The Sunday News
Walter Mswazie in Masvingo
ONE of Masvingo’s once vibrant engineering companies, Masvingo Motor Centre is set to resume full production after going for nine years under subdued production due to economic challenges.
In an interview last week, company director, Mr Taidza Tafirenyika Mugoni said while the market was still depressed there was a lot of potential given that most companies were angling to boost production in the wake of a successful agricultural season.
He, however, said there was a need for financial institutions to avail fresh capital to enable companies to recapitalise.
“The industry in Masvingo has all what it takes to come back to life if financial institutions avail funding. Our company experienced many challenges, most of those are to do with funding and we are still yet to fully recover,” he said.
The company specialises in manufacturing haulage truck trailers, bakery equipment and irrigation machinery.
“We have a very big plant with a potential to manufacture all material needed in the irrigation, mining and even in textile industry in the province. We are looking forward to increasing our capacity utilisation anytime this year once we get the necessary resources. We were the first company to manufacture tradol water pumps in Zimbabwe which we also exported to countries like Zambia, Botswana and the Democratic Republic of Congo,” he said.
He said the company was a regular exhibitor at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) before the economic challenges intensified.
“We are not operating as per our expectations because of lack of funds. However, let me hasten to say, in our country there are a number of avenues to secure funding if a business is organised,” he said.
Mr Mugoni urged the Government to promote small-scale mining and irrigation in the country.
“Locally we depend on mining companies and it is our hope that Government can fully support small-scale miners and irrigation schemes. We get our market from irrigation schemes where we repair and manufacture water pumps and provide backup services for all mining machinery. I am a strong believer in home grown solutions to challenges we are facing in the industry and we have the skill to do it without depending on foreigners.”
He praised the empowerment and indigenisation programmes spearheaded by the Government but urged local businesses to work hard in order to achieve the intended results.
“Every Zimbabwean has a birthright to own a company and create employment but the most important thing is working hard.
Nothing will come easily. We welcome the empowerment and indigenisation programmes with open arms but the bottom line is that we must work hard so that we do not fail the Government,” he said.
