eBusiness Weekly
HARARE – Analysts on Monday commended Zimbabwe for gazetting a Bill which seeks to establish a one-stop shop for investors.
Last Friday, the government gazetted the Zimbabwe Investment Development Agency Bill which seeks to establish a one-stop shop as it moves to create an investor-friendly environment.
Zimbabwe Investment Authority past chairperson Nigel Chanakira told New Ziana that expectations were high that operationalization of the Agency would bring efficiency in licensing of investors.
“I would like to say the gazetting of the Bill is brilliant. We have seen one stop investment shops functioning efficiently and effectively in Singapore and Rwanda for example, so copying them is a good idea.
“We hope to eliminate the red tape that has been associated with registering investments in Zimbabwe,” he said.
He added; “We also hope whoever gets appointed in the agency will execute their duties with haste to allow for greater efficiency because that had been lacking in legislation to enforce administration of investments in Zimbabwe.”
According to the Bill, the primary function of the Agency is to facilitate entry and implementation of investment projects, as well as to coordinate investment programmes and strategies.
The Bill also establishes a board that shall control the Agency including and appointment of a chief executive officer and other staff of the Agency.
An economist, Vince Musewe said establishment of a one stop shop would reduce the period prospective investors waited to get licences and to operate.
“The issue has been that there were too many offices a prospective investor had to visit before getting a licence and that has been frustrating. So the one stop shop minimises the turn-around time and clears the backlog which I am sure is there as a result of existing bottlenecks,” he said.
Musewe however said to ensure a smooth flow, devolution should be implemented.
“One ought to be able to fly to Manicaland if interested in investing there and not coming to Harare. So the next stage is devolution so that each province deals with own investors. If we leave everything to be done at one place, people always tend to be inefficient when they have a monopoly,” he said.
The Bill also empowers the agency to cancel an investor’s licence if it was obtained fraudulently, is transferred without authority or fails to implement approved activity within agreed time frames.
The move by the government to establish the agency shows commitment to create an enabling environment for both investors and establishment of the Zimbabwe Investment Development Agency is part of the ongoing reforms. – New Ziana
