Sukulwenkosi Dube-Matutu, Gwanda Correspondent 

MATABELELAND South Minister of State for Provincial Affairs Abednico Ncube has said the Zimbabwe National Industrial Development Policy (ZNIDP) 2019-2023, which was recently launched by Government, is key in developing livestock production in the province — one of the main economic drivers in the area.

In an interview, Cde Ncube said they looked forward to resuscitation of livestock production factories in the province, development of the tourism sector, agricultural sector and mining sector.

“Government recently launched the Zimbabwe National Industrial Policy (ZNIDP) policy which seeks to bring about industrialisation in various regions. As a province we are looking forward to getting assistance from Government or potential investors in developing various sectors which are the main economic drivers of this province.

“We have Liebiegs Factory in the province which is dilapidated. In the past it was very productive with about 600 cattle being slaughtered a day and the beef produced was exported to Europe. We are looking forward to having this factory revived. Mat South is known for livestock production and once this factory is revived livestock farmers will benefit,” he said.

Cde Ncube said the province also had a number of tourist sites which were being underutilised and once they were revived they would generate revenue.

He said the province also had a number of big dams which could be utilised to establish irrigation schemes. 

“The province is also rich in minerals. We have five districts namely Mangwe, Gwanda, Matobo, Umzwingwane and Insiza which have mining activities but production is low as the miners are not capacitated. If we can have investors that can invest in the sector then production levels will increase. 

“We also have other resources such as mopani worms. The industrialisation policy will enable establishment of a factory for processing mopani worms which will enable value addition. As you can see the province is blessed with a lot of resources and industrialisation will enable the people from the province to benefit from them and the region will become productive,” Cde Ncube said.

Addressing stakeholders from the province during a meeting in Gwanda recently, Deputy Director responsible for Heavy Industries Enterprise Development Departments in the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, Mr Dayford Nhema, said the Ministry had engaged in a nationwide programme to inform stakeholders on the Zimbabwe National Industrial Development Policy.

 He said provinces were expected to come up with development strategies that would guide the industrialisation process in their areas. Mr Nhema said the provincial strategies were supposed to be guided by the national policy.

“We want you as stakeholders to tell us how you want to be industrialised. You have to identify projects that can drive economic development in your province, identify projects in each district and look at the resources you have. If you give us this information we will analyse it and come up with a draft Matabeleland South development industrialisation strategy document.

“We will send this document back to you for validation before we come up with the final document. 

“This is a crucial document as it will guide the industrialisation process of the province until it’s on its feet,” he said.

Government has launched the policy which is centred on developing and facilitating industrial linkages across key economic sectors namely manufacturing, agriculture, mining and services. — @DubeMatutu