SENIOR Minister Simon Khaya Moyo will on Sunday convene a meeting of ministers that form the economic cluster at the Elangeni Training Centre in Bulawayo on Sunday to present the ZimAsset implementation plan for the Matabeleland region following dozens of company closures in the city due to the economic downturn.
RICHARD MUPONDE
Matabeleland has been lagging behind in terms of development due to a myriad of problems ranging from water shortages to neglect by central government.
Sunday’s meeting follows a similar meeting held at the same venue in June where 13 Cabinet ministers met with Zanu PF’s provincial co-ordinating committees (PCCs) from Bulawayo, Matabeland North and South.
In a statement yesterday, Khaya Moyo, who is also the ruling Zanu PF national chairman, said the second meeting of Cabinet ministers with the same PCCs would start at 10am.
“The Cabinet ministers who will address the PCCs include Finance minister Patrick Chinamasa, Agriculture minister Joseph Made, Mines minister Walter Chidhakwa, Youth, Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment minister Francis Nhema and Energy minister Dzikamai Mavhaire,” he said.
“The ministers will present papers on the implementation of ZimAsset from a regional perspective.
“Only members of the three PCCs would be allowed to attend this meeting. “It is therefore imperative that all members of these PCCs attend without fail,. Chinamasa is fresh from China where he accompanied President Robert Mugabe on a five-day State visit and he is expected to shed more light on the benefits that would accrue to Matabeleland from the numerous agreements signed with the Asian economic giant.
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Bulawayo has been the worst affected by company closures that have seen thousands of workers losing jobs.
The city, once the country’s industrial hub, has now been reduced to a service provider, and Chinamasa and his colleagues are expected to outline incentives put in place to attract more investors to Bulawayo and the region.
Power shortages have also been central to the flight of businesses from Bulawayo and Mavhaire is set to explain initiatives by his ministry to add more power to the national grid.
Bulawayo Power Station used to generate 90 megawatts (MW) in 1999, but now only churns out 40MW.
The power plant has an installed capacity of 120MW, but years of neglect saw its generating capacity dwindling.
