In an address to the American Business Association of Zimbabwe (ABAZ) Just Business conference, Lebedev said it takes more than 100 days to open a business in Zimbabwe compared to only seven days required to start a new venture in Hong Kong.
He said on average an investor would need to wait 1 500 days to receive a construction permit in Zimbabwe, while less than 60 days are required to obtain a similar permit in most OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries.
The country was ranked 159th out of 183 countries on the Global Competitiveness Index.
Lebedev said this was in part caused by the high costs of starting a business, which are nearly 500 percent the per capita income of Zimbabweans. In most OECD countries, it was around five percent.
Lebedev also told delegates that at 290 percent, Zimbabwe has the largest foreign debt-to-GDP ratio in the world.
The many obstacles in the way of investors wishing to open business in the country in part explains the high levels of informal economic activity in Zimbabwe which at 57 percent is the highest in the world, according to Lebedev
Speaking on behalf of Vice President Joice Mujuru, the Minister of State in her Office, Sylvester Nguni said government was planning to have the “one stop investment shop” in place by year end “or at the least by the end of quarter one”, which will cut the time taken to process applications to one week from 3 months.
While the approach to “unlocking growth and returning people to the formal sector” varied between countries, he said there were four “common ingredients” required to boost formal sector growth which he listed as: cooperation between government and business, transparency in policy decision making, freedom of association and political will.
“Business needs to recognise the interdependence of government and business. Business also needs to learn to speak with one voice and without confrontation. Government has to be willing to listen and respond. Policy must be transparent for people to believe in it.”
Nguni said there was need for independent business associations that work to promote economic growth and not narrow interests, citing the United States National Business Agenda that he said was formed to promote business policy reforms that were channelled to the US government.
US Chamber of Commerce Africa Business Initiative executive director Mark Eisner said in addition to a stable political environment it was crucial for the government to ensure the sanctity of property, fair laws, an educated work force and infrastructure development for business to thrive.
Post published in: News