The Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) Company has proposed to hold this year’s trade showcase in late September when the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic is expected to have subsided.
This follows a decision by the Cabinet to defer the ZITF which was supposed to be held from July 20 to 23 following an exponential rise in coronavirus infections.
In a letter addressed to the Minister of Industry and Commerce, Sekai Nzenza, ZITF Company board chairman, Busisa Moyo said:
We have been ceased with the matter of adjusting ZITF dates which were originally 20-23 July but now require a review of the appropriateness of holding the event on these dates in light of the rise in COVID-19 cases.
Our local, as well as foreign exhibitors, are gravely concerned about travelling and exhibiting given the current trajectory of the pandemic in Zimbabwe.
Indeed, His Excellency Honourable E.D Mnangagwa, The President made a special announcement and placed the country at Lockdown: Level 4.
In light of the foregoing, we, therefore, recommend the following alternative dates: 21-24 September 2021 and 28 September to 1 October 2021.
This year’s edition of the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair was scheduled to run from 20 to 23 July.
The exhibition was last held in 2019. ZITF was suspended in 2020 after the country imposed a lockdown following the outbreak of COVID-19 in March.
This year, the exhibition will run under the theme, “Showcasing the New Normal for Business and Industry: Realities and Opportunities.”
Eleven countries had confirmed participation, namely Angola, Belarus, Botswana, Indonesia, Japan, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa and Tanzania.