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Freedom Mupanedemo Midlands Bureau
The Midlands Province, which boasts a variety of minerals and vast agricultural potential, is poised to take a leading role in the country’s economic revival and President Mnangagwa’s vision of turning Zimbabwe into a middle-income economy by the year 2030 under devolution.

Spanning an area of just over 50 000 square kilometres, the province has large deposits of gold, platinum and chrome coupled with a vibrant agricultural activities and many investment opportunities.

In an interview yesterday, Minister of State for Midlands Provincial Affairs Cde Larry Mavima said the province has low hanging opportunities that could quickly turn around the country’s economic fortunes.

He said the first step towards devolution was the establishment of a provincial development committee that is headed by directors from his office.

Minister Mavima said the committee is now consulting local authorities on opportunities available in their areas so that the devolution drive gains traction.

“When we talk of devolution, local authorities have a major role to play, so the provincial development committee is engaging the local authorities to redefine their mission statement and vision so that the thrust is about devolution,” he said.

He said under devolution the province was targeting a $15 billion GDP by the year 2030.

“For this devolution to be a success, we are focusing on major pillars that have great potential in the Midlands, which are mining, industrialisation, machanisation, agriculture and education. We want to leverage on these so that we are self-sufficient as a province,” he said.

To this end, he said the province is also actively marketing itself and scouting for investors and is for the first time exhibiting at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF).

“As the Midlands province, we are very keen on following the President’s vision of making sure that we separately contribute something to the country’s GDP as the province and without sourcing funds from Government. We are exhibiting at the ZITF this time around so that we showcase what we are capable of as a province,” he said.

Minister Mavima added: “We also want to show the world the investment opportunities in the Midlands. We have a lot of mineral activities and farming activities in the province. We stand a chance to be one of the best provinces in the country,” he said.

He said the province had a better stand compared to other provinces and was already contributing about 50 percent of the country’s gold output.

“Midlands is surely a living testimony that Zimbabwe is open for business. About 50 percent of the country’s gold output is mined in the Midlands province. Big platinum mining companies, Unki Mines and Mimosa Mining Company, are also found in the Midlands province, so we are saying we can contribute immensely to the national GDP if we really work hard and fulfil the President’s call for each province to work on its own GDP,” he  said.

Minister Mavima said the largest steel manufacturing companies — Ziscosteel and Steel Makers — were also in the Midlands Province which provide a huge investment opportunities that investors can take advantage of.

“We also have the sole ammonia fertiliser producer, Sable Chemicals, in the Midlands province. In terms of agriculture, Midlands used to be one of the biggest producers of cotton. We also contribute significantly in wheat output, so were are strategically positioned,” he said.

Minister Mavima said he was confident that the province’s participation at this years’ ZITF will help court investors so that the province can play a pivotal role in contributing to the President’s 2030 vision.