Let’s have more action, and less talk, please

nicely. The reason I say this is because there is no end in sight on the subject and the only benefit we seem to be getting from it is that it makes for good conversation at conferences such as the just-ended High-Level Technical Dialogue on Zimbabwe Growth Recovery held on Wednesday.

Mr Flavian Nyikadzino Gonese, who is a member of the National Economic Consultative Forum and managing director of Solar Solutions, had one of the most interesting takes on the conference when he dismissed it as yet another “high-level talkshop” following the much hyped Victoria Falls Economic

Forum held a few months ago. He said after much deliberation at such conferences still nothing much has been achieved and one cannot resist but to agree with such a fair assessment of things.

The Manufacturing Breakaway session held on the sidelines of the Wednesday conference dwelled on the heated conversation between FDI and indigenisation. Interestingly, Star FM presenter Innocent

Tshuma focused on the same subject later on the same evening.
Studio guests Finance Minister Tendai Biti and Zanu-PF director of indigenisation Mr Kurai Prosper Masenyama had a serious go at each other comparing MDC’s Juice Economic Agenda versus Indigenisation.

The debate even got more heated when Minister of Youth, Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment responded to Minister Biti’s challenge and drove to the Star FM studios perhaps as a sign of being incensed by Minister Biti’s remarks. Now my two cents worth is that whether it’s Juice or

Indigenisation or FDI versus indigenisation we ought to be pragmatic as a country. Let us focus on creating the multiplier effect which in the interim protects the little finances we have as a country.

I believe there are things that we can do in the interim which we possibly do not need to have fierce arguments about on FDI or indigenisation. The real issue is that as a country we are grappling for finances yet we hear separate arguments suggesting that the finances are there in the country.

This has led me to believe that we are our own enemies as a country. During the conference a Government official encouraged Zimbabweans to ask themselves “where the money is.” My contribution is that we as Zimbabweans unfortunately have a tendency to waste the little money we have.

The State Procurement Board, for example, went ahead and bought close to 300 vehicles for a parastatal from foreign suppliers when our local car assembly plants had the capacity to supply at least 193 of those vehicles.

Private firms are also to blame for serious leakages of the country’s hard earned US dollar. Only just a few months ago one leading beverages company bought several refrigeration units from outside Zimbabwe, ignoring the tender documents from a local manufacturer who is in need of fresh capital to retool their plant.

We also have billions of dollars, US$3,5billion by some estimates, which are circulating in the informal market because you and I are choosing to buy foreign products.

One interesting suggestion that I received following a radio interview on Sport FM was that since most of our retailers are cash rich and also have a better understanding of consumer needs why don’t they come up with some sort of win-win incentive with local manufacturers, inject capital into the local manufacturing of goods specific goods demanded by their customers.

Well, the question of the improvement of the Zimbabwean offering in terms of quality, price and market awareness has brought up and I think primarily because as Zimbabweans we enjoy firm discussion.

We are discussing a lot and I think that is important because it brings us nearer to the solution all the time. If we look at the motor industry, like the example that I gave above, the issue that was previously raised was the price of locally assembled vehicles and the quality of the said vehicles.

I will not dwell too much on the quality of the vehicles that lost the tender because I am reliably informed that the difference between the specifications of the winning and losing tender is the same. The tender went to the lowest bidding price. I recall commenting on this same issue sometime ago saying that it is surprising that a local supplier lost a tender due simply to a US$400 price difference.

This is despite a Presidential Directive and laws that actually give local suppliers a 10 percent price advantage on all State tenders. We talk of favourable policy yet when such a policy is put in place we choose to ignore it to our own detriment.

While I agree that we need the injection of fresh capital to boost local industry I believe the ball is in our court to show that we are worth investing in. Which businessperson wants to invest money in a country that is renowned for wasting that same money by shipping it across our borders?

In any case we run the danger of getting too excited, exporting that same value and then going back again to our funders to beg for more. Let us put our houses in order first, refocus our spending and once we have understood the value of the multiplier effect on our economy then we seek the FDI. We are in the festive season and we shall be spending a lot of money we have been saving throughout the year. Let’s build our local purse.
Till next week . . . God bless.

Robert Garai Muganda is the Buy Zimbabwe General Manager Media and Communications. He can be contacted on 0772 714 233. Email: [email protected]; Facebook: Buy Zimbabwe Campaign.