adminIndustry and Commerce Permanent Secretary Mrs Abigail Shonhiwa said her ministry was calling upon the Chamber of Mines to make use of the country’s 16 trade offices in the region and beyond.
“The Government’s expectation is for the mining sector to make use of the trade promotion officers that are attached to a number of strategic countries.
“I call upon the Chamber of Mines and the mining industry to get the contacts of these trade offices and make use of them extensively to explore trade and investment opportunities,” she said in a speech read on her behalf at the just-ended Mine Entra by the Ministry of Industry and Commerce regional officer for Matabeleland, Mrs Mary Chingonzoh.
The roles of trade promotion officers include establishing and fostering economic cooperation between Zimbabwe and its trading partners as well as facilitating inward and outward investment missions.
Zimbabwe’s trade promotion offices are found in countries that include Angola, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, India, Brazil, China, Indonesia, Belgium and Malaysia.
Mrs Shonhiwa urged the Chamber of Mines to compile a registry of mining projects from its members that needed Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).
The registry, she said, would be forwarded to all trade promotion offices for marketing to potential investors.
“This is indeed an opportunity to get FDI funding in view of the current financial liquidity constraints in the local money market. FDI is a critical imperative for the full recovery of the mining sector through refurbishment, modernisation and upgrading of plant, machinery and equipment,” she said.
The mining industry requires $5 billion over the next five years to operate at full capacity.
Mrs Shonhiwa urged the mining industry to implement product beneficiation initiatives.
She said the agricultural and manufacturing sectors were previously the main contributors to export earnings but had of late been overtaken by the mining sector, which now accounts for more than 50 percent of Zimbabwe’s total exports.
“However, it is disheartening to note that the country’s exports are dominated by primary products whose demand is externally-oriented and prices are dictated to us. To survive the challenges of the ever-increasing competition on the international trading environment, greater emphasis will be put on the production and export of processed goods in all sectors of the economy, in particular mining and agriculture,” she said.
She said the National Trade Policy launched early this year proposed that the export of primary commodities in all sectors be regulated through appropriate instruments in order to boost local product beneficiation especially on primary products where value-addition options are readily available.
“Mindful of this proposal, I urge the mining sector to invest more in value addition activities as a strategy to create jobs and increase foreign currency earnings for the country,” she said.
Online Reporter