Buy Zimbabwe hails monitoring of imports

Lovemore Zigara, Midlands Correspondent
LOCAL lobby group advocating for utilisation of local goods and services, Buy Zimbabwe, has lauded government efforts of monitoring and regulating foreign products to ensure that they adhere to minimum quality standards.

Speaking on the sidelines of the launch of an internship programme in Gweru, Buy Zimbabwe chief executive officer, Munyaradzi Hwengwere, said it was now incumbent on the local industry to come up with quality products and be competitive on the local market.

“One of the problems which were affecting the competitiveness of local industry is that Zimbabwe had become a dumping ground for foreign goods. Foreign firms were now taking advantage of laxities in our system to change labels on substandard products by repacking and selling on the local market. This was deceptive and unethical marketing, which you can’t do, for instance, in South Africa,” he said.

“Bringing Bureau Veritas has levelled the playing field and this in an opportunity for local companies to position themselves. It’s not to stop foreign products from coming in because we can’t do that since we live in a global village, so it’s incumbent on us to protect the money that’s here and build on our competitiveness.”

The government contracted Bureau Veritas, a French International firm last year and started work early this year to ensure that products coming into the country comply with its minimum standards.