Sikhulekelani Moyo [email protected]
THE Bulawayo Business Forum (BBF) says it will host a coterie of investors, including a delegation from the Chinese business community in Zimbabwe, within the next two months as it steps up efforts to re-industrialise Bulawayo and reposition the city as Zimbabwe’s next investment frontier.
This emerged after the forum paid a courtesy call on the Office of the Bulawayo Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister Judith Ncube recently.
Speaking after the meeting, BBF chairman Mr Heresy Herry said the forum was an amalgam of various business groupings in Bulawayo formed to coordinate engagements with the local authority and central Government.
“The import, or the objective why we’ve been formed is to be able to coordinate as we make engagements with the local authority. It would have been very difficult for the council to coordinate with various bodies, so it was quite important to converge it into one for the purpose of coordination and also getting meaningful outcomes,” said Mr Herry.
“I think our objective is very singular, and that is to industrialise Bulawayo, to position Bulawayo for the next best thing in Zimbabwe that it is. And we need to use our expertise within the private sector to be able to actualise our networks within the private sector, to be able to actualise that vision.”
Mr Herry said the courtesy call was meant to acknowledge the Minister’s office and align the forum’s investment pipeline with the Government’s vision.
“You can’t be in an area and fail to pay homage. So, I think that was the first order of business that we needed to dispense with,” he said.
“But also, most importantly, we’ve got a coterie of investors who shall be coming through to Bulawayo over the next two months. We are speaking to the Chinese chamber within Zimbabwe, so we are looking at hosting them within Bulawayo within the next two months.”
He said ignoring Chinese investors would be negligent given their dominance in African and Zimbabwean investment.
“You cannot be in business and ignore the Chinese. There’s a reason why they’re the biggest trading bloc of Africa. I think they’re accounting for about US$300 billion worth of trade with Africa in general. But we have also seen what they’ve done in Zimbabwe. Every key project we’re talking about has been funded by the Chinese,” said Mr Herry.
“So, we will be very negligent if we fail to raise our hand and engage them so that we also partake in that investment drive that they’re currently embarking on.”
Mr Herry said while specific sectors could not yet be disclosed, investors would leverage Bulawayo’s strategic resources and location, which offer logistical advantages.
“We do have a couple of investments in the pipeline that we shall be having over the next couple of months. And it was important that we come through and also advise you of that pipeline and also just seek your input as well. So that as we speak, as we interact, we shall be in line with the vision shared by the leadership.”
International Trade Council (ITC) country representative for Zimbabwe, Mr Jamaine Chapfiwa, said Zimbabwe was at a crossroads where statutory instruments were supporting international standards that could attract investment.
He said one of the key things the international community had seen was that the country’s statutory instruments were supporting international standards that would attract investment.
“At this juncture, our country is at the crossroads where we’ve got so many investors that want to work with us, but then they need a bridge between, on a country to country basis to then attract and safeguard those investments,” said Mr Chapfiwa.
He said the ITC, with more than 30 000 members globally, including 519 government export and investment agencies, interfaces with about 40 million organisations annually.
“Out of 54 countries, they picked four, being South Africa, Zimbabwe, Kenya, and Ghana. So, at this moment, we’re here to support our local Government in terms of their investment aspirations and in terms of also pulling in, besides the delegations that will come, more investments that we will then try to lend here for events such as the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair, (ZITF) and any initiatives that are organised by the ministry,” he said.
Mr Chapfiwa said engaging the Bulawayo Minister of State’s office was strategic given the city’s history as the country’s economic hub and Government’s drive to put it back on track.
“Bulawayo has got a lot of opportunities, especially in the drive of re-industrialisation as you are aware of the special economic zones, and also if you look at our heritage as a city, we’ve got two heritage sites that are very close to us, as well as other facilities like your Centenary Park,” he said.
“The main thing is that this environment is open for investment and at the same time, it’s presenting new opportunities in a way that a lot of international communities are seeing.”
Director for Economic Affairs and Investment in the Office of the Minister of State, Mr Simon Saunyama, said the Government welcomed strategic partners who could enhance investment and social development in Bulawayo.
“I think just before this we had the Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Honourable Judith Ncube, and the Provincial Secretary Mr Paul Nyoni were both here, and we were listening to their presentations, and as central Government we do welcome any strategic partners that we work with so that we can enhance and promote the opportunities that are there for investment in our Bulawayo province, as well as the issues to do with social development,” said Mr Saunyama.
He said common areas of interest had been identified that could change the economic face of the province.
“They have actually talked about common areas of interest that we then realise that they are quite strategic and we would need to work with them so that we do change the economic face of Bulawayo as a province.
And with new opportunities that are there, I think we can work with them.”
Mr Saunyama said the Government had shared its compendium of projects that arose from the recent investment conference.
“We have actually even shared with them our compendium of projects that we have, which did arise from the investment conference that we did recently, and we expect and hope that this document will find its way around and some benefits will arise. But I think these are strategic partners, especially that they are also working with local authorities who would share ideas and their expertise to the advantage of the province,” said Mr Saunyama.
