CABINET has approved a framework for the establishment of Integrated Provincial Special Economic Zones (IP-SEZ) aimed at accelerating industrialisation, attracting investment and promoting balanced economic development across Zimbabwe’s provinces.
The framework, presented by the Minister of Finance, Mthuli Ncube, seeks to strengthen the existing Special Economic Zones (SEZ) framework under the Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency (ZIDA) Act [Chapter 14:34].
It is designed to promote provincial integration and decentralised industrial development.
In a post-Cabinet briefing, Ncube said, “the envisaged benefits include, inter-alia, accelerated industrialisation and value-addition; promoting balanced regional development; enhanced investment attraction; employment creation and skills development; and enhancing Zimbabwe’s competitiveness in regional and global markets.”
He added that the new framework will establish specialised economic zones tailored to each province’s comparative advantages.
“The IP-SEZ framework will establish a network of specialised SEZs distributed across all provinces, starting with Village Business Units and aligned to comparative advantages and structured as complete industrial ecosystems comprising upstream production; midstream processing; downstream manufacturing; logistics; infrastructure; and services,” he added.
Among the proposed provincial sector priorities, Harare Metropolitan is earmarked for financial services, information and communication technology (ICT), pharmaceuticals, light manufacturing and business process outsourcing (BPOs).
Bulawayo Metropolitan will focus on agro-processing, tourism, renewable energy, and diamond processing, among other sectors expected to leverage regional strengths.
