The effectiveness of the Zambia regulatory framework on foreign direct investment
Date
2013-06-04
Authors
Ngulube, leah Nanyangwe
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Abstract
Before 1991 the Zambian economy was mostly state controlled. After 1991 the economy was liberalized as evidenced by a number of state enterprises which were privatized. In Zambia the advent of the enhanced Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) focus could therefore be linked to the dawn of democratic transition which was characterized by a shift from the era of one party state to multi party state.
Zambia has endeavored to create a good investment climate by enacting Investment codes, such as the Zambia Development Agency Act, No. 11 of 1996 which provides for various incentives to the investors.
Investors are also guaranteed that investments will not be adversely affected by any changes in the investment Act for a specified period of time. Zambia is a signatory to the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) , and at bilateral level, Zambia has signed reciprocal promotional and protection of investment protocols with a number of countries. In addition to the above incentives, Zambia could also be considered an attractive destination to FDI because of its social and political stability. Since independence, the country has never experienced any civil strive.
However, despite all the incentives Zambia has tried to put in place, it appears that as a nation we have not managed to attract and retain FDI adequately. We continue to see investors come and go after benefiting from the given incentives. It could be that, there are other factors that need to be addressed to ensure that Zambia benefits adequately from FDI.
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Investments, Foreign --Developing countries , Foreign trade regulation --Developing countries.