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Business Reporter
MINES and Mining Development Minister Walter Chidhakwa yesterday underscored the need to value add the country’s primary commodities as part of measures to halt de-industrialisation. Mr Chidhakwa, who was addressing about 200 delegates attending the ongoing Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries annual conference in Bulawayo said, for years now, Zimbabwe and the African continent at large have continued losing substantial revenues through exporting unprocessed goods.
The three-day CZI conference, which started on Wednesday, is being held under the theme “Imperatives for Reversing De-Industrialisation” and is being attended by senior Government officials, industrialists, diplomats and business people.
“We continue producing resources that are being value added elsewhere,” said the minister. “We are exporting low-value goods and importing high value added goods and if we are going to succeed, we must reverse that situation.” Minister Chidhakwa, an export expert in his own right, noted. Zimbabwe’s natural resources were spurring growth of their markets at the expense of the local industry, he said.
“I hear that a city called Surat (in India) has grown on the back of Zimbabwe diamonds,” he said.
By adopting policies that promotes value addition, the country would be able to generate more jobs, improve the standards of living and drive industrial growth.
Speaking during the same session, Zimplow group chief executive Mr Zondi Kumwenda said Zimbabwe should push industrialisation efforts focused on export growth funded by foreign direct investment. Mr Kumwenda said there was need to identify and focus on strategic areas with significant comparative advantage.
“Key sectors are agriculture and mining, manufacturing naturally would arise out of the two”
He pointed out the need to re-align wage policies in line with the multi currency system.
“Our minimum wages are very high compared to the region,” he said adding the revision of labour laws, which he described as “very restrictive and anti-productivity” was long overdue.
Mr Kumwenda also spoke about the need to improve tertiary education development, improvement of infrastructure, provision of tax concessions, relaxation of immigration procedures, tariff protection on strategic products and exemption from import duties on key raw materials not found in Zimbabwe.
“We need to create some economic zones that make investment extremely attractive with tax breaks, dividend remittances which are tax free, export support prices and better utility rates,” said Mr Kumwenda.
Online Reporter