‘Exploit trade opportunities in East Africa’

Ambassador to Tanzania, Retired Major-General Edzai Chimonyo has said.
Addressing 30 members of the Cross Border Traders Association of Zimbabwe at his offices here on Tuesday, Ambassador Chimonyo said there were vast business opportunities in the East African country.
“Tanzania imports everything so there are several business opportunities that Zimbabweans can exploit. We are looking at over 250 million people in East Africa and this is a very big market that needs to be exploited,” he said.
The ambassador said cross-border traders should “think big” and formalise the sector.
“The informal sector needs to graduate to a certain level and enhance productivity,” he said.
Ambassador Chimonyo said opportunities available included the cotton and aluminum sectors.
He commended Zimbabweans for their resilience in the face of hardships induced by illegal Western sanctions.
“The so-called targeted sanctions are not targeted; they are affecting ordinary Zimbabweans, children, the sick and the disabled. They were imposed to destroy and cause more harm than good. Where is the morality of the European Union?
“Sanctions are inhuman because we have people who have died because of the sanctions,” Ambassador Chimonyo said.
He commended the Cross Border Traders Association for empowering women.
“We should encourage this. We should not take the hard work by women as retrogression or that we are going back. This is a good development,” he said.
About 100 Zimbabwean women traders enter Tanzania every week. Ambassador Chimonyo urged the association to also export Zimbabwean products instead of concentrating on imports.
“We need to strike that balance of trade. The money we are putting in Tanzania is a lot; it runs into millions of dollars and there should be reciprocation. This is your challenge.”
Cross Border Traders Association president, Mr Killer Zivhu, said they had clinched a business deal with a local travel agent to allow their members to fly first and pay later.
He said under the deal, more than 200 cross border traders would travel to countries such as China, the United Arab Emirates, Angola and Tanzania.