Harare, (New Ziana) – The Zimbabwe Investment Development Agency (ZIDA) has completed drafting the Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) guidelines and expects to present them to Cabinet for consideration during the first quarter of this year.
ZIDA is an investment promotion agency established in terms of the Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency Act. It is mandated to promote, facilitate and protect investments in Zimbabwe.
“A noteworthy development in the 4th quarter was the finalisation of the PPP Guidelines and subsequent approval by the PPP Committee,” said Chinhamo in his fourth quarter report released this week.
“We plan to present these before the Cabinet in the first quarter of 2025 for approval, so they can become the governing law for all PPPs in Zimbabwe. PPPs play a vital role in developing our nation’s infrastructure, and we believe the guidelines will provide clarity to both contracting authorities and their counterparts in the consummation of impactful projects.”
He said interest from investors to invest in the country remains strong with 200 investment licenses issued in the fourth quarter, higher than the 149 issued in the same period in 2023. In terms of the amounts investors committed to invest, Chinhamo said the fourth quarter of 2023 was higher at US$11 502,92 million compared to US$4 586,99 million last year.
ZIDA recorded an increase in the number of licenses renewed during the quarter compared to the same period last year with the mining sector continuing to attract the greatest number of investors measured by the number of licenses issued.
Chinhamo said investors committed to invest in the real estate sector which had the highest value accounting for 43.60 percent of the total projected investment for the quarter, and the energy sector was next with 22.76 percent out of 12 sectors. He said the many sectors demonstrated the diversity of the Zimbabwean economy, an attribute ZIDA intends to showcase in future.
Chinhamo said to show its commitment to improve the investment climate and simplify the business landscape, the government adopted a whole of government approach and tasked the Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC) to spearhead a project to improve the ease of doing business.
“The OPC in turn enlisted in ZIDA to lead the establishment of a Single Window for Investor Entry and Establishment (SWIEE). The SWIEE will provide investors, foreign and local, online access to all government services. This service addresses a need highlighted by investors in the Investor Sentiment Analysis Survey conducted by the Agency in collaboration with the IFC. The survey responses reflected an overall positive outlook on Zimbabwe’s investment prospects,” he said.
“As we plan for 2025 and beyond, our attention will be on all sectors, provinces and stakeholders in line with the Government’s aspirations to become an upper middle-income economy by 2030. Emphasis will be placed on attracting investment in innovation, technology, and manufacturing.”
New Ziana