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Viewing cable 07HARARE14, ZIMBABWE 2007 INVESTMENT CLIMATE
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Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin |
---|---|---|---|---|
07HARARE14 | 2007-01-05 10:08 | 2011-08-24 16:30 | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | Embassy Harare |
VZCZCXRO0360
PP RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHSB #0014/01 0051008
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 051008Z JAN 07
FM AMEMBASSY HARARE
TO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY PRIORITY
RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1013
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY
RUEHUJA/AMEMBASSY ABUJA 1431
RUEHAR/AMEMBASSY ACCRA 1286
RUEHDS/AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA 1435
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 0696
RUEHDK/AMEMBASSY DAKAR 1061
RUEHKM/AMEMBASSY KAMPALA 1489
RUEHNR/AMEMBASSY NAIROBI 3885
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 1258
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME 1914
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 0622
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 1651
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RUEFDIA/DIA WASHDC//DHO-7//
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RUFOADA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK//DOOC/ECMO/CC/DAO/DOB/DOI//
RUEPGBA/CDR USEUCOM INTEL VAIHINGEN GE//ECJ23-CH/ECJ5M//
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 12 HARARE 000014
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
AF/S FOR S. HILL
NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR B. PITTMAN
STATE PASS TO USAID FOR M. COPSON AND E.LOKEN
TREASURY FOR J. RALYEA AND T.RAND
COMMERCE FOR BECKY ERKUL
ADDIS ABABA FOR USAU
ADDIS ABABA FOR ACSS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EINV EFIN ETRD ELAB KTDB PGOV
SUBJECT: ZIMBABWE 2007 INVESTMENT CLIMATE
STATEMENT-CORRECTED COPY
REF: 2006 STATE 178303
¶1. (U) The Government of Zimbabwe's corruption and
mismanagement have severely crippled the local economy making
it unlikely to attract or absorb significant foreign direct
investment in 2007. GDP has declined by 40 percent in the
past 6 years, the largest peacetime drop ever recorded.
Inflation is estimated at 2000 percent, the highest in the
world, and is projected to explode in 2007. Government
policies have seriously eroded the rule-of-law and put
private property rights at grave risk causing many investors,
foreign and domestic to leave the economy. Absent serious
reforms, which are unlikely, investment prospects, along with
the country,s economic prospects, are bound to remain
dismal.
¶2. (U) Foreign investors will find few if any sectors
appealing at this time. The World Bank and International
Finance Corporation's "Doing Business in 2007" survey ranked
Zimbabwe 153 out of 175 countries considered and one of the
two worst in southern Africa. Further illustrative of the
abysmal investment climate, Zimbabwe for the second year in a
row was last out of 64 regions and countries surveyed in the
Vancouver-based Fraser Institutes 2005-2006 report on mineral
policy investor friendliness. Moreover, its last-place score
was the lowest in the survey's history.
------------------------------
Openness to Foreign Investment
------------------------------
¶3. (U) The government's command and control tendencies and
its intervention in many sectors makes Zimbabwe generally
unwelcoming to foreign investment, particularly from Western
countries. Nonetheless, a few U.S. multinationals maintain
subsidiaries in the country, largely holdovers from better
years a decade ago. Many others sell their products through
certified dealers.
¶4. (U) The government's priority sectors for foreign
investment are manufacturing, mining and infrastructure
development for tourism. In these sectors foreign investors
are free to take up 100 percent ownership. The government in
2006 discussed new mining legislation that would require
foreign investors to cede a 51 percent share in foreign-owned
mines to the government, 25 percent of which would be
non-contributory. The legislation, however, has not yet been
formally proposed and, while the government appears
determined to seize some share, it may be back away from the
51 percent marker. In the services sector foreign investors
are allowed to take a maximum 70 percent share holding.
¶5. (U) The government reserves several sectors for local
investors. Foreign investors wishing to participate in these
sectors may only do so by entering into joint venture
arrangements with local partners. The foreign partners may
take a maximum 35 percent shareholding. The following
industries are reserved for Zimbabwean citizens:
HARARE 00000014 002 OF 012
Agriculture/Forestry
a) Primary production of food and cash crops
b) Primary horticulture
c) Game, wildlife ranching and livestock
d) Forestry
e) Fishing and fish farming
f) Poultry farming
Transportation
a) Road haulage
b) Passenger bus, taxis and car hire services of any kind
c) Tourist Transportation
-- Retail/wholesale trade, including distribution
-- Barber shops, hairdressing and beauty salons
-- Commercial photography
-- Employment agencies
-- Estate agencies
-- Valet services
-- Manufacturing, marketing and distribution of armaments
-- Water provision for domestic and industrial purposes
-- Rail operations
-- Grain milling
-- Bakery and confectionary
-- Sugar refining
-- Tobacco packaging and grading post auction
-- Cigarette manufacturing
¶6. (U) Foreign investors wishing to start a new project in
Zimbabwe must first register with and be approved by the
Zimbabwe Investment Authority, which then issues Investment
Certificates. This is the first port of call for any
investor wishing to invest in Zimbabwe.
