Online Reporter
Arron Nyamayaro in MVUMA
LOCAL enterprise development remains central to Zimbabwe’s industrialisation drive, with Government encouraging major investments such as Dinson Iron and Steel Company (DISCO) to deepen links with local manufacturers and small businesses.
Industry and Commerce Minister Mangaliso Ndlovu yesterday toured the DISCO steel mill in Manhize, where he engaged local manufacturing companies and other stakeholders on opportunities arising from Manhize.
He said the steelworks represented a major milestone in the revival of Zimbabwe’s iron and steel industry and demonstrated how mineral resources could drive beneficiation, value addition, industrialisation and downstream manufacturing.
“We are encouraged by the initiatives already being undertaken by DISCO to promote local enterprise development, including its engagement with ZENT, SIRDC and micro, small and medium enterprises,” said Minister Ndlovu.
The Government supported efforts to ensure that the benefits of major investments were spread across the economy rather than remaining within individual businesses.
“The participation of micro, small and medium enterprises in large-scale industrial projects is critical to ensuring that benefits of investment are widely distributed across the economy.
“We must deliberately move away from a model in which major investments operate as isolated enclaves, towards one where they serve as anchors for broad-based industrial development,” he said.
Minister Ndlovu said the visit provided an opportunity for Government and industry to assess progress at the project and explore ways of unlocking opportunities along the steel value chain.
DISCO was aligned with the Government’s industrialisation and economic transformation agenda under the National Development Strategy 2 and the Zimbabwe National Industrial Development Policy Phase 2.
The country, he said, should move away from exporting minerals in raw or semi-processed form while importing finished products at higher costs.
“Our mineral resources must instead serve as the foundation for manufacturing, technological advancement, enterprise development, employment creation and export growth,” he said.
The Government, through the Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency (ZIDA), has designated the Manhize investment as a special economic zone, creating opportunities for complementary investments in steel manufacturing, mining, engineering, construction, logistics, energy, agriculture and services.
More than 300 companies have made enquiries about opportunities linked to the steelworks, including the manufacture of pipes, nails and roofing products, engineering and fabrication, as well as the use of industrial by-products such as slag and ash.
Minister Ndlovu said Government was working to improve investment facilitation around major businesses, including plans for one-stop-shop investment centres at major investment sites.
He said the centres would bring together institutions such as ZIDA, ZIMRA, the Midlands Minister’s office and the Department of Immigration to improve coordination and reduce bottlenecks.
He commended DISCO for contributing to import substitution and export growth, noting that about 60 percent of its steel sales were absorbed by the domestic market, while 40 percent was exported mainly to the SADC region.
