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Zisco Steel

The Midlands Province and indeed the country is poised for an economic boom if plans to resuscitate the giant steelmaker, Zimbabwe Iron and Steel Company (Zisco), come to fruition in 2017.

According to Industry and Commerce Minister Dr Mike Bimha, Government expects to come up with a short-list of potential investors to take over Zisco by the end of next month. Minister Bimha said there is so much interest in Zisco following the Government’s decision to take over its debt and also the firming of commodity prices.

“We are very positive that we will resuscitate Zisco soon and already a number of investors are looking at our bids,” said Minister Bimha.

He said Government should be able to come up with a short-list of the investors by the end of next month. Dr Bimha said a number of areas have been changed to make investment in Zisco more lucrative compared to the past.

Zisco, once one of Africa’s largest steelworks, stopped production in 2008 due to viability challenges and mounting debts. In 2010, an Indian investor Essar Africa Holdings signed an agreement with Government to take over Zisco but the $750 million deal collapsed due to various reasons.

The main stumbling block was the haggling during the inclusive Government.

The Mines Ministry and that of Industry and Commerce had contradicting positions regarding the way forward thereby confusing the investor. This caused the delay in implementing the deal and while the haggling raged on, commodity prices which were firm at the time the deal was consummated, were falling.

Now that most hurdles have been cleared including the taking over of Zisco’s debt by Government, indications are very positive that the resuscitation of the steel company is definitely on next year.

Government has been working on addressing the many shortcomings that have been scaring away investors such as the unnecessary bureaucracy.

Zisco investor or investors should therefore be among the first to enjoy this new investment environment.

The resumption of production at Zisco will not only benefit Redcliff town or the Midlands province but the entire country. It means work for the National Railways of Zimbabwe, Hwange Colliery Company and many other downstream industries. Zisco is in fact one of Zimbabwe industries’ anchor companies and as such its resuscitation will have a very huge impact on the turnaround of the economy.

We want to implore Government to  learn from the mistakes that caused the collapse of the  Essar deal so that once  the deal has been signed, work  on resuscitating the company starts immediately .