THE SIGNIFICANCE OF SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONES IN THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF ZIMBABWE: A CASE STUDY OF ZIM ASSET

This study was conducted to establish the significance of special economic zones (SEZs) to the economic development of Zimbabwe. This also included establishing the existence of SEZs in Zimbabwe; evaluating their contribution to the economic development of Zimbabwe and making recommendations to policy makers. In addition, the study also attempted to identify the relationship between special economic zones with some of the determinants of economic development, such as employment creation, foreign direct investment, technology transfer and infrastructure development. The study utilized phenomenology, philosophy and a case study research design which made use of questionnaires and focus groups and the data was analyzed using qualitative data analysis (QDA). In addition, the study utilized a sample of 400 respondents. The results of the study show that there are no special economic zones in Zimbabwe due to lack of relationship between special economic zones and determinants of economic development. The study therefore concluded that although the special economic zones are significant to the economic development of Zimbabwe but they do not exist in the country and are outdated. Thus, it was recommended that policy makers should be consistent in policy pronouncements and should use the bottom-up approach rather than top-down approach in order to formulate and implement successful economic policies. Additionally, there is a need for the government to adopt a coordinated approach as a way of keeping other stakeholders informed. Furthermore, there is a need for the new economic policies to involve other stakeholders in the successful implementation of these critical policies such as industrial clusters-which are more effective than special economic zones.