Times Of Swaziland: ... HOPE ALL STAKEHOLDERS WILL ACCEPT SEZ ACT AMENDMENTS

... HOPE ALL STAKEHOLDERS WILL ACCEPT SEZ ACT AMENDMENTS
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Nhlanganiso Mkhonta on 22/04/2024 08:09:00


MBABANE – SEMLEX Group comes at a time when the country was working around
amending the Special Economic Zones Act of 2018 in a bid to attract more foreign
director investment (FDI).
Chairperson of the Special Economic Zones Committee Albert Chibi said they were
hoping that once the amendments had been completed, all stakeholders would
accept them. He said accepting the amendments of this Act, would make their work
as a committee seamless. As part of the amendment processes, a diagnostic
process was carried out by the Export Processing Zones Authority (EPZA) from the
Republic of China (Taiwan), through an intergovernmental cooperation
arrangement, agreed to assist Eswatini in reforming the SEZ legislation.
Systems
Last month, International Integrated Systems, Inc (IISI), a consultancy from
Taiwan presented the report, detailing the gaps that a country needs to address
to attract investors. IISI Director International Division Jerry Wang said
special economic zones remained a key catalyst to stimulate economic
development. He said while other countries have different objectives of having
established these economic zones, empirical evidence showed that they were a
cornerstone for economic development. Wang said for the special economic zones
phenomenon to be a success in the Kingdom of Eswatini, government should review
the special economic zones Act of 2018. He said this would ensure that it was in
line with global requirements.
Furthermore, government should fast-track the issue of providing outstanding
infrastructure requirement such as the completion of the one-stop-shop service
centre to host the relevant service provider. He presented that indeed the SEZ
Act needed significant amendment to increase legal transparency and strengthen
the organisation and functions of the SEZ Committee. He said the enforcement
rules and related regulations of the SEZ Act must be completed to facilitate
investment promotion and development of the Royal Science and Technology Park
(RSTP).
Amendment
Meanwhile, the RSTP Acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Khanyisile Dlamini said
the findings made by the Taiwanese consultant showed that the SEZ Act needs
significant amendment to increase legal transparency and strengthen the
organisation and functions of the SEZ committee. Dlamini said the review of the
Act was proposed to include the review of the roles and responsibilities of key
players in the SEZ programme, which include developers, operators and
implementing agencies. She said supporting this SEZ programme was of national
interest as it would reap positive results for the country at large,
specifically as it would increase:
i) Foreign and domestic private sector investment;
ii) Job creation;
iii) Income generation – both direct (within the zone) and indirect through
backwards and forwards linkages with businesses outside the zone;
iv) Export growth and diversification and increase in foreign exchange;
v) industrial development and other sectors requiring services and specialised
infrastructure;
vi) Skills upgrade, technological transfer and many more.