Reforms to enhance investors’ confidence: WB
THE World Bank has hailed Zimbabwe’s economic trajectory, saying a cocktail of measures and reforms Harare has embarked on, that include establishment of the Commercial Division of the High Court, will enhance investor confidence and help to raise the country’s economic rating globally.
The multilateral agency noted that Zimbabwe had made significant strides in implementing critical reforms needed to boost investment in all sectors.
World Bank country manager Mrs Marjorie Mpundu gave the thumbs up to Government efforts at the commissioning of the Commercial Division of the High Court by President Mnangagwa in Harare on last Friday. The dedicated court is ready to swiftly deal with commercial disputes and so improve the ease of doing business in the country.
“The journey to this momentous event began with the Government’s full embrace of an extensive investment climate reform agenda in 2015 that saw the Office of the President and the Cabinet leading a series of rapid report initiatives,” said Mrs Mpundu.
“The World Bank group provided technical assistance to support implementation of these reforms. The aim was to improve the investment climate in Zimbabwe. Let me also acknowledge the different funders who provided the financial facility through the Zimbabwe Reconstruction Fund to enable us to support this work.”
Mrs Mpundu said the collaboration between the World Bank and Zimbabwe to enhance the investment climate in the country, and particularly improve the ease of doing business, had seen key reforms achieved.
“Today’s event marks delivery one of the key objectives that Government is committed to and it is gratifying to see how resolute Government stakeholders have been, notwithstanding the Covid-19,” she said.
Mrs Mpundu said had the World Bank not temporarily suspended its assessment on the ease of doing business around the world, Zimbabwe would have recorded higher points given the significant reforms that it has embarked upon recently. She said before the assessment report was suspended to address certain administrative issues, Zimbabwe had improved it’s ranking by 31 points and was recognised as one of the most improved reformers in 2020.
Mrs Mpundu urged the Government to continue working towards coming up with strategies aimed at promoting local investment, saying the coming of foreign investors was determined by how a country treated its local investors.
“The primary beneficiary of investment reforms is the domestic entrepreneur,” she said.
“Reform of the business environment will ease the policy, institutional, legal, and regulatory burden of the private sector and ensure its growth. There is also a direct correlation between the country’s investment climate and foreign direct investment as foreign investors place priority on how a country treats its own domestic investors before considering whether to invest. ”
Speaking at the same occasion, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor, Dr John Mangudya, said the establishment of the Commercial Court will help to curb financial indiscipline in the economy that has of late affected ordinary people.