The Finance Minister has said that Zimbabwe is heading for some social problems in the future as the population of urban dwellers increases against poor investment in the country. The Minister was speaking during second Local Government Investment Conference (LOGIC) in Harare today.
Chinamasa said that there was a need for the local authorities to attract investment for the urban dwellers in order to provide the basic human needs.
“When I move around whether in Zvishavane or any other urban centers in Zimbabwe I see people building houses, which is one of those needs but there is no corresponding investment opportunities… We are heading for some social problems in the future”, said the Minister of Finance.
Zimbabwe is still trying to lure investors as many companies close down increasing the unemployment rate and reducing revenues from taxes.
During the conference, the Vice President of Zimbabwe, Phelekezela Mphoko who was the guest of honor said that the Government is fully aware of the local authorities’ predicament, that of the mandate to deliver quality services in the backdrop of a dwindling revenue base.
“Allow me at this juncture, to encourage Councils to continue being proactive in the pursuit of attracting investment into our local communities. This conference programme has been aptly crafted to deal with priority areas of investment within our urban communities,” said VP Mphoko.
Zimbabwe has in the past been luring investors with Chinamasa traveling in many countries around the globe looking for investors. LOGIC has been transformed into an annual event with the first conference being held in Victoria Falls in 2016. This year’s LOGIC conference is being done under the theme Local Government: Promoting Investment and Industrialisation for Socio-Economic Development.