admindone a study on policies which affected business to see if they promoted development in the industry.
“We will now embark on another exercise to try and make sure these policies align with business under the new constitution. We want to get input from the different sectors of business and try to make recommendations to Government on the way forward,” he said.
He said some of the policies that are available had been crafted before Zimbabwe had gone on a serious regional integration drive and it was important to make sure that such policies were in line with the situation on the ground.
“The Industrial Development Policy and the National Trade Policy has what we think are assumptions that the economy is still strong in the traditional areas but this is not true; the economy is no longer leaning on those sectors. We need to identify areas where we can quickly trigger capacity utilisation, job creation and exports so that we can turn around Zimbabwe’s industry as quickly as possible,” he added.
Government last year launched the Industrial Development Policy and the National Trade Policy with the former seeking to transform Zimbabwe from a producer of primary goods to a producer of value-added goods for domestic and export markets.
The policy seeks to restore the manufacturing sector’s GDP contribution from 15 percent to 30 percent, exports from 26 percent to 50 percent by 2015 consistent with the Medium Term Plan.
The National Trade Policy has a vision to have trade function as the engine for sustainable economic growth while facilitating the productive sectors towards export-orientation and international competitiveness.
The policy seeks to increase exports, promote the diversification of Zimbabwe’s export basket and increase export earnings by at least 10 percent annually from US$4,3 billion in 2011 to US$7 billion in 2016.
Mr Binha noted that there was need to redefine the industry’s competitiveness so that policies could be crafted in line with the areas that had would prompt growth.
He also said that business had to be open-minded in making recommendations so that the policies could achieve the desired results.
“The private sector alone should think outside the box, they should be able to come up with ideas to make the recovery of our industry faster.
Zimbabwe is surviving on a global market but at the moment we are not a destination of choice, we actually have a cash economy while our neighbours are enjoying a lot of credit facilities, we should be able to do that as well,” he said.
Meanwhile, the ZNCC will be hosting its annual congress and Annual General Meeting from June 12 to 14 in Victoria Falls.
This year’s congress will be held under the theme “The roadmap to Zimbabwe’s desired future. Defining the possibilities that deliver value”.
“This year’s congress presents a very exciting platform where business and policymakers will engage on broad aspects in understanding the current economic and policy challenges, and endeavour to lay down a sustainable path towards mapping out our future,” Mr Binha said.
Online Reporter