INDUSTRY and Commerce lobby groups have warned that the forthcoming elections could disrupt business and affect the country’s economic outlook.
Report by Victoria Mtomba
Zimbabwe is scheduled to hold watershed elections next year that would bring to an end the tenure of the inclusive government.
In separate interviews the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) and the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC) said elections were a cause for concern.
CZI president Kumbirayi Katsande said this was a challenging environment to do business in and innovation and speed of action and partnerships will be essential ingredients for the survival of business in 2013.
“We have already advised that we should budget for the usual potential disruptions to normal business activity in election times as we all expect polls in 2013,” he said.
Keep Reading
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
“We should consider all economic aspects of our lives to make it through 2013.”
“Some operations will have to be abandoned and sadly we expect more job losses.”
ZNCC president Oswald Binha said the biggest threat for the manufacturing sector in 2013 was the constant talk about elections. “Elections in Zimbabwe are war not a game, unlike in other economies. In other economies it’s a game and it’s about choosing freely,” he said.
“We foresee the issue of elections as an area of concern.”
Binha said politicians should try to maintain peace and stability in the next elections.
On the way forward, Katsande said trading houses should buy locally-manufactured goods not imports.
“South Africa-based trading houses have this tendency to commit to South African products and local manufacturers are now complaining that this is now a threat to local products,” he said.
“Trading in Zimbabwe must mean committing to ‘Made in Zimbabwe’ first just as the South Africans do.”
Katsande said the performance of the manufacturing sector this year was lacklustre, which was an indication that economic growth had slowed down.
Capacity utilisation, which went up in 2009 from record levels of 10% to around 45% in 2010 and 57% in 2011, went down to 47% this year.
Compared to the four years since the country introduced the multi-currency in 2012 the country performed worse than the prior years.
Katsande said consumers had no money in their pockets while companies installed generators to overcome power shortages.
“The truth is that the economy is not as easy as appears on the surface,” he said.
“There are many hardships that businesses are going through. No one is safe and it is quite brutal.”
The manufacturing sector was under threat with more than 60% of its products being imports.
In his 2013 Budget presentation, Finance minister Tendai Biti said the manufacturing sector will grow by only 2,3% this year compared to 13,9% in 2011.
“In 2013, the sector is projected to grow by 3%, underpinned by implementation of the industrial development policy, anticipated lines of credit, fiscal incentives as well as a favourable agriculture season,” he said.
Biti said investments in the manufacturing sector remained subdued with few firms investing at low levels.
“Some firms are even failing to cover their cost of capital as shown by rising non-performing loans as high as 9% as well as closure of some blue chip companies which were originally listed on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange,” he said.