See Bulawayo as a viable investment destination: Mayor Coltart

Vusumuzi Dube, Online News Editor

BULAWAYO mayor, Councillor David Coltart has expressed his confidence that visitors who are in the city for the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair will not only enjoy the city’s hospitality but will also see it as a viable investment destination.

The trade showcase is running at the Zimbabwe International Exhibition Centre from today (Tuesday) ending on Saturday.

In his welcome remarks, Clr Coltart said one of the reasons why the ZITF was established in Bulawayo was because it was Zimbabwe’s Industrial Capital and the industrial hub of Southern Africa and it was the local authority’s vision is to restore that status.

“It is my distinct honour to welcome you all to our great city for the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair 2024. If this is the first time that you have been to our city, I hope that you experience not just the trade fair but get to understand the amazing history of this city, its architecture, its people, its culture and its art. I hope that you will be able to take time to visit the various places as well.

“We have a massive task ahead of us and we are pleased that you have come to the ZITF it is our hope that by coming you will see the city’s potential,” said the mayor.

Clr Coltart said as a local authority they understood for them to attract investment, certain prerequisites are key for it to flourish.

“The first aspect is water. As we are all aware, due to climate change and the El Nino effect, the city of Bulawayo and the entire southern African region is facing one of the worst droughts ever. We face a major challenge in water delivery.

“Our priority in the coming years is to expand our water resources, and we are looking at construction of a new water supply dam and other augmentation projects that will allow us to guarantee our residents, stakeholders and investors adequate water supplies,” he said.

The mayor also said they were focusing on addressing cleanliness and sanitation.

“Unfortunately in the last few years, our city has lost its status of being one of the cleanest cities in Africa. Our vision is to restore the status and we are working towards rehabilitating our sewerage works and we are also looking at a waste management facility that can tackle the litter that degrades Bulawayo.

“Our third goal is in recognition that we have many people that were forced out of industry and are now in informal employment. We are working on informal markets located in the periphery of the City centre. We have started with Egodini Informal Trading market and we are expanding to other centres around the periphery of the City into suburban areas, with the anticipation that it will give hope to the informal sector and enable the formal sector to also flourish,” said Clr Coltart.

“I have faith that you will enjoy our City and that you will see it as a viable investment destination. We hope to work with you in the coming weeks, months and years,” said the mayor