Mnangagwa want expedition of ease of doing business reforms

Government says the technical teams working on the ease of doing business reforms should increase momentum in order to attract new investment.

Under the reforms, Government is planning to review policies which stifle the ease of doing business environment in order to improve the country's rankings on global competitive indices.

Officially opening the 'Ease of Doing Business Symposium' which was hosted by the Office of the President and Cabinet and The Herald Business, Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa said there is need for renewed speed in carrying out the reforms.

"What is needed is to increase the momentum of the reforms to ensure that all bottlenecks are removed for at the end of the day we should always remember that capital goes where the environment is favorable, so we need to do everything in our means to be a destination of first choice of capital," he said.

"As Government therefore, we will continue to assess our business operations in order to identify those areas that need urgent surgical therapy to improve our investment climate, empower our local entrepreneurs, and attract Zimbabweans in the Diaspora and foreign investors to bring capital to Zimbabwe.

"Whereas our target is to get to a respectful top 100, the goal should not just be chasing rankings but to achieve correlation between ease of doing business and an increased number of foreign and local investors and those in Diaspora," he said.

He added that Government is also implementing an e-Government platform in order to re-engineer and modernise the public sector systems and process to improve access efficiency and affordable services to the ICTs.

"It is hoped that such measures will greatly facilitate the registration of those entrepreneurs operating in the informal sector and we believe that formalisation will enable small business to benefit from loans, access to tenders and will also enable payment of tax.

VP Mnangagwa added that it was critical for us to incorporate youths, women and those outside the formal economy among other groups to effectively participate in the economic growth of the country.

In his remarks during the same event Zimpapers board chairman Mr Delma Lupepe said Zimpapers is ready to work with Government ministries in spreading the ease of doing business across the country.