¶7. (U) All private firms are required to incorporate and
register with the Registrar of Companies within the framework
of their investment certificate or exchange control approval.
Foreign investment in existing companies requires Reserve
Bank approval. Applications are submitted to the Bank's
Exchange Control Department through the investor's commercial
bank or merchant bank or other authorized dealer. Foreign
investors with valid investment certificates may acquire real
estate.
¶8. (U) In the mid-1990s, the government identified
privatization of Zimbabwe's parastatal companies as a
priority, but only two state-owned enterprises have been
successfully privatized since then. The parastatals'
operational inefficiencies, weak balance sheet positions and
huge debt overhang make it unlikely that privatization will
go forward in 2007.
¶9. (U) Commensurate with its anti-West stance in recent
years, the government has begun to encourage economic ties
with Asian countries, particularly China, as a means of
arresting further economic decline and combating what it
casts as neo-colonialism. Under this "Look East" policy,
selected Asian investors have been offered access to reserved
sectors, sometimes at the expense of local or established
foreign investors. Despite the official emphasis placed on
these ties and a few high profile announced projects, Asian
HARARE 00000014 003 OF 012
investment overall remains extremely limited. It does not
even compare o the presence of remaining investors from
SouthAfrica, the U.K, and U.S., which are far below the
levels of the late 1990s.
-------------------------------
Conversion and Transfer Policies
-------------------------------
¶10. (U) For thepast several years, Zimbabwe has experienced
an cute foreign currency shortage that, among other things,
has caused crippling shortages of fuel and other imported
goods and components, defaults on public and private sector
debt service payments, and a sharp decline in industrial,
agricultural, and mining operations. Foreign currency is
highly difficult to obtain due to the Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe's restrictive exchange controls, the country's
declining ability to generate exports, and the lack of
balance of payments support. The Foreign Exchange Control
Act regulates currency conversions and transfers. It does
not prohibit foreign investors from moving assets between
Zimbabwean and foreign accounts, but foreign exchange
shortages and constraints of the foreign exchange regime
impede the remittance of investment returns. Some local
businesses have credibly charged that the government has
raided their foreign currency accounts to repay past-due IMF
debts.
¶11. (U) Exporters may retain 67.5 percent of their foreign
currency account balance for their own use indefinitely,
while 22.5 percent must be liquidated to the Reserve Bank at
the highly disadvantageous interbank exchange rate, fixed at
Z$250:US$1 as of July 31 2006 (by comparison, the parallel or
market rate is roughly Z$2800:US$1); 10% is allocated to a
fuel and energy stabilization fund. However, uncertainties
associated with retention requirements and retention periods,
which have been adjusted frequently and without notice,
constrain business planning and operations.
¶12. (U) The Foreign Exchange Control Act extends to
prospective outward investment as well as dividend
remittances. Traditionally, the government has discouraged
investment by Zimbabweans outside the country, and relatively
few Zimbabwean firms have made such investments.
------------------------------
Expropriation and Compensation
------------------------------
¶13. (U) Despite provisions in Zimbabwe's constitution that
prohibit the acquisition of private property without
compensation, the government has sanctioned seizures of
privately owned agricultural land without compensation since
¶2001. Many of the farms seized were subsequently transferred
to government officials and other regime supporters. The
government in April 2000 amended the constitution to
authorize the compulsory acquisition of privately owned
commercial farms with compensation limited to the
improvements made on the land. In September 2005, the
HARARE 00000014 004 OF 012
government amended the constitution again to transfer
ownership of all expropriated land to the government. Since
the passage of this amendment, top government officials,
ruling party supporters, and members of the security forces
have continued to disrupt production on commercial farms,
including those owned by foreign investors.
