Acting President Constantino Chiwenga has said iron and lithium will be pivotal for Zimbabwe’s economic growth just as oil is to Saudi Arabia.
Chiwenga who doubles as the Minister of Health and Child Care made the remarks while addressing a Family of God (FOG) 2022/23 national thanksgiving and dedication prayer in Bulawayo on Thursday, NewsDay reported. He is cited as saying:
Fear not for the Lord Almighty is with you. Zimbabwe will not die or collapse. Those who want this God-given country to fold will be punished threefold. Yes, it has been painful to our people, but that’s the price we have to pay.
And so, we shall build our nation with the resources which we were given by the Almighty God. We are faced by unjust and illegal sanctions. We have embarked in the work of re-engaging with hostile regimes, which have imposed illegal sanctions which are meant to cripple us. As we work hard on the frontier of engagement and re-engagement, we can say we can see the light at the end of the tunnel, with our sister African nations assisting us. Iron and lithium will be pivotal in the growth and development of the country. Just as oil is to Saudi Arabia, so is lithium to Zimbabwe. So, we will not die.
His remarks come as the government banned exports of raw lithium last week in an effort to value-add Zimbabwe’s minerals and support local production and employment creation.
- Zimbabwe Bans Export Of Raw Lithium
- Police Intercept Trucks Loaded With Lithium Ore
- Two Men Arrested While Trying To Smuggle 40 Tonnes Of Lithium Ore To South Africa
- Zimbabwe Scheduled To Commission Africa’s Biggest Steel Plant
The ban was effected through Statutory Instrument (SI) 213 of 2022 titled Base Mineral Export Control (Unbeneficiated Lithium Bearing Ores) Order, 2022.
Lithium is becoming increasingly important as the world shifts towards clean energy systems.
Zimbabwe has abundant deposits of lithium and, with rising global demand and firmer prices, it has become an attractive destination for investment in this resource.
In June this year, the minister of Mines and Mining Development, Winston Chitando said Zimbabwe is on course to achieve the US$12 billion mining industry target by 2023.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s 2022 surplus from oil sales came to 102 billion riyals (US$27 billion), according to the kingdom’s finance ministry’s preliminary estimates.
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The difference lies in institutionalized corruption perpetrated in the two countries…
Saudi Arabia 🇸🇦 resources are well managed and serve its citizens. Zimbabwe 🇿🇼 resources are for Zanu pf elite and thugs and their families. The Saudi 🇸🇦 funds are managed through national Tresurey while in Zimbabwe 🇿🇼 the funds are managed by EDIOT ,Generaru and Queen B Kuda, Chris and Monika . List is endless. Chiadzwa diamond 💎 is a good example that no matter what natural resources we have in Zimbabwe, how they are managed is the question. Corruption and looting from First Family and State House.
So who is there to manage the wealth? A soldier? Is a soldier the most intelligent anywhere? Isn’t it funny that at university entry, no less than 15points are required to be admitted into Engineering and Medicine.
If candidate has less, they may take other disciplines such as BArts, History, Politics…These are the same people later to be appointed to Party Chairman before becoming MPs and Ministers to preside over Engineers and medical doctor who must now submit to the lowly intelligence. As to the military its worse. No one joins the army as the cream dela cream of intellectual mastery. They go their as a last resort because they can’t fit anywhere else. Hence they can only put their lives on the block. These then become Presidential material, dribbled by Chinese Engineer leaders like Xi Jin Ping and his team. Nxaaa!