For too long, Zimbabwe’s wealth has been shipped away in its rawest form, leaving behind little more than potholed roads and broken promises. However, on Friday, Vice President Dr Constantino Guvheya Chiwenga drew a line in the sand, announcing a radical new economic doctrine designed to ensure every Zimbabwean finally tastes the fruits of their own soil, Mining Zimbabwe can report.
By Rudairo Mapuranga
In a powerful address at the Chinese-owned Dinson Mining Investments’ Gwanda Lithium Mine in Matabeleland South, Vice President Chiwenga declared the death of the “extract and export” model, proclaiming an irreversible shift to a future where Zimbabweans are not just miners, but manufacturers; not just labourers, but owners of a value chain that stretches from the mine to the marketplace.
“We want all of us to be mindful that we must move beyond the extract and export model,” Chiwenga stated, his voice echoing across the mining site. “But we must say extract, process, beneficiate, and manufacture in the country. That’s our model. The exportation of raw material? No.”
This is more than just policy; it’s a vision of national transformation. The Vice President painted a vivid picture of a Zimbabwe where lithium mined in Gwanda is processed into components for the smartphones and laptops of the African continent—creating jobs, building local industries, and bringing “smiles up to the ear” for communities long sidelined from the riches beneath their feet.
Framing this economic revolution within the deep historical ties with China—a “people-to-people” relationship—Chiwenga argued that true partnership means mutual benefit. He demanded that investments must translate into tangible improvements for locals through corporate social responsibility initiatives focusing on roads, schools, and skills development.
“Investment in the mining sector should be mutually beneficial to the investor, to the nation, and to the communities,” he charged, instructing the Ministers of Mines and State to ensure cooperation. “Once that happens, smiles will be up to the ear. Everyone will be smiling, everyone will be happy.”
With this bold stance, the government is signalling that the era of watching raw resources leave the country is over. The new era, as declared from Gwanda, is one where Zimbabweans themselves will build, process, and prosper.