¶14. (U) The President and other politicians have in the past
threatened to target the mining and manufacturing sectors for
similarly forced &indigenization.8 The government's
program to seize commercial farms without either the
intention or the funds to compensate the titleholders, and
without recourse to the courts, has raised serious questions
about respect for property rights and the rule of law in
Zimbabwe. In November 2006, the government issued the first
batch of 99-year leases to 125 farmers. These leases,
however, are not readily transferable as the government
retains the right to strip the lease at any time.
------------------
Dispute Settlement
------------------
¶15. (U) In the event of an investment dispute (excepting the
current land reform program), the Government of Zimbabwe
agrees in theory to submit the matter for settlement by
arbitration according to the rules and procedures promulgated
by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law
(UNCITRAL), once the investor has exhausted the
administrative and judicial remedies available locally. This
option so far appears to be untested by investors. A group
of Dutch farmers whose farms were seized under the land
reform program has taken the case to the International Centre
for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (CISID), demanding
that the Zimbabwe Government honor the Bilateral Investment
Promotion and Protection Agreement (BIPPA) between the
Netherlands and Zimbabwe. The case is scheduled to be heard
by a tribunal of arbitrators in mid-2007.
¶16. (U) The government has acceded to the 1965 convention on
the settlement of investment disputes between states and
nationals of other states, and to the 1958 New York
convention on the recognition and enforcement of foreign
arbitral awards.
¶17. (U) Government efforts to influence and intimidate the
judiciary since the late 1990s have raised serious concerns
about investors receiving a fair hearing in local courts. In
addition, the government and ruling elite have ignored
numerous adverse judgments, and senior officials have
reiterated publicly that court orders that are not
politically acceptable to the ruling party will not be
honored. Administration of justice in those commercial cases
that lack political overtones are still generally impartial.
As the government's budget constraints deepen, however, court
resources have dwindled and dockets have become backlogged.
A less costly dispute settlement route, which can be
incorporated in contracts between companies, is alternative
dispute resolution.
HARARE 00000014 005 OF 012
---------------------------------------
Performance Requirements and Incentives
---------------------------------------
¶18. (U) Several tax breaks are available for new investment
by foreign and domestic companies. Capital expenditures on
new factories, machinery, and improvements are fully
deductible and the government waives import tax and surtax on
capital equipment. Other incentives for investors include:
-Investment allowance of 15 percent in the year of purchase
of industrial and commercial buildings, staff housing and
articles, implements, and machinery;
-Investment allowance of 50 percent in the year of purchase
for training, buildings, and equipment;
-25 percent special initial allowance on cost of industrial
buildings and commercial buildings and machinery in growth
point areas is granted as a rebate for the first four years;
-Special mining lease provisions entitling the holder to
specific incentive packages to be negotiated with the
Ministry of Mines;
-Refund of sales taxes (15 percent) for capital goods
purchased in Zimbabwe and intended for use in priority
projects or investment in growth points.
¶19. (U) There are no general performance requirements
outside of Export Processing Zones. Government policy,
however, encourages investment in enterprises that contribute
to rural development, job creation, exports, use of local
materials, and transfer of appropriate technologies.
¶20. (U) There are no discriminatory import or export
policies affecting foreign firms, although the government's
approval criteria are heavily weighted toward export-oriented
projects. Import duties and related taxes range as high as
110 percent. Export Processing Zone designated companies
must export at least 80 percent of output.
¶21. (U) While official policy supports "the maximum
Zimbabwean participation" in any new investment project, no
specific requirements for local participation have been
defined outside the 35 percent foreign share cap in sectors
reserved for local investment. Nevertheless, experience has
shown that 30 percent local participation is a widely
accepted benchmark minimum.
¶22. (U) Government participation is required in new
investments in strategic industries, such as energy, public
water provision, railways, and armaments. The terms of
government participation are determined on a case-by-case
basis during license approval. The few foreign investors
(for example from China and Iran) in reserved strategic
industries have either purchased existing companies or have
supplied equipment and spares on credit.
¶23. (U) Foreign investors are expected to make maximum use
of Zimbabwean management and technical personnel, and any
investment proposal that involves the employment of
HARARE 00000014 006 OF 012
expatriates must present a strong case for doing so in order
to obtain a work and residence permit. Normally, the maximum
contract period for an expatriate is three years, but this
will be extended to five years for expatriates with highly
specialized skills. Expatriates who have prior permission
from the Reserve Bank's exchange control department are
permitted to remit one-third of their salaries.
