Coordinated African Programme of Technical Assistance on Services (CAPAS): A study on services in Zimbabwe

Abstract

This study examines the services sector in Zimbabwe with the view of assisting policy makers within both the national context and the context of the Uruguay Round. It is hoped that this study, and others being conducted in other countries, will put the nations' negotiators in a strong and informed position in the current round GATT negotiations. In this regard, the study assesses the contribution of services to the national economy directly through income and employment generation and indirectly through linkages with other sectors of the economy. The study reviews the regulatory environment within which the sector operates and examines how liberalisation can affect the sector's role in facilitating competitive development of the productive sectors. The study also addresses issues of regional co-operation within the various service sub-sectors.

The study was conducted in two phases. The first phase entailed examining the national economic environment and identifying the contribution of services to various aggregate macro-economic variables. It then went on to examine the legal/regulatory framework and regional cooperation agreements and arrangements. To achieve the above, the study team examined secondary data published by the Central Statistical Office, policy documents and legal instruments governing the operations of various service sub-sectors. In addition interviews were conducted with government officials and officials from the various service sub-sectors. Phase 2 entailed detailed studies on selected sub-sectors. These are financial services, transportation and telecommunications. For these detailed studies, structured questionnaire interviews were conducted to get further information on how the sub-sectors operate and interact with other sectors, the constraints faced and competition within the sub-sectors and competitiveness of the sub-sectors. In both phases the interface between the research team, representatives of the various sub-sectors and policy makers was of critical importance as part of the methodology. An inter institutional working group (IWG) was established to facilitate this process.