President Emmerson Mnangagwa said that his government is moving to repeal ‘toxic’ laws that make the country unattractive to foreign capital.
He identified AIPPA, POSA and the Indigenisation laws as counterproductive. While addressing the press at State House on Wednesday night, Mnangagwa said:
That is why we have moved quickly to do away with the indigenisation law. The move gained us 11 points on the global ease of doing business last year alone.
It was part of a group of statutes that we were advised by the World Bank that they were an impediment to investment. They include the Public Order and Security Act as well as the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
We did not think it was necessary for an investor to bring $500 million into Zimbabwe and then we turn around and ask for 49% from them just like that.
If we fail, we must admit it. This is because as a country an investor comes, brings new technology, employs our people, builds infrastructure, pays taxes and brings new skills. If we can get more out of an investor, the better.
Mnangagwa revealed his admiration of the Rwandan economic model. Rwanda is a tiny but lush country located in Eastern-central Africa which recovered from a genocide that killed almost 1 million people in 100 days to become one of the fastest growing economies in Africa.