Inside the Manhize Blueprint: How Zimbabwe is Betting on The Steel Industry to drive Industrialization

BY KUDAKWASHE MANJONJO 

In the 2026–2030 National Development Strategy (NDS3) and 2026 National Budget released last week, Zimbabwe has positioned the Manhize steel plant as the anchor of a new integrated industrial era—one designed to slash the country’s US$1.9 billion steel import bill, deepen value addition, and pull downstream industries into a regional manufacturing hub. 

The government is counting on a number of reforms to do this. Below, I look at some of the key policy moves shaping the steel industry strategy: 

1. Enforcing Local Content in Strategic Sectors 

The government will roll out mandatory local content thresholds, ensuring that major infrastructure projects procure steel inputs—such as rebars and R-bars—from domestic producers. 

2. Recasting Steel as an Industrial Product, not a Mineral 

A legislative review will amend S.I. 110 of 1983 to declassify finished steel products as minerals. This will streamline export procedures and support the expansion of value-added steel production. 

3. Manhize as a Special Economic Zone 

The Manhize SEZ is set to become a fully integrated industrial hub—Zimbabwe’s flagship steel centre and a potential leader in Southern Africa. The zone is designed to attract downstream industries, including fabrication, construction materials, machinery, and automotive components. 

4. Incentives for Beneficiation 

To advance domestic mineral processing, the Government of Zimbabwe has introduced a suite of incentives: 

• Removal of customs duty on capital equipment for beneficiation plants. 

• Extended VAT deferments to ease project cashflow. 

• Automatic VAT registration for mining companies investing US$100 million or more during plant construction, subject to ministerial approval. 

5. Strategic Export Taxes 

To encourage local processing, the government has introduced: 

• A tiered export tax on lithium aimed at promoting domestic benefits. 

• A 5% export tax on ferrochrome, designed to retain more value in-country. 

6. Cheaper Inputs for Industry 

Import duties and surtax are being suspended on key production inputs for the iron and steel sector—particularly those not produced in Zimbabwe—to stimulate smelting, rolling, and fabrication capacity. 

Additional Industrial–Mining Policies 

7. Building a Stronger Geological Base 

A nationwide Geomagnetic Airborne Geophysical Survey, undertaken with local and international partners, will upgrade the country’s exploration data, identify new deposits, and reduce investor risk. 

8. Closing Mineral Leakages 

Government will strengthen ore monitoring by capacitating the Metallurgical Research Institute (MRI) and Mining Promotion Corporation to conduct comprehensive assaying of outward-bound ores, especially for critical minerals and rare earth elements. 

9. Digitalising Mining Rights 

The full operationalisation of the computerised Mining Cadastre System will offer a transparent, modern platform for acquiring and managing mining rights, improving ease of doing business in the sector. 

The Bigger Picture 

Although not without challenges—particularly the Manhize plant’s heavy dependence on coal-based steelmaking, which may face rising costs under emerging global carbon border taxes—these reforms collectively signal a deliberate national shift toward industrialisation, local value retention, and regional competitiveness. 

With Manhize as the nucleus, Zimbabwe is betting on steel to drive a broader manufacturing ecosystem that links mining, processing, fabrication, and export-oriented production. 

If implemented effectively, this blueprint could catalyse one of the most significant industrial transformations in Southern Africa this decade. 

Kudakwashe Manjonjo is the Just Transition Advisor at Power Shift Africa