Zimpapers Logo

Joseph Madzimure Senior Reporter

PRESIDENT Mnangagwa is a pragmatic leader whose mission is to uplift the lives of ordinary people through job creation, food security, industrialisation and modernisation, analysts have said.

On the back of President Mnangagwa’s visit to New York, United States last week, the analysts said the country’s Chief Executive Officer yet again demonstrated his desire to uplift Zimbabweans through engagements with the business community and other global political actors.

Because of the visit, a team of billionaires is expected to seek investment opportunities in the country this month.

Analyst Dr Hamadziripi Dube said President Mnangagwa is a man of his words and whenever he goes out of the country, his mission is to market Zimbabwe as a safe investment destination.

“Our icon and President is serious on engagement and re-engagement and he wants Zimbabwe back on track like any other developing country. He is a man of his words. Zimbabwe will be fast-tracked to be a middle income economy by 2030,” said Dr Hamadziripi.

The country, he said, has vast investment opportunities which need to be tapped.

“President Mnangagwa makes use of any available opportunity to attract real investors,” Dr Hamadziripi said.

Ably led by the nation’s number one diplomat, Zimbabwe continues to reach milestones regarding her foreign affairs.

“Investors are taking opportunities across all sectors of the economy as the Second Republic continues to lure investment under the ‘Zimbabwe is open for business’ policy,” Dr Hamadziripi said.

After a string of political engagements highlighted by his well-received speech at the United Nations General Assembly, the President engaged businesses headquartered in New York, the world financial and commercial hub.

President Mnangagwa had extensive discussions with representatives from Mabetex Group, a Swiss construction and civil engineering company that has interests in tourism and hospitality as well as the health sector.

Researcher Mr Gibson Nyikadzino said the trip to the multilateral meeting of the UN opened new avenues towards business engagement. Diplomacy was not only political but emphasis is on luring potential investors.

In terms of engagement, Mr Nyikadzino said President Mnangagwa wanted the country to prosper.

“The policy of engagement and re-engagement is meant to secure funding so as to position the country economically and financially in terms of trade and investment. These little steps are showing green shoots in terms of investment,” he said.

In the New Dispensation, Zimbabwe has taken a new foreign policy thrust anchored on economic diplomacy catalysed by the policy: “Zimbabwe is Open for Business” and that it is a “friend to all and an enemy to none”.

Economist Ms Sarudzai Badzamakwati said strategic synergies with international investors and those accepting Zimbabwe’s invitation to invest will go a long way towards unlocking the country’s potential and driving the economy towards upper middle income status by 2030.

“President Mnangagwa’s policy, ‘Zimbabwe is Open for Business’ projects the country as a safe destination for capital,” she said.

Researcher Mr Alex Munyonga said a look on the strides made by the Second Republic towards Zimbabwean socio-economic development proves that all being equal, Zimbabwe is destined for greater socio-economic heights.

Opportunities in agriculture, mining, and energy, among other sectors of the economy, should be grabbed while it is nigh.

“The engagement and re-engagement drive by the Second Republic is thus a milestone and worth reckoning.

“Those who remain spectators as the drama of economic and strategic positioning unfolds are actually missing out. It is the Second Republic’s philosophy that no state or political formation exists in a vacuum. Instead all these exist within a nexus of bilateral and economic relationships which should be nourished well,” Mr Munyonga said.

The Second Republic was on the right track in engaging and setting the socio-economic flame alight.

The luring of American potential investors, Mr Munyonga said, is a clear indication that politics and economics need not be married at international levels.

Another economist Ms Clarisa Masango said President Mnangagwa is reaching out to diaspora communities domiciled in many jurisdictions across the world.

“This community is a critical constituency which serves as the national mirror, enjoying the vantage point of comparative judgment with their various host societies,” she said.

Since the turn of the millennium when Zimbabwe embarked on the land reform programme, some Western media houses have been relentlessly demonising the country and casting it as a pariah state, resulting in some investors leaving.