FINANCE and Economic Development Minister Professor Mthuli
Ncube yesterday said foreign investor interest in Zimbabwe remained
impressively high as seen from the numerous multi-million dollar investment
deals concluded in the mining sector.
Speaking in an interview with The Herald, ahead of
the official opening of the World Economic Forum (WEF) on Africa in Cape Town
yesterday, Prof Ncube said the high investor interest was driven by reforms
being instituted by Government to refocus and grow the economy.
Minister Ncube is part of President Mnangagwa’s entourage
at the WEF 2019 conference that includes Foreign Affairs and International
Trade Minister Dr Sibusiso Moyo, Transport and Infrastructure Development
Minister Joel Biggie Matiza, Energy and Power Development Minister Fortune
Chasi, Presidential Spokesperson and Deputy Chief Secretary (Communications) Mr
George Charamba, and Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor, Dr John Mangudya.
This year’s event is running under the theme “Shaping
Inclusive Growth and Shared Futures in the Fourth Industrial Revolution”, which
resonates with the thrust of the Transitional Stabilisation Programme and 2019
National Budget.
Prof Ncube said President Mnangagwa was leading the high
powered delegation to the annual conference to make it known to investors and
the world that Zimbabwe was indeed open for business and dialogue. “We are here
to meet investors and interact with public policy makers who have are keen to
connect with Zimbabwe,” he said.
“The interest from investors is still very high. You see it
in the mining sector for example, where we are trying to build a US$12 billion
(export) industry (by year 2023) and investors have signed agreements or are
about to sign agreements; they are very serious.” Zimbabwe exported US$4
billion worth of goods last year with more than 60 percent being generated by
the mining sector mainly gold and platinum.
Prof Ncube added; “Surely, that is a lot of interest and we
are noticing that investors are not short-term in their thinking; they are very
long term; they are into the medium-term and because of that, they see this as
a passing phase.
“So, for those who are not convinced, we are here to tell
them that any economic challenges we may be facing; that we are facing, are a
short-term.
“Economies transition over time and we should be able to
get this behind us and they get a good return if they invest.”
Prof Ncube said the “Zimbabwe is Open for Business” policy
required that Government continuously engages investors and answer their
questions. The investors have also been informing Government on how the
investment climate and other policies could be improved for a win-win
situation.
Government is confident that from the interactions at WEF
2019, new deals could be signed with some investors. On the reform agenda, Prof
Ncube said Zimbabwe had made a lot of progress in terms making the big
decisions and going forward, there would be less of shock therapy interventions
until year end.
“Towards end of the year, there won’t be (many) big
decisions and we have been saying that for a while that all the big decisions
we need to make at the macro level, we should be able to do and should really
be completed before the end of the year so that next year, we focus on the
productive sector, on jobs, on building competitiveness (and) on development
rather than on macro issues,” said Prof Ncube. Herald
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