'Zim must not expect any economic miracles, I'm not Makandiwa'

Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa warned Zimbabweans not to expect any economic miracles as he is not UFIC founder, Prophet Emmanuel Makandiwa.

Speaking at the ZIA investment awards last night Chinamasa said, "Most of the advice I have received is basically asking me to build a roof over a non-existent structure. A lot of the people that speak to me are expecting miracles and I have been trying to explain to them that I am not Makandiwa. I am not a prophet; I deal with practical physical issues.

"We need a foundation and build brick by brick, with our priorities being energy and water as there is a correlation between energy supply and economic growth," he said.

Chinamasa said foreign direct investment was critical in funding the Zimbabwe Agenda on Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation blueprint.

Government, he said, was also looking at other ways of raising the funds needed for the blueprint.

"I am considering the securitisation of our minerals because we noticed that there are foreign business people who come and buy claims.

They carry out geological surveys with the intention to sell those claims on the stock exchanges overseas. It is my hope that we get such claims so that we leverage our resources. There are several banks that have already indicated that they are willing to give us the money to carry out the geological surveys, so the ball is in our court," he said.

Chinamasa said Government was also looking at mobilising funds from Zimbabweans living abroad.

"I am also looking at the Diaspora and see what value we can reap from our population that is outside. One of the considerations we have is that we float Diaspora bonds," he said.

Meanwhile, 20 organisations and individuals walked away with awards for their investment contribution in the country.

Delta Corporation walked away with two awards while Hwange Colliery Company Limited won three awards. BAT Zimbabwe was the best in manufacturing while Masimba Holdings bagged the construction and construction services award with CBZ Holdings tops in the banking sector.

Other winners were Lake Harvest (Pvt) Ltd and Chengeta Safari Lodge. In the lifetime category, other winners included Turnall Holdings Limited, Standard Chartered Bank Limited, Tanganda Tea Company Limited, Meikles Africa Limited and Econet Wireless.

Companies which had notable corporate social responsibility projects were Econet, Zimplats and Tanganda while the green business award went to Nyaradzo Holdings.

ZIA recognition awards went to Savanna Tobacco (Pvt) Ltd, Hualong Construction (Pvt) Ltd, African Century Leasing Limited, Makomo Resources (Pvt) Ltd, Xiangbo (Pvt) Ltd, Lonrho Logistics (Rollex) and Chengeta Safari Lodge. The source country award and special recognition certificate went to the Chinese Embassy.