Some text from the Council of Ministers meeting minutes held on 2 December - good to see progress happening in the background re SEZ financing, with the finalized Report due at last Friday’s meeting, 9 December.
I. COMMUNICATION FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC
The communication of the President of the Republic, Head of State focused on three (03) points, namely:
1. The need to make available the resources provided for the financing of Special Economic Zones (SEZs)
The President of the Republic recalled that the Special Economic Zones (SEZ) constitute the seventh pillar of the Industrialization Master Plan (PDI) that the Government drew up and adopted in 2021 as a reference document for its Industrial Policy.
Indeed, the operationalization of the ZES will require the mobilization of significant financial resources estimated at more than 1.9 billion US dollars to support the various activities related to the acquisition of sites, the conduct of feasibility studies, the construction of basic infrastructure, one-stop shops, their security and the improvement of the business climate.
The President of the Republic encouraged the Prime Minister and the Minister of Industry to finalize the Report on the establishment of the Special Fund for the financing of Special Economic Zones provided for in the Government Program and to submit to the Council at the next meeting.
After the establishment of the Board of Directors and the General Management of the Special Economic Zones Agency (AZES), the President of the Republic instructed the Minister of State, Minister of the Budget and the Minister of Finance to available the means provided for by the various legal texts and public funds to ensure the proper functioning of this structure and enable it to achieve its objectives.