Story by Bruce Chahwanda
Vice President Kembo Mohadi says Zimbabwe is poised for growth owing to a raft of measures which government has put in place to promote infrastructure development and boost productivity in the agriculture sector.
He said this while addressing Indian and German investors in Sandton, South Africa this Thursday.
As part of his visit to South Africa, Vice President Mohadi took the opportunity to engage the business community on the sidelines of the sitting of permanent committees of the Pan-African Parliament.
More than 15 businesspeople based in South Africa were given an insight into investment opportunities in sectors such as tourism, agriculture and infrastructure development.
“Zimbabwe has embarked on massive infrastructure development, the construction of water bodies to mitigate against climate change to ensure that almost all ten thousand water bodies have irrigation schemes around to enhance horticulture production, and wheat production among others. We no longer want to depend on rain-fed agriculture. Zimbabwe is a country conducive to investment and for the next five years or so, it will be one of the developed countries in Southern Africa. Zimbabwe is poised for growth,” he said.
The Deputy Minister of Finance and Investment Promotion, Honourable David Kudakwashe Mnangagwa said investors are keen to open shop in Zimbabwe, while the delegation took time to debunk some myths associated with the country’s economy.
“We are here to clarify some myths regarding Zimbabwe’s economy. All the business people we met are willing to invest while others are already in the market but wanted clarification on some issues. They want to invest in mining, energy, agriculture, and tourism among other sectors of the economy,” he explained.
Business leaders who spoke to journalists after the engagement said they are exploring investment opportunities in information communication technology and believe in the thrust taken by the Second Republic.
“We interacted with the Vice President and the young deputy minister of Finance. It shows the Second Republic is on the right path and Zimbabwe is indeed poised for growth,” noted Grain Grace director, Mr Praveer Tripathi.
JNS Cloud Solutions CEO Mr Nagaraju Gurrala weighed in, “We are exploring investment opportunities in ICT, Artificial Intelligence hence our engagement with the government of Zimbabwe leadership.
Zimbabwe has become a major investment destination after the setting up of the Manhize Steel Plant in Chivhu as well as the exploration and exploitation of lithium.
A number of companies are already interested in setting up lithium battery manufacturing plants across the country.
