Chronicle Editor
Sikhulekelani Moyo, Business Reporter
THE United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) has pledged to partner other economic development agencies to support Zimbabwe’s industrial transformation in line with the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1).
Following a recent validation workshop on the development of local content thresholds for the fertiliser, packaging, and pharmaceutical sub-sectors that was hosted by the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, UNIDO stressed the need for enhanced collaboration in realising national industrialisation targets.
“Going forward, UNIDO proposes to closely collaborate with UNECA, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, International Trade Centre (ITC), and other specialised UN economic agencies to provide value-adding inclusive and sustainable industrial development (ISID) focused to support the Government of Zimbabwe’s economic growth and competitiveness agenda under the prosperity pillar of NDS 1,” UNIDO country representative Mr Tichaona Mushaynadebvu said.
“In that spirit, UNIDO/UNECA’s urgent value proposition could be to provide ISID focused in response to a potential demand-driven request from the Government of Zimbabwe for the development, support leveraging of funding, investments, implementation and some ad hoc potential areas of interest to include this local content strategy, lithium-based local manufacturing value-added products, and ammonium nitrate fertiliser manufacturing.”
The transformation and diversification of the local industry is guided by an US$8 billion Industry and Commerce Roadmap, which is derived from NDS1. The roadmap sets out pragmatic plans to bring in structural transformation and move up the value chains.
Under this strategy, Zimbabwe has come up with 10 priority value chains for the period 2021-2025, which include cotton to clothing, sugar, soya, dairy, leather, fertiliser, bus and truck, iron and steel, waste plastic, and pharmaceutical value chains.
United Nations Economic Commission for Africa sub-regional office representative for Southern Africa, Mr Oliver Maponga, who also attended the meeting stressed the need to focus on inclusive industrialisation.
“We are committed to supporting industrialisation, which leaves no place and no gender behind, allowing stakeholders to move together in an industrialised environment where the country is able to produce products that will facilitate the exploitation of the market created by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement,” he said.
The UNECA sub-regional office supports the industrialisation agenda in Zimbabwe and in other Southern African regional member states.
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