Dangote’s US$1bn Investment Under Threat As Zimbabwe Immigration Frustrates Billionaire’s Move
Aliko Dangote[/caption]
Nigerian Billionaire, Aliko Dangote’s US$1 billion investment move into the Zimbabwean economy may go up in flames as the country’s Immigration Department frustrates his team’s efforts to gain entry into the country.
Dangote’s technical team was denied visa into Zimbabwe as the company is set to expedite work in the country, the Financial Gazette exclusively reports.
The report linked the delay in commencement of the mega investment to the “power tussle” between President Robert Mugabe’s faction and that of his Vice, Emmerson Mnangagwa, as both are said to be frustrating the investment prospect.
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Mugabe is reportedly pushing very hard to expedite Dangote’s investment plans, while Mnangagwa’s faction is frustrating the efforts, with the hope that the deal clicks when the Vice President must have succeeded Mugabe.
Dangote Group is said to have secured the required permits already from the Zimbabwe Investment Authority (ZIA), and is set to hit ground running, said an official of the ZIA, Farai Sadomba.
“Yes, Dangote has met with difficulties in acquiring visas from the Immigration Department for his technical team to get into Zimbabwe,” Sadomba said in a terse response to the newspaper’s enquiry.
Recall that Aliko Dangote had met with President Mugabe last year after which he promised to invest over US$1 billion in the economy of Zimbabwe.
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Dangote is expanding into power generation, coal mining, and plans to sink the company’s biggest cement manufacturing plant, said to be worth over US$400 million in Zimbabwe.
