Mnangagwa accelerates ease of doing business

Government says a fully-fledged Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency (ZIDA) that will process investment approvals within a day will be fully operational this year.

This is part of Government's public enterprise reform programme to advance President Mnangagwa's Vision 2030 of turning Zimbabwe into an upper middle income economy.

The country's economic reform plan, the Transitional Stabilisation Programme (TSP), is underpinned by structural reform measures to mitigate the challenges and risks faced by the economy.

These measures include deepening the ease and cost of doing business reforms to improve competitiveness and establish a One-Stop Shop Investment Centre, public enterprise reforms and labour law reforms.

Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Monica Mutsvangwa told the media after yesterday's Cabinet meeting that an inter-ministerial committee to provide One-Stop Shop investment services was now fully operational.

"Cabinet also noted that the legislation to underpin the operations of ZIDA is now before Parliament," she said.

"A fully-fledged ZIDA, which will complete the processing of investment approvals within a day is set to be fully operational by there and of the second quarter of 2019.

"This is bound to significantly improve the investment climate in the country, and thereby stimulate economic development in line with the goals in Vision 2013."

The ZIDA Bill also seeks to provide assurance to investors about the country's commitment to property rights. Minister Mutsvangwa said Cabinet reconsidered its decision of April 2018 to convert the National Competitiveness Commission into a Department under the Ministry of Industry and Commerce.

"Following a submission by the Minister of Industry and Commerce and in light of prevailing international best practice, Cabinet approved the recommendation by the Minister that the National Competitiveness Commission should continue to operate as an autonomous entity that is premised on private sector involvement."

She said Cabinet had also received progress reports on the Implementation of 100-day projects. She said Transport and Infrastructural Development Minister Joel Biggie Matiza briefed Cabinet on five priority projects under implementation.

These include dualisation of the road from tollgate to Melfort along Harare - Mutare Road, dualisation of road from Norton to tollgate along the Harare- Bulawayo Road where surfacing of the nine kilometre stretch was completed and work on the rail over is underway and construction of Pembi Bridge approaches.

"The computerisation of the learner's driver's licence at VID Eastlea under a Public Private Partnership arrangement is 95% complete," Minister Mutsvangwa said.

"The procurement and installation of the hardware and software has been completed. What remains is linking the platform to the SAP payment system."

Under Primary and Secondary education, Minister Mutsvangwa said, 200 units of the proposed 300 Primary Mobile Science Laboratory units are now in place while tendering for science kits for 3000 primary schools is underway.

"Construction work at the 10 Satellite schools in Kariba and Siakobvu District in Mashonaland West and Zvishavane, Mberengwa and Shurugwi Districts in Midlands Province are at various levels of completion," she said.