Story by Courage Bushe
VICE President General (Rtd) Dr Constantino Chiwenga has urged manufacturing firms in Midlands Province to expand production capacity and invest in value addition as the country works towards attaining upper-middle-income economy status by 2030.
The call follows a tour of manufacturing facilities in Gweru and the Dinson Iron and Steel Company plant in Manhize on Friday, where the Vice President engaged company executives on production trends, expansion plans and opportunities to strengthen domestic industrial output.
During the tour, Dr Chiwenga visited the Bata Shoe Company and Sino manufacturing plants in Gweru to gain an appreciation of their operations and discuss prospects for scaling up production.
At Bata Shoe Company, the Vice President said the Government remains committed to supporting the productive sector to build a resilient and sustainable manufacturing base.
“We have started our tour at Bata Shoe Company, and what we got here is that from last year, the company was at 20 per cent, and they have increased production levels to four per cent. And as the government, we came here to appreciate and give guidance and assurance that we will continue rendering support to the production sector. So here we have implored the company to increase capacity utilisation and make sure that they tap into the regional market. This is in line with the government’s vision of the National Development Strategy Two.”
At Sino, the Vice President was briefed on the company’s plans to expand operations to meet rising demand in the construction sector.
“I came here at Sino to get an appreciation of how the company is operating, and the major highlight is of making sure that the company expands its operations since the demand in the construction sector is growing by each passing day. They have increased their production, and we are imploring them to surge production levels,” he said.
The Vice President noted that ongoing infrastructure development projects across Midlands Province are creating opportunities for local manufacturers to scale up operations and supply materials to the growing construction sector.
Earlier in the day, Dr Chiwenga also toured the Dinson Iron and Steel Company in Manhize, one of the country’s largest steel manufacturing investments, where he was briefed on production capacity and expansion plans.
Highlighting the importance of beneficiation and value addition, the Vice President said Zimbabwe must strengthen domestic production to reduce reliance on imports.
“Zimbabwe has to be self-reliant so that we do away with imports. We want you to move to the next stage. We want you to explore the beneficiation side. The construction of our roads. We want you to go on to phase two. Once we pull that one, nothing is impossible. Our development should be anchored on value addition.”
The steel producer is currently generating about 600 000 tonnes of carbon steel products annually following the completion of phase one of the project.
Once all phases are completed, the company is expected to produce up to five million tonnes of carbon steel products each year, positioning Zimbabwe among major steel producers in sub-Saharan Africa and supporting the country’s broader industrialisation agenda.
