Editorial Comment: Let’s make ZITF visitors feel at home

zimplogoThe 55th edition of the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair kicked off yesterday and we hope the police have put in place measures to keep criminals at bay. The City of Bulawayo is playing host to very important visitors who include both local and foreign businesspersons. Some of the guests are visiting Bulawayo for the first time and their first impression of the city and its people is very critical. It is therefore incumbent upon each and every Zimbabwean citizen to portray a positive image of the country.

The police have a duty to ensure our visitors are protected from criminals. The hotels, lodges, individual families and institutions providing accommodation to our visitors should demonstrate that Zimbabwe is a tourist destination of choice.

The bulk of the visitors, as already stated, are businesspersons who apart from marketing their products and services, will take the opportunity to explore business opportunities.

Potential investors would not want to invest their money in a country where crime is rife hence the need to demonstrate that Zimbabwe is not just a peaceful country but is also crime free. Many investors already know that Zimbabwe is very rich in human resources given its high literacy rate. The country is in fact exporting skilled manpower not only to countries in the region but even to those industrialised countries such as Britain, the United States, Australia, New Zealand and many others.

The challenge is therefore to create jobs for these professionals who have been forced to work in foreign lands because of limited job opportunities at home. This is only possible if the country convinces some of the foreign companies exhibiting at this international shop window to invest in the country.

It is our hope that the many arms of government, local authorities and local companies have put in place attractive investment packages to lure these foreign investors. The Bulawayo City Council should outbid the other local authorities given that it is hosting this annual event. The city has suffered a serious setback as a result of de-industrialisation.

Many companies have relocated to other cities and towns leaving thousands of workers jobless. The city, which for years has been the country’s industrial hub, can only regain its status if the closed companies are opened and it is also able to attract new investors. The water supply challenges which have dogged the city for years have been blamed for the flight of industries and since the water supply situation has greatly improved, the city should be able to woo back some of the industries that relocated to other towns as well as attract new investors.

The city has for the past 55 years played host to ZITF and it is our belief that after each edition, those in industry and commerce as well as the Bulawayo City Council have been analysing the impact of this trade and investment promotion event with a view to addressing any shortcomings.

There are companies that pledged to invest in this country at last year’s event and by now we should be having a record of those that finally invested and those that failed to make it. This is very vital information that will assist in perfecting systems, incentives and the way government and local authorities handle potential investors.

We want to once again urge Bulawayo residents and Zimbabweans in general to do all within their powers to make our visitors feel at home during their stay in this country.

These visitors should extend their stay beyond the ZITF week and they can only do so if they enjoy our hospitality.

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