--------------------------------------------
Right to Private Ownership and Establishment
--------------------------------------------
¶24. (U) Although Zimbabwean law guarantees the right to
private ownership, this right is increasingly not respected
in practice. The government, as noted above, has in recent
years seized a number of private farms and conservancies,
including ones belonging to Americans and other foreign
investors, without due process or compensation. Most of
these property owners held Zimbabwe Investment Center
investment certificates and purchased their land after
independence in 1980. Despite repeated U.S. protests, the
government has not addressed the expropriation of U.S.
citizen property.
¶25. (U) In each of the last three years, President Mugabe
has reiterated the government's intention to enact a broad
indigenization law, and there remains a lingering threat that
the government could expropriate non-agricultural property
belonging to foreign firms for the purpose of transferring
ownership to black Zimbabweans.
-----------------------------
Protection of Property Rights
-----------------------------
¶26. (U) The government's demonstrated desire to expand its
control of the economy puts many investments, particularly in
real property, at risk. The government's 2005 Operation
Restore Order resulted in the destruction of commercial and
residential structures belonging to 700,000 Zimbabweans,
according to UN estimates. Many of these properties had
proper titles and licenses. Although Operation Restore Order
officially ended in 2005, the government continued to evict
smaller numbers of people from their homes and businesses,
primarily in and around Harare, in 2006. In addition to the
thousands of agricultural properties seized under land reform
during the past six years, in late 2005, the government for
the first time authorized the seizure of non-agricultural
land for the purpose of constructing residential stands in a
Harare suburb.
¶27. (U) Since independence, Zimbabwe has applied
international patent and trademark conventions. It is a
member of the World Intellectual Property Organization.
Generally, the government seeks to honor intellectual
property ownership and rights, although there are serious
doubts about its ability to enforce these obligations due to
a lack of expertise and manpower. We are not aware of any
grievances over such issues, but pirating of videos and
HARARE 00000014 007 OF 012
computer software is common. Most videos and computer
software sold on the local market, for example, are pirated
goods.
¶28. (U) The judiciary generally upholds the sanctity of
contracts between private companies. However, in the case of
contracts involving the government or politically influential
individuals, judgments sometimes appear biased in favor of
the latter.
-------------------------------------
Transparency of the Regulatory System
-------------------------------------
¶29. (U) The government's officially stated policy is to
encourage competition within the private sector. That said,
bureaucratic functions in this increasingly controlled
economy lack transparency and corruption within the
regulatory system is increasingly worrisome.
¶30. (U) Companies, for example, are not allowed to increase
the price of monitored goods without government approval.
However, the responsible Ministry often fails to process
price increase requests in a timely and transparent way. In
November 2006, two company executives from one of Zimbabwe,s
major bakeries were convicted and face jail sentences for
raising the price of bread without authorization.
--------------------------------------------- -----
Efficient Capital Markets and Portfolio Investment
--------------------------------------------- -----
¶31. (U) New portfolio investment in Zimbabwe has been very
limited in recent years. According to the IMF, net portfolio
inflows reached US$2 million in 2004 after a massive outflow
of US$68 million in 2001 in response to the start of the land
invasions. Despite mounting economic problems, foreign
direct investment (FDI) inflows to Zimbabwe during 2005
amounted to US$103 million according to the World Investment
Report compiled by the United Nations Conference on Trade and
Development (UNCTAD). Zimbabwe,s Ministry of Finance
projects net inflows of US$298 million in 2006; the
investment is primarily in the platinum industry.
¶32. (U) Zimbabwe's stock market has 83 listed companies.
Overall, trading is thin and volatile. The public stock of
many smaller companies is closely held. In September 1996,
the government opened the stock and money markets to limited
foreign portfolio investment. Since then, a maximum of 40
percent of any locally listed company can be foreign-owned
with a single investor acquiring a maximum of 10 percent of
the shares on offer. In 2005, the government introduced a 5
percent withholding tax on the sale of marketable securities.
It also directed short term insurance companies, long term
insurance companies as well as pension funds to invest 25
percent, 30 percent and 35 percent, respectively, of their
portfolios at market value in government bonds which are
prescribed assets with highly negative real interest rates.
In order to meet these new requirements pension funds were
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required from November 2004 to direct 40 percent of net
investment funds on a monthly basis towards prescribed
assets.
¶33. (U) Once relatively robust by regional standards,
Zimbabwe's financial sector has contracted greatly in recent
years as business and demand for sophisticated transactions
evaporates. Two major international commercial banks and a
number of regional and domestic banks operate with over 200
branches total. Following the well-publicized failure of a
number of financial institutions in 2003, primarily due to
fraud and inept management, Reserve Bank regulations have
tightened greatly. Nonetheless, financial institutions have
an uncertain future due to ever-dwindling demand from
business clients and inconsistent policies on interest rates,
statutory reserves, and exchange rate policies.
