Vusumuzi Dube
President meets journalists from the SADC regionRutendo Nyeve, Sunday News Reporter
THE country’s geopolitical position globally has changed since the coming in of the Second Republic with the country witnessing overwhelming foreign direct investment turning it into a hub of capital, a Cabinet Minister has said.
Speaking during a True Zimbabwe Tour dinner convened by Government in partnership with MPC Media in Harare on Wednesday the Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services.
The tour is a sequel of a programme that witnessed its first leap in South Africa where a generous donation was made by Mr Zunaid Moti together with MPC media to fund the second leap in Zimbabwe.
Minister Mutsvangwa took the opportunity to address the tour which features high-profile socialites who are helping the Government in its pursuit to reinvigorate the Brand Zimbabwe Project about some of the successes recorded by the Second Republic, particularly in the re-engagement and engagement drive.
“Our Head of State has acquitted himself as a diplomat of sophisticated statecraft. Since his assumption of office, he has reconfigured Zimbabwe’s geopolitical position to be a hub of capital. Our President has curtailed the animosity that Zimbabwe endured in the past years. Therefore, tonight’s gathering is an affirmation of this position.
“Zimbabwe is making strides in improving its regulatory and general business environment in a quest to attract both domestic and foreign investment, and is also targeting to become the safest destination for capital injection on the African continent. Our comparative geographic advantage locates us as a nerve centre for SADC trade and commerce. This directly feeds into the aspirations of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA),” she said.
Furthermore, Minister Mutsvangwa how the resilience of the economy is attested by the robust sanctions-bursting strategies, as Zimbabwe is improving its regulatory policy architecture to attract massive domestic and foreign investment saying this cannot be achieved without robust image building for the nation.
“Zimbabwe has more than sixty other minerals on its great dyke geological complex. We are a global mining player. We are number two in platinum group metals after South Africa. Zimbabwe is top three in ferrochrome reserves. We are the fourth largest global diamond producer. Zimbabwe is among the top five hard-rock lithium reserves.
“In terms of gold production, Zimbabwe has climbed to a national haul of 35 tonnes. We are doubling that by 2025. Of this, sixty percent is accounted for by the SME sector at 25 tonnes. The mining sector is ripe for even faster growth, as gold is literally everywhere in Zimbabwe,” she said.
As a result, Minister Mutsvangwa said Zimbabwe’s currency is now anchored on the gold standard as opposed to the US dollar and that explains why the Zimbabwe dollar is getting stronger, to the bitterness of speculators, and to the delight of the people.
She also took the journalists through some of the prospects in the lithium sector, carbon steel ecosystem as well as improvements in electricity generation.
“Within the last five years, President ED Mnangagwa has commissioned Kariba South Hydro Electric Power Station and Hwange 7 and 8 Thermal Power Stations, adding a thousand megawatts to the power grid and effectively addressing load shedding.
“Further, investment is in the works with additional loans from the Export Bank of India. We also aim to link our transmission grid to source from Mozambique power producers and their national surplus,” she said.
@nyeve14
Online Reporter