By Own Correspondent- A foreign investor is considering pulling out of the country after its proposed US$2 million diaper manufacturing project in Bulawayo stalled due to a shortage of foreign currency to import raw materials.

In an interview, Masters Diapers Zimbabwe director Mr Nigam Desai, whose project is the first of its kind in the city, said their investor, a Mauritian company, which is registered in South Africa, has given them 30 days up to May 21, 2019 to show progression of the project.

“Recently, we had a meeting with our investors and they expressed concerns on the delay of this project going ahead. It’s now almost one year and they have been very patient but they have now come to the point where they’re considering withdrawing the investment from Zimbabwe,” he said.

“This is due to the fact that the machines have been here in the country for almost a year, the concerns are that the machines are sitting idle, gathering dust and rusting and the technology has been compromised. 

“You can’t allow the machinery to sit like this for too long, it’s not generating any income and maybe in two-three years time, the machines will become obsolete because the technology is moving at such a fast pace.”

The foreign investor bought the equipment for Masters Diapers Zimbabwe with the hope that the local company would source its own income or foreign currency to secure raw materials for the project to take off. 

The diaper manufacturing business was expected to kick off between November and December last year but still hangs in the balance as Masters Diapers Zimbabwe is yet to secure an undisclosed amount of foreign currency allocation from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ).