" I now have my right to work and get my salary": ...

" I now have my right to work and get my salary": Locals celebrate as steel plant changes lives in Chirumanzu

Takunda Mandura

Joyce Chokoto, 22, has an all- too-familiar story. She was literally left holding the baby when her partner, an alluvial gold miner, went away.

“We were in a relationship for a short time. Then there was news of a new discovery of gold in another area and he moved on. Later on, I discovered that I was pregnant. I have no idea how to track him down,” she says.

Joyce says daily survival was a struggle for 2 years as a single mother. Then Dinson Iron and Steel arrived in Chirumhanzu. Now she is employed as a cook and her life has suddenly looked up.

Now employed in the catering department of the USD1 billion investment, Joyce can enjoy some peace of mind and plan for some development in her life.

The iron and steel making plant is in its first phase and is expected to be fully running by August 2024. But its impact on the local scene is already visible.

Jane Nyambani, 24, like Joyce, is also a kitchen worker. She says Dinson Iron and Steel Company has created female empowerment through offering jobs to women who would otherwise spend their lives in unpaid work.

“I am now able to work as a woman, I no longer spend my time sitting at home. I now have my right to work and get my salary and most women can work also,” she said.

Saviours Piki of Chirumanzu expressed optimism over opportunities availed to the youths in Chirimhanzu.

“Our youths currently gain main skills. We have seen our children being employed in the infrastructure development and a lot of semi-skilled youths have been employed. Some are being trained here to be builders and technicians,” Mr Piki said.

“The plant has benefited a lot of local people. Currently, we are doing the construction phase, but we have managed to employ a lot of people from the local community.

“So far we have managed to employ about 800 who have benefited directly from this employment, and most of our employees are coming from the local community,” said company project manager Wilfred Motsi.

Mr Motsi said that Mvuma, Chivhu and Ngezi are the catchment areas for labour recruitment. He pointed out that most local people are not skilled workers and this means that the company has to cast its net wider for specialised hires.

“But where we need expertise and its not available within, we look up to other provinces,” said Mr Motsi.

Former envoy of Zimbabwe to China Ambassador Christopher said the steel operation offers opportunities for skilled young Zimbabweans who are currently out of the country to return home to gainful employment.

At its peak, it is estimated that the company will employ 10 thousand people directly, and indirectly create 50 thousand more jobs through upstream and downstream chains.

Mr Motsi said the company is a game-changer for Zimbabwe as its products will fill a deficit in the market.

“In the first phase of production, we are looking at about 1,2 million metric tons of iron and steel which are going to be produced in this area and most of it will be sold locally because most of the iron and steel which we are getting here is being imported,” Mr Motsi said.

According to Trade Map, Zimbabwe imported iron and steel worth around US$128 million in 2020, with the bulk coming from South Africa (US$108.2 million), China (US$9.3 million), Zambia (US$5 million), and Seychelles (US$2.2 million).

The USD 1 Billion Iron and Steel Plant is expected to last over one hundred years. The project constitutes of a critical building block towards the realisation of the US$12 billion mining economy and national Vision 2030.

The iron and steel sector has been identified as a priority sector by the National Export Strategy (2019-2023).