Roundtable makes giant strides

last week.
This comes as the country is trying to employ all possible measures to ensure the economy grows at a sustained pace over the medium to long term.
Having shed over 50 percent of Gross Domestic Product in about a decade of
instability characterised by hyperinflation and company closures, the economy remains under severe stress despite the recovery.
It goes without saying that all Zimbabweans should put their heads together to sincerely share ideas on how best the country can achieve sustainable growth.
In that respect, the KM Financial Solutions has rapidly evolved over the past few years to become crucial platform for discussions by captains of industry.
Fittingly, the event is held at the beginning of the year allowing executives to digest developments of the past year to shape the course of that current year.
It should be noted that the extent of Zimbabwe’s problems, which fermented over the decade of instability, would not go away in one year.
Delegates to this year’s event appeared disturbed by the possibility of elections and the uncertainty this creates.
It is feared elections and political instability could affect the country’s growth potential as they have kept foreign investors at bay until now.
During this year’s event delegates tried to use the platform to get clarity on these concerns especially the prospects for elections and some suggested extension of the inclusive Government to enable the economy to recover.
And so far the Roundtable conference has grown in leaps and bounds in first trying to set the agenda then following up on crafting solutions.
The last session of the conference set the tone for the economic growth target by making concerted efforts to enlist stakeholders’ buy in.
And now the event, a notable feature on the local corporate calendar has set deliverables that should be measured and monitored along the way.
The CEO Roundtable Conference has targeted to elicit practical actions to reduce unemployment from an estimated 80 to 30 percent by 2040.
It has targeted US$40 billion bank deposits from US$3,2 billion while savings as a percentage of GDP are seen at US$40 billion by 2040.
Vice President Joice Mujuru has already bought into the initiative and rightly said growing the economy to US$100 billion was a choice the country needed to make.
Arguably, the main agenda now is to realise the country’s sustained economic growth potential at the same time creating employment and reducing poverty,
which got entrenched over the decade of instability.
To that end it is worrying that some of the country’s most powerful leaders of sector specific areas continue to snub the event yet the Roundtable is designed in such a way it should bring all stakeholders together.
This year’s edition was held in the absence of the top leadership of the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries, Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce and Chamber of Mines among others.
Yet the Roundtable requires their presence and endorsement seeing that when they host their general meetings and conferences they will mainly be looking at issues from largely a sector specific viewpoint.
But it remains encouraging that very senior Government officials this year supported the event after Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and his Deputy Professor Arthur Mutambara graced the event.
Speaking at the event, PM Tsvangirai used the platform to assure delegates of political stability and peaceful elections once the country is ready to hold polls.
However, he ruled out the possibility of extending the inclusive Government saying this would be undemocratic and unfair to other political parties that are excluded from this arrangement.
Extending the inclusive Government, he added, would deny Zimbabweans the right to decide their future.
Economic Planning and Investment Promotion Minister Tapiwa Mashakada, Secretary for Tourism and Hospitality Industry Dr Sylvester Maunganidze also attended to give the event more spice.