Online Reporter
Tapiwanashe Mangwiro
NATIONAL policies and institutions need to be aligned with the newly approved National Development Strategy 2 (NDS2), the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) has said, warning that inconsistent implementation could affect the country’s economic transformation agenda.
The exhortation comes as the manufacturing sector prepares for an ambitious phase under NDS2, which will run from 2026 to 2030.
Speaking during a post-National Budget meeting hosted by Zimpapers and CZI in Harare last week, CZI chief executive officer Ms Sekai Kuvarika said while industry welcomes the blueprint, it could only succeed if all ministries and agencies move in unison.
“We really appreciate that the NDS2 has now been approved and is ready for implementation,” she said in her appeal to the Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion, Professor Mthuli Ncube.
“I think one of the things that we thought may be to bring to your attention is the need for a sector-wide review of our policies and institutions against the ideals of NDS2.”
Some industry players argue that previous policy cycles have often resulted in inconsistent policy implementation across Government departments.
This lack of alignment, Ms Kuvarika said, reduces efficiency, weakens reforms and delays expected gains from national strategies.
“So, we have now pronounced this policy. Are all our policies and are all our institutions ready to go on day one? Do we need to review certain policies? Do we need to restructure certain institutions? Do we need to realign so that everything is pointing in the direction of NDS2?”
She said Zimbabwe’s experience with regional commitments highlights the risks of policy mismatches.
“When we make regional commitments, sometimes you go and you have a SADC (Southern African Development Community) industrialisation strategy, and we come back home and we say let’s domesticate this,” she said. “What is that process between the NDS2 and the various sector ministry policies, whose periods of sequencing may not necessarily be in sync with NDS2?”
Industry fears that such gaps, if not addressed, could undermine the NDS2 manufacturing agenda, which seeks to deepen value addition, diversify production and strengthen domestic value chains.
“We believe that baseline and that analysis will assist us to work better together as we try to make sure that the preconditions to actually deliver on NDS2 are also met on the policy side as well as on the institutional side.”
Central
The manufacturing sector will be central to economic growth during NDS2.
The gains achieved under NDS1 are expected to form the foundation for more aggressive expansion.
During the past five years, the sector managed to retool and modernise key sectors, including the cotton-to-clothing chain, leather production, pharmaceuticals, engineering, and iron and steel.
The revival of David Whitehead Textiles stands out as one of the most visible successes, helping to rebuild confidence in large-scale textile production and restoring critical links with agriculture.
Manufacturing grew by 1,6 percent in 2024 and is projected to expand by 4,2 percent this year.
It also emerged as the largest contributor to gross domestic product (GDP), at 15,3 percent in 2024.
Capacity utilisation rose significantly, from around 35 percent before NDS1 to nearly 60 percent by the end of the cycle, driven by improved access to raw materials and greater availability of foreign currency.
Some subsectors even surpassed the 60 percent capacity utilisation, pointing to a meaningful rebound in productive capacity.
Despite these improvements, the sector continues to face structural challenges.
Manufacturing exports remain heavily concentrated in food processing, beverages and metals, highlighting limited diversification.
This narrow export base has long been seen as a vulnerability, especially during periods of global market instability.
Another major constraint is the slow development of special economic zones (SEZs).
During NDS1, infrastructure within SEZs, such as roads, utilities, water supply, sewer systems and communication networks, lagged behind expectations.
This reduced opportunities for clustering industries, limiting value-chain integration and discouraging large-scale investment.
Ms Kuvarika emphasised the importance of coherence between regulatory processes and industrial needs, urging the Government to legislate mandatory regulatory impact assessments (RIAs).
“We would request . . . that at least the mandatory requirement to have a regulatory impact analysis for any regulations that are going to be passed from now on be legislated,” she said. “That is a new legislation that says we can’t have anything until it is regulatory-impact assessed.”
Making RIAs compulsory, she added, would help prevent inconsistencies, unnecessary costs and policy reversals that often frustrate industry and deter investment.
Overall, industry believes there is need for coordinated action, institutional readiness and regulatory discipline.
