Former Minister Reveals How Bulawayo Missed Out On Major Oil Refinery Deal
A former Zimbabwean government minister has revealed how a major British oil refinery project for Bulawayo was allegedly blocked during the Government of National Unity (GNU) era. Moses Mzila Ndlovu, who served as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs at the time, claims the deal could have transformed the region’s economy—but it never saw the light of day.
“Three Times I Spoke To Ncube”
In a social media post on Monday, 18 August 2025, Mzila recounted how a British company approached him in 2011 with plans to set up a mobile oil refinery in Bulawayo. The project, he said, would have capitalised on the city’s rail links to four neighbouring countries and helped reverse the “deliberate de-industrialisation of Matabeleland.”
“I was a Deputy Minister in Foreign Affairs, so I engaged the Industry and Trade Minister, Prof Welshman Ncube,” Mzila wrote.
“All they needed was coalition government approval to install the refinery and start processing crude oil from Beira. I forwarded detailed papers with impressive pictures to Ncube. Three times I spoke to him, and each time he assured me my proposal would be tabled in the next cabinet meeting. I never heard from him until the coalition government folded in 2013.”
The GNU, a power-sharing agreement between ZANU-PF and the MDC factions, ran from 2009 to 2013. Mzila, a veteran of Zimbabwe’s liberation war, later served as Minister of State in the Organ for National Healing, Reconciliation, and Integration (ONHRI).
“Lost Opportunities”
Mzila lamented that the failure to secure the deal was a “lost opportunity” for Bulawayo, which has long struggled with industrial decline.
“Here we are, exactly the same initiative 14 years later, and the region is excited,” he said, referring to renewed interest in refinery projects.
The former minister did not name the British company involved, nor did he specify why he believes Ncube failed to table the proposal. Welshman Ncube, who served as Minister of Industry and Commerce during the GNU, has not publicly responded to the claims.
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The post Ex-Minister Exposes How British Oil Refinery Project For Bulawayo Was Blocked During GNU Era appeared first on iHarare News.
