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Zimbabwe is currently importing 2 000 refrigerators daily to meet the demand as local supply remains depressed.
Speaking at the Confederation of Zimbabwe Retailers breakfast meeting, Zimbabwe Cross Border Traders Association president Dr Killer Zivhu said Zimbabweans wanted to buy local goods, but they wanted to buy products of good quality that meet the demand.
“We want to buy Zimbabwe. For example, manufacturers from the fridges, we import 2 000 refrigerators every day, are you going to meet the demand? We do not want a situation where we will always talk about promoting local industry which does not produce to our capacity,” he said.
Dr Zivhu added that about 11 000 cross border traders bring such goods with at least 75 buses going to South Africa alone.
“Seventy-five buses are also coming in and that is about 11 200 people not mentioning those who use private transport.”
He challenged Statutory Instrument 64 of 2016 put in place by the Government, restricting the importation of various goods into Zimbabwe, in order to protect and promote local industry for economic turnaround asking if it had not been put in place to promote “big brothers” in the country.
“At the same time, we want to talk about quality. The type of clothes, the quality of clothes that we have in Zimbabwe, surely are we all going to buy clothes from Glen View because we want to buy local?”
The Government last month introduced SI 64 of 2016 as it sought to curtail unrestricted flooding of imports into the country which were choking local industries.
But the move was met with some resistance both locally and in South Africa, the major source of imports into Zimbabwe.
Dr Zivhu said even though Government said it did thorough research before the implementation of SI 64, his association was never consulted.
“We were surprised, the next morning, Zimra telling us these products were not allowed in the country anymore without any notice.”
At the same meeting, RBZ governor Dr John Mangudya said Zimbabweans are addicted to imports and should go through the painful process of weaning themselves from heavy reliance on foreign goods.
Dr Mangudya said the country had over liberalised when it adopted use of multiple foreign currencies in 2009, but had understandably allowed imports due to diminished local production.
“Because of that addiction to imports, to remove it is difficult and any change is opposed,” he said.
“Like every other addiction, to end that addiction you need to go through a painful process and that is what we are going through.”
For years Zimbabwe has failed to manage its trade deficit as imports averaging $7 billion annually, exceed exports of around $4 billion.
Government insists the bulk of the imports were unproductive, which in part led to the restrictions that now require importers to get a license first.
Online Reporter