By Dorcus Rumano

Value addition and beneficiation of minerals contribute immensely to the country’s economic growth through exports, says Deputy Minister in the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development, Honourable Polite Kambamura.

Whilst deliberating on his key note address at the Mine Entra Conference yesterday, Deputy Minister Kambamura said, “In line with the Transitional Stabilisation Programme (TSP), Government’s thrust is to ensure that Government exports locally beneficiated and value added minerals, which fetch more on the international markets than in their raw forms.

“The country is heavily reliant on mining for the much needed foreign currency, it is therefore, prioritising the beneficiation and value addition of its mineral resources to get maximum benefits from its huge mineral endowments,” he said.

Honourable Kambamura said that local beneficiation and value addition will go a long way in facilitating inclusive growth through modernisation and industrialisation as Zimbabwe progresses towards an upper middle income economy by 2030.

Speaking at the same event on behalf of Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Professor Mthuli Ncube, Director in the Ministry Charles Mujajati said the solution to the high current account deficit lied on value addition and beneficiation which make the country earns higher value on foreign markets. He said high levels of unemployment can be addressed through beneficiation.

Mujajati also highlighted that Government’s role in beneficiation is to provide the necessary support in terms of alignment, consistency and cohesion of policies.