ZIMPLATS Holdings Limited (Zimplats) chief executive officer Alexander Mhembere has called on the government to maintain a stable and predictable policy environment, arguing that policy consistency is essential for attracting investment, driving industrialisation and sustaining economic growth.
Earlier this year, the World Bank found that Zimbabwe’s business regulatory environment is constraining private sector growth, noting a “rise in excessive business regulations” following widespread criticism of the new taxes introduced in the 2026 National Budget.
This coupled with an increase in backdated taxes typically covering the 2019 to 2022 period concerning VAT is mounting increasing operational pressure on local businesses.
The appeal was made during a panel discussion on the second day of the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce annual congress, held under the theme From Resilience to Competitiveness: Charting a New Path for Sustainable Industrial Growth.
Mhembere said policy consistency was more important to investors than government subsidies.
“We need policy consistency to ensure that our national development objectives are achieved,” he said.
Keep Reading
- ZITF Company launches AfriConfex
- Power crisis hits Proplastics factory
- Women urged to take advantage of Women’s Bank
- Half of Zim youths loafing: ZimStat
“The government and the private sector must work together to create an environment that supports investment and growth.”
He noted that while the government’s National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1) that ended last year provided a clear vision for economic transformation, effective implementation remained crucial.
“We have to back up policy intentions with execution that supports actual activity on the ground.
“Policy consistency is critical because investors need confidence that the environment in which they invest today will remain predictable over the life of their projects.”
Mhembere said mining investments, which often require significant capital and have long development periods, were particularly vulnerable to policy shifts.
Zimplats is the country’s largest platinum miner.
“An investor may commit resources today, but by the time production begins, the policy environment may have changed significantly. That becomes a major challenge,” Mhembere said.
“Investors do not necessarily need subsidies; they need certainty and an enabling environment that allows them to make long-term decisions with confidence.
“Strategy and execution are critical.
“There is a need for both government and the private sector to strengthen implementation capacity to ensure that policies deliver the intended results.”
United Nations Industrial Development Organisation country representative Innocent Madziva said countries rich in natural resources often struggle to develop strong manufacturing sectors when institutional frameworks are weak.
He added that natural resources could become a catalyst for industrialisation only when supported by strong institutions, effective governance and coherent policies.
“Our research shows that countries with abundant natural resources but weaker institutions tend to have lower-than-expected levels of manufacturing development,” Madziva said.
He urged policymakers to treat manufacturing as a strategic sector capable of driving broader economic transformation.
“We need to build an ecosystem around manufacturing that includes suppliers, skilled workers, research institutions, and supporting services.
“This ecosystem must also promote sustainable industrial development and cleaner production methods.”
Madziva added that strengthening institutions was essential to unlocking the full benefits of Zimbabwe’s resource wealth.
Industry and Commerce’s Commerce ministry director Douglas Runyowa said Zimbabwe had significant opportunities to move up the value chain through beneficiation and value addition highlighting the country’s recent export of lithium sulphate.
“Value addition and beneficiation are possible and already happening,” he said.
“The challenge now is to scale these initiatives across sectors, including mining and agriculture.”
Runyowa called on ZNCC to identify companies involved in value addition and create sector-specific working groups to engage government on policy support and operational challenges.
“We need continuous engagement between industry and government so that challenges can be addressed on a case-by-case basis and opportunities can be fully exploited.”