By Amanda Mavhaza
INDUSTRY and Commerce Minister Sekai Nzenza has recommended the mining sector to take advantage of value addition and beneficiation of minerals and to invest in innovation and technology in order to speed up efficiency utilisation.
Zimbabwe remains accused of importing raw ores.
Nzenza advised mining firms to seize advantage of government’s part specific plans to develop selected value chains focusing specifically on quality addition.
She spoke this at the inaugural Zim-China Investment Symposium held in Harare recently,
Minister Nzenza mentioned value enhancement will cause the rebounding of the country’s economy as mining businesses enjoy government’s ease of doing business policies.
“The productive sector in Zimbabwe is undergoing structural transformation, increasing investments in retooling and refurbishment which will ultimately see the regeneration of the Zimbabwean economy.
“Concurrent to the regeneration of the productive sector, we have witnessed an increased investment by multinational companies in Zimbabwe.
“We [are seeing] a distinct growth pattern in the value chains as they respond to the consolidation of government’s strategies, policies and interventions. The shared value between government and the private sector is more apparent as industry leverages against the enabling policy environment set by government,” she said.
Nzenza said the shift in the policy framework has opened floodgates of investments.
“[There] have been fundamental changes to the policy and operational environment in Zimbabwe, making it an attractive investment destination.
“[The] combination of the Zimbabwean policy framework, skill set and resources with the investors continues to unlock enormous economic potential in different sectors. Hence, [the] government has undertaken sector specific strategies to develop selected value chains focusing specifically on value addition,” she said.
If there are any barriers that hinder value enhancement and beneficiation, Minister Nzenza revealed the government was ready to negotiate and make it easy to do business.
“My ministry stands ready to facilitate access to further investment opportunities in the value chains, unlock any bottlenecks experienced and be a gateway to information.
“The ease of doing business reforms in Zimbabwe has prioritised the creation of favourable operating environment for business to thrive. We strive to create a policy framework which makes it easy and competitive for the pursuit investment in Zimbabwe in particular by China,” she said.
Minister Nzenza said the mining industry should take advantage of the ratification of the AfCFTA Agreement to expand its market base.
“The Regional Integration Agenda, government signed and ratified the AfCFTA Agreement which entered force in January last year. This has created an open market worth US$1.35 billion in Africa.
“The implication of market liberalisation is an increased opportunity to access a bigger market, however, local players should also gear up and match increased completion from other countries. The industrial linkages are very clear, so is the market opportunities provided by Zimbabwe as an investment destination.
“We have seen an sped up increase in capacity and capacity utilisation. The Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries is estimating to 61% before the close of the year [compared to] 36% last year,” she said.
