Investor-friendly policies on the cards

Zanu (PF) will soon announce new investor-friendly policies aimed at reviving the economy, spokesperson, Rugare Gumbo, told The Zimbabwean this week.

Rugare Gumbo
Rugare Gumbo

“Our detractors mistakenly judged our performance as government before ministries were allocated operation funds through the national budget. We are working on juicy investor policies and the nation is assured that credit lines will be opened soon. All will then be roses for the country,” Gumbo said, admitting that investor friendly policies were key to Zimbabwe’s economic development.

Gumbo blamed targeted sanctions against the country ‘by its detractors’ for the continued de-industrialisation of the economy. He described the economic turmoil of 2008 as a near success for Zanu (PF)’s enemies because the country was broke. But this time around, he said, it would be a different story as Zimbabwe had resources to weather the sanctions.

Economic commentator, Eddie Cross, has been reported as saying Zimbabwe should make its indigenisation policy compliant with expectations of potential investors. “Political will on the part of Zanu (PF) in this respect would be a determinant factor in this regard,” he said.

The Zanu (PF) triumph in the recent three Local Government by-elections, according to Gumbo, was a welcome addition of numbers given the economic task at hand. The 4.4 billion national budget presented to parliament last December by Finance Minister, Patrick Chinamasa, was based on the non-performing mining sector, analysts said, pointing out that the sector also remained highly non-transparent.

About 75 percent of the budget is expected to take care of civil servants’ salaries. In contrast to public expectations, Chinamasa said the indigenisation laws would stay since they would help the economy grow by an average 6.1 percent this year.

Already, all government ministries have said that what they were allocated in the budget is far below what they need in order to deliver.

Minister of Mines and Mining Development, Walter Chidhakwa, revealed that government was considering acquiring an international bond to be used to raise funds for development of the mining sector. The alluvial diamonds at Chiadza are fast running out, and what is being mined currently is said to be of little value.

Former Finance Minister, Tendai Biti, described the budget as fictitious.

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