ZITF roars into life

Senior Reporters
The 55th edition of the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) roars to life in Bulawayo today with President Mugabe now expected to officially open the fair on Friday following the withdrawal of Congo Brazzaville President Denis Sassou Nguesso. Industry and Commerce Minister Mike Bimha yesterday confirmed the latest developments.

“ZITF is now being officially opened by President Mugabe. I do not know why there was a change, but all I can say is that it has been confirmed that our President will officially open the ZITF,” he said.

The theme for this year’s ZITF is “New Ideas to New Heights – Progress through Innovation”. The five-day trade expo draws exhibitors from across the globe and it comes at a time when Zimbabwe’s economic blueprint, the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation (ZimAsset) is in full swing.

By yesterday evening, the ZITF grounds were a hive of activity as most companies were putting final touches to their stands while others are expected to arrive today.

A group of Chinese, Congo-Brazzaville delegates, Indonesian businesspeople and Zambians was also spotted offloading their wares as they arrived at the ZITF grounds.

The first three days of the expo will be dedicated to business activity with an international business conference being held tomorrow.

“Technology and Innovation: A Key Pillar for Zim-Asset Successful Implementation” will be the theme for the conference where Vice-President Joice Mujuru would be one of the guest speakers. The trade expo will be open to the public on Friday and Saturday.

Most of the exhibition space at the fair has been taken up with a number of international exhibitors from China, Indonesia, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Botswana, Kenya, Brazil, Iran and Zambia exhibiting.

There has been an overwhelming uptake of the space this year, giving the impression that this year’s show will be better than the past years.

ZITF is arguably one of the largest intra-regional trade fairs south of the Sahara and will feature product groups like machinery and expertise for infrastructure development, manufacturing and processing, equipment for innovation, livestock and farm produce among others.