By Alvin Madzivanzira
Recently in Kuwait

ZIMBABWE may draw several lessons from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Arab Emirates, the Asian economic Tigers who have transformed their desert into modern day cities.
Petroleum is the lifeblood of the Emirs that make up the UAE and their development has been hinged on oil sales.
The UAE is endowed with vast oil and natural gas reserves while Zimbabwe has massive mineral reserves and arable land.
Gold, diamonds, copper, nickel, tin, asbestos, platinum, iron and graphite are some of the numerous minerals found in Zimbabwe.
Economies in the UAE are centred on petroleum sales and for Kuwait alone, oil revenue accounts for 75 percent of the government’s income.
About 87 percent of the export revenues is earned through petroleum sales.
Petroleum being their biggest revenue earner, a sound economic policy thus is complementing their vast God-given resources.
Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) has the oil concessions and is a public entity.
The nationalisation of KOC meant that the Kuwait government has control over its operations.
A closer look at the life of an average Kuwait citizen reflects that all is well in the Arab State.
They afford to drive top-of-the-range American cars and stay in classy mansions.
Fuel is very affordable while their currency is the strongest in the world.
Currently one Kuwait Dinar is equivalent to 3,53488 USD.
Hosting the Third Africa-Arab Summit is clear testimony that all is well in their economy and they are in control.
The Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC), an integrated international oil company, is the parent company of the government’s operations in the petroleum sector, and includes Kuwait Oil Company, which produces oil and gas; Kuwait National Petroleum Co., refining and domestic sales; Petrochemical Industries Co., producing ammonia and urea fertilisers; Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Co., with several concessions in developing countries; Kuwait Oil Tanker Co.; and Santa Fe International Corp.
Such can be done for our minerals where the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC) should create other mineral refining companies.
They may set up diamond and cutting companies and a platinum refining company which will be parastatals that contribute money to the fiscus.
The Kuwait government has realised that exporting raw crude oil has little returns than exporting products that are refined.
Exporting refined products is beneficial to the locals as they can get employed in the downstream industries.
Zimbabwe should therefore ensure that no mineral leaves the country in its raw state.
The government made frantic efforts to make sure that chrome is smelted in Zimbabwe before export.
However, other minerals are leaving the country as ore.
Zimbabwe has vast platinum reserves along the Great Dyke, but year in year out, the white metal is exported as ore.
After its refining cobalt, rhodium and palladium among other metals are separated from the white metal.
A lot of revenue is lost as the beneficiation of platinum is done in South Africa.
Jobs are created for the South Africans while the locals are only involved in the mining process.
The Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act is one of the legal frameworks that is expected to address the economic imbalances and make sure that locals benefit immensely from the natural resources.
The 51/49 percent shareholding structure is empowering communities, but the major unaddressed issue is of beneficiation of minerals.
Diamonds too are also affected.
The precious mineral is exported in its rough state without being cut or polished.
Polishing and cutting is being done in other countries and Zimbabwe is losing millions of dollars.
The unpolished and uncut diamond fetches 80 percent less prices on the market.
There are efforts, however, to close the gap by establishing diamond cutting and polishing firms in the country, but the pace is rather slow.
Legislators need to enact laws that bar minerals from being exported in their raw state.
As a nation, we need to learn from others who are making tremendous growth in their economies.
Apart from learning from the UAE, Zimbabwe can forge stronger ties with the Emirs and benefit from the petro dollars through government to government deals in various sectors of the economy.
Recently, Kuwait pledged US$1 billion of soft loans to Africa in the next five years and Zimbabwe may benefit from the Sheik’s offer.
It will not be the first time Zimbabwe benefits from Kuwait as after independence the Arab nation assisted Zimbabwe through the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development.