‘100 days to  investment  law reforms’ Minister Simon Khaya Moyo
Minister Simon Khaya Moyo

Minister Simon Khaya Moyo

Prosper Ndlovu Business Editor
THE government has come up with a rapid implementation matrix of a raft of investment reforms within a period of 100 days as it moves to improve the ease of doing business and boost economic growth, a Cabinet minister said yesterday.

Delivering a keynote address at the National Economic Consultative Forum (NECF) and Development Partners Conference in Harare, the Minister of Policy Coordination and Promotion of Socio-Economic Ventures in the President’s Office, Simon Khaya Moyo, also announced the setting up of a task force team charged with implementing agreed ease of doing business strategies within a framework of “rapid results approach”.

The minister said this was being done in the context of the 10-point plan announced by President Robert Mugabe in his state of the nation address in August and the hosting of an ease of doing business reforms workshop in the capital last month.

“The workshop came up with an implementation matrix of raft of measures and reforms to improve the ease of doing business in the country, which will be done through five thematic working groups,” said the minister.

The thematic groups are focusing on the ease of starting a business, property registration and construction permits, protecting investors and enforcing contracts, getting credit and resolving insolvency, paying taxes and trading across borders.

“These thematic groups are meeting weekly to ensure rapid implementation of agreed reforms within 100 days up to 21 December 2015,” said Khaya Moyo.

Revitalising the agriculture sector and its processing value chain, beneficiation and value addition of mineral resources, infrastructure development, promoting joint ventures, implementing special economic zones and modernising labour laws are some of the highlights of the President’s 10-point economic master plan.

Yesterday’s gathering was focused on the draft National Competitiveness Assessment Report, which is currently being developed by a team led by the NECF.

The minister said addressing competitiveness in an integrated global market cannot be overemphasised.

“The competitiveness assessment report benchmarks the country’s performance on carefully selected indicators globally and against selected comparator country economies with the aim of coming up with specific reform strategies aimed at achieving national competitiveness,” he said.

Khaya Moyo said his new ministry’s mandate was to assist the Presidency in the coordination of policies and programmes as well as facilitating the maintenance of productive interface between the government, private sector and other relevant interest groups through such dialogues.

“This is aimed to ensure a collaborative and integrated approach to policy formulation, coordination and implementation. The government continues to make efforts to improve the business climate,” he said.

“Policy coordination entails bringing together various stakeholders with varying interests to ensure that their views are taken on board, thus ensuring policy clarity and consistency.”

Despite improved economic prospects, the legacy of the crisis period experienced in the past few years continues to haunt the generality of our populace, said Khaya Moyo.

He noted persistent structural rigidities, unsustainable debt, poor infrastructure, strong currency among others as major impediments that continue to hurt the country’s competitiveness despite progress made in strengthening the socio-economic architecture.

“Addressing these challenges will require a more coordinated effort. There’s a need therefore to promote economic reforms and economic convergence through an economic surveillance framework,” said Khaya Moyo.

He said policy coordination ensures ownership and participation by everyone as it eliminates duplication and overlapping of efforts by different arms of government thereby saving on the scarce resources.

It also facilitates common understanding or interpretation of government policies to ensure maximum returns from limited resources.

The minister said the government would ensure that everything which has been done that has a bearing on competitiveness will feed into the National Competitiveness Report.

These include the ease of doing business report being coordinated by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development and the report on cost drivers that was done by the Ministry of Industry and Commerce.

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