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Herald Reporters

President Mnangagwa is expected to officially open the 2022 chapter of the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) in Bulawayo today, where hundreds of exhibitors, including some from other countries, are participating.

The trade fair was initially supposed to be officially opened by Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, but he had to stay home following the death of his country’s former leader, Mr Mwai Kibaki.

The country’s prime trade and investment expo is being held under the theme “Rethink, Reimagine, Reinvent Value Chains for Economic Development” and a total of 14 countries are taking part.

As is the norm, President Mnangagwa is expected to tour some of the exhibition stands, before addressing the crowds, that will include the exhibitors, at the ZITF main arena.

He will also inspect a guard of honour, and there will be a fly past during the singing of the national anthem.

Uniformed forces will carry out mass displays to entertain the crowds.

President Mnangagwa is expected to hand over various prizes to owners of outstanding exhibition stands in various categories.

Meanwhile, Vice President Dr Constantino Chiwenga toured several exhibition stands on Wednesday, where he said he was impressed by the level of participation at this year’s ZITF.

He commended young entrepreneurs for showcasing their skills in leather manufacturing.

Vice President Chiwenga said he was excited by the value addition and beneficiation breakthroughs, particularly by the small to medium companies that are exhibiting at this year’s expo.

“I haven’t seen something as welcoming as this year’s exhibitions for all the stands, which I managed to visit,” he said. “Everything was perfect including those stands, which I just passed through.

“What was more interesting is that there is no space left vacant. In the past you could find quite a lot of space unoccupied without being utilised, but this year, it is a different story.”

Vice President Chiwenga, who was accompanied by Industry and Commerce Minister Dr Sekai Nzenza, her deputy, Raj Modi, ZITF board chair Mr Busisa Moyo and Dr Nicholas Ndebele, the ZITF chief executive officer, had lengthy interactions with exhibitors.

He visited the National University of Science and Technology (NUST), Office of the President and Cabinet, Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA), UK, Belarus and Kenyan stands, among others.

Vice President Chiwenga said the most interesting part of his tour was seeing locally produced goods dominating the stands.

“We are now at 75 percent in terms of locally produced goods on our shelves,” he said. “We are growing Zimbabwe, processing Zimbabwe, selling and eating Zimbabwe and that is what is more important.

“Yes, we can buy from other countries, but what is more important is to produce our own goods. Two years ago, I launched the leather strategy, but what I have seen today is what I least expected given that we now have youngsters from school making shoes, which is quite good and interesting.”

Vice President Chiwenga last year launched the Zimbabwe Leather Sector Strategy (2021-2030) in Bulawayo.

The leather sector is seen as a low-hanging fruit given the country’s competitive advantage in livestock and crop production, which are key sources of raw materials.

The Government has earmarked the leather industry for structural transformation along the value chain perspective.

Compact groundwork has already been undertaken with the Government, working closely with the private sector, pushing towards the revitalisation of the sector to become one of the biggest employment creators.

The 62nd edition of the ZITF roared into life in Bulawayo on Tuesday amid an upsurge in the number of participants, which has forced organisers to expand exhibition space to accommodate more businesses.