Manicaland Correspondent

In line with Government thrust of industrialising rural areas, a fruit processing plant is soon to be established in Chimanimani in Manicaland and research is currently being carried out on the creation of same.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa announced this development while addressing thousands of ZANU PF supporters at Kopa Business Centre during the commissioning of the Kopa- Jopa road in Chimanimani District.

Chimanimani and the neighbouring district of Chipinge, as well as most parts of Manicaland province, are endowed with various fruits, which include bananas, pine apples, oranges, avocados, pears, macadamia nuts and many others.

The plant would create employment for thousands of youths in the province.

The President said there were lots of fruits in the area and research was being carried out with the assistance of innovation hubs at the country’s universities, with a view to establishing a processing plant in Chimanimani.

“We want to stop rural to urban migration by industrialising our rural areas. We should have value addition of every fruit at our doorsteps. We are gifted with resources, thus we must not export jobs and money to the cities.

“We want to have a situation where a child born in Chief Muusha’s area gets his or her education from primary to tertiary in this area. That child should get employment in this area. We want to create scientists here. These children should find no reason to migrate to the cities as is the current situation. Instead, the migration must take a reverse course,” said the President.

He added that the New Dispensation wanted to develop rural economies that would considerably contribute to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

“We recently launched an Amarula Processing and Value Addition Plant at Rutenga Growth Point in Masvingo Province. This should cascade to all the provinces leveraging on the local resources,” he added.