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Oliver Kazunga Senior Business Reporter
THE procurement of imported vehicles by Parliamentarians is one of the major stumbling blocks to the initiative promoting the usage of locally manufactured products, an official has said.
Zimbabwe has experienced a huge trade deficit as the country’s import bill has remained on the high side against exports due to continued decline in manufacturing sector output.
Buy Zimbabwe general manager Munyaradzi Hwengwere told Business Chronicle that the government should stop prioritising the procurement of imported vehicles for the Parliamentarians at the expense of locally-assembled vehicles.
“Obviously, we will be lying to say that the market has been good as far as the usage of locally manufactured products is concerned. We are still a long way to go although industry understands the buy Zimbabwe concept.
“But the major challenge is on our procurement policy; the State Procurement Board is not prioritising local procurement. For example, Parliamentarians have been going to South Africa to buy vehicles while Willowvale Mazda Motor Industry, which assembles top of the range cars, is there,” he said.
Presenting the 2014 national budget statement in December, Finance and Economic Development Minister Patrick Chinamasa said imports continued to grow faster than exports, totalling $6,6 billion by October 2013, against $6,1 billion realised during the same period in 2012.
He said this was tantamount to collapsing local industry at a time when efforts were being made to resuscitate the economy.
“The government needs to stop prioritising buying cars from outside in order to support the local usage concept. As Buy Zimbabwe, we have discussed this issue with the Minister of Finance (Patrick Chinamasa) but we do not understand where the problem to fail to stop the procurement of government vehicles from outside is coming from,” said Hwengwere.
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