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Oliver Kazunga, Senior Business Reporter
A COMMITTEE has been set up to monitor issues arising from the support being given to industry through legal frameworks, an official said yesterday.
Speaking during a roundtable briefing on business and economic matters in Bulawayo, the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) president, Mr Busisa Moyo, said while SI64/2016 had started bearing fruit, corruption and smuggling had increased.
“There’s a committee that was assembled comprising members from CZI and the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce to monitor issues arising from support of industry by the Government through Statutory Instruments.
“Within 48 hours, we might hear the Minister (Mike Bimha) announcing the formation of that committee,” he said.
Earlier on, Mr Moyo indicated that while Statutory Instruments had brought some positives, corruption and smuggling had increased as a result of legal frameworks such as SI64/2016.
“While the Statutory Instruments are good, corruption has undermined this effort because the levels of corruption and in particular smuggling of commodities into the country has gone through the roof now. It has reached alarming proportions.
“Now we are no longer talking about people going on the Open General Import Licence where you go with $250 or $350 and bring in a few goods.
Now people are bringing in 30 tonne rigs on the river bed (Limpopo River) and these are not allegations, I am talking about this based on core evidence.
“Trucks are crossing the Limpopo to avoid SI64/2016 and paying duty,” he said.
“Even wholesalers are complaining because some of these goods are being sold just outside their door. So corruption and smuggling is a big problem now and there is a need to really look deep and to have some serious interventions. Otherwise SI64 will just become a laughing stock.”
The Government has in recent years implemented a number of Statutory Instruments as part of measures to protect local industry from an influx of imported products that have rendered local industry uncompetitive.
CZI and other business organisations have among other challenges indicated that imports were threatening the survival of the local manufacturing sector.
Capacity utilisation in the manufacturing sector has remained on the lower side with CZI indicating that last year industry recorded 34,3 percent capacity utilisation down from 36,3 percent in 2014.
@okazunga
Online Reporter