The Sunday News
Judith Phiri, Business Reporter
ALL is set for the Zimbabwe Mining Investment Conference slated for this week in Dubai on the sidelines of the Expo 2020 Dubai.
Mines and Mining Development Minister Winston Chitando will grace the conference which will run under the theme: “Zimbabwe Accelerating Growth Through Value Addition”.
The conference aims to attract international investment community to invest in Zimbabwe and it will be accessed on digital and online platforms.
In an interview, Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Mines and Mining Development chairman, Hon Edmond Mkaratigwa who is also in Dubai for the Expo, said the conference is expected to rebrand the perception on the Zimbabwean investment climate
He said their objective was to get a positive response from the investors culminating to an influx of serious investors who want to invest in Zimbabwe individually, collaboratively and through agreements with Government.
“We need machinery for small scale and medium scale miners as well as mechanisms for retooling, revival of some companies which have not yet been fully revived and opening up of new ones. “The country needs spares for the mining industry and complementarity in Government programmes for the one stop mining sites initiative already being rolled out throughout the country as a pilot project,” said the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee chairperson.
Hom Mkaratigwa said there was need for an alliance towards new innovations since the country was faced with climate change and as it was looking at replacing dangerous substances no longer needed on the market such as mercury.
He said that they were also looking at environmentally friendly initiatives which will take the environmental gaps left by mining companies as an investment opportunity that promotes responsible investment and avoid the clash between local citizens and mining companies through commoditization of the environmental reclamation.
“We are here at the Expo 2020 Dubai to identify potential investors and potential local investment enablers we may not be having at home so that it benefits Zimbabwe and where possible, it mutually benefits the two countries and all other countries represented whose investors have taken effort to meet us as we also do the same meet them,” he said.
Hon Mkaratigwa said Zimbabweans resident in Dubai were also equally invited to take up opportunities which are also being grabbed by others back home, for their good and that of the country.
Zimbabwe is among 192 nations participating at the expo.
The mining sector is expected to play a fundamental role in the speedy attainment of the country’s vision of becoming an upper-middle income society by 2030 and is one of Zimbabwe’s key strategic sectors participating at the exposition.
