The Sunday News
THE number of Bulawayo companies that took part at this year’s Zimbabwe International Trade Fair went down by 35 percent to 111 from 172 last year, as more companies in the second capital continue to face challenges.
THE Zimbabwe International Trade Fair Company, the organisers of the event, said they were disappointed at the continuous decline in numbers of Bulawayo companies participating at the exhibition.
ZITF Company board chairman Mr Bekithemba Nkomo said the country’s economic situation and the effects of de-industrialisation had over the years contributed to the decrease in the number of Bulawayo firms exhibiting at the one of the country’s biggest annual international acclaimed multi-sectorial exhibitions.
The number of Bulawayo companies taking part in the showcase has been declining for the past decade and a half.
“I think the participation from Bulawayo is not where it should be. We think that Bulawayo companies should probably be participating more. The ZITF is in their backyard and it’s an advantage to them but we should also understand that a lot of companies in Bulawayo are in industries that are struggling.
“There are some industries for example if you look at your textiles (both spinning and weaving) as well as engineering businesses, those sorts of businesses are not doing as well as they would like to be. So it therefore becomes really difficult as to whether you want to say they should or not participate,” Mr Nkomo said.
Over 100 companies in Bulawayo have closed shop while many have significantly scaled down operations since year 2000 rendering thousands of people unemployed as the country faces its worst de-industrialisation since independence.
Mr Nkomo was, however, optimistic that through the various policies being implemented by Government, the country’s economy would be turned around further stating that the ZITF would continue to pursue Bulawayo companies and others in various parts of the country to take advantage of the exhibition to showcase their products to wider markets.
“It’s not easy but it’s something that we want to encourage. That we have more Bulawayo companies coming (for ZITF) and indeed from other places all over the country and we think it’s going to happen and we hope it will happen very soon,” he said.
Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries Matabeleland Chapter president Mr Busisa Moyo said the ZITF Company should model its exhibitions targeting individual sectors instead of generalising the fair as most businesses were likely not to get real value from it as the attention of prospective clients and investors would be disrupted or diverted.
“Of course the number of Bulawayo companies exhibiting at the ZITF is low but we have to look at the cost and currently businesses tend to look at things that have more direct impact.
“I think the ZITF is too general and broad to the extent that people, businesses and entrepreneurs don’t see direct impact but if we structure it to an extent that we have industrialists, investors and financiers coming for a particular sector that way companies will have every reason to exhibit,” Mr Moyo said.
He said Bulawayo was strategically positioned to be the hub of the country’s economy.
“Bulawayo is very well positioned because it’s at the heart of the Limpopo-Zambezi Transfrontier Corridor and with the whole of the city going to be turned into a Special Economic Zone organisations such as the ZITF, ZimTrade and Ziparu (Zimbabwe Economic Policy Analysis and Research Unit) thinking of participating in reviving Bulawayo using clusters such as cotton to clothing, beef to leather, iron and steel, rubber products and regional value chain assembly industries,” Mr Moyo said.
Mr Nkomo expressed satisfaction at the quality of products exhibited at this year’s fair.
“In terms of the number of exhibitors it’s pretty much the same or a little bit more than last year. In terms of square metres (exhibition space) we are a little bit less than last year but what is really encouraging is the high quality of the exhibits.
“Companies have taken time and been careful about what they exhibit and really made efforts to ensure that the quality of their exhibits is high. That on its own is a consolation for us,” he said.
Government has admitted that the manufacturing sector, on which Bulawayo’s economy was anchored, was facing challenges and capacity utilisation was likely to drop from 35 percent to 30 percent by the end of the year.
