adminChronicle yesterday carried an article in which a Mauritius-registered firm, ZimDiv Holdings Limited, and the National Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Board signed an agreement for joint mineral exploration in Matabeleland North.
The project would see exploration for tungsten, lithium, tantalum and uranium among other minerals in the Hwange and Kamativi areas. We welcome such exploration in the province and hope that communities in the area will benefit from the ventures when production eventually begins through the creation of employment and community share ownership schemes.
What is important, however, is to see work on the ground so that it does not become just another announcement of promised investment in the province like the Kamativi Tin Mine and the Lupane Methane Gas project that have been in the pipeline for too long.
We risk turning people in the province into dangerous cynics if they do not see any fruits from such ventures in the long run hence the need to move with speed and concretise such projects.
We are aware that the province has also seen massive exploration for coal in the Hwange area and there was talk of setting up of mines in areas such as Tsholotsho. We await broad-based empowerment from such initiatives.
The Government’s indigenisation policy, if well implemented, remains the only viable solution to our people’s poverty challenges and the earlier that is demonstrated through new projects that create new wealth, the better for the indigenisation programme and the country at large as it would drown our detractors’ chorus that the State seeks to “grab” foreign-owned firms.
As Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Minister Saviour Kasukuwere pointed out, foreign companies that are willing to follow the law are welcome in the country to do business.
“I would like to express my gratitude to ZimDiv for respecting the laws of Zimbabwe. Their partnership illustrates that they share our vision of broad-based participation by the majority in the economy,” said Minister Kasukuwere.
A partnership of this magnitude calls for sincerity of the parties involved to inspire confidence of other potential investors. It is our prayer that ZimDiv Holdings Limited are driven by business interests as well as high levels of ethics since the project should benefit Zimbabweans, and their shareholders.
On the other hand, the Government should play its part by ensuring that there is policy consistency in order to send the right signals to other potential foreign investors and inspire confidence even in the local investors, on whom foreigners rely for information on doing business in the country.
Matabeleland businesspeople should organise themselves to be ready to play a role in the post-exploration phase so that they are not found moaning about lost opportunities in future.
Online Reporter