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Mining, tourism and agriculture are the critical sectors expected to play a leading role in turning around the economy. The focus is therefore on these three sectors and all efforts should be directed at ensuring that these sectors which have been identified as the key economic growth drivers, perform to expectations.

The government which is exploring all avenues to ensure it attracts the much needed investment, should be complemented by the private sector. Apart from coming up with incentives and repealing laws that scare away investors, the government wants the cost of doing business in the country to be brought down to the barest minimum.

We have already alluded to the fact that all efforts should be directed at ensuring that the key sectors of the economy perform well and it is therefore disturbing to learn that the poor performance of the mining sector, one of the key sectors, could be partly as a result of mining companies sitting on ore reserves.

According to the Vice President, Cde Emmerson Mnangagwa, Zimbabwe Mining and Smelting Company (Zimasco) and Zimbabwe Alloys have vast chrome ore reserves that they are not mining. Cde Mnangagwa warned the mining companies to start exploiting the reserves or risk losing them.

He said the government recently lifted the ban on the export of chrome ore to enable the mining sector to export the ore so that the sector is able to mobilise resources and invest in technology. He said volumes of up to 30 million tonnes of chrome ore were expected to be exported mainly to China.

Cde Mnangagwa said the government had identified markets in China and will assist even the small-scale miners to access the markets. He said in this regard, there was a need to maximise on all ore reserves in the country hence the call to the mining companies sitting on chrome ore reserves to exploit them or risk losing them.

Cde Mnangagwa said the government will not hesitate to take away the idle reserves and allocate them to other miners prepared to exploit them. Keeping of mining claims for speculative purposes might not be confined to chrome mining companies but could be widespread to cover other minerals such as gold.

It is therefore incumbent upon the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development to ensure all mineral claims are exploited for the benefit of the country. It is our fervent hope that the decision to lift the ban on exports of chrome ore is just a stopgap measure meant to capacitate the mining sector. We should continue to strive to add value to our minerals.

What this entails is that in future all chrome mined in this country should be processed into ferro-chrome so that the nation derives maximum benefits from the exploitation of its chrome ore.

Companies that are into smelting of chrome at the moment do not have the capacity to process all the chrome ore being mined hence the government’s decision to allow exports of raw chrome. Smelting companies should take advantage of this window to build on their capacities and we also expect new smelting companies to come on board.

We want at this juncture to implore both the government and the private sector to do all within their powers to ensure the three sectors play their leading role of turning around the economy.