admin“Results have already started to come. As a follow-up to the conference, South Africa is sending a delegation from 30 companies on a trade and investment mission from the 25th to 30th of March.
“The team will have investment and economic seminars with the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC) and the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) in Harare and Bulawayo,” he said.
Dr Sibanda said although the effects of the conference had begun to be felt, the actual uptake of projects had a lag effect as the delegation would have to meet the local businesspeople and make investment decisions.
“In a month or so we will start expecting these results. The ministry (Economic Planning and Investment Promotion) will also do a follow-up with all delegates and make inquiries on areas they may wish to invest in,” he said.
CZI’s regional body, the Matabeleland Chamber of Industries, could not be drawn into commenting about the pending seminars as their president Dr Ruth Labode said she was in a meeting while ZNCC Matabeleland region vice-president Mrs Sheila Sidambe’s mobile phone went unanswered.
Commenting on the recent conference in South Africa, Dr Sibanda said there were breakaway sessions for different sectors of the economy including mining, Information, Communication and Technology (ICT), tourism, energy and manufacturing that provided an interface between potential investors and the relevant line ministries.
He said the sessions were highly subscribed and line ministers were impressed by the turnout and indications made by investors on certain investment areas.
During the conference, he said, Energy and Power Development Minister Elton Mangoma told the delegates that the growth targets for the economy were at the back of availability of energy and his ministry had come up with measures to address the electricity constraints to bring about areas for potential investment in the energy sector.
Dr Sibanda said Industry and Commerce Minister Professor Welshman Ncube also told the delegates that Government had approved the new Industrial Development Policy as a measure to improve the investment environment of the manufacturing sector.
The policy will bring in the notion of the cluster initiative, which basically champions the idea of comparative advantages.
“One area which is being given the greatest degree of importance is the agro-processing sector which includes textiles, beverages and many others. The minister implored investors for lines of credit to help the existing players and also venture into blue chip investments falling under this sector,” he said.
He said Information, Communication Technology Minister Nelson Chamisa told the delegates that his ministry’s main thrust was on ICT infrastructure and rural area accessibility.
To address the ICT infrastructure deficiencies, the Ministry of ICT is looking at Private Public Partnerships as means of funding. The ministry is also working on the e-government platform and also on how to access the under-banked communities. The Ministry formulated an ICT Bill, which seeks to address cyber security, roaming, infrastructure sharing, among other issues.
The delegates were also informed that Government has significantly improved the investment environment by guaranteeing the safety of investments through the finalisation and operationalisation of all pending Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreements to improve the country’s risk profile and uphold property rights.
Online Reporter