Online Reporter
Nqobile Bhebhe [email protected]
THE National Competitiveness Commission (NCC) is moving into an implementation phase aimed at translating competitiveness research into lower business costs, improved productivity and stronger industrial performance under the National Competitiveness Strategy (NCS) 2026–2030.
The shift follows a year in which the Commission expanded its research, regulatory assessments and firm-level diagnostics, positioning competitiveness as a practical business issue rather than solely a macroeconomic policy concern.
Presenting the Commission’s 2025 Progress Report at its fifth Annual General Meeting on Monday, NCC Acting Executive Director Mr Brighton Shayanewako said the Commission would deepen implementation of the strategy while strengthening evidence-based advice to Government and industry.
The NCS 2026–2030 was recently launched in Bulawayo.
“We will deepen implementation of the National Competitiveness Strategy and further strengthen our evidence-based policy advisory services to Government,” the Commission said in its 2025 Progress Report.
The Commission expects continued financial support through recurrent and capital grants channelled via the Standards Development Fund, alongside efforts to mobilise additional resources for programmes targeting productivity, ease of doing business and competitiveness.
The report said 2025 demonstrated the Commission’s resilience, increased visibility and institutional growth, while highlighting its work in research, policy analysis, regulatory impact assessments (RIA), stakeholder engagement, value-chain competitiveness studies, digital visibility, human capital development and governance compliance.
A major part of the NCC’s work is increasingly taking place at company and value-chain level.
Through its Business Environment Competitiveness Review Initiative (BECRI), the Commission completed assessments of 10 companies, including OK Zimbabwe, PPC, Khaya Cement, Truworths and Choppies.
The initiative is designed to identify specific constraints affecting productivity and cost competitiveness and provide businesses with actionable findings.
The Commission also completed studies covering sectors such as sugar, dairy and leather, with its research highlighting value addition and beneficiation as important routes towards sustainable competitiveness.
The firm-level approach is being complemented by regulatory impact assessments targeting instruments affecting trade, compliance and investment.
Among the measures reviewed in 2025 were regulations covering grain and oilseed imports, pricing above the official exchange rate and property registration.
The Commission said the assessments were intended to identify avoidable regulatory costs and other barriers affecting Zimbabwean enterprises.
Bongani Ndlovu