INDUSTRY and Commerce minister Mike Bimha yesterday admitted that the government rushed to introduce Statutory Instrument 64 of 2016 (SI64) last year without consulting key stakeholders, adding his ministry was now working on new policy frameworks to correct inconsistencies caused by the import restriction policy.
BY TARISAI MANDIZHA
Speaking at the seventh Buy Local Summit and Investment Forum, Bimha admitted that the policy was implemented without consulting various stakeholders, but insisted the move was necessary at the time, as the country was facing liquidity challenges and a huge import bill.
“We presented the paper to Cabinet after pronouncement, probably there was no wide consultation, but the move was necessary. In our language, people say, if the medicine is bitter, that means it works,” he said.
SI64 was promulgated in June last year to restrict the importation of 43 products that have local equivalents in a bid to protect the local industry.
Bimha said positive results had been realised and these included an increase in overall manufacturing capacity and a decline in the import bill to $5,2 billion in 2016 from $6,3bn in 2015.
He said in the medium to long-term, a local content policy would be introduced to counter production challenges.
“SI64 is a dimension of promoting local content and there is no way of saying SI64 goodbye, but we are coming up with other measures to support or to buttress current challenges (sic),” the minister said.
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Bimha said the new measures would include an industrial policy and a local content policy, which would provide for value addition, local procurement of goods and services and research and development to stimulate the development of the domestic industry.
