Online Reporter
Nqobile Bhebhe in BEIJING, China
ZIMBABWEAN academics, Zanu PF diaspora leadership and students pursuing studies across various universities in China, on Wednesday participated in a highly productive interactive engagement with Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to China, Abigail Shoniwa, and the Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, Dr Zhemu Soda, at Zimbabwe House in Beijing.
The meeting, held in the ambassadorial boardroom, provided a rare platform for direct dialogue between senior Government officials and the student community, which numbers several hundred across the Asian nation.
In his elaborate address, Dr Soda who is on a working visit to strengthen media and information cooperation between Harare and Beijing, gave an update on successes achieved under National Development Strategy 1 (NDS-1) and the aspirations of NDS-2.
He systematically spelled out gains across the entire economy made under the Second Republic.
Minister Soda said Zimbabwe under NDS-1 (2021-2025) has achieved numerous successes across all sectors of the economy.
“We now have stable power supply through the refurbishment of Hwange Unit 7 and Unit 8, and in the past four months we have not had power outages save for localised incidents,” he said.
“We need to take advantage of abundant sunshine and advance solar energy genetics. We need to have mini-solar hydro energy.
“On agriculture, we are now food sufficient and several dams have been constructed, with major ones such as Gwayi-Shangani and Kunzvi Dams soon to be completed,” said the misister.
“We are constructing dams and after that there is need to convey that water through irrigation.”
On mining and value addition he said Zimbabwe has done well and there are opportunities in the sector. “Recently we effected a ban on exports of raw materials. We need to assign standards on mineral value addition. For example, we have our lithium, and in the past years we have been exporting it as raw,” said Dr Soda.
“Our intention is to produce battery-grade value, and we need investment. Lithium is the mineral of the future.”
He noted that investment is still required in education sector, while acknowledging achievements made.
On tourism investment opportunities he noted that there is a huge shortage of rooms available at Victoria Falls and that presents a huge opportunity for investment.
“Investments are required and opportunities exist,” he said.
Dr Soda touched on the issue of ease of doing business, which he said is of much concern to locals and investors, saying there is duplication of licences.
“The investment environment is being cleaned. It’s a continuous thing. It’s a collective responsibility, and whether you are at home or abroad, let’s work together,” he said.
