Beyond Dubai Expo 2020

President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his delegation was in the UAE this week for the Zimbabwe Day at the ongoing Dubai Expo.

The trip, which is part of the re-engagement drive, has seen President Mnangagwa meeting potential investors.

Re-engagement has been the buzzword for the Mnangagwa administration since it came to power in 2017.

This has seen Mnangagwa embarking on overseas trips as he builds bridges with investors after the fallout which followed the fast-track land reform exercise more than 20 years ago.

The Zimbabwe is Open for business mantra is seen as the administration’s attempt to put in place a favourable investment climate with the government pledging to move mountains to attract investors.

Investors take a cue from those that are already in the country andtheir local counterparts. Are the investors already in Zimbabwe enjoying a favourable environment? Are they able to repatriate profits and dividends?

Are they not victims of policy flip flops?

Are the local investors well catered for as charity begins at home?

These are some of the questions which need answers for an investor who wants to put their money into Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe has a lot of housekeeping issues to sort before we begin to see a stampede of investors in response to the Zimbabwe is open for business tag.

We have reported that the central bank is taking more than a month to allot foreign currency obtained from the foreign currency auction system.

The allotment backlog, which is over US$70m, has forced companies to use the alternative market for survival.

Expert says the auction system caters for 30% of the companies’ demands.

When these charge using the parallel market rate, the Financial Intelligence Unit moves in and the firms are punished with threats of closing their bank accounts for repeat offenders.

Companies are grappling with power cuts and are forced to invest in expensive sources of power such as generators thereby pushing up the cost of production making local products uncompetitive.

There is a silver lining in that expansion works at Hwange Power station are over 80% complete.

On completion, 600MW will be added to the national grid thereby alleviating the power crisis.

Red tape still exists in government despite plans to simplify processes for investors with the creation of the Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency.

These are the housekeeping issues Zimbabwe has to grapple with and time is running out as investors have a wider choice to choose from notwithstanding efforts put by Harare to be an investment destination hub, lest the Dubai sojourn becomes another exercise in futility.