‘Zim a country on the move’
PROMINENT industrialist, Mr Busisa Moyo, says Zimbabwe is a country “on the move’ and has commended President Mnangagwa’s Government for coming up with policies that support economic growth.
Beginning with the Transitional Stabilisation Programme (TSP:2018-2020) and now the National Development Strategy (NDS1:2021-2025), the New Dispensation continues to fine-tune implementation of fiscal and monetary policy reforms in fulfilment of the mantra: “Zimbabwe is Open for Business”.
The interventions are aimed at enhancing Zimbabwe’s transformation into an upper middle-income economy by 2030.
Despite pressures from external shocks such as droughts, Western-imposed sanctions and the disruptive impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the reforms have enhanced Zimbabwe’s economic resilience evidenced by improving domestic industry capacity utilisation, reduced imports, boost in export earnings, budget surplus and the reintroduction of the local dollar, among others.
Mr Moyo, who is chief executive officer of the giant Bulawayo-based agro-processing firm, United Refineries Limited and chairperson of the Zimbabwe Investment Development Authority (Zida) and the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) boards, said the productive sector was excited by the omentum towards industry revival, especially the thrust on value addition and beneficiation.
“Zimbabwe is a country on the move, both in terms of visiting and in terms of investments and in terms of the business environment,” he said in a recent interview with United Arab Emirates’ We Tel Television.
“The Government is really taking on a slant that is pro-industrialisation, proinvestments and pro- conomic growth and so that creates a vibe around the country and that is what we are seeing on the ground.”
“I’m from the private sector and we see the demand for our products and a lot of changes. There is a lot of excitement from farmers and they are going back to production and to expand.”
Mr Moyo was part of the delegation that accompanied President Mnangagwa during his visit to the UAE last week where the country is participating at the on-going World Expo 2020 Dubai.
During the meeting, the President had the opportunity to engage with the diaspora community and hosted an oversubscribed investment forum where several business opportunities were discussed. The UAE has become a strategic trade partner to Zimbabwe, which export earnings from the Arab country’s market clocking over US$1,5 billion last year.
“We encourage people to trade with Zimbabwe, we have a lot of agricultural produce, we also export a lot of minerals and we are now working with partners around the world to add value to our minerals and agricultural produce,” said Mr Moyo. He also said the country was ripe for tourism investments and urged global travellers to come and sample the Zimbabwean beauty.
“We encourage people to visit us. Zimbabwe is a jewel and a diamond that is yet to be discovered. We have five Unesco sites and one of them is the Victoria Falls, which everybody knows about,” said Mr Moyo.
“We have got other resorts like Mana Pools in the north and Matopos in the south. We have got fantastic places and things like bungee jumping for those who are into adrenalin sports, so, we encourage people to visit Zimbabwe.”-The Chronicle
