Politicians would have the electorate believe that they have thought through a strategy to ensure that manufacturing will be fast tracked through Special Economic Zone (SEZ), and that they have rationally made a plan including where these zones will be located. And while the SEZ Authority is supposed to license the firms that operate in the special zones, the way licensing issue is being handled does not inspire confidence. Besides, the impact of giving many concessions under the SEZ facility has the potential to negatively impact on tax collection. And there was no evidence that the zones attained additional investments or gave back dividends to the country. “For firms to enter into the SEZs, they will have to guarantee they can create forward and backward linkages, jobs and exports.

Source: Standard Digital July 25, 2017 04:52 UTC