Online Reporter
Experts at the ongoing Zimbabwe Economic Development Conference (ZEDCON) have put forward a series of recommendations to help the country leverage its dual membership in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The conference, hosted by the Ministry of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion, heard presentations from Musebenzi Douglas and Whisper Nyandoro of the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI), who both stressed the need for urgent and comprehensive reforms to unlock the country’s full trade potential.
In his presentation on the legal and institutional coherence of trade protocols, Mr Musebenzi warned that Zimbabwe’s current system is “marred by legal fragmentation, institutional fragmentation, and also policy fragmentation.” He argued that without addressing these issues, the country risks missing out on opportunities presented by AfCFTA. To create a more cohesive trade framework, he proposed several key actions. Mr Musebenzi called for the enactment of a National AfCFTA Harmonisation Act to align the country’s trade laws with its commitments. He also recommended a Comprehensive Trade Integration Act to enshrine commitments under both the SADC and AfCFTA treaties, creating a unified legal framework.
To combat fragmented institutions, he suggested a new treaty implementation mechanism for more efficient enforcement. Furthermore, he proposed creating a National AfCFTA Coordination body in Zimbabwe, citing Ghana’s experience as a successful model to benchmark against. Mr Musebenzi also urged the government to establish a coherent national trade policy that addresses both tariff and non-tariff barriers, and to enhance national infrastructure to be compatible with AfCFTA obligations.
Echoing the call for strategic action, Whisper Nyandoro from the CZI presented recommendations to improve Zimbabwe’s trade performance, based on an analysis of trade indicators. Mr Nyandoro urged the government to incentivise the production of high-complex products, explaining that exporting such goods would allow Zimbabwe to realise greater trade gains and diversify its markets more effectively. He highlighted that Zimbabwe has yet to capture a “considerable size of the African market,” and therefore recommended that the country’s trade policy and export strategy should actively prioritise and facilitate market penetration.
Citing that only 5 percent of the manufacturing sector’s output is currently exported, Mr Nyandoro urged the government to provide investment incentives to promote an export-oriented approach. He also advised that policy should be “tightened” for products where the country is losing its comparative advantage. Mr Nyandoro concluded by recommending that Zimbabwe make a strategic decision on whether to invest in reviving industries that have lost their competitive edge or to focus on strengthening sectors where it already has a good comparative advantage.
CZI’s chief executive officer, Sekai Kuvarika, further emphasised the need for a fundamental shift in Zimbabwe’s approach to trade. She began by stating that the pace at which the country signs trade agreements “has to be matched with the pace at which we design policies and strategies to ensure that we have competitive goods and services to trade.” She questioned whether the current composition of Zimbabwe’s exports, which consists mainly of primary products, is a deliberate strategy or a “residual impact of legacy policy.” Ms Kuvarika called for a period of self-reflection to align the nation’s trade policies with its export performance.
Ms Kuvarika also highlighted the significant gap between the signing of trade agreements and their translation into business opportunities for the private sector, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). She believes that this kind of information should be considered a “public good” provided by institutions like the CZI and other trade promotion organisations. According to Ms Kuvarika, while businesses in the “global north” can afford to hire global consulting firms to unpack market opportunities, Zimbabwe’s private sector lacks this capacity and needs institutional support to benefit from regional trade.
She also pointed to the lack of a cohesive policy value chain, questioning the linkages between different policies, such as agriculture and industrialisation, and how they inform trade policy. Ms Kuvarika suggested the introduction of a regional ratings system on key parameters like industrialisation and competitiveness to foster healthy competition among SADC countries. She argued that such a system would encourage countries to strive for regional ideals, ultimately leading to greater integration and shared benefits.
In her concluding remarks, Ms Kuvarika reiterated that industrialisation is the key to trade. She also urged for greater coherence within the region, where SADC countries should view Africa as a “common front” rather than engaging in inter-country competition that hinders regional integration. She stressed the importance of timely policy implementation and the need to reconcile bilateral trade agreements to ensure they reinforce rather than undermine regional trade objectives.
