MIDWEEK REPORTER
BULAWAYO: Power outage has brought business at a brief standstill at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair’s (ZITF) International Business Conference (IBC) in Bulawayo this Wednesday.
This laid bare Zimbabwe’s serious and incessant power challenges that threaten to derail efforts to resuscitate the ailing economy.
The awkward moment also flies in the face of Vice President Rtd General Constantino Chiwenga who was the Guest of Honour at today’s monumental gathering for Zimbabwe’s socio-economic future.
ZITF issued a statement apologising on the power outage at the IBC.
“The outage of electricity earlier was due to an unexpected fault on the power line into the fairgrounds of the Zimbabwe International Conference and Exhibition Smart City (ZICES).
“Nevertheless, ZITF Board and Management wish to apologize for any inconvenience and discomfort caused. The efforts to upgrade our facility into a smart city include solarising all our exhibition halls including the auditorium where the IBC was held,” said ZITF in a statement.
ZITF further noted that it experienced an overload on the normal power line and the back up generator from the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) that ran since morning also developed a technical fault leading to the power blackout.
The ZETDC technicians quickly attended to the technical fault on the generator resulting in power restoration according to ZITF.
IBC runs under the theme, “Revitalising Industrialisation for Zimbabwe’s Economic Resurgence.”
The premier business forum, IBC draws captains of industry, foreign investors and senior Government officials together to discuss investment opportunities and seal business partnerships that would set Zimbabwe on an economic growth trajectory.
A week-long ZITF that is running under the theme, “Industrialisation: Crafting an Integrated Economic Landscape is expected to be officially opened by Mozambican President Daniel Chapo this Friday.
Countries participating at this year’s ZITF 65th edition include Austria, Angola, Afghanistan l, Belarus, Botswana, Brazil, Egypt, China, Canada, United Kingdom, Mozambique, Rwanda, South Africa, European Union delagation, Tanzania and Italy, to mention just a few.
