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Line ministries and parastatals have continued to defy a directive issued by the Office of the President and Cabinet, compelling them to purchase motor vehicles from local assemblers, the Parliamentary Potfolio Committee on Transport and Infrastructure heard yesterday. The decision, communicated through was meant to help local car assemblers, squeezed by competition from imports.Local assemblers are struggling due to low volumes while millions of dollars are being spent on vehicles that can be assembled locally.
The directive on vehicle procurement was sent out to 23 Government Ministries and two public institutions.
Quest Motors chief executive Talik Adam told the Parliamentary Potfolio Committee on Transport and Infrastructure yesterday that the revival of the country’s vehicle assembling sector could be the backbone for Zimbabwe’s economic turnaround.
“When Quest was working at full capacity on a single eight-hour shift we were producing between 12 000 and 15 000 vehicles a month, and employing close to 15 000 people. Today, production level is below 1 percent and only 150 people are employed.”
He said despite the fact that Quest Motors is producing brands like Foton Tunland locally; Government has so far imported about 600 units of the same brand from China.
“The latest problem is that we started producing the Foton Tunland at Mutare last year, and Government has so far imported 600 units from China. They could have said let’s get the kits and get Quest to assemble it for us.”
Deven Engineering managing director Patrick Munyaradzi also echoed the same sentiments.
Mr Munyaradzi said if adhered to, the move would breathe life into local car assemblers, which were on the brink of collapse.
“There is a Government directive to purchase from local dealers but we have not yet benefited from that. If we have, it is very little,” he said.
“Let us make sure the directive is adhered to and build capacity from there.
“We have enough capacity to satisfy local demand on condition we have the market for the units that we produce locally. It is quite surprising that ZUPCO Passenger Company has been importing buses from China where we think they should have imported kits and let us assemble locally.”
He said the continued importation of cheap vehicles was also harming the local motor industry.
Mr Munyaradzi said estimates suggested that Zimbabwe had a market of 2 800 buses, but only 1 500 were operational.
Quest Motors and AVM Africa were the other two manufacturers who appeared before the committee.
Mr Munyaradzi said 300 new bus units were needed each year, but because of low uptake, production was now demand based.
He said the revival of defunct steel maker Zisco Steel would greatly aid the sector as it has resorted to importing all material used in the manufacturing process.
Other challenges the manufacturers were encountering included use of outdated technologies and equipment, high labour costs and utility charges.
Mr Munyaradzi called on the Government to increase duty on bus and truck imports to protect the local industry. — Business Reporter/New Ziana.
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