7 April 2009
The South African business community was ready to start investing in Zimbabwe, Business Unity SA (Busa) president Patrice Motsepe said after a high-level meeting between a South African business delegation and the Zimbabwean government in Harare on Monday.
“I have confidence that anyone who commits resources to Zimbabwe will see that the country is a good place to do business in,” said Motsepe, chairman of mining firm African Rainbow Minerals and owner of South African Premier League soccer club Mamelodi Sundowns.
The 22-member Busa delegation met with President Robert Mugabe, Finance Minister Tendai Biti, and the local business community.
The delegation included representatives from South Africa’s mining, retail, infrastructure, agriculture, transport, financial services and health care sectors. Busa said business leaders from Aspen Pharmacare, Massmart, Netcare, PPC Cement, Old Mutual, Price Waterhouse Coopers and the Industrial Development Corporation also participated.
Motsepe expressed satisfaction at the progress being made by Zimbabwe’s new unity government in creating a conducive environment for business in the country.
Zimbabwean state newspaper The Herald reports that the government, meeting at a weekend retreat at Victoria Falls, had agreed on a 100-day action plan to restore basic rights, heal political scars and boost international trust in the country.
According to The Herald, the retreat was marked by a high degree of consensus between President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu-PF party and his former opposition rivals, the Movement for Democratic Change led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.
Addressing the meeting, which was sponsored by the World Bank, Tsvangirai again called on the West to “engage with us on our economic recovery programme”.
SAinfo reporter and BuaNews
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