HARARE, Sept. 10 — Zimbabwe has made progress in boosting value-added exports as it seeks to transform its economy and move up global value chains, Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa said Thursday.
Speaking at the burial of national hero Edward Raradza at the National Heroes Acre in Harare, Mnangagwa called on Zimbabweans to break new ground across all economic sectors and drive national industrialization.
“The misnomer which saw Zimbabwe being a mere exporter of raw materials has been decisively addressed,” Mnangagwa said. “Now we are value-adding and beneficiating our resources at source.”
He said it was encouraging that Zimbabweans were playing a big role in the country’s mining sector through mine ownership, reversing a trend in which, for over a century, Zimbabwe’s mineral wealth had been an exclusive sector for foreign conglomerates and capital.
Mnangagwa reaffirmed that the government would continue facilitating local industries and mutually beneficial partnerships to accelerate economic transformation.
In February, the Zimbabwean government introduced a ban on the export of all raw minerals and lithium concentrates to promote local value addition and beneficiation, enabling the country to retain greater economic benefits from its mineral resources.(Namibia Daily News / Xinhua)
