The Sunday News
Judith Phiri, Business Reporter
PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa was awarded the Buy Zimbabwe Champion of the Decade Award for his dedication to the cause of promoting the production and consumption of local products at the organisation’s 10th-anniversary awards which were held in Harare last month.
The citation for the award said President Mnangagwa has been at the forefront of driving local content and exhibited passion, resilience and leadership.
Buy Zimbabwe chairman Mr Munyaradzi Hwengwere says President Mnangagwa has been a champion in the promotion of local content.
“Under his guidance local products have regained pride of place on our supermarket shelves and Zimbabweans have demonstrated a preference for local goods and services which continue to increase in quality and output.
“President Mnangagwa has been a mentor and guiding hand to Buy Zimbabwe. Over the years, he has been the guest of honour on three occasions, including making it his first official engagement in a new and even more demanding role,” said Mr Hwengwere.
He added that the President has brought urgency and shaped a strong narrative and work ethos in his drive for Zimbabwe to attain an upper middle-income status by 2030.
Mr Hwengwere noted that President Mnangagwa has also shown great resilience in his leadership as shown through some of the programmes he has implemented that are of essence to Buy Zimbabwe.
“He understood the essence of Buy Zimbabwe and how it is directly connected to the resuscitation of agriculture. The pfumvudza/intwasa programme for the first time in over a decade, has made Zimbabwe food secure this year and we are even going to get surplus. President Mnangagwa has also unlocked value in all other sectors of the economy,” he said.
Mr Hwengwere highlighted that for the first time in Government’s budget last year, Buy Zimbabwe Campaign was allocated funds for their activities.
Also, they were the secretariat of the local content policy steering committee that was approved by cabinet meant to reward companies that have higher local content in their products.
Mr Hwengwere said they made a clarion call to President Mnangagwa that in the next five years they want to grow locally manufactured products in supermarket shelves to 80 percent from 60 percent.
Launched in March 2011, the Buy Zimbabwe Campaign was originally conceptualised as the final task of an entrepreneurial television reality show My Own Boss which targeted youths from Zimbabwe and Zambia. This was after the realisation that it was the youths who bear the brunt of unemployment because of dysfunctional industries in the two countries.
From the show, the campaign was identified as a project that possessed a lot of potential as it addressed the challenges that business in Zimbabwe was facing and would contribute in reducing unemployment primarily amongst the youth.
Buy Zimbabwe ultimately seeks to create a platform necessary to promote the production and consumption of local goods and services in the face of an influx of foreign alternatives. Mr Hwengwere said: “In Zambia the structures existed in supporting young entrepreneurs while it was not the same in Zimbabwe as was shown in the, each man for himself mentality.
So, we were persuaded by Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) to start a campaign that will make sure that people realise that they are their own creators of wealth and to assist young people get jobs as well.”
He added that they then came up with ways to support local enterprises by promoting preference of locally produced goods and services.
“Every year we make sure that we award companies that provide goods and services that qualify on quality, local content, environmental sustainability and promote local employment. Our aim is to ensure that Buy Zimbabwe will create access to market, linkages, in order to realise wealth, jobs and pride as Zimbabwe can never develop on the basis of imports only.
Under the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1) (2021-2025), Government’s objective is to maintain a sustainable current account balance of not more that -3 percent of GDP and gradually build foreign reserves to around six months of import cover by 2025. Regarding the containment of import growth and ensuring that the generated foreign currency is saved, NDS1 said the country will prioritise import substitution through the domestication of value chains and the reviewing tariff and non-tariff measures to enable importation of critical raw materials and capital goods. Also, important will be promotion of the Buy Zimbabwe Campaign and increasing domestic production of major critical imports such as maize, wheat and soya beans.
Under NDS1 the strategies to improve domestic trade. Government will implement the promotion of Buy Zimbabwe Campaign; and this will be underpinned by promotion of export products and export markets diversification as well as implementation of reforms aimed at streamlining and simplifying exporting and importing procedures, eliminating customs delays and improving customs administration.
To promote local products, the outcome of increased and sustained economic growth will be private sector led while Government focuses on accelerating policy implementation, legal, institutional and structural reforms to strengthen macroeconomic stability as well as improving the business environment.
Meanwhile, Government recently took the position to stop issuing maize and mealie-meal import permits with effect from end of the May, as the country is on course for a maize bumper harvest.
This comes after, millers had been lobbying to have maize and mealie-meal import permits suspended citing viability concerns caused by the flooding of imported products on the local market.
Zimbabwe this year expects to produce 2,5 million to 2,8 million tonnes of maize and 360 000 tonnes of traditional grains, in what could turn out to be the largest yield achieved by the country since the land reform commenced in 2000.
Grain Millers Association of Zimbabwe (GMAZ) chairman, Mr Tafadzwa Musarara is on record saying the ban will go a long way in boosting local companies and promoting the manufacture of local maize products.
He noted that from this month going to July and August the price of mealie-meal was going to drop and there will be promotions as a manifestation of a free economy. “We have discussed at length with Government and the maximum price that we expect will be $600 for a 10kg roller meal but prices are going to come down,” he added.
