BY RUTENDO MATANHIKE
William Manhimanzi, director of capital markets at the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ), on Wednesday said production was imperative for the country to generate foreign currency.
Speaking during a Catholic Professional Network of Zimbabwe dialogue series on economy and media at Silveira House in Harare, Manhimanzi said in order for the country to generate foreign currency, there was need for production and a minimisation of imports.
“If we don’t go back to the basics that we need to produce ourselves and export, we are not going anywhere in this economy.”
The RBZ director said the shortage of foreign currency was a result of the country’s expenditure.
Zimbabwe currently imports trifle goods, while exports wre low because there is no production.
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“We are importing more than we are producing, thereby wasting hard currency on trinkets,” he said.
The country needs to concentrate on sectors it excels in to contribute to foreign currency generation and abandon sectors it has no competitive advantages in.
“If we realise that we do not have a competitive advantage, let us emphasise on areas we can do well like utilising natural resources that we have which include gold, platinum, chrome and diamonds. We need real miners, people who have vested interest in seeing the development of this economy.”
He said proceeds from the scarce resources should trickle down to the grassroots, where poverty is rapid, in order to see real economic development and to realise Vision 2030.
“The utilisation of resources should transmit to the lower end of the economy, only then can we start dealing with poverty issues at household level. No good can come from economic growth when poverty is rapid in a population.”