adminBusiness Correspondent
THE government should focus on reviving industries it has comparative advantage on if the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation (Zim-Asset) blueprint is to be a success, an expert has said.
Zim-Asset is a five-year economic development programme to 2018 anchored on ensuring that the government builds a robust and sustainable results-oriented socio-economic growth and performance management culture while performance contracts will be introduced at senior and management levels in the public sector.
An economic commentator, Butler Tambo said Zim-Asset was a good document and there was a need to look at specific areas that should be allocated more resources for the plan to achieve its target.
“Let’s not try to resuscitate certain industries that we do not have a comparative advantage. For example, here in Bulawayo we do not a have comparative advantage over the clothing industry when compared to countries like China. We cannot challenge them and that is why countries like America and Britain also get their clothing products from China and sell them there locally,” he said, during Zim-Asset policy discussion meeting organised recently by a local civic organisation in Bulawayo.
Tambo said the government should divert its resources and energy to sectors such as agriculture where it has comparative advantage.
“Let’s rather grow cotton and process it and sell the textiles to other countries like China. Agriculture is the biggest employer in the country so let’s focus on it and revive it,” he said.
Zimbabwe has achieved global fame in tobacco and cotton sectors producing high quality products.
Economists have said the value chain in tobacco and cotton processing and production should be strengthened and enhanced to maximise revenue.
The mining industry was another sector where the country has significant comparative advantage and the government has also been challenged to fully exploit it.
Tambo said for the government to achieve economic turnaround in the next five years, in line with the Zim Asset plan, it should also quickly privatise some of the loss-making parastatals such the National Railways of Zimbabwe and Cold Storage Company.
“Let’s privatise some of the loss-making parastatal that we have. We need to get technical partners and joint ventures with them and bring a new lease of life to these companies. Dairibord and Cottco are doing well because they were privatised,” he said.
Online Reporter