Online Reporter
Sunday News Reporter
THE Minister of Local Government and Public Works Minister, Daniel Garwe has called on Zimbabweans living abroad to move beyond remittances and invest directly in infrastructure, smart cities and productive enterprises that can accelerate the country’s development towards Vision 2030.
Addressing the Zimbabwe Diaspora Business Summit in Birmingham, United Kingdom, on Friday, Minister Garwe said Government was seeking structured partnerships with the diaspora in areas including water and sanitation, housing, roads, waste management, clean energy, rural growth points and social infrastructure.
He said the diaspora brought more than financial resources, with Zimbabweans abroad also possessing expertise, technology, international business networks and professional experience that could contribute significantly to national development.
“Our invitation is not for charity,” he said
“It is an invitation to structured partnerships in which risks are properly assessed, projects are transparently governed, returns are commercially credible and communities benefit visibly.”
He said Zimbabwe needed to transition from using remittances mainly to support household consumption towards investments that created productive assets, employment and sustainable businesses.
Minister Garwe said local authorities were strategically positioned to convert national development policies into tangible improvements in the lives of citizens.
“Local Government is where national policy becomes the lived experience of the citizen,” he said.
“A national development strategy becomes real when a household receives safe water, when an ambulance reaches a rural clinic, when a young entrepreneur obtains a serviced stand, when a farmer accesses an all-weather road, when a refuse collection system protects public health and when a growth point becomes a thriving local economy.”
He said the constitutional framework on devolution and equitable development provided a strong foundation for partnerships between Government, local authorities, communities and investors.
Minister Garwe also highlighted the development of the Mount Hampden New City as an example of the scale of investment opportunities emerging in Zimbabwe.
He said the project was being developed as a smart, sustainable and well-planned administrative and economic centre incorporating modern public institutions, residential areas, business districts, conferencing facilities, digital infrastructure, utilities and transport networks.
He said opportunities extended beyond individual buildings to critical urban systems such as bulk water, sewerage, roads, storm-water drainage, electricity, fibre connectivity and smart-city platforms.
“The diaspora is invited to participate in this city-building enterprise, not at the margins, but as equity partners, developers, financiers, service providers and innovators,” he said.
Minister Garwe said the same planning discipline should be extended to cities and towns including Bulawayo, Mutare, Gweru, Masvingo, Victoria Falls, Chinhoyi, Bindura, Marondera, Hwange and Beitbridge as well as growth points and rural districts.
He also urged diaspora investors to consider opportunities in rural Zimbabwe, where many maintained strong family and cultural ties.
Potential investments included produce aggregation centres, grain storage, cold rooms, food processing, livestock services, workshops, community tourism facilities and commercial infrastructure at growth points.
He, however, stressed the need for investors to undertake proper due diligence on land tenure, approvals and permitted land uses before committing funds.
“Communal, agricultural and urban land can involve different rights and approval requirements. A proposed commercial investment must establish the applicable tenure, lawful authority and permitted use before funds are committed,” he said.
Minister Garwe said his ministry was ready to receive proposals for direct investment, joint ventures, public-private partnerships and technology cooperation.
He said such projects should be bankable, properly approved, transparently procured and supported by accountable financial management and measurable outcomes.
The investments, he said, should also promote local employment, skills transfer and maintenance capacity while ensuring communities benefit from the projects.
Minister Garwe said Zimbabwe’s development agenda was anchored on the attainment of Vision 2030, which seeks to transform the country into an empowered and prosperous upper-middle-income society.
He urged Zimbabweans in the diaspora to become active participants in the country’s transformation.
“Let us identify projects, prepare them well, mobilise capital, transfer skills, create jobs and leave behind infrastructure that our children and grandchildren will inherit with pride,” he said.
He said the diaspora could help build bridges between communities in the United Kingdom and Zimbabwe, stressing that national development required the combined efforts of Government, business, communities and Zimbabweans living abroad.
“Zimbabwe is open for business. Zimbabwe is ready for partnership. Zimbabwe is building. And together with you, our diaspora, we shall build a resilient, modern and prosperous nation,” Minister Garwe said.
The two day event is being attended by Zimbabwe Ambassador to UK, Col Christian Katsande, Deputy Chief Secretary in the Office of the President and Cabinet Dr Willard Manungo, Minister of Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Monica Mutsvangwa, provincial secretaries and the Zimbabwe diaspora community based across the United Kingdom.
