adminThis has largely been attributed to under- capitalisation, high overheads and lack of customer confidence, Zanu-PF has noted in its 2013 election manifesto.
In sectors such as power, rail transport and fixed line communications, where services are provided by parastatals, the economic costs of poor pricing and mediocre service have emerged in the form of large and, in some cases, unsustainable operating losses for these parastatals
Government came up with strategies to restructure and dispose shareholding in some parastatals and State enterprises in February this year.
The entities to be realigned included the Agriculture Development Bank of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe Power Company, Agricultural and Rural Development Authority, Air Zimbabwe, Grain Marketing Board, Zimre, POSB, Zimbabwe Grain Bag, Allied Timbers, NetOne, TelOne and National Railways of Zimbabwe.
There are 78 parastatals that are making huge losses in Zimbabwe.
However, SEPs – which have the potential to contribute 40 percent to the country’s Gross Domestic Product – can only make a meaningful contribution when they are more efficient and capacitated.
The Zanu-PF 2013 Election Manifesto dubbed “Taking Back the Economy: Indigenise, Empower, Develop and Create Employment” reveals that there is a lot of potential growth for the economy if the parastatals become fully functional again.
“There is need to find new and innovative ways to unlock value from the idle assets held by parastatals to further capacitate or set up strategic banking institutions such as the IDBZ, Agribank and Sedco . . . to enable them to finance the realisations of the goals of the people,” the Zanu-PF manifesto says.
The party says if elected into power it would unlock US$7 681 076 582 from idle State enterprises and parastatals.
A massive US$2,5 billion would be realised from four parastatals and State enterprises in the energy and power sector while US$1,6 billion would be realised from the transport sector.
NRZ is in need of over US$2 billion to resuscitate operations and replace its archaic infrastructure, including railway tracks, telecommunication signals and wagons which have outlived their lifespan.
Its resuscitation would increase the movement of goods by rail within Zimbabwe and in the region, earning significant revenue in the process.
Other sectors that have been targeted for a complete overhaul include agriculture, telecommunications, health, environment, information, industry, science and technology, mining and finance.
State enterprises and parastatals have experienced a steady increase in capacity utilisation of between 30 to 60 percent in the last two years due to the economic stability in the last four years.
However, inter-parastatal debt is still standing at over US$1 billion when Government departments and local authorities are included.
Inter-parastatal debt has been a major challenge to most SEPs and this has led to cash flow problems, inability to attract investors and access to lines of credit due to unattractive balance sheets.
Should Zanu-PF win the election and implement its strategies, there would be a notable improvement in terms of investments into the sector and unlocking the 2,2 million jobs that the party seeks to create by 2018.
The party contends that its plan for the economy would see the US$10,9 billion economy expanding 6 percent in the first year, 7,3 percent in year two, 8 percent in the third year and 9 percent in years four and five.
Online Reporter