Zimpapers Logo

Ambassador Mbete

Bulawayo Bureau
SOUTH Africa’s Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Mr Mphakama Mbete, has commended Zimbabwe’s commitment to turn around its economy. Mr Mbete told our Bulawayo Bureau yesterday that South Africa was happy to work closely with Zimbabwe to develop the economies of both countries. He was speaking in an interview at the South African exhibition stand at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair.

“Zimbabwe is a country that is determined to be successful and is thirsty to develop going forward from where it is now. I’m happy that the country is trying to rebuild its economy. “This brings opportunities for South Africa and Zimbabwe to work together towards mutual objectives because both of us are building our economies as developing countries,” said Ambassador Mbete.

He said South Africa was engaging various institutions in Bulawayo including the National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) to discuss the way forward in reviving the economy. “I had a meeting the other day with the Mayor of Bulawayo, Councillor Martin Moyo, to discuss these issues. I’m sure things will work out in the near future. Of course, it’s not easy to get investors to come but we’ll surely get there.

“Zimbabwe is a good investment destination because there’re many areas in which Zimbabwean authorities want to develop the economy as reflected in the Zim-Asset policy framework. So there are a lot of opportunities, especially in the agricultural and manufacturing sectors,” said Ambassador Mbete.

He said the duty of the South African government was to make sure that all business deals are mutually beneficial. “We’re trying to educate our business community to understand the needs of the Zimbabwean economy and we hope that with continuous discussions between both business communities, strong partnerships will be established.

“We want to encourage stronger bilateral relations. The Presidents of Zimbabwe and South Africa might meet this year under the auspices of the bilateral national commission which they signed last year and agreed to meet annually,” said Ambassador Mbete. He said a few weeks ago, there was an investment trade mission led by South Africa’s Department of Trade and Industry which visited three cities in Zimbabwe.

“We’re planning to do a follow- up before the end of this year on the discussions,” said Ambassador Mbete. He said he was impressed by the response received by the South African companies exhibiting at the ZITF.

“The response is overwhelming. The companies exhibiting here are having positive engagements with the people of Zimbabwe and other countries and they’re hoping that good business deals will come out of these engagements,” said Ambassador Mbete.