Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Monica Mutsvangwa announced that cabinet has given its approval to the new Investment policy. During a weekly cabinet briefing she highlighted some of the features and targets of the new policy. Ambitious targets such as private sector investment matching 25% of GDP by 2030.
“The objectives of the policy include, among many, the following; to restore and sustain investor confidence through guarantees to investment protection, repatriation of profits, policy consistency and transparency throughout the entire investment management cycle (and) also to increase the share of private sector investment to a maximum of 25 percent of the GDP by 2030,” said Minister Mutsvangwa.
“(The policy also aims) to transform Zimbabwe from a resource based economy to one that promotes value addition based on the adoption of cutting edge technologies for higher productivity and competitiveness.” she wnt on to say.
While the government is adamant that investors are rushing to the country the results on the ground agree with that assessment. On the surface at least. Foreign investment inflows are said to have more than doubled from US$349 million the previous year to US$745 million the economic picture over the year to date shows economic contraction is now certain with the government revising it’s own projections for GDP growth this year to contraction.
While investment is sorely needed Zimbabwe has a very poor investment culture. The government of Zimbabwe recently came under the spotlight for investing very little despite continually claiming the government was in a position of fiscal surplus. Seeking instead urgent investment assistance from the Afreximbank and going to the market with treasury Bills.
The policy while looking at important areas such as investment protection and repatriation of profits has not done much to address the areas in which Zimbabwe struggled in the Ease of Doing Business Report for 2019. The focus on foreign investors comes at a cost of forget the domestic investor who ultimately is the first point of call for anyone who seeks advice on investing in the country. The drive to court foreign direct investment continues as both President Emmerson Mnangagwa and Finance Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube are at the World Economic Forum Summit going on in Cape Town South Africa.
