This week's issues
| Bi-lateral treaty with SA drags on |
| Written by Staff Reporter |
| Monday, 23 November 2009 16:24 |
 JOHANNESBURG – A bi-lateral investment treaty between Zimbabwe and South Africa hangs in the balance seven months after its scheduled deadline, as the two countries continue to haggle over clauses contained in the document.The Bilateral Investment Protection Agreement (BIPA), which is expected to open ways of easy trade between the two countries, and the free movement of especially Zimbabwean cross-border trades, was initially supposed to be signed in April, but had to be postponed due to the same clause. The main sticking point, according to Zimbabwean government sources, is on Article 11 of the proposed treaty, which deals with mainly protecting new and previous investments from expropriation or nationalization. “The Zimbabwean government is not happy with the kinds of investments that will require protection by the treaty, the scope of investment disputes and the most suitable dispute settlement mechanism in the event of a violation,” said a government source this week. “The South Africans want the treaty to protect land investments that were made before the ‘land reform’ program of 2000, something that has been opposed by the Zimbabwean government.” “The BIPA between Zimbabwe and South Africa will be signed on November 27,” he said without revealing the venue for the inking of the long stalled agreement. The government source also added that the country needed to improve its investment climate to attract investors. He also expressed hope that government would sign and implement bilateral agreements with other countries which would improve investor confidence and raise money through auctioning mineral concessions and implement the use “use it or lose it” on the mineral concessions. It remains to be seen whether this long stalled agreement will be reached later this month as scheduled. |
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