Bulawayo to be declared a Special Economic Zone

GOVERNMENT will soon declare Bulawayo a Special Economic Zone after amending the Investment Act as it intensifies efforts to revive the city's status as the hub of industrial activity in the country. Special Economic Zones are designated areas in a country that possess special economic

status, enjoy tax incentives and exemption from duty on importation of raw materials, among other things, to create an investor-friendly environment.

The city has over the years suffered from severe de-industrialisation which saw over 90 companies either close or relocate to Harare and over 20 000 people losing jobs.

In an interview with Sunday News last Friday, Industry and Commerce Minister Cde Mike Bimha said Government was committed to reviving the industrial sector in the city and declaring it a Special Economic Zone.

He noted that this was one strategy that was emphasised in the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation (Zim Asset) document, which various ministries and government departments were studying so as to implement in the short term.

"It is no secret that Bulawayo used to be the country's industrial hub, it is also no secret that the Government is committed to reviving the industrial sector in Bulawayo and it is no secret that we also have the Zim Asset economic blueprint that we are working on implementing.

"Yes, the issue of Special Economic Zones is a process that we want to put in place. We are also exploring which other areas to be declared but in Bulawayo it is surely a route we are going to take because it is one way to help resuscitate the city's industries," said Cde Bimha.

He said various researches were being implemented on the issue of Special Economic Zones but emphasised that they were moving as fast as they could, noting that the sooner they declared them in the country the better in terms of industrial revival.

The minister said they were also working on recapitalising the Industrial Development Corporation to become one of the major investment vehicles to assist the ailing industries.

"We are consulting widely and diversely from locals to regional groupings right up to multilateral groups as we try to revive these ailing industries, noting especially that we need all the possible advice that will see us effectively improve capacity utilisation and funding for our industries.

"As a Government we will not only pursue the Special Economic Zone route for Bulawayo but we will also look at Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) because without investment we won't progress much in our endeavour," said Cde Bimha.

Minister Bimha said they were holding meetings with various organisations in the city to keep in touch with the situation on the ground and identify more intervention measures.

Deputy Minister of Finance Dr Samuel Undenge also reiterated Cde Bimha's remarks noting that Government was considering declaring the city a Special Economic Zone during the first quarter of 2014.

He said the only hindrance was the need for the amendment of the Investment Act as present legislation had no provision for such a facility.

"As you might know, declaring Bulawayo a Special Economic Zone is one of the main strategies of reviving the city's ailing industrial sector and honestly it's long overdue because in order to attract investors we have to offer them certain incentives. However, the Government can't go ahead with this because we don't have the constitutional mandate, so we are currently in the process of amending the Investment Act.

"According to our projections, we expect the amendment process to be completed by the first quarter of next year then we can immediately move to declare the city a Special Economic Zone," said Dr Undenge.

The deputy minister noted that the amendment would also explore the exemption of foreign investors participating in infrastructure development as well as their compliance with the country's indigenisation and empowerment laws.