The Sunday Mail
Prosper Ndlovu
FOREIGN currency generated by the country should not be entirely spent on luxuries or importing goods that could be produced by local companies.
Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC) Matabeleland Chamber president, Mr Godwin Muhoni, said this as he challenged local producers to up their game to ensure the country derives the bulk of its product supplies from within. He also called on Zimbabweans to support the economy by consuming locally manufactured goods.
To achieve this, Mr Muhoni, who was addressing a business conference organised by the National University of Science and Technology (Nust) in Bulawayo on Thursday, said local industries should increase capacity and diversify their production base to meet market expectations, create jobs and achieve desired economic stability. While acknowledging the challenges in industry capitalisation, he said Zimbabwe, instead of crying foul over external factors, could leverage on its vast natural resources and skilled human capital to successfully transform its fortunes.
“Every country is blessed with natural and human resources. Best use of what’s on hand leads to development and a higher standard of living for the general populace. The country possesses this in abundance,” he said.
Instead of complaining over ageing equipment in firms and lack of capital to import spare parts and acquire latest technology, Mr Muhoni said local engineers must rise to the occasion and use their expertise to address the technical constraints affecting the productive sector.
He said, it was high time that Zimbabwe’s expert knowledge was “turned into solutions” by either manufacturing spares and machinery or improving what others have made or better still offering proven and well researched alternatives.
Creating a situation where domestic problems are solved through home developed solutions is what is lacking in the country, said Muhoni.
It has to be accepted that developed countries will never transfer technology to third world nations. Know how is a closely guarded secret and represents a competitive advantage. A means by which they relegate undeveloped countries into mere consumers of their finished products,” he said.
“African engineers must cease googling for the latest stuff on offer. We have to do it for ourselves. Either we come up with our own products or we improve what they have produced.”
Mr Muhoni said all developed nations have reached such status through aggressive domestic production and exports while trimming imports. He said Zimbabwe and the rest of Africa need to embrace a similar attitude and claim their space in the global economy.
“While acknowledging that we can not start big, our engineers can start by looking at items listed on our imports expenditure tables and from there identify what can be made locally. For instance barring sugar and minute soya flour content, vital ingredients in a loaf of bread are imported. Surely, some chemical engineer can come up with bread making enzymes,” he said.
Mr Muhoni said Zimbabwe needs to take advantage of its comparative resource advantage to create wealth for its citizens especially through increased value addition and beneficiation. He said that Switzerland, for instance, has made a formidable economy out of chocolate, cheese, jewellery and banking and yet, they were not producing the raw material components.
“They improved the system…tailored it to the target market’s requirements. They do not mine diamonds or gold. They import…put tiny bits into watched rings and earrings and accrues revenues enhanced 500 fold. Similarly, they get cocoa beans from Ivory Coast at less than US$2 per 50kg bag…turn it into Nestle chocolate, selling at no less than $3 per 200g slab,” said Mr Muhoni.
He admitted that more resources need to be channelled into research, which in fact is an investment in producing sound business ideas. Mr Muhoni also challenged local engineers to form their own research companies where bankable ideas can attract funding from commerce and industry.
