CAPE TOWN, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- South Africa will invest more in One-Stop Shops aimed at improving the ease of doing business for investors, President Jacob Zuma said on Thursday.
With these shops, investors will be able to apply for licences and permits in one center, Zuma told the National Council of Provinces, the Upper House of Parliament.
South Africa has already launched investment One-Stop Shops in Pretoria and Cape Town and will be opening one in KwaZulu-Natal Province this month, Zuma said.
Attracting investments remains key for the government to boosting economic growth, said Zuma.
In March this year, Zuma opened the first One-Stop Shop in Pretoria.
The One-Stop Shop will be the focal point of contact for investors and government departments involved in regulatory, registration, permits and licensing.
Other provinces will open their One-Stop Shops over a period of three years, according to Zuma.
Key departments like Home Affairs, Labor, Environmental Affairs, Trade and Industry and agencies such as the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission, South African Revenue Service and electricity utility Eskom will be available at the One-Stop Shop.
The One-Stop Shop is designed to attend to the needs of local and foreign investors who have complained about the difficulties and hassles they face when wanting to establish new businesses. They have to visit many departments to obtain various licenses and go to different offices for water, electricity and immigration services such as visas.
The government has acknowledged that bureaucratic red tape has been stifling the growth of business.
The South African government passed the Protection of Investment Act in December 2015 to strengthen legal safeguards for foreign investors as the country continued to suffer from a number of legislative uncertainties that discourage foreign investors.
Nonetheless, South Africa dropped by a large number of places in the ease of doing business ranking published by the World Bank, which ranked the country 73rd out of 189 countries in 2016 compared to 69th of 189 in 2015.
Zuma also said the government is implementing incentives and support services for investors through Special Economic Zones (SEZs).
The six SEZs established between 2002 and 2014 have attracted about 59 investors with an investment value of more than 10 billion rand (about 714 million U.S. dollars), according to Zuma.
