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THE revival of the Redcliff-based steel manufacturing giant, Zimbabwe Iron and Steel Company (Zisco) has been talked about for a long time and its time we see action on the ground.

Zisco which is supposed to be the backbone of Zimbabwe’s industries, stopped production in 2008 due to a myriad of challenges blamed mostly on mismanagement.

Industry and Commerce Minister Dr Sekai Nzenza has said there is a need for Government to prioritise the revival of Zisco which could save the country billions of dollars it is spending on importing steel and steel products annually.

Last week Dr Nzenza said Zisco is forging ahead with a two-pronged approach of engaging local investors for the low hanging fruits while soliciting for external investors for the total resuscitation of the company.

She said the company was in the process of strengthening corporate governance systems in order to attract investors.

Dr Nzenza said the board charter has been signed and all corporate governance, performance management and loss control systems were now in place.

A forensic audit is also underway while an internal auditing function has been set up for the group and subsidiaries including Lancashire Steel, ZimChem and Buchwa. Several global steel giants including Essar Holdings, Jindal Steel and Power and Global Steel Holdings of India have shown interest in investing in Zisco.

The latest offer was from Hong Kong based company R and F but what is disappointing is that all the potential investors seem to develop cold feet at the stage of committing funds for the revival of the steel giant.

Perhaps this new approach of enticing local investors for the low hanging fruits might ultimately assist in boosting external investors’ confidence.

The country is spending about US$1,1 billion annually to import steel and steel products, a confirmation that Zisco’s products have a ready market locally.

The company has a potential to also export steel worth US$1 billion annually making it the country’s single largest foreign currency earner.

Minister Nzenza said Government cannot continue to spend huge amounts of money to import steel and steel products when the country has all the required raw materials to produce its own steel.

The revival of Zisco which used to be Africa’s biggest integrated steel manufacturer, will boost other firms such as Hwange Colliery Company, National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) and many other downstream industries.

We want at this juncture to implore local investors to take advantage of the low hanging fruits at Zisco in order to boost external investors’ confidence in the resuscitation of the steel giant.