------------------
Political Violence
------------------
¶34. (U) The opposition and civil society operate in an
environment of intimidation and repression. Individuals and
companies out of favor with the government or regarded by the
government as aligned with the opposition, suffer harassment
and bureaucratic obstacles in their business dealings. The
government has closed three independent newspapers, for
example, and has denied numerous telecommunications licenses
for apparently political reasons. Domestic businesspeople
out of favor with the government have been incarcerated for
lengthy periods under trying conditions, including alleged
torture, for allegedly engaging in illegal business practices
such as externalization of currency.
¶35. (U) In April 2005, with no notice and in the middle of
the country,s winter, the GOZ embarked upon Operation
Restore Order, destroying the purportedly unpermitted homes,
businesses, or both, of over 700,000 people. Police
demolished or forced victims to destroy their own homes and
businesses, many of which did appear to have all relevant
permits, without providing alternative accommodation or means
of reestablishing their livelihoods. The government then
blocked the efforts of NGOs and international organizations
to provide emergency relief. Although Operation Restore
Order formally came to an end in 2005, the government in 2006
periodically evicted residents and business-owners from
properties that were deemed substandard.
¶36. (U) In August 2006, the Reserve Bank redenominated the
inflation-ridden currency, slashing three zeros from its
value. As part of the redenomination regulations, the public
and business were allowed to convert only set amounts at
financial institutions. Police extended this prohibition to
the general cash-carrying public, although there was no
regulatory or legal basis for limiting the amount of cash one
carried. Police, military, and youth militia aligned to the
ruling party mounted roadblocks throughout the country and
seized cash, deemed to be in an "excessive" amount, from
individuals. Often no receipts were issued for the seized
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cash, leaving no recourse to protest the seizures.
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Corruption
----------
¶37. (U) There is widespread corruption in government.
Implementation of the government's ongoing redistribution of
expropriated commercial farms has substantially favored the
ruling party elite and continues to lack transparency. Top
ruling party officials and business people supporting the
ruling party have received priority in distribution of the
country's resources, including priority access to limited
foreign exchange and fuel. The government's campaign to
provide housing plots and vending sites for victims of
Operation Restore Order appears to be benefiting mostly civil
servants, security forces, and ruling party supporters.
¶38. (U) In January 2005 the government enacted an
Anti-Corruption Act, which established a government-appointed
Anti-Corruption Commission to investigate corruption;
however, it includes no members from civil society or the
private sector. In the same month, the Ministry of State
Enterprises, Anti-Monopolies, and Anti-Corruption was
established to oversee and coordinate the government's
efforts to combat corruption; however, government officials
and police lack sufficient political backing at senior levels
of the government to effectively investigate cases. The
government prosecutes individuals selectively, focusing on
those who have fallen out of favor with the ruling party and
ignoring transgressions by favored elite.
-------------------------------
Bilateral Investment Agreements
-------------------------------
¶39. (U) The U.S. has no bilateral investment or trade treaty
with Zimbabwe. The following countries have Bilateral
Investment Protection and Promotion Agreements with Zimbabwe:
France, Mauritius, Belgium, Sweden, the Netherlands, Denmark,
Norway, Italy, Austria and Germany. However, as noted above,
commercial farms covered by some of the treaties have been
seized or listed for acquisition, thereby denying the owner
benefits under these treaties.
--------------------------------------------
OPIC and Other Investment Insurance Programs
--------------------------------------------
¶40. (U) The U.S. Government and Zimbabwe concluded an OPIC
agreement in April 1999. Zimbabwe acceded to the World Bank's
Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) in September
¶1989. Support by the Export-Import Bank of the U.S. is not
available to Zimbabwe. Many other major donor countries have
also suspended their trade finance and export promotion
programs, as well as investment insurance, due largely to
Zimbabwe's mounting bilateral arrears and deteriorating
investment climate.
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Labor
-----
¶41. (U) Zimbabwe's interconnected economic and political
crises have prompted many of the country's most skilled and
well educated to emigrate, leading to widespread labor
shortages for managerial and technical jobs. At the same
time, the severe contraction of the economy in recent years
has caused formal sector employment to drop significantly.
