eBusiness Weekly
MAPUTO – There is renewed interest on Zimbabwe by western countries as evidenced by the growing number of envoys dispatched to Harare, President Emmerson Mnangagwa said on Wednesday.
Western countries imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe en masse during the reign of former President Robert Mugabe, who stepped down last November, over a range of differences between the two sides. Addressing Zimbabweans based in Mozambique, President Mnangagwa said Zimbabwe will soon dispatch delegations to western countries in response to reengagement efforts initiated by various European powers.
“But since the dawn of the new era, we are receiving indications from the west- United Kingdom, France, Russia, Germany, China, India, to name a few. A lot of goodwill is coming from these guys; they want to invest in Zimbabwe. In the next few weeks I will be dispatching a delegation to the United Kingdom in response to their calls for re-engagement.
“It will see Zimbabwe again growing by a pace that allows us to catch up with the rest of Sadc (Southern African Development Community) and the rest of the world as well as overtaking others,” said the President.
He reiterated that Zimbabwe would amend investment laws to make it attractive for investment.
“We have declared that Zimbabwe is now open for business. We have to attend to all pieces of legislation which constrain the ease of doing business in Zimbabwe,” said the President.
He said military intervention which led to the resignation of former President Robert Mugabe was a justified means of ending state capture by a Zanu PF faction known as G40. Zimbabweans in Mozambique urged government to put in place incentives for those willing to repatriate their funds to invest back home.
“We want to return home to repatriate our savings from Mozambique to Zimbabwe but we want assurance,” said Zimbabweans in Mozambique Association chairman George Sithole.
The Zimbabweans also expressed their interest to vote from Mozambique in the forthcoming elections through diaspora vote. But President Mnangagwa said Zimbabwe currently has no logistical capacity to facilitate diaspora voting. Meanwhile, President Mnangagwa has arrived back home from Maputo. – New Ziana
