Bulawayo mayor vows to resuscitate industries

Bulawayo mayor vows to resuscitate industries
Published: 25 April 2019
MAYOR Solomon Mguni has reaffirmed his commitment to revive the second largest city's industries to their former glory.

Speaking at the annual mayor's reception where he welcomed delegates to the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) on Tuesday night, Mguni vowed to transform Bulawayo into a leading industrial city not only in the country but the entire southern Africa region.

"We want to re-affirm the commitment of the City of Bulawayo to resuscitating its industries to resemble its yesteryear glory and becoming the leading industrial city in southern Africa," Mguni said.

He added: "In the same vein as an innovator, we welcome new business that will redefine Bulawayo's destiny."

He acknowledged that the city's economy has gone through a "long and laborious journey," but maintained that Bulawayo still takes pride in being "Zimbabwe's industrial hub of yesterday and today."

At this year's trade showcase, which is being held under the theme "Propagating Industrial Growth through Trade and Investment," the municipality is placing emphasis on the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) to attract the much-needed foreign direct investment (FDI).

Four industrial areas namely Belmont, Donnington, Umvumila and Kelvin were declared SEZs in Bulawayo.

Mguni is urging participants at ZITF to take advantage of "countless" investment opportunities availed by the city.

"The Special Economic Zones programme is anticipated to ensure that key industries such as beef and leather, textile and clothing, engineering and food processing are revived, thereby, restoring Bulawayo's status as the industrial hub of Zimbabwe.

"I call upon investors, big or small to come and partner in the implementation of the special economic zones programme," he said.

When Mguni took office, he vowed to deal with Bulawayo's industrialisation.

This saw him and council management embarking on a two-day programme in October last year where they toured the city's dilapidated industrial sites with the view of having a first-hand information regarding the crisis on the ground.

In the past, government unsuccessfully introduced a plethora of programmes to revive the city's collapsed manufacturing industries, among them the Distressed and Marginalised Areas Fund and the Zimbabwe Economic Trade Revival Facility.
- dailynews
Tags: Bulawayo,

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