The best available surveys place formal sector unemployment
as high as 80 percent. Independent analysts estimate that
only about 700,000 people, or roughly 7 percent of
Zimbabwe,s population, are employed in the formal sector.
As noted above, foreign investors are encouraged to hire
local nationals.
¶42. (U) The country's HIV/AIDS epidemic is also taking a
heavy toll on the workforce. However, with substantial
support from the U.S. Government and other donors, Zimbabwe
has instituted policies that have contributed to reducing the
adult infection rate from 22.1 percent in 2003 to 20.1
percent in 2005, making Zimbabwe only the second country in
Sub-Saharan Africa to stem the disease's tide.
¶43. (U) The government is a signatory to International Labor
Organization (ILO) conventions protecting worker rights,
although the world body has designated Zimbabwe as a
"notorious country" for its continued attempts to limit
workers' right to organize and hold labor union meetings.
The 1985 Labor Relations Act set strict standards for
occupational health and safety, but enforcement is fairly lax
and inconsistent across the industrial sectors.
¶44. (U) In light of the hyperinflationary environment
(private sector estimates put the annualized inflation rate
close to 2,000 percent), employers and workers have agreed to
negotiate wages and other benefits on a quarterly and monthly
rather than annual basis. Collective bargaining takes place
through a National Employment Council (NEC) in each industry,
comprising representatives from labor, business, and
government. In addition, the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade
Unions (ZCTU), the country's umbrella labor organization and
traditional advocate for workers to both business and
government. In addition, a Tripartite Negotiating Forum
(TNF) was established in 2001 for labor, business, and
government to tackle macro-social issues. However, these
talks have been fitful and unproductive since their
inception. The most recent impasse for the TFN is that
business and labor cannot agree on indexing wages to the
poverty datum line (PDL), which calculates the minimum
required for a family of six to pay basic expenses.
Independent economists estimate that roughly 80 percent of
Zimbabwe's population lives below the PDL.
¶45. (U) The government continued its harassment of the ZCTU
and its leadership, and has charged ZCTU officials with
violating foreign exchange controls. In September, police
severely beat and arrested 15 ZCTU officials for
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demonstrating against mounting economic hardships. Under
Zimbabwe labor law, the government can intervene in ZCTU's
internal affairs if it determines that the leadership is not
acting in the workers' interest. The government has
threatened to eliminate the ZCTU, and has taken steps to
marginalize the traditional unions and the formal labor
dispute resolution mechanism. To undercut the strength of
ZCTU, the government has created an alternative umbrella
organization, the Zimbabwe Federation of Trade Unions (ZFTU).
However, outside of government, the ZFTU is not regarded as
a legitimate labor organization. The ZCTU remains the voice
of labor in Zimbabwe and the country's official and
internationally recognized labor organization.
------------------------------
Foreign-Trade Zones/Free Ports
------------------------------
¶46. (U) The government promulgated legislation creating
Export Processing Zones (EPZs) in 1996. Zimbabwe now has 183
EPZ-designated companies. Benefits include a five-year tax
holiday, duty-free importation of raw materials and capital
equipment for use in the EPZ, and no tax liability from
capital gains arising from the sale of property forming part
of the investment in EPZs. Since January 2004 the government
has generally required that foreign capital comprise a
majority of the investment. The requirement on
EPZ-designated companies to export at least 80 percent of
output has constrained foreign investment in the zones. In
2006, the merger began of the Zimbabwe Investment Centre and
the Zimbabwe Export Processing Zones Authority into a new
institution - the Zimbabwe Investment Authority, which is
intended to be a one-stop shop for both local and foreign
investors.
------------------------------------
Foreign Direct Investment Statistics
------------------------------------
¶47. (U) Zimbabwe Net Investment Flows 1998-2005 in Million
US$
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 est.
Direct Investment
436 50 16 0 23 4 9 103 298
Portfolio Investment
11 21 -1 -68 -2 4 2
Source: IMF, UNCTAD, Ministry of Finance
---------
Resources
---------
¶48. (U)
Zimbabwe Investment Center
Investment House
109 Rotten Row
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P.O. Box 5950
Harare
Telephone: (263) (4) 757931/4
Fax: (263) (4) 759 917
www.zic.co.zw
Zimbabawe Tourism Authority
www.tourismzimbabwe.co.zw
Privatization Agency of Zimbabwe
www.paz.co.zw
Zimtrade
www.zimtrade.co.zw
Zimbabwe International Trade Fair
www.zitf.mweb.co.zw
DELL