Local companies that want protection from government against imports have to state how the country would benefit if the wish was to be granted.
BY TATIRA ZWINOIRA
Speaking at the commissioning of new machinery at Chloride Zimbabwe in Harare yesterday, Industry and Commerce minister Mike Bimha said only companies that had confidence in the country were assured of government support.
“A number of companies come to government and say ‘give us support, give us protection’, but they do not in turn tell government what they are also going to give, not government, but to Zimbabwe. When we had meetings with Chloride, they said ‘give us support and we will do A, B and C’ and they did A, B and C. Let me stress the need for the private sector to heed the call to industrialise our country,” Bimha said.
Chloride Zimbabwe, a unit of Zimbabwe Stock Exchange-listed Art Corporation, has received support from government in the form of import regulations due to them offering new investment for the country’s industrial sector, Bimha said.
At the height of imports, companies often approached the Ministry of Industry and Commerce seeking protection against imported goods.
The ministry later responded by putting in place a plethora of import regulations to curb the growing threat of imports to local industry.
The import regulations, specifically Statutory Instrument 20 of 2016, led to gaps in the battery market. This resulted in Art Corporation investing $3 million into new battery making machinery.
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The investment was sourced through a three-year finance facility from South Korea arranged by Art Corporation’s major shareholder, Taesung Chemical Limited.
Art Corporation board chairman Utete Wushe said the company now had a capacity to produce 360 000 batteries per annum instead of a previous of 240 000.
He said the battery market had a capacity of about 300 000 which would lead to the group exporting excess batteries to Malawi and Zambia.
Bimha said the Battery Manufacturers’ Association have already submitted and engaged government on its Incubation Strategy, a plan which would support the local battery manufacturers.
He said government was working flat out to address the challenges faced by battery manufacturers.
Bimha cautioned companies that have benefitted from the slew of import regulations, reminding them that import regulations were only temporary as competition was here to stay.
