mbulelo smpofu
Rutendo Nyeve , Sunday News Reporter
THE Municipality of Gwanda has rolled out a series of strategic economic incentives aimed at unlocking investment and boosting growth in key sectors, including agro-processing, mineral processing, infrastructure development and manufacturing.
The initiative is part of the town’s vision to transform Gwanda into the economic hub of Matabeleland South Province.
Gwanda, the provincial capital of Matabeleland South, has a population of about 21 000 people. Its development strategy hinges on the effective exploitation of its abundant natural resources, which include gold ore, limestone deposits at the Collen Bawn PPC mine, vast livestock grazing lands and a picturesque geographic landscape.
In an interview, at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) last Friday, the local authority’s systems administrator, Mr Marshal Dube, outlined some of the incentives designed to attract investors and accelerate economic transformation.
“We are offering local economic incentives in agro-processing, mineral value addition, infrastructure development and manufacturing sectors. These include a 25 percent discount on land sales, with an additional 10 to 25 percent discount for outright cash payments,” he said.
“We are also offering a 100 percent waiver on land development charges if construction commences within 12 months of purchase, along with an exemption from council rates for the first two years.”
Exhibiting under the theme “Beyond Boundaries: Service-Driven Industrial Transformation”, Mr Dube said Gwanda’s master plan envisions industrial expansion beyond current limits, including the development of heavy industries.
“We fully support Vision 2030. As a municipality, we are working towards building a prosperous, upper-middle-income economy. Development control is our key tool and we want to promote the construction of compact, high-rise and multi-use buildings where residential apartments are built above commercial spaces,” said Mr Dube.
He added that such an approach would encourage efficient land use, enhance the town’s aesthetics and contribute to modern urban development.
Given that agriculture contributes about 15.5 percent to the country’s GDP, Gwanda’s position as a major livestock catchment area offers vast investment opportunities, particularly in agro-based manufacturing and value-addition industries.
“One of our major focus areas is mining, which accounts for five percent of the national GDP, 4.5 percent of total employment and about a third of Zimbabwe’s foreign exchange earnings,” said Mr Dube.
“Matabeleland South is endowed with a range of mineral resources, including gold and limestone. Opportunities exist across the mining value chain and that is from exploration to processing and marketing. We also encourage joint ventures on underutilised projects and greenfield investments.”
The municipality is actively discouraging the movement of raw mineral ores to other towns without local value addition. Incentives are therefore being offered to investors willing to set up processing and manufacturing facilities within Gwanda.
Mr Dube further noted that Gwanda’s infrastructure development agenda is focused on energy, roads, water and sanitation, recreational facilities, SME infrastructure and land development, sectors targeted for partnerships under Public-Private Partnership (PPP) arrangements.
With the country’s broad-based manufacturing sector producing over 6 000 products, from animal feeds and fertilisers to clothing, chemicals and metal goods, Mr Dube stressed the need to closely link Gwanda’s manufacturing sector with agriculture, mining and tourism, focusing on value addition. Potential industries include food and beverage manufacturing, oil processing, furniture production, chemical and fertiliser manufacturing, metal and mineral product manufacturing and cement production. —@nyeve14
Online Reporter