The Sunday News
Gabriel Masvora Business Editor
A LOCAL company, Boom City Advertising, has initiated an innovative Public-Private Partnership (PPP) with the Bulawayo City Council for the manufacture and supply of more than 1 000 refuse collection bins in the city centre in a deal expected to top $1 million when finalised. The PPP comes at a time when the city is crying out for investment as some companies have either closed or relocated to other cities in what industrialists have estimated to have resulted in the loss of more than 20 000 jobs.
“At first the temptation was to be based in Harare but we said no, everyone is going to Harare so let us lead the way and show that Bulawayo can be a good place to start business,” said Boom City managing director Mr Reason Rizzila Sibanda in an interview on Friday.
He said according to the PPP which they started negotiating with BCC two years ago, his company would provide more than 1 000 bins in Bulawayo for free but sell advertising space on the bins to companies.
“It is a win-win situation. We had to think outside the box and I think that is what is needed today. In this partnership, the city council benefits because we provide refuse bins at almost every street corner at no cost to the council. We have started the project and so far we have placed 100 bins on some corners of the city.”
Mr Sibanda said after placing the bins, they then invite companies to advertise on the bins and each company can choose a street corner where they think most of their products can be marketed effectively.
“Most companies used to believe in the conventional way of advertising like putting billboards which if you look were more expensive and were meant probably for motorists. With this initiative we are taking advertising right to where the people are.”
He said, for example, if a company thinks its clients are commuters, it can buy space on all the bins that will be put close to bus terminuses.
“It costs about $900 per month to run a bill board but in our case we charge around $200 for a year per bin and this means that just one month expenditure on a bill board per company can buy three corners of streets for the whole year.”
To protect the advertisers, said Mr Sibanda, his company takes over the maintenance of the material during the agreed period.
“Once the company has entered into a contract with us, we will be responsible for the advert. If it is scratched we replace. If the bin is stolen we replace the bin together with the advert. We even have our staff who go around the streets to ensure that the adverts are kept clean. Over and above we also help to keep the city clean which is how BCC benefits.”
The initiative has already gathered momentum as some of the companies that have signed in include Treger, Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority, Pretoria Portland Cement and Transparency International among others.
To promote the growth of industry in the city, Mr Sibanda added that his company manufactures the bins, designs the adverts and manages them.
“We are trying to develop Bulawayo. As we expand we want to be growing the business from here. We have already started negotiating the same contract with other cities such as Gweru and Harare but this will remain a Bulawayo company.
“We are not only looking at cities but we want to work with malls and restaurants where we can provide these bins at their premises at no cost but retain the ownership of the bin and the adverts. We are already talking to those running Bulawayo Centre and Sam Levy in Harare. We are also looking at expanding into the region.”
Mr Sibanda said this innovation was an indication that local companies or rather those companies that need to succeed today must be innovative or else die.
“Some companies complain because they still want to do business the old way. This cannot work. Worldwide all those companies that have remained rooted in old ways of doing business have gone under. As business we need to think about new ways, new innovations which bring money but which also do not require all the huge investments.”
He said in the case of the PPP with local authorities, it was evident that businesses could exploit a number of areas in win-win situations.
“In our case, the council no longer needs to spend a cent in acquiring refuse bins and on our side we provide a service but benefit indirectly. This is what businesses have to look at. Opportunities are many but they need to think and be innovative. If we are doing something in refuse collection how many other areas can other companies exploit in a win-win situation.”
In addition, Mr Sibanda said this would contribute to the growth of employment in Bulawayo.
“Most of our employees from manufacturing the bins and designing of the adverts are local. We will introduce more products and hope to accommodate more employees.”
Government has identified PPPs as a key component in the implementation and success of its economic blue-print, Zim Asset.
Projects identified in Zim Asset require funding of around $27 billion in the five years which Government has clearly indicated that it will not be able to raise on its own but through the help of development partners and the private sector, in some cases through PPPs.
“Government will continue to collaborate with all the development partners that have been rendering technical and financial assistance to different sectors of the economy, as well as pursuing investment vehicles such as Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs),” President Mugabe said in his foreword in the Zim Asset document.
The document further stresses the need for PPPs to be explored in most sectors of the economy.
It adds that after the setting up of Special Economic Zones which is imminent, PPPs would play an important role in ensuring the success of industry in these zones.
