The Sunday Mail
Garikai Mazara
Mbire Rural District Council, which is embarking on an ambitious plan to be the investment destination of choice in the country, will hold a fund-raising golf tournament on Friday.
Mr Cloudious Majaya, the council’s chief executive officer, said the golf tournament, now in its second year, will be an informal platform for potential investors to meet and discuss the various investment opportunities abundant in the district as well as check on the physical planning progress that has been made so far.
“We are the youngest rural district council in the country but in the next five years, we should be the investment destination of choice for any discerning investor.
“We are encouraged by the support that central Government is rendering to our efforts, especially the construction of the 141km road from Mahuwe to Kanyemba, of which over 10 kilometres have already been tarred.
“Given the projections that have been made by the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development, by 2022 the whole141km stretch would have been tarred. The completion of that task will definitely make Kanyemba the most sought-after investment destination in the country,” explained Mr Majaya.
The fund-raising golf tournament comes on the heels of the highly successful Mbire Investment Conference that was held at the end of last November, which saw African Sun and Glow Petroleum make commitments to be some of the new investors in Kanyemba.
Cde Douglas Karoro, the Member of Parliament for Mbire, who is also the Deputy Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement, said: “I wish to applaud the organisers and participants to the second edition of the Mbire golf tournament.
‘‘This is an opportunity for us to court potential investors. We are looking forward to rope in investors in the agricultural, construction, eco-tourism, hospitality and retail sectors. Thousands of jobs stand to be created for our people in Mbire and beyond.”
The opening of Kanyemba, destined to be a tourism, agricultural and industrial hub will shorten the distance into East Africa by at least 600km, which dovetails with President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s vision to turn “landlocked Zimbabwe” into a land-linked nerve centre of logistics, commerce and information technology in the sub-region.
The most exciting prospects for Kanyemba lies in the 15-km stretch of the Zambezi River frontage.
To this end, infrastructural developers and tourism players have already taken a great interest.
The Infrastructural Development Bank of Zimbabwe, Beat The Drum (Rivergod), Falcon Lodges owned by the District Development Fund and Murara Fishing Camp owned by Wayne Black (former tennis star) are some of the major players that are already on the ground and have shown an interest to help in the transformation of Kanyemba.
Other investments include Paruware Crocodile Farm to be run by Oakfin Micro-finance Investments and Kanongo Sugar Cane Estate with over 15 000 hectares, funded to the tune of US$39 million by New Basic Investments.
Kanyemba also offers exciting tourism packages such as the Seven Baobab Trees, where the remains of Mutapas are interred; petrified stones, slave holding bays and Munhumutapa ruins as well as the 200 million-old dinosaur spoor in the nearby Chewore safari camp.
The golf tournament will be held at the ZRP Golf Club in Highlands with 13 teams having confirmed their participation.
“Whilst we expect many more teams to confirm participation in the coming week, besides using the golf tournament as a platform to position Kanyemba as an investment destination, part of the proceeds will be used to offer STEM subjects at one council-run school in Mbire,” added Mr Majaya.
Mbire in general, and Kanyemba in particular, has lagged behind in infrastructural development for quite a while and it is time for the district to stake its claim as the gateway into the womb of East Africa, the chief executive officer said.
To this end, a landing bay has already been completed on the Zimbabwean side of the Zambezi River.
