AFRICAN NEWS
Recently appointed as the
African Union special envoy
for infrastructure development
in the continent Raila Odinga
has announced he intends to
oversee construction of
60 000km highways linking the
entire continent with modern
highways and railways such
as the Trans-African highway
project commissioned in 1971
to open up the continent for
trade. Should this come to
fruition, it should have an
enormous impact on the region’s
quarries and asphalt suppliers.
“Primary projects will be an
says he accepted the AU role
because he believes land
transport is an integral part
of the continent’s economic
growth and that he intends to
build another 4 700km road
between Dakar and Lagos.
He explains that out of nine
highways proposed over four
decades ago, only the
4 500km road between Dakar
and N’Djamena in Chad had
actually been constructed.
“My belief is that having
reliable road infrastructure
and railways linking all
corners of Africa will open
8 000km highway linking Cairo
(Egypt) to Cape Town (South
Africa) and another
8 0000km road will stretch
from Cairo to Dakar in
Senegal. A 6 000km road
linking Mombasa in Kenya to
Lagos in Nigeria, is part of this
ambitious project,” says
Raila Odinga.
The Kenyan opposition
leader indicated that linking
Kenya to Nigeria via road
will be one of his priorities
as African Union’s high
representative of infrastructure
and development. Odinga
Cape to Cairo finally to become a reality
The end destination.
up the continent and make it
a gateway to the 21st century.
Through my new position I am
determined to take Africa to
economic independence,” says
Odinga.
Zimbabwe's mining sector is
poised for better times with
foreign investors reportedly
showing strong interest since
the new dispensation attained
power, according to mines and
mining development minister
Winston Chitando.
Chitando told delegates at
Zimbabwe’s international trade
fair, Mine Entra 2018, that the
mining sector was primed for
a massive injection of foreign
capital, the absence of which
over the years had constrained
growth. While interest from
foreign investors spanned
across the entire range of
over 40 minerals found in
Zimbabwe, gold, which
appears to have been hit the
hardest by foreign investment
drought, was positioned to
benefit most. Chitando says he
is expecting an investor which
has expressed interest, to
shortly invest USD50-million
into the extraction of gold in
the country.
Mining is strategic to the
Zimbabwe economy as it
currently generates more than
60% of the country's annual
exports and contributes
6_QUARRY SA| JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019
between 12% and 16% of its
GDP. “At the onset of the new
dispensation together with
President Mnangagwa we went
to Davos (for World Economic
Forum meetings) and in
other subsequent meetings
with investors the appetite for
investing in Zimbabwe has
never been this high. When
the session was put together,
the room ended up fitting
only 27 people, but 45 had
registered. So we will make
sure that we are able to grow
this industry,” he says.
The anticipated capital
inflow will feed into various
domestic projects the
government is planning,
growing the mining sector
to leverage the government’s
Vision 2030 which is targeting
middle income status by 2030
with per capita income for
the country. Chitando says
the government has lined
up various mineral-specific
support measures as it targets
growing the mining sector
from a USD3-billion sector to
USD12-billion by 2023.
This comes as major
investments are anticipated in
Good times beckon for
Zim mining sector
Zimbabwe Ruins, signs of early quarrying in Monomotapa.
specific projects that include
coal bed methane;
USD4.2-billion Karo
Resources; Tsingshan’s, world's
top stainless steel producer’s
USD1-billion stainless
steel project; government’s
USD400-million diamond
production recapitalisation;
and Great Dyke Investments'
ongoing planned multi-
million dollar investment
into PGMs production in
Darwendale.