Economist Bashes New Trade and Investment Policy Document

The document was launched in Harare amid much pomp and fanfare last month.

“Zimbabwe is slowly falling off the map of investors and we must just accept this ladies and gentlemen,” Robertson said. “Investors can get nothing really practical from the document.”

Last month President Robert Mugabe officially launched Zimbabwe’s new Trade and Investment Policy Document meant to run until 2016.

“I sincerely hope that this Trade and Investment Policy Document, which has taken a rather long time to produce, does not become just a bookish document for university education,” said Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) President, Dr Joseph Kanyekanye, in an exclusive interview then after the event.

Prime Minister, Morgan Tsvangirai, who attended the launch, said Zimbabwe had a culture of producing quality papers that were never implemented.

The Industrial Development Policy (2012-2016) provides the guidelines for a new impetus for industrialisation in Zimbabwe.

It is meant to transform Zimbabwe from a producer of primary goods into a producer of processed value-added goods for both the domestic and export market according to President Mugabe.

It is intended to help increase exports and promote the diversification of Zimbabwe’s export basket by harnessing comparative advantage in key priority sectors with the ultimate target of increasing export earnings by at least 10 percent annually from US$4,3 billion in 2011 to US$7 billion in 2016.