Cost of Compliance 

In 2015-2016, as part of the USAID-funded Strategic Economic Research and Analysis (SERA) programme run by Nathan Associates, the implementing partner, the Centre for International Private Enterprise, in collaboration with Q Partnership and with leading business associations , designed and commissioned a survey of Zimbabwean business owners in the cities of Harare and Bulawayo to assess their experience with transactional corruption and its effect on conducting business. This survey examined in detail how business transaction costs manifest themselves within the Zimbabwean business community across sectors, their nature and impact on viability. The survey was carried out on the theme of “Cost of Compliance”, examining specific areas where opaque terms, duplicate regulations, lack of access to information or too much discretionary power given to a public sector agency or service provider was leading to opportunities and instances of transactional corruption. It also assessed the efficiency of the services rendered by public sector agencies in facilitating business endeavours. Q Partnership provided input into the design of the research study, was responsible for data collection, involving interviews with representatives of over 400 organisations, coding, data entry, analysis, reporting and presentation of the findings at a stakeholders’ validation workshop.