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President Mnangagwa

Harare Bureau
President Mnangagwa’s bold policy initiatives to open up Zimbabwe to foreign investors have created goodwill and excitement across the region, a visiting Zambian minister has said.

Officially opening the Mashonaland West is Open for Business Conference in Chinhoyi yesterday, Zambian Minister for Southern Province Dr Edify Hamukale said the new administration’s policy thrust was likely to benefit the whole Southern African Development Community (Sadc) region.

The highly subscribed event , which was organised by the Chartered Institute of Project Managers Zimbabwe, drew more than 500 delegates, including local and international investors, senior Government officials and representatives of local authorities and the corporate world.

“I wish to thank His Excellency, President Mnangagwa, for the initiative to open up Zimbabwe and it is exciting that there is so much goodwill. I can tell you everyone wants to come to Zimbabwe.

“It is really looking positive, so we are so lucky we are one of those that have positioned ourselves to do business with you,” said Dr Hamukale.

“This is impressive and I wish to congratulate you for the bold decision to begin to open up for the rest of the world and we as your neighbours are committing ourselves to ensure that we develop together.”

Dr Hamukale said there was a need for countries to harness the power of globalisation for the benefit of their citizens.

“It (globalisation) carries with it the prospect of improving the lives of people in all countries. What we should try to do is to manage globalisation and make it work for our citizens.

“Chief among the opportunities that globalisation gives rise to is the prospect of higher growth and higher living standards for our people.

“By promoting free trade, countries and neighbouring provinces can deploy to the maximum the law of comparative advantage leading to higher incomes for the citizens,” he said.

The Zambian minister said international ratings agencies need to be challenged for their negative appraisals on African countries.

“Why are they rating us when we are not rating them? So we need rating agencies so that they try to challenge these findings, that there is poverty in our countries. There is so much bias in the ratings.

“I think we need rating agencies. I challenge the African Union, Sadc and Comesa to somehow enshrine rating of our own countries; we should rate our own countries.

“They can rate and we rate then we compare, if the figures agree, then we believe them,” he said.

Negative stereotypes, he added, were negatively affecting the image of the continent.

Dr Hamukale, who is also a businessman and agricultural expert, said there is a need for safety nets for vulnerable groups that have lost out to globalisation.

“We need to come up with a response for those who have lost out from globalisation. We can make an important contribution to come up with policies that have the potential to deliver some of these benefits to these people,” he said.

The conference was attended by Minister of State for Mashonaland West Provincial Affairs Webster Shamu, Special Economic Zones Authority (Seza) board chairperson Dr Gideon Gono, Arda chairperson Mr Basil Nyabadza, representatives from the Zimbabwe Investment Authority (ZIA) and the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ), legislators and political leaders.

Also in attendance were diplomats and businesspeople from various countries such as China, Italy, India, Pakistan, South Africa, Namibia, Botswana and Sudan.