An investor with the project, a Zimbabwean based in the United Kingdom, Sam Matarutsa, said they had suspended plans to construct the shoe factory when some of his British investors said they needed time to study the operating environment in the country. “Plans to set up a shoe manufacturing plant are now on hold as some of our partners in the project have said they needed time to study the operating environment for business under the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act,” he said.
He said at their recent meeting in UK they agreed that the decision whether to or not embark on this project would be concluded a year from now. “For now, we can say our plans in that regard are on hold. The final conclusion will be reached when two of my partners in the UK have made their decision on this project. They (British partners) have stated clearly during our recent meeting that the suspension did not mean that they were completely out of the project.
“Maybe they will want us to continue with this project or would figure out a new project proposal, which is totally different from shoe manufacturing,” he said. Construction of the shoe factory was expected to begin before the end of the year and operational by mid-next year, creating more than 100 jobs in its early stages.
Post published in: Economy