Maravi

(HERALD) Investors welcome in Zim

Investors welcome in Zim

THE Zimbabwe International Investment Conference that ended yesterday was a success as it attracted more than 400 delegates. This was an indication of the great interest investors have in Zimbabwe.

Investors know the business potential that Zimbabwe has and appear quite keen to come on board. But they have questions about Zimbabwe’s readiness to welcome them and to guarantee that they will have the necessary return on their investments. They got their assurance at the conference.

"Such investment is most welcome, especially when it is tailor-made to work in co-operation with indigenous entrepreneurs. All this is possible under our investment law," President Mugabe assured the potential investors in his speech to open the conference.

The fact that Zimbabwe has gone to the extent of hosting such a conference shows that it is indeed serious about attracting both domestic and international investors.

It has to be noted that the country has suffered a lot of disinformation about its investment and black empowerment laws, as well as the alleged lack of rule of law and good governance.

Most of this negative publicity has emanated from the process of redistributing land to the black majority. This has given rise to the perception that Zimbabwe does not respect property rights and is not ready to do business with the rest of the world.

Yet it is possible to clearly separate the land reform programme from the other policies relating to foreign investment. Zimbabwe did respect property rights as it patiently followed the willing buyer-willing seller system until the Tony Blair government in Britain reneged on the Lancaster House agreement to pay for the land acquired. It is then that the government committed itself to only pay for improvements on the land, a commitment that is provided for in the Constitution.

President Mugabe took time to explain this fact at the investment conference. "The responsibility to compensate farmers rests on the shoulders of the British government and its allies. We pay compensation for improvements. That is our obligation and we have honoured that," the President said.

This is a position which Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai collaborated. "The President is correct.

The Constitution is clear. We pay compensation for improvement. If funds are available we will pay," said the Prime Minister.

Significantly, principals to the Global Political Agreement that gave birth to the inclusive government — President Mugabe, Prime Minister Tsvangirai and Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara were all at the conference and spoke eloquently about Zimbabwe’s readiness to embrace international investors.

We congratulate them for speaking with one voice on critical issues such as the land question and existing investment laws. We believe this is the signal that any serious investor would be looking for — that the leaders are agreed on the way forward and that there is going to be consistency in terms of the articulated policies.

Of course, there are reservations here and there about some of the legislation in place, which may need changing. But the point is Zimbabwe’s leaders have said they are prepared to listen to the concerns that investors have. After all, the conference has been convened to explain these investment policies and to learn from the experiences of other countries.

For example, investors must be helped to understand why Zimbabwe has such legislation as the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act. President Mugabe explained that these policies are not meant to keep out investors but to encourage them to take along locals in their investments.

The President said: "Such policies as the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act should not be viewed as obstacles to investment promotion. Rather, they should be welcomed as promotive of the greater participation of our people in the economy, indeed as the democratisation of our economic activity that builds up to good business returns for the investor."

We could not agree more. The greater the participation of the indigenous people in the economy, the greater the security of foreign investments. Locals must have a sense that there is economic justice and that they have a share in the wealth of their country. If one wants peace then one must work for justice. Foreign investments cannot be safe where locals feel not only marginalised but also condemned to a life of abject poverty.

We have seen how investors such as Zimplats that have dutifully minded the welfare of locals have found themselves at home in Zimbabwe. Perhaps there is need to include in our laws exemptions for companies that promote the economic and social welfare of locals.

It has also to be pointed out that the liberalisation of the economy has created an environment where any business can thrive. Numerous opportunities exist in key sectors such as tourism, mining, energy and infrastructure development, agro industries, etc.

Research has shown that apart from towns there is investment potential in growth points such as Murehwa where a wide mineral range exists — black granite, kyanite, tantalite and so and so forth. Or they could choose to invest in forest products such as timber, fisheries and wildlife in order to stimulate rural development.

What Zimbabwe now needs is to quickly come up with an efficient one-stop-shop investment agency to attend to investors. There is no need for investors to be frustrated by being moved from one ministry to another.

Labels: FDI, NEOLIBERALISM, PRIVATISATION

posted by MrK @ 3:09 PM