Chronicle Editor
President Mnangagwa is attending the World Economic Forum (WEF) on Africa that is underway in Cape Town, South Africa.
This comes after he attended his first WEF in Davos, Switzerland, in January last year and his second appearance at the same forum in the same city in January this year.
The WEF is a very important stage at which heads of state and government and the movers and shakers of global business meet to discuss nothing but business.
This year’s African edition started in South Africa on Wednesday and ends today. It is running under the theme “Shaping Inclusive Growth and Shared Futures in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.”
As he has always done since he assumed office two years ago, President Mnangagwa has seized the opportunity of the grand stage in Cape Town to place the country at the world stage and to promote the Government’s Zimbabwe is open for business agenda.
His presence at the WEF is indeed very critical for the country in a world where solid relationships with important persons and institutions is the key to building successful economies. Indeed under President Mnangagwa, Zimbabwe is moving fast back to the world stage.
He is leading a high-powered, focused delegation that includes Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister Dr Sibusiso Moyo, Transport and Infrastructure Development Minister Joel Biggie Matiza, Energy and Power Development Minister Fortune Chasi, Presidential spokesperson and Deputy Chief Secretary (Communications) Mr George Charamba, and Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor, Dr John Mangudya.
Prof Ncube extolled the criticality of the forum and the benefits that the country stands to derive from its high-level presence at the WEF. He said investor interest in the country remains very high.
“We are here to meet investors and interact with public policy-makers who have are keen to connect with Zimbabwe,” he said.
“The interest from investors is still very high. You see it in the mining sector for example, where we are trying to build a US$12 billion (export) industry (by year 2023) and investors have signed agreements or are about to sign agreements; they are very serious. Surely, that is a lot of interest and we are noticing that investors are not short-term in their thinking; they are very long term; they are into the medium-term and because of that, they see this as a passing phase.
“So, for those who are not convinced, we are here to tell them that any economic challenges we may be facing; that we are facing, are a short-term. Economies transition over time and we should be able to get this behind us and they get a good return if they invest.”
With a day to go before the WEF for Africa ends, we can safely state that it has been a success for the country on a number of fronts.
President Mnangagwa has already been invited to attend the next edition of the WEF in Davos next year. The invitation was conveyed to him by WEF executive chairman, Professor Klaus Martin Schwab, when they met on Wednesday.
The invite demonstrates the growing relationship not only between the Government and the WEF and its leadership, but also between the Government and the world’s more influential governments and institutions that work very closely with the Davos-based organisation. The early invitation also highlights the value that the WEF and by extension, the influential West attaches on our country and its leadership.
Furthermore, it shows the economic potential that our country has. Pariah states that are of little or no economic potential are not invited to the lofty stage that is WEF in Davos. Thus the invitation is very significant for Zimbabwe.
In addition to meeting Prof Schwab, President Mnangagwa on Wednesday attended an oversubscribed dinner in the South African port city. The huge attendance is yet another indication of the success of Zimbabwe’s presence at the WEF and the renewed interest that foreign investors have in the country.
The President took the opportunity to explain the reasons why investment must flow into the country.
“The key tenets of our development agenda include comprehensive economic reforms, which improve the ease and cost of doing business, fosters an investment friendly environment, promotes and protects enterprises, creates employment, eradicates corruption and enhances accountability, transparency and good governance,” he said.
He added:
“Private sector investment will play a major role in the attainment of this noble vision. My administration has liberalised investment conditions and removed restrictions on shareholding across all sectors of the economy.”
To further improve the investment climate, the Government has repealed the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act, which limited foreign shareholding to 49 percent, with the balance reserved for indigenous blacks.
The President stressed that all Bilateral Investment Protection and Promotion Agreements (Bippas) will be respected adding that a one-stop-shop investment processing unit had been established under Zimbabwe Investment Development Authority.
We are confident that the President’s message has been understood by potential and existing investors who should be encouraged to put their money into this market.
Online Reporter