Hwange Local Board dangles incentives carrot to investors

IN a bid to attract investments and encourage exports, the Hwange Local Board has come up with several incentives for companies that invest in the coal mining town and export 50 percent of their produce.

Hwange Local Board is one of the urban local authorities in Matabeleland North and its revenue is drawn mainly from rates.

While the incorporation of the greater Hwange to include concession areas that are under Hwange Colliery Company, Zimbabwe Power Company and the National Railways of Zimbabwe is yet to materialise, the local authority is confident that it can benefit more from new investments.

Hwange Local Board has a population of 67 670 people and covers mainly the town, a section of the industrial area, Chibondo, Empumalanga and Baobab areas.

Speaking during a recent stakeholders meeting, HLB town planner Mr Trevor Sibanda said the council’s economic sub-sectors are accommodation, conferencing, food courts and mining among others. He said they have unveiled six stands for hotels and lodge which are up for grabs. The council has also set aside land for solar farms tapping into the vast sunshine.

There are also opportunities in coal mining where there are numerous claims in and round the town. Hwange also has coal bed methane gas deposits that are yet to be exploited.

“We are therefore inviting investors to take advantage of these many investment opportunities in our town.

“The council has come up with attractive incentives for investors,” said Mr Sibanda.

He said these include reduced tax for companies that export at least 50 percent of their products.

“We also facilitate duty exemption on imported capital goods.”

Mr Sibanda said the town also has opportunities in retail business, especially large chain supermarkets and hardware.

The housing waiting list is 15 000 and there is huge demand owing to the growing mining industry, providing opportunities for investment in housing development.

The council has set aside 15ha of land for the construction of a civic centre while land has been surveyed and serviced for seven primary and secondary schools.

There are also untapped opportunities in processing of mangoes which are abundant.

Truckloads of mangoes leave Hwange going to other towns and Mr Sibanda said council wants investors to set up processing plants.

Hwange is under the Victoria Falls-Hwange-Binga Special Economic Zone.

Hwange town directly benefits from nearby Hwange National Park through tourism and employment.

There are 69 365 households in Hwange RDC providing a ready source of human capital. The Zambezi River is a source of raw water for Hwange RDC and HLB although there are challenges with abstraction.

The upcoming Gwayi Shangani Dam project is expected to also enhance water supply and other value chain projects. Hwange is unique for cultural diversity, which is another area of investment.

Mr Sibanda said there is also baobab fruit harvesting, which is being done at a low scale by some locals and could grow into a big industry.

“We need packaging of baobab as there are many people involved in harvesting and processing,” he said.