by Bruce Zvandasara
President Emmerson Mnangagwa has presided over the ground breaking ceremony of a $4.2 billion platinum mining venture in Mhondoro-Ngezi mining site which will employ thousands of Zimbabweans.
President Mnangagwa noted that projects of such magnitude were in the right trajectory in as far as the country’s transformation was concerned. However, he noted that Karo Resources management expressed their interest in the mining sector ten years ago but bureaucracy has been a stumbling block.
Speaking during the ceremony, President Mnangagwa said the mining sector was of paramount importance for the Zimbabwean economy. He said the sector was the backbone of the Zimbabwean GDP, hence the importance of this investment for economic transformation.
“This project comes after I commissioned other major projects such as the Eureka Mine in Mashonaland Central Province and Shabanie-Mashava Mine. I have also done the ground-breaking of the Hwange Extension power project, the Beitbridge border post and the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport upgrade. This is one of many mining projects that will transform the Zimbabwean economy. Fifteen thousands direct jobs will be created at this site alone,” he said.
The President also said this project should have been completed long back, adding that his administration had cut short the bureaucracy that was stopping it from taking off.
Loucas Pouralis, Karo Resources Chairman, reiterated President Mnangagwa’s mantra to cut short bureaucracy as he narrated their long journey in Zimbabwe.
“We have lost 10 years before reaching this day as a result of several people in authority who had no vision,” Pouralis said.
He said that despite the challenges of the past, he was excited about the future of Zimbabwe.
The ground breaking ceremony will pave way for the construction of a mining complex along the Great Dyke in Mashonaland West Province.
According to Mr Pouralis, the complex will have a mine smelter, a refinery and a 300-megawatt solar power station, and the investment will create 15 000 direct and 75 000 indirect jobs and leave a permanent mark in Zimbabwe.
The Minister of Mines and Mining Resources, Winston Chitando said with such investments coming into the country, Zimbabwe would never be the same again.
The country in the new dispensation has carried the Zimbabwe is open for business mantra across the globe in a bid to attract investment into the country.
