law.
“But now that Government is taking steps to clarify it, the net effect of such a move can only be positive. Though we still have a way to go before we can classify ourselves as an investment haven, the effort by Minister Chinamasa shows that we are on our way there.”
She said the clarity brought to indigenisation and mining policy, as well as efforts to spur productive sector growth via Special Economic Zones, would be welcomed by all.
