ZIMBABWE is endowed with a vast array of natural resources but lacks capital and technological expertise to fully exploit them, President Mnangagwa has said.
Addressing members of the United Arab Emirates business community here on Saturday where he was attending the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28), President Mnangagwa reiterated that Zimbabwe was open for business and invited investors to consider the vast opportunities in the country.
“The mantra is that Zimbabwe is open for business, a friend to all and an enemy to none,” he said.
President Mnangagwa said Zimbabwe stood ready to welcome investors through the Zimbabwe Investment Development Agency (ZIDA) which offered seamless processes to register and do business.
He said there was an array of fiscal incentives that stood to benefit investors who chose to do business in Zimbabwe.
Strategic investments could also be granted National Project Status with the associated concessions.
With the best weather on the planet, Zimbabwe was keen to play its part towards global food security having successfully done so at household level and making strides to do the same at national level. Already Zimbabwe is now wheat self-sufficient and exploring export opportunities.
And with vast tracts of land at its disposal, Zimbabwe has the potential to scale up and provide investment opportunities for those with capital and expertise.
“Through the Pfumvudza/Intwasa programme, Zimbabwe introduced a model of agriculture which guarantees food security.
“There is now a chance to grow capital through investing in agriculture and the country offers an environment conducive for most food crops. We need global capital and technology and we guarantee returns.
“We are offering that environment to those that want to grow their investments,” said President Mnangagwa.
He said Zimbabwe has more water bodies than the SADC region as a whole.
And with the advent of climate change, there are opportunities to invest in dam construction.
“The need to mitigate the negative impact of climate change cannot be over emphasised. Hence, I invite the private sector in the UAE to consider investments in dam construction, water conveyancing for irrigation development, along with the development of associated hydro-electric infrastructure,” said the President.
In mining, he said, Zimbabwe has a number of minerals yet to be explored or exploited, offering investors unmatched opportunities.
The southern African country has gold in almost every province and boasts significant reserves of platinum, lithium, diamonds and copper among many other minerals.
“Despite having all these minerals, we don’t have the capital and expertise to harness them. With Dubai known for its hospitality industry and hotels dotted at every corner, Zimbabwe could also tap into that capacity and expertise to develop and grow the sector.
“We are in need of accommodation and conferencing facilities, especially in our premier resort areas of Victoria Falls and the Eastern Highlands,” said President Mnangagwa.
Other areas that provided investment opportunities were health, energy and infrastructure.
“Zimbabwe stands ready to welcome investments and collaboration in the health sector to accelerate the ongoing quest to modernise the sector and the realisation of universal health coverage,” President Mnangagwa said.
He said the rapid expansion of the economy over the last five years had raised demand for electricity to levels beyond the current generation capacity.
Renewable energy infrastructure such as solar, wind, biogas and waste-to-energy facilities provided lucrative prospects.
“Ultimately, ‘virgin’ Zimbabwe is there for you to make a proposal. We want to collaborate with those who have capacity on a win win basis. Come and invest in Zimbabwe where there are a lot of opportunities and high investment returns,” said President Mnangagwa.
Herald
