‘Buy Made In Zim’ agenda

Karen Mhlanga

GOVERNMENT has encouraged Zimbabweans to start supporting locally-manufactured goods with the “Buy Made in Zim” agenda to promote economic stability.

Harare Metropolitan Provincial Affairs and Devolution Permanent Secretary, Tafadzwa Muguti, said they intend to promote the agenda by enforcing a policy against informalisation and illegal importing.

Speaking during a tour of the National Foods plant yesterday, he said there was a disturbing increase of smuggled goods in the country.

“We will ensure that we enforce harder and stringent operations in terms of weeding out those smuggling goods and those operating outside the confinements of the law.

“To encourage all the companies operating within the Harare Metropolitan Province to have a hand in glove relationship with the government, the Second Republic supports industries and wants the economy to be grown by indigenous companies,” he said.

He said the Ministry will officially tour the province, meeting captains of industry to get their perspective on the national economy, and how they can work together with the Government, to create a conducive business environment.

“We want to make sure that our shelves are filled with Zimbabwean products.

“If you all remember from the old dispensation we came to a point where only three products out of 10 were from local manufacturers, with the rest being imports.

“We are losing a lot of foreign currency and this has had an adverse effect in terms of our balance of payments.

“We are now promoting the Buy Made in Zimbabwe Agenda.”

He said the contribution of National Foods to the economy has been good.

“One of the sticking points is the adverse effect of how, as Government, we are not doing our part to block smuggled goods into the country.

“We are sitting with the largest piece of land for industrial capacitation and industrial expansion, that is the Sunway City Special Economic Zone.

“We are going to be targeting companies such as National Foods, inviting them into the special economic zone.

“Epworth is going to be undertaking a master plan process where we are going to have new renewed industrial spaces.

“Chitungwiza has already started doing that, and the City of Harare is trying to de-congest the CBD and the industrial area.

“So, we are encouraging more construction of industrial parks,” he said.