adminNgoni Dapira Business Correspondent
MOTOR vehicle assembling companies have called for a Buy Zimbabwe approach to boost business lobbying Government to stand firm on implementing the local procurement policy for all parastatals and State enterprises. This comes amid recent revelations by the Zimbabwe Statistical Agency that Zimbabweans spent $469 million importing vehicles from different countries last year.
Of the vehicles, the highest value was for utility vehicles at $65,37 million and
2-litre petrol cars at $59,29 million.
Most of the cars came in as second-hand vehicles as Zimbabweans continue to shun firms like Willowvale Mazda Motor Industries and Quest Motor Corporation due to affordability factors.
Revraz Investments chairman, the official sub-dealer of Quest Motors, Mr Charles Tawazadza said the biggest let down to the collapse of the local car assembling industry was Government’s inconsistency on policy implementation.
He said Government was not enforcing the Presidential Procurement Order on purchasing locally of all vehicles by public institutions to enable the local motor assembly industry to recover.
“If we are importing $469 million on second-hand motor vehicles that means we are exporting jobs and shooting ourselves in the foot.
“We need a productive industry for economic growth not the supermarket economy we have become,” said Mr Tawazadza.
Mr Tawazadza said the country’s motor vehicle assembling industry had the potential to create over 30 000 jobs in two years if capacitated.
Last year the State Procurement Board granted a Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company tender of 139 one-tonne pickup trucks worth $3 million to two local car dealing firms, against the Buy Zimbabwe directive under Zim- Asset to promote and protect local vehicle assemblers.
This, as a result, meant that the 139 pickup trucks were imported, instead of being assembled locally and creating business for downstream industries.
Quest Motors director, Mr Tarik Adam said the firm was operating at five percent capacity, warning that it would close operations in the next few months if uptake from Government and private sector did not improve.
He said the company sold only 50 vehicles in 2014, but had the capacity to produce 35 vehicles a day and meet local demand.
Mr Adam said although Government hiked import duty for vehicles in the 2015 National Budget in a bid to discourage imports and promote locally produced vehicles, there was need to clean up the SPB and enforce the Presidential Procurement Order for their survival.
WMMI is already reverting to its original business model of assembling different types of cars on contract.
Industrial Development Corporation public relations manager, Mr Dereck Sibanda in a response to New Ziana on Tuesday said to complement the Presidential Procurement Order they were advancing their assembly line to cater for local market needs and trends.
“WMMI is thus working on a strategy of market needs and trends and technological specifications they (customers) require, including multiple brands or makes and models assembled on contract in order to close the market preference gap,” said Mr Sibanda.
On the other hand local car dealers in response to the liquidity crisis in the country have resorted to instalment payment plans for willing buyers, especially for civil servants.
Mr Tawazadza said Revraz Investments would soon start such instalment payment plans facilities for brand new cars manufactured at Quest and in the long-term create a local second-hand market, rather than import them.
Online Reporter