Chronicle Editor
Blessing Karubwa, Features Reporter
OVER the past few years, there has been a semblance of economic stability in the country courtesy of a number of initiatives put in place by the Government.
Inflation, which has been a thorn in the flesh for quite some time has been kept low and this has been largely attributed to working blueprints in the form of the Transitional Stabilisation Program (TSP), which provided the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1) with a firm base to spearhead development across all sectors.
Anchored on the NDS1, the country has so far witnessed robust economic activity characterised by increased local production of goods and services on account of easier access to forex through the auction system and reduced imports due to global lockdowns with 80-85 percent of retail goods now being locally produced.
Increased manufacturing capacity utilisation is estimated to have shot to 61 percent as estimated in 2021.
Buoyed by such developments, Government through the Ministry of Industry and Commerce is now concerned with production of quality goods to service the local market.
The ministry therefore, engaged in a value chain strengthening exercise which saw it bringing on board a number of players to share ideas on how to sustain the local value chains.
During the engagements, Dr Mavis Sibanda, the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Industry and Commerce called upon players to ensure they produce quality products so that they strengthen their brands and be able to attract export markets. She said that was in line with the targets of Vision 2030.
Under Vision 2030, the Second Republic is targeting to grow the economy to an upper middle-income economy with a Gross Domestic Product per capita of US$3 500 from US$1 720 in 2018.
The Government is implementing the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS 1) which runs from 2021-2025, with detailed discipline, focusing on stimulating productivity across all the economic sectors and strengthening value chains to help optimise efforts, eliminate waste, and improve profitability.
The value chains help provide useful insights that can bring greater value to the end customer.
Dr Sibanda said the nation should not be subjected to poor quality products, which might also affect people’s health.
“The Government has approved quality policy and we are now working on the implementation; we are going to work with the stakeholders so that people are aware that if you bring substandard products, you should be arrested.
As people of Zimbabwe, we are encouraging a culture of working together and ensure that whatever we produce is of high quality.
We have even gone on to an extent of increasing the number of service providers on Conformity Based Assessments to ensure that products which are coming into Zimbabwe are inspected and are of good quality.
“We are here to encourage the industry as we are working together in terms of the NDS1.
We are saying as a cluster we have some targets and we are sharing the targets with the industry and that’s what we are expected to do.
We are encouraging our industry to ensure that we strengthen the value chain.
In other words, we want the industry to participate where possible from the very beginning like the support, the production of soya beans and even participate in livestock production because at the end of the day what we are looking at is quality leather, which comes out from the ordinary man on the street who has been taught on how to look after the cattle,” she said, adding that the Government has identified the strengthening of already existing value chains as a key strategy to reclaim the country’s position as a strong and growing manufacturing base in Southern Africa.
She said it was in that regard therefore that the NDS 1 prioritised 10 value chains which are dairy, sugar, bus and truck, fertiliser, plastic waste, pharmaceutical, clothing, leather, soya and steel value chains.
There are, however, other value chains that are being implemented besides the ten listed in NDS1.
Speaking in an interview, programme coordinator for Bulawayo Chamber of Small and Medium Enterprises, Mr Nketha Mangoye Dlamini, encouraged players in the industry to participate fully in the calls by the Government.
He said such engagements will increase the levels of economic development.
“Such engagements are opening the industry’s eyes to see that there is an emphasis to tackle the value chains and to improve on the quality of our products ,” he said.
Chief Operations Officer at Zimbabwe Institute of Foundries Bulawayo, Mr Dosman Mangisi, said backwardness in terms of technology and issues of funding are hindering the provision of quality products and the quest to strengthen value chains and meet the targets of Vision 2030.
“The challenges include shortages of raw-materials and in terms of technology we’re still backward.
Other countries are now using 3D technologies; the computer aided technologies and in Zimbabwe it’s still manual sand casting.
“The issue of funding borders on debts and operating costs are still high.
All these contribute to the manufacturing of poor castings and poor products.
There is therefore need for retooling so that good products are availed to the market,” he said.
In Zimbabwe, the casting industry supplies components mainly to the mining, agriculture, construction and manufacturing industries.
The metal casting sector has an input of US$1, 5 billion to the country’s economy, a contribution of 8,9 percent to the GDP.
Chairperson of the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (PMA), Mr Emmanuel Mujuru, requested that public institutions and hospitals should buy from the local industries so as to create market support for those industries.
Mr Mujuru said buying from local industries will also lead to creation of more job opportunities in the country.
“We are appealing for alignment between industrial development policy and public health policy.
That alignment is important because public health should be able to support local manufacturing industries.
When we bring that alignment, it means that if you have got a company that is manufacturing pharmaceutical products; the ministry of health and public health institutions have to be able to help that company, but sometimes we see the same products we are manufacturing being imported,” he said.
Mr Dlamini of the Bulawayo Chamber of Small and Medium Enterprises said for players to come up with quality products, value chains should be in mind right from the beginning.
“In the leather production for example, the types of hides that are coming are of poor value because of where and how the animals are kept and treated.
Some animals are wrongly and terribly branded.
“Such things have got effects on the quality of the final leather.
We also have problems with infrastructure for those that are in the harvesting or socking of the hides.
Currently, we have a number of small to medium-sized enterprise (SMEs) housed at OK Mart in Bulawayo.
They don’t have proper shelter, and when it’s raining most of the hides are affected by the rains and rot.
“On the tanners’ side, the Government should look into retention. I earn $100 and you take $40 leaving me with $60 making it difficult for me to bring in more chemicals.
We are asking the Government to allow them a grace period of two years so that they can have 100 percent retention of their money, then they can get the equipment and technology that can assure us of the best quality that was being asked for by the permanent secretary.
“We can only make quality when provided with the capital,” said Mr Dlamini.
He appealed to the Government for the provision of revolving funds, a fund which is mainly for retooling.
He added that they want access to new technologies so that they could perform better and produce quality products.
“Our members want to produce quality products, but they don’t have financing models to get the necessary inputs.
When I talk of this challenge I mean low interest because if you get capital at high interest rate it’s not user friendly to SMEs.
“NDS1 talk about access to finance and funding so we also need to look at that.
There is need for skilled personnel to produce acceptable quality products and market linkages.
People just manufacture volumes regardless of what people really want and they only discover when they are done manufacturing, so prior knowledge of the market remains vital,” said Mr Dlamini
He encouraged players to acquaint themselves with knowledge of the market as well as create rapport with relevant Government departments.
“We will need to link SMEs with Standard Association of Zimbabwe (SAZ) to work on quality improvement.
We’re also trying to get suppliers who will supply directly to Bulawayo from whatever place or from China.
The idea is now there.
We are now trying to implement it,” said Mr Dlamini.
– @ BlehKarubwa
Londile Moyo
Bongani Ndlovu