adminIT is important for Zimbabwean consumers to understand how various countries support their manufacturing sector, particularly the motor industry sector.
This is a response to the article published last week that quoted Mutare Junior School headmaster Mr Rodger Sithole, which I felt made interesting reading.
I was surprised to realise that with all our education as Zimbabweans, we are ignorant of factors which affect international trade and international marketing. Ignorant because we are not aware of how foreign governments assist their manufacturers to increase exports to neighbouring and overseas countries. However, the subject of international trade is not what I am going to talk about in this article.
I just want to point out that the locally assembled Q-Bus might appear similar to the imported Zhongtong buses but they are not the same. Unlike the imported buses which are made out of fibreglass, the Q-Bus body is made out of galvanised steel. Furthermore, those who are buying imported buses do not have warranties for both the engine parts and body parts but in the case of the locally assembled bus, the engine and the body are covered by warranties of one to two years.
Those schools that have bought locally assembled buses have received free training about how the bus operates and are guaranteed spare parts and technical advice.
My advice to fellow Zimbabweans is that local is better than imported. The Buy Zimbabwe initiative is to ensure that we achieve the Zimbabwe we want. Buying local has economic, social and political benefits.
The Zimbabwe we want is one which has a positive economic growth and takes our educated youths off the streets where they are currently selling airtime and hustling for a living. Furthermore, buying locally makes us proud Zimbabweans as we build something to show for our great education.
If our youth continue being vendors and commuter drivers we can kiss goodbye the industrialisation of the Zimbabwean economy. We must know that we have moved away from the information age and we are now in the knowledge age and knowledge entails effective use of information and education.
Foreign governments subsidise their manufacturers when they export, for example South Africa has an inducement of R70 000 a month on every employee who is in the motor trade industry while the United States of America and the Canadian governments poured in almost US$80 billion in order to make their motor industry competitive and survive.
As a matter of fact, the US government relies on the “Buy United States” Act to protect their local manufacturers. With all our education Zimbabweans have become socially inferior because we do not have anything that we call our own despite the fact that we are the only Africans who own our land.
Time and again we hear prostitution in institutions of higher learning because our youth are struggling to earn a living. All the social vices we are witnessing today are a direct result of failing to grow our industry.
If the cheap imports are priced cheaper it does not mean the product is better than the one which is a bit pricy. Only last week we woke up to hear that some cheap imported beverages have been banned because they are a hazard to our health despite being cheap to buy.
We are creating a time bomb by shunning locally produced goods for cheap, inferior quality imported products. We are becoming our own grave diggers. What legacy are we leaving for our children?
To say imported buses are better than the locally assembled Q-Bus is truth based on self-deception, corruption and ignorance. Buy Zimbabwe is the only way we can achieve the Zimbabwe we want.
Charles Tawazadza is Chairman of Revraz Investments (Pvt) Ltd trading as Dzimbahwe Vehicle Sales. Email: [email protected]
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