The Sunday News
Judith Phiri, Business Reporter
VICE President Dr Constantino Chiwenga has said the private sector should join hands with Government on the development and domestication of value chains.
This comes on the backdrop of disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and the on-going Russia-Ukraine conflict, which has secondary pass-through-effects on domestic and international prices.
Dr Chiwenga said this while officially opening the 2022 International Business Conference (IBC) in Bulawayo on Wednesday which runs on the sidelines of the ZITF expo, and shares the same theme as the 62nd edition of the country’s prime showcase, which is: ‘Re-think, Re-imagine, Re-invent Value Chains for Economic Development’.
“We are calling on our private sector to join hands with the Government on the development and domestication of value chains, as an essential tool for the transformation of our economy, as espoused in the National Development Strategy 1.
“The priority is on moving the economy up the value chain and structural transformation, underpinned by the strengthening of already existing and development of new value chains. Let me take this opportunity to applaud the private sector for the great work they are doing to help revive our industry, after years of industrial stagnation.”
Dr Chiwenga said the theme resonated well with President Mnangagwa’s call for the re-industrialization of Zimbabwe’s economy as the country works towards transforming into prosperous and empowered upper middle-income society by 2030.
He said the development thrust and vision was in accordance with global and regional aspirations of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Africa Agenda 2063.
Dr Chiwenga said this year’s edition of the IBC and the ZITF provided an opportunity for business and all stakeholders to engage and market their products and seek to reach wider markets.
He assured the business community of Government’s commitment to investor friendly policies as the country pushes ahead with its economic growth trajectory.
In an effort to improve the ease of doing business, Government was fast-tracking the enactment of laws that promote investment, trade and foreign direct investment.
“We as Government are committed to working and supporting industry with laws that enhance growth and increasing production. So, let us work together in ensuring that we attain vision 2030 of an upper middle-income economy.”
In terms of building the economy through the targeted cluster approach, Dr Chiwenga said: “The US$12 billion mining economy demands that we work as one as Government and the private sector to ensure that all the mining tools are produced locally, where the manufacturing sector must play a big part.”
He also noted that it now only took two days to register a company in Zimbabwe and only 14 days to register an investment and efforts were underway to reduce this down to 10 days in due course.
The international business conference is the highlight of the ZITF and is expected to be the game changer in trade and investment promotion in the country.
Meanwhile, the Vice President also toured some of the exhibitions that include SMEs exhibiting under ZimTrade banner, the National University of Science and Technology (NUST) where he was taken through projects on display (Biodegradable plastic, Easy Farm mobile App, PaMarket Mobile App, Smart Home System and Stone Crushing machine) and the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) among others.
