President meets investors

PRESIDENT Mnangagwa yesterday met officials from Private Investors for Africa (PIA), a coalition of investors who include Coca-Cola, Heineken, LafargeHolcim, MasterCard, Standard Bank and Syngenta, who expressed satisfaction with the economic reforms being undertaken by Government.

PIA, which is headquartered in Belgium, is a business coalition of private sector companies.

Speaking after meeting President Mnangagwa, PIA chairperson and Standard Bank Group chief executive for African regions Mrs Sola DavidBorha said they were in the country to get an in-depth understanding of reforms taking place in Zimbabwe.

“This is a visit to understand the changes that have taken place recently in the country,” she said. “We want to better understand the ongoing reforms so that we can take this inside information to our boards, forums which require information before making a business case to invest. That is why this visit is so important.”

The delegation met officials from various Government Ministries and the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.

Mrs David-Borha said their focus was on assisting Zimbabwe to grow its economy.

“We are a business coalition of private sector companies that believe that the private sector is critical for growth in any Government,” she said. “We partner with the public sector with a view to driving growth, enabling job creation and economic activity.

“We are in Zimbabwe and most of our members have been here for many years. We are committed to Zimbabwe and excited about the ongoing reforms. We believe that the budget today (yesterday) will be in line with expectation of fiscal consolidation.

“We want to continue to partner with the country and continue to invest in Zimbabwe. That was the message we brought to His Excellency.”

Mrs David-Borha said President Mnangagwa explained to them the plans Government had for economic growth.

Zimbabwe is witnessing gamechanging investment proposals, with companies from formerly hostile countries scouting for business opportunities.

This, observers say, signals positive results from the re-engagement processes which is being spearheaded by President Mnangagwa.

Zimbabwe intends to be a middle income economy by 2030 and is working on reviving industries around the country.