Quarterly Report Q5: Supporting the Environment for Economic Development (SPEED+)

The program focuses on four main components: improving the agriculture policy framework, creating an improved trade and investment policy framework, enhancing the business enabling environment, and promoting an improved water and energy policy framework. The agriculture policy framework component involves policy and institutional reforms to increase the competitiveness of agriculture value chains. This includes policy and legal reforms in the casheval value chain, improvements in land administration, tax reform in agriculture, and promoting private sector participation in the agriculture sector. The program also focuses on improving the implementation of the trade facilitation agreement, developing a trade portal, and shifting from pre-shipment to post-shipment inspection. The trade and investment policy framework component aims to improve the trade facilitation agreement and reduce trade-related fees and charges. This includes improving the implementation of sanitary and phytosanitary measures, trade facilitation activities relating to technical barriers to trade, and supporting the implementation of the AGOA utilization strategy. The program also reviews the national trade policy and strategy, reduces import/export costs on the Nacala Corridor, and improves the trade across borders indicator. The business enabling environment component involves reviewing and revising the commercial code, implementing food fortification law, and improving the doing business indicator dealing with construction permits. The program also strengthens public participation in the legislative process, reviews and revises the minimum wage framework, and promotes public and private dialogue for a better business environment. The water and energy policy framework component focuses on improving the legal framework and transaction support for power and water. This includes strengthening the legal framework for power, revising and implementing the renewable energy feed-in tariff, and training the MIREME legal department. The program also strengthens regulatory frameworks for power, supports the implementation of the Temane Transmision Project, and improves the doing business indicator for getting electricity. The biodiversity conservation policy framework component aims to strengthen biodiversity conservation policies, support the implementation of government policies and regulations, and strengthen counter wildlife crime support. This includes developing the general regulations for conservation law 5/2017, developing specific regulations for conservation law 5/2017, and facilitating scientific youth-oriented events related to biodiversity conservation. The SPEED+ initiative also focuses on integrating gender and environment issues, monitoring, evaluating, and learning, and management and administration activities. The program aims to improve the business enabling environment, promote public and private dialogue, and strengthen regulatory frameworks for power and water.