Online Reporter
Debra Matabvu
Senior Reporter
PRESIDENT Mnangagwa yesterday met an African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) delegation led by the pan-African bank’s president, Dr George Elombi at State House, where they deliberated on a number of issues, including investments in areas such as road infrastructure and mineral value addition.
The delegation is in the country to also assess the African Trade Centre (ATC), a facility currently under construction in Harare, which will house the bank’s permanent Southern Africa Regional Office.
It will also feature a hotel, conference centre and trade information centre. The building is 95 percent complete and is set to be commissioned early next year.
Briefing journalists after the closed-door meeting with President Mnangagwa, Dr Elimbo said the Afriximbank had briefed the President on various projects the bank seeks to fund in Southern Africa through the ATC.
“It was an extensive discussion, but all focused on economic affairs, entirely on the economic field,” he said.
“As you know, Afreximbank has been in Zimbabwe, strongly supporting the country for a very long time. So we came to discuss with the Head of State the areas of support that we could be doing.
“These are in logistics, in the creation of industrial zones, in an African centre of quality, so that we can test our own goods here before they go abroad. That will be in the headquarters, the regional office that Afreximbank is constructing in Zimbabwe, to cover the southern African region.”
He said some of the interventions include decongesting the Beira corridor and the construction of the intra-African trade centre.
“The support we should be providing for that, that is in dealing with the congestion on the Beira corridor, which brings the goods into the country, which is heavily congested now, and we think it is time we intervene to have those matters resolved,” Dr Elimbo added.
“And for all of those, we will be doing it with the private sector. Not a single cent of the Government’s money is required for those, they can pay for themselves. And that’s the extensive discussion we’ll have with the head of state, as you will see.
“Some of those interventions, especially in the logistics area, require the cooperation of neighbouring countries. So we came to seek his support for the engagement with the neighbouring countries, so that those projects could take ground.
“The African, intra-African trade fair head office has been decided in Afreximbank that it should be located here in Zimbabwe. So we are going through with the various Ministries, including especially the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, so that is formalised and the centre is created here.”
He also added that the Pan-African Bank seeks to work with various African countries to add value to minerals before exportation.
“One of the items we discussed in relation to that particular topic with the Head of State was the question of processing locally,” he said.
“Sometimes you call it industrialisation. Sometimes you call it manufacturing. Sometimes you call it export promotion. But really, the reality is we can no longer continue to export the minerals raw. And this time in Afreximbank, we mean it.
“We have the money. We can find the expertise. All we need now is for the Governments to make the processes lighter. That was the discussion we had with him, and we were very pleased that on that particular point, he actually exploded, which means everyone is looking up to that.”
He said the process of value addition will be extended to other countries in Africa.
