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Charity Ruzvidzo Business Reporter
LOCAL industry should be protected from imports in order to keep it viable for economic growth, analysts have said. They said industry should also revise its service provision and seek to become more competitive on the global market. Local companies and businesses are set to launch the Buy Zimbabwe campaign whose thrust is to unlock the country’s economic potential through aggressive support of the production and consumption of local goods and services.
Analysts said if carefully implemented, the Buy Zimbabwe campaign will assist in economic revival.
Bulawayo–based economic analyst and company executive, Ephraim Makara said local industry should do away with the tendency of seeking too high profit margins.
“The Buy Zimbabwe campaign is ideal. Promoting local industry means employment creation for the local people who are currently suffering from high unemployment. However, companies and businesses should do away with the tendency of wanting to make 100 percent profits. If they’re given the opportunity to operate without competition from imports, they should not cheat the people but provide fair services,” he said.
Makara said the liquidity crunch in the country was also stifling local industry from expansion.
“The circulation of money in the country is very low. At the same time, rentals and transport costs are very high. Promoting local purchase of goods in an economically unstable country may prove hideous to the Buy Zimbabwe campaign,” he said.
He urged the government to freeze civil servants pay increase and rationalise its workforce, so as to reduce its wage bill.
“The government should stop wage increment for three years. It should also trim some of the ministries and departments that are not functional. Tax hikes are an effort to pay these people who at most are not really doing much for economic revival.
“The person who suffers the most however is the ordinary person who is forced to pay more for goods. The revenue generated is not channeled to economic revival but to paying wages,” he said.
Empowerment activist, Dr Davison Gomo said the Buy Zimbabwe campaign would survive if the country has a stable economic situation.
“Our economy is currently experiencing difficulties. The capacity utilisation is very low, the cost of doing business is high and the national debt is too high.
“Banning imports is indeed good but how are industries going to survive in a country that has such harsh conditions? The situation only leads to failure to produce to full capacity for the country,” said Dr Gomo.
Tafadzwa Matsika, a Bulawayo based economist said the Buy Zimbabwe campaign should not be a talk show but must yield results.
“Companies and businesses should not encourage people to support their products and not meet their end of the bargain which is fair provision of services,” said Matsika.
Online Reporter