By Simbarashe Muparaganda
Bulawayo, (New Ziana) — There is need for coordinated regulatory reforms, digitalisation and evidence-based policy-making to lower business costs and strengthen Zimbabwe’s position in regional and global markets, an official has said.
The call was made by National Competitiveness Commission (NCC) board chairperson, Patience Chimuka on Wednesday at the second Competitiveness Summit here.
The summit is running under the theme, “Accelerating Regulatory Reforms and Ease of Doing Business for a Dynamic and Competitive Zimbabwean Economy.”
It brought together government, business, labour, academia, development partners and civil society to deliberate on, and help remove barriers to investment, productivity, innovation and trade, while advancing ease of doing business and national competitiveness.
Vice President Colonel( Rtd) Kembo Mohadi is expected to officially open the summit on Thursday.
Chimuka highlighted the country’s assumption of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) chairmanship as a major opening for the country to expand value-added exports across the 21-member trading bloc.
She said “presents a prime opportunity for Zimbabwe to cement itself as a powerhouse for value-added exports in the region.”
She stressed that competitiveness should be treated as a national priority rather than only a policy target, with tangible gains flowing to ordinary traders, smallholder farmers and businesses.
“Let us embrace competitiveness not merely as a policy objective, but as a national imperative — one that requires all of us to contribute towards building a productive, innovative and competitive Zimbabwe,” Chimuka emphasised.
She outlined regulatory coherence, data-driven policy decisions, digital transformation and sustainable growth as key pillars for improving the country’s competitiveness.
“Regulatory quality and excellence is a cornerstone of national competitiveness,” Chimuka observed, adding that better coordination among institutions would reduce duplication, overlaps and compliance costs for businesses.
The Commission is set to launch and implement the 2025 Zimbabwe Competitiveness Report and the National Competitiveness Strategy for 2026–2030, which will guide the country’s competitiveness and ease-of-doing-business agenda.
Other priorities include regulatory impact assessments to identify business rules that raise operating costs, a national baseline survey to generate local competitiveness data, and international surveys that benchmark Zimbabwe against other economies.
Chimuka also disclosed that all 92 local authorities will be assessed this year under the Rural and Urban Councils’ Competitiveness Index, following a pilot involving 36 authorities in 2025.
She noted that the exercise would measure the efficiency and effectiveness of local authority service delivery, a key factor in improving the investment climate.
The Commission will further hold value-chain competitiveness engagements aimed at promoting local production, reducing imports, improving food security and creating jobs, she added.
Chimuka called on government, business, labour, academia, small and medium enterprises and non-state actors to work closely with the Commission in implementing the reforms.
“Let this Summit strengthen our collective resolve to reform, to modernise and to deliver results,” she urged.
New Ziana
