adminNgoni Dapira
ZIMBABWE’s economic independence and recovery will only come around through innovation, the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce has said. ZNCC Manicaland chairman Mr Tamuka Macheka said this recently during the Manicaland Business Indaba organised by the National Defence College Course 3 of 2014 held in Mutare.
“If not now then when, if not us then who? We need to deliver economic independence through innovation,” said the ZNCC Manicaland chairman.
Mr Macheka said Zimbabwe must learn from the Chinese and Indian models as the country strives to achieve economic growth.
He said the Chinese model, colloquially called the Zhing Zhong, started as a gag, but China is now the world’s second-largest economy in terms of nominal Gross Domestic Product, totalling approximately $9,3253 trillion.
“Africa is among the fastest-growing economies in the world, but the question is where are we going wrong? We need to build and promote brand Africa . . .
“Let us learn from the Chinese model and become innovative in the context of our state of affairs.
“China has a work ethic where they believe in not buying (importing) anything they can produce in their backyard.
“They also believe in mass production and value for money which is why you can buy anything, like $1 for two shirts,” said Mr Macheka.
He said Indians on the other hand are chief negotiators, a reason why the Indian economy is now the world’s 10th largest by nominal GDP and third-largest by purchasing power parity.
Mr Macheka added that Zimbabwe’s current economic impasse was because policymakers preferred tackling head-on the trivial issues instead of the deep-seated issues.
He urged Government to tackle the deep-rooted issues in order to achieve economic growth and turn Zimbabwe into a competitive economy.
The Manicaland Business Indaba was part of the NDC’s countrywide tour to assess the economic and political environment and come up with a strategic national security paper that will be presented to Cabinet.
Online Reporter