Online Reporter
George Maponga in MWENEZI
INDIGENOUS Zimbabweans have the capacity to undertake transformative projects that add impetus to the Second Republic’s rural industrialisation and modernisation drive, which will propel the country towards becoming an upper-middle-income economy, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Dr Zhemu Soda has said.
Minister Soda yesterday said several high-impact projects being implemented by locals across the country demonstrated the capacity of Zimbabweans to drive the nation’s march towards upper-middle-income status by 2030.
He was speaking at Nuanetsi Ranch in Mwenezi East, where the Development Trust of Zimbabwe (DTZ) has partnered with eight local private investors to develop a green corridor spanning more than 30 000 hectares.
The green corridor at Nuanetsi is being transformed into a major sugar cane production hub, with plans also underway to introduce citrus and lucerne farming.
Upon completion, the project is expected to create more than 15 000 direct jobs and contribute US$2 billion annually to Zimbabwe’s gross domestic product.
Minister Soda toured the emerging greenbelt project on the second day of his visit to flagship projects being implemented under the Second Republic and aligned with Vision 2030.
He visited sugar cane fields being developed by Lyonais Enterprises and Henzero Agro Projects at Nuanetsi, where more than 300 hectares of previously undeveloped land have already been brought under sugar cane cultivation.
The development forms part of a broader DTZ initiative, in partnership with private investors, to establish a vast green corridor at Nuanetsi using water drawn from Tugwi-Mukosi Dam.
At the core of the greenbelt project, a citrus processing plant and an ethanol production facility are earmarked for development, a move expected to accelerate rural industrialisation and modernisation in parts of Mwenezi and Chiredzi districts.
The eight local investors partnering with DTZ have so far injected a combined US$70 million into the development of the greenbelt.
Minister Soda hailed the initiative as a shining example of how local investment is helping to address key gaps in the national development matrix.
“We have seen sugar cane fields that are highly mechanised with the latest irrigation technology that were developed by a group of local investors in partnership with DTZ and this project here speaks to the National Development Strategy (NDS2), which feeds into Vision 2030. What we have seen here at Nuanetsi is evidence that indigenous Zimbabweans have the capacity to lead from the front in helping the nation achieve rural industrialisation and modernisation,” he said.
Minister Soda said President Mnangagwa deserved recognition for creating an enabling environment that allows indigenous investors to play a meaningful role in the economy.
He said projects spearheaded by local Zimbabweans were creating employment opportunities while contributing significantly to economic growth and national development.
The minister added that the greenbelt project at Nuanetsi was a direct product of President Mnangagwa’s visionary leadership.
“The President is the patron of DTZ and the land here is wholly owned by the State and we are happy that the investors here have put money to develop cane fields now and plan to venture into citrus production using water from the Tugwi-Mukosi Dam.
“There is also ongoing reorganisation of settlements here in Nuanetsi where beneficiaries are getting land title and will also benefit from co-existing with these investors through jobs and also access to clean potable water, thanks to the ongoing borehole drilling programme,” he said.
Minister Soda expressed confidence that agriculture would remain the cornerstone of Masvingo Province’s plans to attain an US$8 billion economy by 2030.
DTZ general manager Mr Emmanuel Jaricha said the partnership between the Trust and private investors was already yielding tangible results.
“All what is happening here is thanks to the President Dr ED Mnangagwa and his Government, who created the right conditions for this kind of investment to take place.
“This green corridor project has already created about 1 200 direct jobs and the figure will spike to over 15 000 direct jobs when it reaches its crest and we will easily be the second largest employer in Zimbabwe after Government,” he said.
Mr Jaricha also commended Government for facilitating the orderly relocation and reorganisation of settlers within DTZ land.
“We are working closely with our partners to drill boreholes for the families who are being reorganised and getting land title.”
Permanent Secretary for Masvingo Provincial Affairs and Devolution Dr Addmore Pazvakavambwa said the province remained firmly on course to grow into an US$8 billion economy by 2030.
He said agriculture had emerged as the province’s strongest asset in driving transformative development in line with Vision 2030.
After touring Nuanetsi Ranch, Minister Soda visited the newly constructed artificial intelligence-powered silos at Rutenga and a multi-service centre at the growth point that value-adds castor beans, sesame and sunflower seed into cooking oil.
The plant also processes paprika.
Accompanying Minister Soda were the Permanent Secretary for Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, Mr Nick Mangwana, and other Government officials.
