VP Mujuru opens Mine Entra

Officially opening the 17th edition of Mine Entra, which ends today at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair Exhibition Centre in Bulawayo yesterday evening, the Vice President said the Government’s vision was to turn the resource-rich nation into a regional industrial hub.

 

“This is expected to steer the overall growth of the economy in line with the country’s goal to achieve economic growth of over five percent over the next five years.

“Mining is one of the key sectors that the country     can harness to achieve the targeted development. The enormous wealth and diversity of mineral resources will undoubtedly drive Zimbabwe’s economic development,” she said.

VP Mujuru said the mining industry performance had improved greatly since the 2009 in terms of capacity and production.

She said last year, the sector achieved 16 percent growth and contributed 13 percent of the total Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

This year the sector is forecast to grow by 16,7 percent ahead of agriculture, manufacturing and tourism sectors.

“Our minerals are faring well on the global markets.  In fact, we are delighted to note that Zimbabwe is now ranked the 7th largest producer of diamonds in the world.  We obviously would like to see this translate into additional resources for our national development,” she said.

VP Mujuru said mining remained one of the key drivers of the economy adding that Mine Entra was an important platform to showcase and promote our natural resources.  She said the expo also exposed the latest and best equipment and services in the complementary engineering and transport sectors.

She added that Mine Entra provided invaluable networking opportunities, development and exchange of ideas, demonstration and transfer of technology.

“It also harnesses investment possibilities, joint ventures and agency sourcing.  Last but not least it advocates for intervention by various stakeholders, and many more.

However, in order to ensure that we realise positive growth in the mining sector, you have to continuously improve your systems, invest in research and development, discover new resources and explore other value-addition initiatives,” said VP Mujuru.

The engineering and transport sectors that support and complement mining activities, she said, were also being positioned to meet growing demands.

She highlighted that the Government was working towards upgrading supplies of essential utilities, improving transportation networks to improve bulk transport capacity as well as strategies to decongest ports of entry.

“There is room for private sector participation through Public Private Partnerships which we strongly encourage.  It is our duty as Government and Industry, to ensure that mining in the country takes place in a responsible manner that does not impact negatively on the environment,” she said.

“You also have a role to play to ensure achievement of high health and safety standards.  I am also happy to note that, as an industry, you are working towards achieving 100 percent health and safety records.”

The Vice-President noted that the recent global meltdown made many investors more risk averse with Zimbabwe not spared.

Against this background she encouraged the local mining industry to take advantage of new technology by forming joint ventures or strategic partnerships with companies that have higher standards of practice for the sector to realise competitive advantage in many respects such as mining safety, social issues, contribution to growth of local GDP, environmental protection resulting in leaving a more habitable Zimbabwe for future generations.

“Note is made of the fact that the mining industry is no longer dominated by large corporations only but a  number of small to medium scale miners, including the so-called makorokoza.

“I hope that they are also here present to take advantage of Mine Entra 2012, and pick best practice that can help them grow out of the informal sector into even bigger corporations in the formal sector,” she said.

Meanwhile, before officially opening the exhibition earlier in the afternoon VP Mujuru toured the stands.

Speaking at the same occasion, Mines and Mining Development Minister Dr Obert Mpofu said this year’s Mine Entra came at a time when the mining sector continued to be the economic mainstay of the country contributing 60 percent to the GDP and 13 percent to the economy.

As a result of the positive economic growth trajectory the mining industry continued to achieve, the sector had given birth to downstream industries.

He however, said: “Despite the positive outlook, the industry continues to be affected by funding challenges. The mining sector requires $5 billion over the next five years for it to operate at full capacity.”

Dr Mpofu said efforts should be made by all stakeholders in supporting small-scale miners as they played a critical role in economic development.

High profile business executives and senior Government officials attended the official opening.