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Robin Muchetu, Senior Reporter
THE Government has encouraged local firms to increase their capacity to ensure more goods are available locally as a way of reducing the import bill.
The Minister in Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s office, Cde Clifford Sibanda, said this while touring a Bulawayo firm Xmpla in Belmont recently. Xmpla is a business services company and operates in the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), business consulting, renewable energy — solar, and import and export services sector. It also supplies solar geysers in the city and beyond.
Cde Sibanda said: “We have to try and get companies like this one, so we can manufacture some products locally and import less. They have the ability to import some few components of their solar like the glass tubing but the geyser itself they can make locally and this is what we encourage all industries to do.”
He said companies like Xmpla have the capacity to venture more into manufacturing which will grow the local industry.
The minister said Zimbabwe is however, facing stiff competition from China which is manufacturing products like solar geysers in bulk and supplying the world over.
Cde Sibanda said local entrepreneurs like Xampla should take advantage of the manpower and skills at their disposal to improve production. Xmpla chief executive officer Mr Mark Wells said his company wanted to open a plant in Bulawayo that will supply solar geysers to the whole country.
Online Reporter