Online Reporter
BULAWAYO is the centre of attraction once again this week as it hosts two major exhibitions.
The Mining, Engineering and Transport (Mine Entra) and the Africa Infrastructure and Built Environment Conference and Expo (AfriConfex) begin at the Zimbabwe International Exhibition and Conference Smart City tomorrow, ending on Friday.
Mine Entra will be held under the theme “Beyond Extraction: Sustaining the Future of Mining,” whereas AfriConfex is themed “Smart Moves: Powering Zimbabwe’s Infrastructure Evolution.”
Transport and Infrastructure Development Minister Felix Mhona will officiate at AfriConfex tomorrow, while President Mnangagwa will officially open Mine Entra on the following day.
More than 240 exhibitors from China, India, South Africa and the UK, among other nations, will join local participants at the expositions.
Mine Entra showcases the abundant mineral resources the country has, the investment that has been put into it, and the opportunities that exist.
On the other hand, AfriConfex highlights the investment that has been put into the country’s infrastructure over the years, the state of that infrastructure, and the obvious gaps that exist in the built environment as economic growth continues to outpace infrastructure development.
The mining sector is vital to the economy. According to the Zimbabwe Investment Development Agency, it contributes 70 percent to foreign direct investment, 80 percent to exports, 19 percent to Government revenues, three percent to direct formal employment and 13,5 percent to national income. Gold anchors that industry, but platinum group metals (PGMs), chrome, coal and lithium are important as well.
We note the good performance that the sector has had over the years, but we assert that it is not performing to its potential, given the abundance of minerals in the country. We have the largest proven lithium reserves on the continent and rank around sixth globally. We have the second-largest PGMs reserves on the continent after South Africa, and third globally, with Russia being number two.
We maintain that, considering the gold reserves in the country, we must not be producing 40 tonnes of the metal yearly. We must be rubbing shoulders with the titans in that space — Ghana, South Africa, Mali and Burkina Faso — which produce at least 100 tonnes of gold annually.
The country leads the continent with regard to lithium, but it must be higher up there with Australia, China and Chile, among other global leaders.
We want more investment and output in the extraction segment of the chain.
However, we note that the Mine Entra theme this year goes beyond extraction. It speaks about sustainability, value addition and so on.
That is where the industry is going, we acknowledge, especially the lithium, PGMs, coal, chrome, and iron and steel sub-sectors, but we must double down on every part of the mining value chain, from extraction to manufacturing of consumer goods.
AfriConfex comes at a time when the Government is putting much investment into infrastructure, such as roads and dams, and what the private sector and individuals are doing on the real estate side.
But the local infrastructure deficit demands more participation from the private sector and international development partners, bringing in the much-needed finance and ideas into transport, energy, communication, real estate and the like.
We expect the next three days to attract investment into all the value chains in the target sectors to accelerate national economic growth and development in all its various facets.
