Water purification firm diversifies

Harare-based water purifying company, Zimbabwe Life is Good (ZLG), has diversified into manufacturing equipment to fight Covid-19, which augurs well with the country’s value addition and beneficiation drive.

ZLG is now manufacturing disinfection booths, face masks and sanitisers, among other detergents, that are used for protection against the pandemic.

Industry and Commerce Minister Dr Sekai Nzenza recently toured the plant.

She said innovations by local companies were in line with President Mnangagwa’s drive to boost industrial capacity and help in the attainment of an upper middle income economy by 2030.

“Covid-19 has brought us opportunities in promoting local production,” said Dr Nzenza. “The Ministry of Industry and Commerce has a Local Content Strategy; all along we have been importing a lot of products, particularly pharmaceuticals.

“When Covid-19 started, we were required to wear face masks and initially we were importing masks, but a local company, ZLG, came on board and we supported them through the ease of doing business to bring in the equipment.

“This company is now producing locally and creating employment which is in line with what the President has always been saying.”

ZLG has capacity to manufacture up to 40 000 surgical face masks per day, which have been certified by the Standards Association of Zimbabwe.

The masks are 50 percent cheaper than the imported variety.

ZLG director, Mr Xing Yang, said they benefited immensely from the business-friendly environment created by the Second Republic.

“The Government of Zimbabwe has created a conducive environment for us to be able to do business, and when we diversified from water, we said we should save the people’s lives and not just about business,” he said.

“Most companies retrenched their workers because of the Covid-19 restrictions, but we have actually managed to employ more people because of this diversification.

“We were producing 40 000 masks a day, but because of the arrival of the new machine, we can now produce 80 000 a day.”

The company can produce 4 000 litres of sanitisers per day, said Mr Xing.-herald.cl.zw