By Christine Mabhena
Vice President Constantino Guvheya Chiwenga has officially opened the one day 13th Zimbabwe International Business Conference (IBC) this morning at the ongoing Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF).
Speaking at the IBC which was attended by hundreds of delegates from various sectors including Government departments, corporates and international business visitors, VP Chiwenga said Government was working on improving the country's competitiveness, ease and cost of doing business reforms aimed at attracting foreign direct investment.
"Government has embarked on ease and cost of doing business reforms across various sectors, the pace of implementation has not been as fast as we would have wished.
"In its quest to attract investment, the Government will expedite enactment of the Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency (ZIDA) Bill now before Parliament.
"When fully established, ZIDA will decide on investment applications within a day, thereby significantly shortening the period required by prospective investors to obtain doing business approvals, " said VP Chiwenga.
The theme of the IBC is "industrial growth as an anchor for achieving vision 2030."
VP Chiwenga also warned businesses and speculators over recent wanton price increases and excessive speculation on the black market.
"The recent and continuing spate of increases in the prices of basic commodities cannot be explained by objective cost push factors but driven by speculation originating from the parallel market.
"The parallel market continues to overshadow the formal market because there are buyers and sellers who are willing to participate in its activities. As responsible and patriotic citizens, we should, however, ask ourselves whether our actions are in the best long term interests of the nation as a whole as we partake in parallel market activities," said VP Chiwenga.
The meeting was graced by top Government officials who include Minister of Finance and Economic Development Mthuli Ncube, Minister of Industry and Commerce, Mangaliso Ndlovu, Minister of State for Bulawayo Province Mrs J Ncube and representatives of the Ministry of Women's Affairs, Community and Small to Medium Enterprises Development among others.
