Mthuli says investors still interested in Zim

Cape Town(New Ziana)-Zimbabwe remains an attractive investment destination despite several setbacks which characterised President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s first year in office after the 2018 harmonised elections, a Cabinet Minister said on Wednesday.

There were disturbances in Zimbabwe last August and January this year which saw protestors burning and looting shops in major cities.

Finance and Economic Development Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube told local reporters on the sidelines of the 28th World Economic Forum (WEF) for Africa here that investments that have come into the mining sector recently were testimony that global capital still had eyes on Zimbabwe.

“The interest from investors is still very high, you see it in the mining sector where we are trying to build a US$12 billion industry and investors are there and have signed agreements or are about to sign.

“Surely that is a lot of interest and we are noticing that investors are not short term in their thinking, they are into long term and because of that, they see this as a passing phase,” he said.

“For those who are not convinced, we are here to tell them that any economic challenges that we may be facing are a short term issue.”

“We are an economy in transition, over time we are going to overcome it and they will get a good return in their investment,” he added.

Turning to the expected gains from the African chapter of the WEF, Prof Ncube said the Zimbabwean delegation would use the event to court more investors.

“So we could sign a few deals in the process, that’s how it works. It’s a courtship. We have got some investors lined up to talk to and to court them frankly,” he said.

The presence of the President, said Prof Ncube, is to make it known that Zimbabwe is open for business; that Zimbabwe is open for dialogue with the international community and we are engaging and re-engaging.

“We are here to meet investors, to interact with public policy makers who have a keen interest to invest in Zimbabwe.”

“We are connecting with Zimbabwean diaspora, we are connecting with investors who are keen to invest in Zimbabwe and project to them that indeed Zimbabwe is open for business,” he added.

President Mnangagwa is attending the 28th edition of the WEF for Africa.
The WEF is an independent, international organisation whose aim is to help expand global economic interface by companies and countries by engaging business, political leaders, academia and other leaders of society.

It is the second time for President Mnangagwa to attend the WEF after his debut in Davos, Switzerland in 2018 where he used the opportunity to re-engage international investors under the mantra, ‘Zimbabwe is Open for business’.

New Ziana