VZCZCXRO6467
PP RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHSB #0045/01 0250655
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 250655Z JAN 10
FM AMEMBASSY HARARE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5334
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HARARE 000045 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EEB/CBA - DENNIS A. WINSTEAD 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: BEXP ECON EINV ETRD ZI
SUBJECT: ZIMBABWE 2010 BFIF PROJECT PROPOSAL 
 
REF: STATE 126674 
 
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SUMMARY 
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¶1. Embassy Harare proposes three projects to be supported by the 
Business Facilitation Incentive Fund (BFIF).  The total amount of 
BFIF support requested is $15,000. 
 
¶2. The common theme of the projects is transparency and good 
governance.  Zimbabwe is once again open for business after several 
years of sharp macroeconomic decline, hyperinflation, and acute 
political uncertainty.  But the business climate remains difficult 
and is the main constraint on opportunities for American firms.  In 
the World Bank's latest "Doing Business" report, Zimbabwe ranked 
28th in Africa, well behind South Africa, Botswana, and Namibia, 
which were second, third, and fourth, respectively.  More than ever, 
Zimbabwe's economic fortunes and opportunities for American 
businesses now depend on restoring confidence, especially with 
respect to transparency and governance.  All three projects 
presented below will be implemented by the American Business 
Association of Zimbabwe (ABAZ), which achieved notable success with 
BFIF support in previous years.  END SUMMARY. 
 
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EITI Policy Dialog 
------------------ 
 
¶3. Lack of transparency and poor governance in Zimbabwe's mining 
sector have featured in local headlines in recent years and also 
attracted international attention.  Improving standards of 
governance is essential to attracting vital investment to Zimbabwe's 
mining industry and creating opportunities for American businesses. 
In recent months, local business leaders and industry experts have 
begun efforts to gain Zimbabwe's participation in the Extractive 
Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI).  Turning this effort into 
a productive dialog can create more opportunities for U.S. exports 
to Zimbabwe. 
 
¶4. To bring momentum to this incipient effort, ABAZ intends to 
organize an EITI Policy Dialog that would bring together GOZ 
policymakers and local business leaders.  So far, the GOZ has 
expressed openness to EITI in principle but taken no action.  The 
proposed BFIF-supported EITI Policy Dialog will allow ABAZ to put 
this subject on the public agenda.  ABAZ would use $2,500 in BFIF 
support to cover the cost of hiring a venue and preparing briefing 
materials for this one-day event. 
 
-------------------- 
"Just Business" 2010 
-------------------- 
 
¶5. ABAZ organized an annual "Just Business" forum from 2006 through 
2008, but the unsettled circumstances of early 2009 made it 
impossible to plan a forum for that year.  The successes of previous 
"Just Business" events and changes in Zimbabwe's economic 
circumstances have led to strong demand among ABAZ members and other 
participants to resume the series. 
 
¶6. The 2010 "Just Business" forum will expand the usual one-day 
schedule to two.  ABAZ has chosen the theme, "Creating Investor 
Confidence through Governance and Transparency."  In addition to 
inviting business leaders to address the forum, this year's event 
will also include workshop sessions aimed at producing an action 
agenda for improving Zimbabwe's business climate.  The workshops 
will prioritize the challenges in Zimbabwe's business climate and 
propose an agenda for action.  A specific aim of the workshops will 
be to identify actions the GOZ and Zimbabwe's business associations 
can take to improve the country's ranking in the World Bank's "Doing 
Business" rankings. 
 
¶7. The level of BFIF support needed for the "Just Business" forum is 
$10,000.  Half of this amount would be used to cover the cost of the 
venue and refreshments.  A further $3,000 will pay for pre-event 
Qvenue and refreshments.  A further $3,000 will pay for pre-event 
publicity and communications, and $2,000 will be used for media 
coverage and publications.  ABAZ aims to raise at least $75,000 in 
contributions from other sources to cover the balance of the costs 
for the event. 
 
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Reviving the ABAZ Website 
------------------------- 
 
¶8. Past "Just Business" events have sparked continuing debate on 
economic policy issues and the challenges of doing business in 
Zimbabwe.  For this year's event, ABAZ members want to put renewed 
effort into continuing advocacy for transparency and good 
governance.  The ABAZ website is an ideal tool for this purpose, but 
it has not been operational since late 2008, due to the chaos 
induced by hyperinflation.  The full cost of reviving the ABAZ 
 
HARARE 00000045  002 OF 002 
 
 
website is estimated to be $5,000, of which $2,500 will be BFIF 
support for re-design of the website. 
 
¶9. Post's top priority among these three projects is the "Just 
Business" forum, which is tentatively planned for late August.  If 
funded, the EITI Policy Dialog would take place in March.  Work on 
the ABAZ website would commence once funding is available.  Post's 
point of contact is EconOff James Garry (garryjc@state.gov). 
 
RAY