New constitution must pave way for local procurement

In fact, the dominant opinion internationally and within the circles of local detractors was that we were marching towards an irreversible catastrophe.
Fortunately, as is now known, the House of Stone revealed its resilience and proved the doomsday prophets wrong. Not only did Zimbabwe record a record voter turnout but conducted a referendum that has passed the test of local and international observers.

Buy Zimbabwe and its partners wish to congratulate Zimbabweans in their diversity for demonstrating political maturity and coming up with a constitutional document that sets a firm basis for economic prosperity for all.

The motto for Buy Zimbabwe from inception has been “Pride, Wealth and Jobs”. The motto was crafted upon realising that to succeed as a country it is necessary to be guided by a common vision and purpose. Unless we are proud of our being, our humanity, and our deeds it is unlikely that we can ever attain any form of success.
At present we all agree that unemployment and high levels of poverty are Zimbabwe’s primary challenges.

These economic realities threaten our pride and limit the possibility of future prosperity. Fortunately, the constitution that we voted in numbers to be our principal law identifies the need to attend to people’s economic well-being as the main responsibility of the state and its institutions.

However, trouble with us has always been our failure to match the desires captured in our wonderfully crafted documents with action on the ground.
We must thus be vigilant to ensure that all the high sounding expectations that were voted for are put into practice. Given our current negative import deficit, that now surpasses US$3,6 billion, it is obvious that unless we reframe our economic policies and practices to focus on creating jobs rather exporting them, the constitution we voted for will remain confined to the paper it is written on.

We will also limit its relevance to the aspirations of the people of Zimbabwe. Clearly, such a scenario would be a gravely unfortunate one that would have wasted taxpayers’ money and directed energies where return was marginal.

We thus hope that the next Parliament of Zimbabwe will make its primary responsibility one of ensuring that economic laws are realigned to fulfil economic aspirations of people as defined in the new constitution.

An obvious starting point would be to ensure that like our major trading partners, including neighbouring South Africa, we enact the Procurement Act, which mandates public institutions in particular to give preference to local manufacturers in their procurement programmes.

Equally we need laws and statutory instruments that provide incentives to organisations that support local companies and those that invest in enterprise development.
The process currently underway to repeal the tax law of the country must be a useful starting point. If ever that law will be passed in the life of this current Parliament, it too must assessed on the basis to which it seeks to create new jobs, eradicate poverty and promote local entrepreneurs.

Given these views, the forthcoming Chamber of Mines-Buy Zimbabwe Suppliers Forum that is set for April 5, could not have come at a better time.
The forum is expected to bring policymakers, local miners, suppliers and bankers to a discussion on how the mining sector can play a part in the realisation of the national vision as captured in the new constitution.

More often the mining sector has been cited as out of sync with the national vision and aspirations of the people of Africa in general and Zimbabwe in particular.
As such by locating their discourse into a widely supported national programme, the mining sector in Zimbabwe has an opportunity to positively contribute to economic growth.

At the same time it ensures that policymakers begin to craft policies that are less informed by emotions but rather by realities and understanding of the industry.
The forum should also be able to provide pointers on how our big miners in particular can play a role in capacitating our local industry to grow in ways that reduce unemployment and attend to a number of structural challenges in the country.

This said, Buy Zimbabwe is painfully aware that to enjoy the fruits of the motherland, we must be alive, well and living. During the last Christmas holiday we experienced an intolerable number of road fatalities and casualties on the road. Now that Zimbabweans have endorsed the constitution and long Easter holiday is around the corner, let’s not celebrate by breaking the rules of the road.

In the words of leading Buy Zimbabwe partner, Mimosa, we must learn to Go Zero and remember, Zero Harm on our roads, at the workplace and at home is very, very, very possible.

Till we meet again, God bless and remember, a better Zimbabwe begins with where you take your dollar. It’s time to Buy Zimbabwe.