Buy local to restore Zimbabwe's wealth, pride

Published: 05 April 2018

The Buy Local message is an ongoing call to action for the public and private sector, all businesses in the country, all government entities and ordinary consumers to restore a Zimbabwe with pride, wealth and jobs.

Buy Zimbabwe is recognised as the main institution that has, among others, potential to strongly influence procurement in favour of domestic production and is working closely with both public and private sector entities to drive the "Buy Local" message.

The call is to buy local products and services so that local businesses grow, thereby stimulating economic growth and job creation.

The Zimbabwean Government recognises buy local/local procurement as a key driver for job creation and has developed and implemented various strategies to stimulate the local manufacturing industry and a renewed drive towards local procurement.

From its inception Buy Zimbabwe tirelessly worked towards building the competitiveness and reclaiming the local market for the local industry.

Buy Zimbabwe's drive is to safeguard and create jobs as well as local wealth and is gratified that its calls have not gone unheeded, as more companies are joining the crusade for promoting local products and services.

Zimbabwe has opened the economy to foreign investment and new players, which means that the pricing of goods or services is going to be driven predominantly by the principles of supply and demand with limited interference or outside influence from large conglomerates or governmental agencies.

An open market is characterised by the minimum tariffs, taxes, licensing requirements, subsidies, unionisation and any other regulations or practices that interfere with the natural functioning of the free market.

Anyone can participate in an open market; there may be competitive barriers to entry, but there are no regulatory barriers to entry.

National prosperity is created, not inherited. It does not grow out of a country's natural endowments, its labour pool, its interest rates, or its currency's value, as classical economics insists.

A nation's competitiveness rather depends on the capacity of its industry to innovate and upgrade.

Companies gain advantage against the world's best competitors because of their pressures and challenges.

They benefit from having strong domestic rivals, aggressive home-based suppliers, and demanding local customers which local government bodies and municipals should be major players.

With the reality that Zimbabwe has been opened for business, this brings with it competition, which as an industry, we need to prepare for.

Local industry is concentrating on the goods and services with competitive advantage, which is created and sustained through a highly localised process.

Differences in national values, culture, economic structures, institutions, and histories all contribute to competitive success.

There are striking differences in the patterns of competitiveness in every country; no nation can or will be competitive in every sector or even most industries.

Ultimately, nations succeed in particular industries because their environment is the most forward-looking, dynamic, and demanding for local companies to participate.

The manufacturing sector is one of the key drivers of economic growth which currently contributes 13,1 percent to domestic GDP behind transport and communication (13,2 percent), other services (28,9 percent) and distribution, hotels and restaurants (14,8 percent) sectors.

During its peak in 1999, the sector contributed about 24 percent to the country's GDP, with strong linkages with agriculture (absorbing about 60 percent of agriculture output) and mining sector (absorbing about 40 percent of agriculture output).

The sector has been heavily affected by high cost of borrowing, tight liquidity conditions, outdated technology, continued use of antiquated plant and machinery, declining agriculture output, low aggregate demand, electrical power outages and competition from cheap low quality imports, among other factors.

Lack of long term financing has precluded the sector from accessing additional capital injections needed for retooling.

These factors have eroded the viability and competitiveness of the sector that has potential to generate employment and exports.

With this background and the direct competition coming from foreign investors and new players in the sector, there is need for the local manufacturing sector to be protected and to rethink strategy to curb the inevitable competition coming to the country.

The Government should create a platform where local companies will share experiences expectation and strategies to grow and survive.

Public procurement has been recognised as a key driver for economic growth and job creation by government, business, labour unions and community constituencies.

As part of Government commitment to domestic preference as stipulated in the new Procurement ACT, where public entities have committed to sourcing local products and services in designated sectors.

Buy Zimbabwe therefore facilitates and influences interaction between small businesses/entrepreneurs and procurement decision makers in the public and private sector.

Buy Zimbabwe is commitment to sustainable economic growth, job creation and the socio-economic welfare of Zimbabweans.
- the herald

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