Online Reporter
Wallace Ruzvidzo
Herald Reporter
ZIMBABWE is a critical player in Africa’s economic liberation as the country boasts vast mineral wealth, Pan African Parliament Ambassador for Inter Africa Trade, Economic Development and Entrepreneurship, Ms Bridgette Motsepe, has said.
The PAP envoy is in the country and yesterday paid a courtesy call on President Mnangagwa at State House in Harare.
Speaking to the media after their closed-door meeting, Ms Motsepe said Zimbabwe had strategic minerals that are vital for Africa’s continued growth and development.
She commended how Zimbabwe had developed under the Second Republic.
“Zimbabwe is the future where mining is concerned. You have got strategic minerals that are very important for the future of Africa and I am also very happy to see what the development of the country has been because my sister (Dr Tshepo Motsepe) used to be a doctor at Parirenyatwa Hospital before she married the President of South Africa (Cyril Ramaphosa).
“And then you come here and see Zimbabwe then, after (late) President Mugabe became the President, and then Zimbabwe now . . . and as I’m driving from a political point, I realise that the country has developed quite well,” she said.
Ms Motsepe said she had held fruitful deliberations with President Mnangagwa, which centred on the need for African countries to spearhead the empowerment of their respective peoples.
“The matters that we discussed (with the President) were the role that we have to travel beyond liberating our country from political liberation.
“The economic liberation has to continue and I spoke to the President about the legislation that we have in South Africa that requires that every licence holder, whether it’s the licence to own a bank, manufacture or own a mine, must have local people becoming shareholders”.
The PAP envoy said the continent needed to do more beyond liberating itself politically.
“So these are the things that we spoke about . . . and how do you make sure that even when foreign direct investment comes, the ownership is not by them alone. The ownership is continuous in partnership with others, you know,” said Ms Motsepe.
She said she also congratulated President Mnangagwa for ensuring sustained stability in the country.
“ . . . because when I was here, I owned Delta Gold Zimbabwe, I had to sell the mine because at that time there were sanctions and we couldn’t export our ore and we couldn’t do work and we sold the mine.
“And now to see how the country has developed, we don’t have vouchers anymore, the banks are open, that time the vouchers were accrued to people, the banks didn’t have money, but there was that problem with the sanctions,” said Ms Motsepe.
She said as PAP they were also looking into how the continent can forge ahead.
