Ivan Zhakata
Herald Correspondent
THE Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZIMSTAT) has urged policymakers, the private sector and development partners to translate findings of the National Competitiveness Baseline Survey (NCBS) into practical interventions to improve the country’s business environment and economic performance.
Speaking at the dissemination of the survey’s findings in Harare on Wednesday, ZIMSTAT director-general Mrs Tafadzwa Bandama said the survey provided a baseline for identifying constraints affecting business performance, productivity, investment and innovation.
She said the findings are coming at a critical time as Zimbabwe pursues its ambition of becoming a transformed, empowered and prosperous upper-middle-income society by 2030.
“Achieving such calls for a productive, innovative and competitive economy, supported by investment, productivity, value addition, export growth and an enabling business environment,” she said.
Mrs Bandama said competitiveness was central to the country’s economic transformation agenda under the National Development Strategy 2 (NDS2) and Vision 2030.
“Competitiveness is therefore not a stand-alone objective, but a critical enabler of economic transformation envisaged under NDS2 and Vision 2030,” she said.
She said the survey should not be treated merely as a statistical exercise, but as a tool for identifying areas requiring policy intervention and measuring progress during the implementation of NDS2.
“As a baseline, it also provides a reference point against which progress will be measured and tracked during NDS2, where effective monitoring and evaluation are essential,” she said.
Mrs Bandama said the value of the findings will depend on how effectively stakeholders used them to inform decisions and address challenges affecting businesses.
“However, these statistics will only acquire value when they are understood, utilised and translated into action,” she said.
She urged policymakers, the private sector, development partners and researchers to examine the findings and determine how they could inform their respective responsibilities.
The survey is expected to provide evidence to guide efforts to improve Zimbabwe’s competitiveness by identifying factors influencing the operating environment of businesses and the broader economy.
Mrs Bandama thanked the National Competitiveness Commission (NCC), Government ministries, departments and agencies, the private sector, development partners, field staff and businesses that contributed to the survey.
She reaffirmed ZIMSTAT’s commitment to producing timely and quality statistics to support evidence-based decision-making.
“As ZIMSTAT, we remain committed to producing timely and quality statistics that respond to national needs and support evidence-based decision-making,” she said.
