admina cocktail of events organised by Buy Zimbabwe and its partners to promote preferential procurement within the partnership as we prepare for next year’s Buy Zimbabwe Conference and Experiential Expo where local procurement will be the hot topic on discussion.
Partnerships are a proven and cost effective way for local companies to provide a more meaningful preferential procurement experience — making a real difference to Zimbabwe’s economic development.
With all the obvious benefits that we stand to derive from preferential procurement, the question really is why it has taken us time to understand it?
The obvious route to take would be to turn preferential procurement into policy like our neighbours South Africa, but most of you will agree with me that this is a longer route to the Promised Land.
What we need right now as business is to take the bull by the horn and lead from the front and then encourage policy to be the backbone of the development of local procurement.
Hence, through creating a network of local businesses that are committed to buying from each other we will give Government the confidence to enact a Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act similar to that which has benefited South African businesses tremendously.
Let us see more company vehicles coming from Willowvale Mazda Motor Industries and Quest Motor Corporation.
Let us see company canteens, which are stacked with refreshments from Schweppes, Lyons and Tanganda and let us turn to Beta Bricks as part of our infrastructural development.
The recent example set by the Ministry of Water Resources Development and Management and indeed the Zimbabwe National Water Authority in the re-engagement of Turnall Fibre Cement is a case in point.
Now that Turnall Holdings and Zinwa have re-negotiated terms on the supply of AC water pipes we have every reason to celebrate as Buy Zimbabwe and as a nation.
We talk about the 120 plus jobs at Turnall’s Bulawayo plant, the increased revenue at Turnall and just the mere pride and convenience Zinwa takes in working with a local firm.
The interesting thing about the Zinwa-Turnall case is that it started out as part of a discussion held during a similar linkages cocktail held at the Standards Association of Zimbabwe offices at the close of last year.
An engagement process was started then, which has yielded the results we speak about now.
Media reports last week carried a disturbing story about the local yeast industry, which incidentally is part of the troubled bread value chain in Zimbabwe.
A leading local yeast manufacturing concern, who happen to be a Buy Zimbabwe partner, has been raising concern about the issue of the supply of molasses which is the major raw material in the manufacture of yeast.
The raw material is being offered locally at more or less double the prevailing market rates in the region.
My general sentiment is that we are shooting ourselves in the foot in this instance, which worryingly comes as no surprise since Zimbabweans have been known to do that a lot.
While business advocates for local procurement, it goes on to do itself a major disservice by operating in an uncompetitive and unsustainable manner.
If our prices locally can force our own customers to look outside for cheaper alternatives then we defeat the purpose of creating an economic spider web that captures as much money that is in the country as possible.
To ensure success in capturing as much money as possible in the country through linkages, the South Africans have rightly turned to policy through the Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act, which I mentioned earlier.
They found a way of making the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment work to create the necessary linkages.
I would like to take this opportunity to direct readers to the forthcoming issue of the Buy Zimbabwe magazine where I spoke to a young Zimbabwean entrepreneur based in Sandton, South Africa.
He spoke passionately about how his own human resources consultancy firm has benefited tremendously from preferential procurement within South Africa’s shores.
I believe that this is a case that needs to be explored fully as we engage ourselves.
The South African Act provides for the implementation of a policy and system where bids (tenders) are not awarded on being to specification and having the lowest price but on a prescribed point system were preference is given to historical disadvantaged individuals who are South African citizens.
This is a great topic for discussion but most importantly a subject that might be worth implementing.
In the meantime, let us hear what the people think as we embark on a more serious course of action.
Our general manager says, “Knowledge is not power — Application is” and I agree because what seems to happen with us as Zimbabweans is we all know what it takes to make our economy tick but we lack the capacity to do what we know needs to be done.
We have our work cut out for us. The most practical, beautiful, workable philosophy in the world won’t work — if we won’t.
Till next week . . . God bless.
Robert Garai Muganda is the General Manager (Media and Communications) at Buy Zimbabwe. He can be contacted on phone 04-252027; 0772 714 233; email: [email protected]; Facebook: buy Zimbabwe campaign.
Online Reporter