The Sunday Mail
THE clothing industry is pushing Government to craft a policy that compels parastatals and local authorities to purchase corporate wear and any other regalia from local companies so as to save the few jobs that remain in the struggling sector.
Last week, Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) Commissioner-General Mr Gershem Pasi told a Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Budget, Finance and Investment that top textile retailers such as Edgars, Topics, TM Supermarkets, Greatermans and Truworths have splashed US$2 million in the first quarter of 2014 on importing clothes instead of raw fabric to make textile products.
Parastatals and local authorities have been blamed for contributing to the death of local clothing companies by importing products that can ideally be supplied by local companies.
South Africa already has an accord — the Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act — which ensures that 75 percent of procurement is done locally.
Representatives from the SA government, business, labour and the community signed a Local Procurement Accord on October 31, 2012 designed to provide benchmarks, time-lines and commitments from all the signatory constituencies on how the plan would be executed.
Analysts say while the accord has crippled some local companies that were exporting to South Africa — Zimbabwe’s biggest trading partner — that country’s local industry would benefit immensely from the arrangement given that local companies exported R1,4 billion worth of goods. However, imports onto the local market rose to R15,1 billion.
Statistics obtained by The Sunday Mail Business show that between December 2013 and March this year, the clothing sector has shed an additional 2000 jobs, making a strong case for the adoption of a procurement quota in Zimbabwe.
Since the beginning of 2009, the industry has seen 145 companies shutting down and 5 700 employees losing out.
Out of the 95 companies that were operational in Harare as at December 2013, only 65 are still open, while the number has been halved in Bulawayo to 40.
National Union of the Clothing Industry (NUCI) general secretary Mr Joseph Tanyanyiwa said the situation in the sector is dire and requires urgent Government intervention.
“You see, Zimbabwe is a developing country and we cannot afford to retail for other countries. Unfortunately, everyone in the country, including some Government departments which should realise the need to create employment locally, are importing their corporate wear from neighbouring countries and Asia.
“Our view is that Government can help resuscitate the local clothing industry by coming up with a deliberate local procurement policy.
‘‘All this high unemployment we are talking about will be addressed because the clothing sector is labour intensive and once Government departments and even the private sector stop exporting jobs by buying locally, the results in terms of employment creation will be evident,” said Mr Tanyanyiwa.
Zimbabwe Clothing Manufacturers Association chairman Mr Jeremy Youmans said apart from the effects of the failing infrastructure, lack of access to affordable finance and a small local market demand, the clothing sector also contends with a “low level of motivation to buy locally from the public and private sectors and consumers”.
“The other main issue is insufficient import control and compliance (and) it is not a matter of ‘can these challenges be overcome?’ They must be. If we sit still, we will die. So as an industry, we need to proactively market ourselves to our local market, the regional market and the international market . . .”
BuyZimbabwe general manager Mr Munyaradzi Hwengwere said it was important for Government to come up with a local procurement policy to breathe life into the comatose industry so as to create more jobs for citizens
“I think what they (clothing industry) are saying is only normal and the right thing to do. Even when you look at our neighbours South Africa, they already have a local procurement accord. We should learn from them and for things such as corporate wear; that should never be debated.
“When you are a foreigner and want to sell your goods in South Africa, the chances are very slim because of that accord. Our procurement policies are weak at the moment but if you check in the Indigenisation Act, it is provided for that 50 percent of procurement should be local but it’s not being done,” said Mr Hwengwere.
He added that Buy Zimbabwe is planning to hold a public procurement conference mid-July to push the cause for local products.
Meanwhile, NUCI said it does not support the move by Government to bring back flexibility in the labour market where employees are paid on the basis of hours worked.
Currently, clothing industry representatives are locked in negotiations with employers to ensure a decent wage for employees but without compromising business viability.
He said they have submitted a position paper where they want employees to get US$22 and US$70 as transport and housing allowances respectively, on top of their existing salaries “so that we try to normalise the abnormal”.
The lowest paid earns US$166 per month at the moment.
