I come from Nyanga. Two years ago, I went to the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development, a whole range that has potential gold had been pegged. I went to the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development and said, ‘I have not seen any mining activity in this area, who is mining?’ There was a company with a very foreign name and the officials confirmed that it was a non-Zimbabwean – two and a half years later, the place is still like that. It means that the potential answer is that they are speculating. I believe it is fair for Zimbabweans to speculate because it is their country but if we have foreigners who are coming to speculate, peg huge areas, do not allow locals to access that space, they go in just looking for other investors or to sell to others and no progress is taking place in the country. I think that it is an unfair advantage – it is disadvantaging our people.
I believe that when commodity prices are very high and are in demand as they are at the moment, perhaps the Minister may consider to support His Excellency’s vision to say, well for Zimbabweans, it is business as usual. If you want to peg an area, just do as you have always done, but if you are a foreigner because it is not the same anywhere else in the world to get a mining claim like it is easy to get a mining claim here for a foreigner, we must then say we are welcoming investors and we would like foreigners to come and get as much claims as possible in order for them to exploit it so that they do not speculate. We must also be able to put a system that says, put USD$250 000.00 in a secure deposit at the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe in order to get the licence to go and peg our ground. If they do not exploit that resource for three years, that is okay because their money is sitting at the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and is being used to sustain our economy. It can only be done now when we are attractive.
I am suggesting Madam Speaker, that as we support His Excellency’s vision, clarity as expressed in his State of the Nation Address, we must take advantage of some of these opportunities that are being brought about by the attractiveness of our country as a result of the resources that we have. Madam Speaker, His Excellency the President, Dr. E. D. Mnangagwa spoke about the agricultural output, particularly the almost 210 million kgs of tobacco that has been produced by our farmers. We must applaud those farmers for doing a great job; they are earning the country a lot of foreign currency. It made me think about some complaints I have heard from industry where the complaints, whether justified or unjustified, that there is one company or there is one bank that has monopolised Command Agriculture and I am saying if there is foreign currency that can be made from tobacco, if our farmers, wherever they are, are able to produce 210kg of tobacco, why are we not having those who are interested to come in and start command tobacco farming? Put your own money there and earn the forex. So we have opportunities to support His Excellency’s vision through the private sector, through financial institutions and not complain about others, but to take our own space and occupy that space as Zimbabweans in support of the vision and clarity that His Excellency the President expressed through the State of the Nation Address.
So command tobacco is an opportunity, command soya beans is an opportunity. If we complain that so and so was given everything, why do we not go on to tobacco because I have not heard of command tobacco but it is said the forex is there. I think if we open and broaden our minds as Zimbabweans, we will see opportunities and we can take the country forward.
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