Story by Bruce Chahwanda, Political Editor
PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa says the government is committed to entrenching a predictable and transparent business operating environment to attract investment in various sectors of the economy.
He was speaking at the commissioning of a tobacco processing plant in Harare this Wednesday.
The huge investment in innovative and new technologies in tobacco processing speaks to the government’s modernisation and industrialisation agenda in line with Vision 2030.
The upgraded US$100 million tobacco processing plant is in line with the value addition and beneficiation of the tobacco value chain for increased export earnings.
The Head of State said the government’s reform agenda is meant to entrench a favourable business operating environment to attract investment.
“Through this ongoing Regulatory Reform Agenda, we are determined to ensure that no investment is hindered by bureaucratic red tape. We are entrenching a business operating environment that is consistently predictable and transparent, where enterprise and innovation are rewarded, and industry thrives. To bolster this thrust, the National Development Strategy 2 will soon be launched as yet another building block to our country’s continuing economic growth and transformation agenda. This will be augmented by the Zimbabwe National Industrial Development Policy 2, designed to accelerate industrialisation and modernisation, while also aiding the diversification of domestic production and productivity,” he said.
The expanded plant comes at a time Zimbabwe has registered milestones in agricultural production with a record-breaking tobacco deliveries of over 350 million kilogrammes of the golden leaf.
“It is most opportune that this development is occurring following our country’s unprecedented successes in the agricultural sector. This has seen tobacco production reaching an extraordinary record of 355 million kilogrammes in 2025, valued at US$1.2 billion. Our flue-cured tobacco stands out in both quality and demand across the region and beyond. This presents us with vast opportunities to further integrate the tobacco value chain into regional and global markets. We congratulate all tobacco farmers and stakeholders for this outcome. As a result, Zimbabwe now ranks sixth globally in tobacco production. Over and above these milestones, the industry sustains more than 160,000 households, empowering rural communities and uplifting the livelihoods of many across the nation. I call upon stakeholders to continue investing in value addition and beneficiation, while also promoting sustainable and climate-smart farming, as well as developing innovative local financing mechanisms,” he added.
In support of the confidence bestowed on the government by the private sector, the government continues to accelerate the ease of doing business with statutory instruments being amended to align with fees reduction.
“This multi-million-dollar investment by Cut Rag Processors reflects the growing confidence which the private sector continues to place in Zimbabwe’s economic transformation agenda, under the Second Republic. The deployment of modern technologies to leap-frog the country’s modernisation and industrialisation remains of critical importance. Hence, the state-of-the-art plant unveiled here will go a long way towards the efficient processing of cut rag and increasing the overall annual production levels of cigarettes. This remarkable capacity of the plant is set to consolidate Zimbabwe’s self-sufficiency in tobacco manufacturing and as an exporter of high-value, finished tobacco products. I commend Cut Rag Processors for its commitment to innovation and sustainability. The use of energy sources such as wood blocks from timber waste is a model for responsible production, which is now the global norm. My government continues to accelerate the Ease of Doing Business reforms, which target 12 sectors. To date, tremendous progress has been registered in sectors such as Agriculture, Transport, Tourism, and most recently, the Wholesale and Retail subsectors. Numerous licences, permits, levies and fees, as well as the multiple regulatory requirements, have been reviewed and streamlined. The requisite Statutory Instruments and statutes are accordingly being amended,” explained the President.
As the government continues to push the industrialisation and modernisation agenda, the imminent launch of the National Development Strategy 2 will ensure Zimbabwe’s aspirations are anchored on efficient infrastructure.
