Story by Yolanda Moyo
PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa’s industrialisation drive is gaining renewed momentum, with Government placing the revival of the steel industry at the centre of efforts to restore Bulawayo’s long-standing status as Zimbabwe’s industrial heartland.
Speaking at a media briefing in Bulawayo on Monday, ZANU PF Secretary for Information and Publicity, Ambassador Christopher Mutsvangwa, said the Second Republic had prioritised the resuscitation of heavy industry as a strategic pillar of national development, anchored by the US$1.5 billion Dinson Iron and Steel Project in Manhize.
Ambassador Mutsvangwa noted that the collapse of domestic steel production over the years had severely constrained Bulawayo’s heavy engineering and steel fabrication firms, forcing reliance on costly imports and contributing to prolonged industrial decline.
“Bulawayo’s heavy engineering and steel fabrication firms struggled due to the collapse of local steel supply, forcing a costly reliance on imports. This initiative aims to utilise raw materials from Manhize to breathe new life into the city’s dormant factories, effectively ending years of industrial stagnation and positioning the region as a primary beneficiary of the country’s burgeoning steel self-sufficiency.
“The revival of steel is central to the re-industrialisation of Bulawayo. Manhize is a national asset and its ripple effects will be felt through increased capacity utilisation, skills development and employment creation.
“The steel industry revival will stimulate growth in key sectors such as engineering, construction, mining equipment manufacturing and transport, reinforcing Bulawayo’s role as a strategic industrial hub,” he said.
Ambassador Mutsvangwa also linked the ruling party’s recent victory in the Nkulumane by-election to growing public confidence in the Second Republic’s development-oriented agenda.
“The Nkulumane by-election win signals growing public confidence in President Mnangagwa’s leadership and demonstrates that communities in the city are increasingly aligning with the Second Republic’s vision of industrial revival, job creation and inclusive urban development.”
Government maintains that the steel industry revival will not only strengthen Bulawayo’s industrial base but also support broader national objectives under Vision 2030, positioning Zimbabwe as a competitive producer of value-added industrial products.
