‘Value addition remains a priority’

Farirai Machivenyika Senior Reporter

THE Government will continue to facilitate value addition and beneficiation in line with the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1) targets.

Industry and Commerce Minister Dr Sekai Nzenza said the ministry’s 2022 Strategic Plan will focus on enhancing the value of locally-manufactured products.

The intervention dovetails with President Mnangagwa’s vision for the country to become a “prosperous and empowered upper middle-income Society by 2030”.

She added that in 2021, the ministry had managed to register a number of milestones, despite the negative effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Industry recorded growth in capacity utilisation from 47 percent in 2020 to 54 percent at the end of September 2021 surpassing the planned target of 50 percent.

“Going forward, our 2022 Strategic Plan, therefore has been developed against the background of the need to achieve His Excellency, the President’s Vision and also put in place a roadmap for the achievement of the ministry’s mandate of promoting and improving the manufacturing sector contribution to gross domestic product.

“The 2022 Strategic Plan was developed taking into account the targets set out under NDS 1 pillar on “Moving the Economy up the Value Chain and Structural Transformation”, where the key to this structural transformation is value addition and beneficiation of agriculture and mining products,” she said.

Dr Nzenza added that the strategy has also been drawn up at a time when Government has ratified the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) and the UNSustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on industrialisation and innovation, Africa Agenda 2063, SADC Industrialization Strategy and Roadmap and Zimbabwe National Industrial Development Policy (2019-2023) and the Local Content Strategy.

The Zimbabwe National Industrial Strategy and the Local Content Strategies’ targets include the revival of ailing industries, creating a conducive operating environment for businesses to thrive and consumer protection.

On trade facilitation, Dr Nzenza said the ministry was implementing the One Stop Border Posts (OSBP) at all main ports of entry and exit through the Border Efficiency Management System and had launched the Zimbabwe Leather Sector and Pharmaceutical Manufacturing sector strategies.