Strategising for industrialisation

Prof Christopher Chetsanga
Industrial enterprises depend on the accessing, mastering and application of technology.
This requires strategising in making appropriate provisions for technology development, exploitation and management.
One hopes that the national task for the technology execution oversight can be assigned to a Zimbabwe Industrialisation Task Force (ZITF). The ZITF would be made an instrument for the planning and overseeing of the implementation of this country’s industrialisation processes.

Upon establishment, the ZITF would be given specific terms of reference which can include coming up with proposals regarding:
Proposing priority industrialisation projects
The execution strategies for targeted project
Proposing the project implementation time frames
Integrated strategy for technological expertise development and exploitation
Infrastructure for STI development and exploitation
Mechanisms for commercialisation of research and development outputs
Mechanisms for science and technology popularisation and enculturation in society
Adequate funding level proposals

The plan to have a Zim-Asset implementation team in the Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC) can appropriately replace the ZITF I have proposed.

My plea is that the team be directed to actively assume the responsibility of overseeing the aggressive implementation of industrialisation in Zimbabwe. Industrialisation is a hands-on as which requires action, not the mere talk.

Political alignments, talk and machinations are strangers to industrialisation. For the different projects listed in the Zim-Asset to benefit the country, Government must prioritise think tanks for implementing them.

One would like to see the action plans for them, and hope that the plans would prioritise industrialisation.
Successful Zimbabwean industrialisation is the only tool for sustainable indigenous empowerment.

To get the industrialisation ball rolling, the Zim-Asset implementation team must lead in strategic planning.

STI agenda formulation an co-ordination of the programme implementation.
They would need to hold regular meetings to assess updates on implementation progress as well as new developments and challenges.

Advocacy Note:
I am crying out for a national vision that seeks to promulgate industrialisation as Zimbabwe’s top most priority. Our vast natural resource endowments should form the basis of targeted industries.

The present practice of relying on the low revenues sourced from the export of our raw materials should stop.
We should work diligently to improve on the amount of our export revenue by first beneficiating our raw materials before we export them.
Such an industrialisation will unlock the real value of our exports and strengthen our economy.

Industrialisation has underpinned the economies of many countries that do not have these raw materials, but rely on imported raw materials to boost their industrial enterprises and economies. They become rich through industrialisation.

Japan is a good example. Japan is resource poor, but technologically very strong. This strength regime bolstered by Japan’s culturally unique technology management traditions, has enabled some of Japan’s automobile industry to essentially attain a globally dominant status.

If it had domestic raw materials, Japan would become even wealthier.
Let Zimbabwe wise up to exploit its raw materials, and strategise to be even richer than the strategically wise Japan.
Cascading the acquisition of S&T skills with their subsequent competent implementation will greatly promote our industrialisation. The recent statement by Government leaders to have our primary and secondary schools make compulsory inclusion of practical subjects in their curricula is another welcome move.

Let’s walk this talk by funding the development of such curricula.
Such training in practical subjects will give our youths a foretaste of industrial forum operations.
Let me commend government for providing the country with the three critical resource requirements for the country’s development.

These are the peaceful environment in Zimbabwe, the agricultural and mineral raw materials and the thousands of university graduates being put out each year by our 14 universities.

Government should now strategise to exploit these three resources for the economic development of Zimbabwe. It is admitted that the production of agricultural raw materials still needs greater effort.

To be continued