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Michael Tome Business Writer
ZIMBABWE has made huge strides in efforts to turnaround and grow the economy while extensive reforms have been instituted to improve the regulatory and business environment to attract domestic and foreign direct investment, a Cabinet Minister said
Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister, Monica Mutsvangwa said the Southern African country was aiming to become the safest destination for capital injection in Africa.
She said this at the True Zimbabwe Tour African journalists dinner convened by the Government in partnership with MPC Media, a South African-based reputation management firm.
The inaugural tour, which began with Minister Mutsvangwa’s visit to Sandton, South Africa on the 19th of last month, is part of the Second Republic’s efforts to reconfigure the outside world’s perception of Zimbabwe.
The Southern African country has been making tremendous progress in positioning itself as a prominent and preferred hub for both foreign and domestic capital. The True Zimbabwe Tour also featured, Pearl Thusi, Sonia Mbele, and Sello Maake KaNcube, high-profile socialites from South Africa ,who are aiding the Government’s efforts to promote brand Zimbabwe.
Minister Mutsvangwa said since the incumbent Government came to power in 2017, President Mnangagwa has put a lot of efforts into the engagement and re-engagement agenda.
“To date, the Second Republic has accrued milestone achievements. This is a definite guarantee for securing a prosperous future for all our people.
“The nationalist premise of the Government is bona fide to the idea of working closely with the people of Zimbabwe to attain endless growth.
“Our head of State has acquitted himself as a diplomat of sophisticated statecraft. Since his assumption of office, our President has curtailed the animosity that Zimbabwe endured in the past years.
“We all have an obligation to unity and peace in contributing to our national development,” said Minister Mutsvangwa.
Zimbabweans Phathisani Moyo, Japhet Ncube, and Conrad Mwanza of South African based MPC Media are spearheading the country’s efforts to promote positive brand emerge.
Minister Mutsvangwa encouraged the Zimbabwe Diaspora community to emulate the patriotic conviction exhibited by the three. She encouraged the Zimbabwean diaspora community to consider investing more in the country’s productive sectors to propel the envisioned economic growth.
“This is telling of the profound allegiance that Zimbabwe has to its progressive diaspora community. I encourage many of our citizens in the diaspora to take a leaf from this noble objective.
“You will all recall that the diaspora is a demographic sample of Zimbabwe’s intellectual endowment. Our skills in the international labour market have been a main source of foreign currency remittances.
“Beyond that meaningful contribution to the economy, I encourage our diaspora to also extend their contribution by partaking in mining, agriculture, tourism, and many other strategic sectors,” she added.
The ruling Zanu PF party’s Secretary for Information and Publicity, Ambassador Christopher Mutsvangwa, said Zimbabwe was taking a bold shift economically, envisioning to become a household economy in the region.
“My President is taking Zimbabwe back to the global stage, major things have been happening in the past five years, we are talking of a larger scope and scale, and we have a major agricultural transformation, in terms of food self-sufficiency.
“In the mining sector, we have investments, we are going to be a major steel producer in a few months’ time, and we are going for world-class status in terms of steel production.
“I will repeat that same story with lithium, we are moving from fossil fuels to new lithium batteries, Zimbabwe has the opportunity in the lithium sector to become a world-class player, it means Zimbabwe is part of the worldwide transformation from fossil mobility to new electric energy and we have managed to attract the best billionaires in that space,” said Amb Mutsvangwa.
Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Permanent Secretary Nick Mangwana said Zimbabweans should be at the forefront of telling the notable progress being recorded in the country since the advent of the second republic.
“The Zimbabwean story is best told by Zimbabweans but I’m also glad that we have prominent celebrities from South Africa that are helping Zimbabwe to put its best foot forward, I thank you for telling the positive Zimbabwean story, and for helping us to rebrand, doing away with misperceptions, misconceptions, misinformation we are not by any means saying Zimbabwe is perfect,” said Secretary Mangwana.
The event was attended by Zimpapers board chairman Mr Tommy Sithole and chief executive officer Mr Pikirayi Deketeke along with other heads of parastatals under the Ministry of Information Publicity and Broadcasting Service.
Several journalists from Mozambique, Botswana, Zambia, Namibia, Malawi, and South Africa attended the event.
Online Reporter