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Michael Tome
Business Reporter
REPRESENTATIVES of firms operating in various value chains of Zimbabwe’s economy have decried the country’s porous borders and low prioritisation of local procurement by State departments.
While Governments are the biggest buyers in any country across the world, Zimbabwe has been accused of not doing enough to procure from local producers.
Some of the value chains that are most affected by the leaky borders include clothing and textile, pharmaceuticals, and the sugar industries.
Unlike machinery and petroleum products, Zimbabwe may be letting itself down by importing products that can be made locally.
Zimbabwe produces cotton in abundance but uses 30 percent of locally grown cotton and 70 percent is mostly exported raw, while locals spend millions of dollars importing cotton products, particularly from China, Pakistan, and India.
This has been blamed on the influx of second-hand clothes and cheap imports from Asia which continue to infiltrate the local borders unhindered.
Clothing boutiques now import garments worth millions of dollars a year in and out, while second-hand clothes come into the country in droves, rendering the local clothing and textile industry redundant.
The pharmaceutical industry is also at the mercy of rampant and careless imports of medicines which expert tests have found bogus and ineffective. It also bemoaned the Government’s preference to import medicines and drugs out of Zimbabwe while the local industry could produce most of the required medicines.
The same goes for several industries in Zimbabwe as they do not get the requisite support from government procurement and prevalent imports and smuggling.
However, speaking at the Ministry of Industry’s quarterly thematic working group workshop, permanent secretary Dr Thomas Utete-Wshe said it was high time the Government should prioritise local manufacturers over importing.
“The lever we need to move quickly is on the side of importation and procurement, we wrote letters to all government accounting officers that they should buy local goods, it improves local production, any cent that we have should go to our local industry, we should not take our money to go and import, creating jobs for other countries.
“Government and Industry should come together and find a way of fixing our porous borders, ensuring that our customers know about the right product to buy.
“It is ourselves as government, and the manufacturers who should educate consumers about the right products and not to buy uncertified products, particularly medicines,” said Dr Utete-Ushe.
Pharmaceuticals Manufacturers Association of Zimbabwe (PMAZ) representative Ms Tanaka Mashayamombe said there was a need for close collaboration with the government for it to understand the kind of products manufactured locally so that it does not continue to import what is available locally.
She said the goal in terms of NDS 1 was to increase the market share for locally manufactured pharmaceutical products from 12 percent in 2020 to 30 percent by 2025.
“The country continues to witness an influx of imported medicines as the government is importing drugs and medicines that are also manufactured locally. We are requesting import restrictions on medicines available within the country and this policy is being implemented in countries like Algeria, Morocco, Egypt Nigeria, and Botswana,” said Ms Mashayamombe.
She said the regional appetite for locally manufactured medicines is growing, leveraging on Zimbabwean-owned distributors.
The local pharmaceutical industry’s scope has been growing lately, as the sector’s manufacturing capacity utilisation grew to 47,5 percent in 2023.
The sector also registered significant growth in sales, closing the period at US$49,8 million in sales revenue, with exports growing by 36 percent in 2023.
Zimbabwean medicines are being exported to eight countries currently, yet the Government prioritises procurement of medicine outside.
Zimbabwe Sugar Association Secretary General Tracy Mutaviri spoke on how the country had excess sugar supply but unfortified sugar imports from regional countries and beyond continue to find way into the country.
She said SI 120 of 2016 required that sugar be fortified with vitamin A, but the country continues to import unfortified sugar.
“We have an unfair competition of unfortified sugar imports, Zimbabwe is one of the nine countries in the world that fortify sugar, and we do that for US$9-US$10 per tonne, so if you open borders and allow for non-fortified sugar you are putting us at a cost disadvantage, why are we importing, we need to contain the circulation of local funding within the country.”
“We have handed over names and locations of where smuggled sugar is found but nothing has happened and we wonder why?” asked Ms Mutaviri.
The bus and truck industry is another affected industry.
Bus and Truck Cluster Value Chain chairman Patrick Munyaradzi said the country imported 4 784 buses against four locally assembled buses purchased in 2022.
A total of 9 042 trucks were imported against eight trucks that were bought locally, as they are not receiving government tenders to manufacture buses preferring imports.
He said this was against the dictates of NDS 1 which sought to take deliberate measures which facilitate the domestic assembling of buses locally.
“NDS 1 had a target to increase the number of locally produced buses from 16 percent of total new buses in 2020 to 60 percent in 2025 and increase the number of locally produced delivery trucks from four percent in 2020 to 40 percent by 2025.
“It also talks of reducing the import bill on buses and delivery trucks by 44 percent and 36 percent respectively by 2025, but we find ourselves with more bus and truck imports than ever,” said Mr Munyaradzi.
“All these imported units are being paid in foreign currency, whatever way they are paying we also accept that we need our government to prioritise local manufacturers when procuring,” said Mr Munyaradzi.
Zimbabwe Textile Manufacturers Association chairman Admire Masenda said the Government should do all it can to restore a viable clothing and textile industry so that the country does not continue experiencing an influx of clothing imports.
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