Story by Owen Mandovha
TWO of Zimbabwe’s leading manufacturing companies have announced plans to expand their operations, citing government-led ease of doing business reforms as a key driver of growth and investment.
The remarks were made during an industrial tour of selected companies in Harare this Thursday by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, Ambassador Tedius Chifamba.
The tour was aimed at assessing challenges affecting production, identifying opportunities for expansion and strengthening collaboration between government and industry.
At Zimgold, company executives revealed that a new oil processing plant has been established in Bulawayo to increase production capacity, while plans are underway to venture into macadamia processing.
“We are currently operating at peak production levels and demand continues to grow. As a result, we have established another processing plant in Bulawayo, which is set to increase our capacity. Zimgold is also looking at venturing into macadamia processing, and we owe this progress to the Government’s commitment to implementing ease of doing business reforms, which are incentivising investment,” said Zimgold Chief Operating Officer, Mr Rodreck Musiyiwa.
National Foods also indicated that it is pursuing further expansion after successfully commissioning multi-million-dollar investments in pasta and biscuit manufacturing over the past few years.
“Our investments in recent years have increased production capacity and diversified our product offering while maintaining competitive prices. We see significant potential for further expansion as we continue to broaden our product range,” said National Foods Chief Executive Officer, Mr Michael Lashbrooke.
The government has completed the ease of doing business reform framework covering 12 key economic sectors, including manufacturing, with the objective of improving the investment climate and enhancing industrial productivity.
The reforms are expected to attract additional investment into the manufacturing sector, support industrial growth and contribute to the country’s broader economic development agenda.
