Harare (New Ziana) – Zimbabwe is on track to building a resilient and sustainable manufacturing sector, which will form the bedrock of the re-generation of the Zimbabwean economy, Industry and Commerce Minister Sekai Nzenza has said.
She was speaking during a webinar organised by First Capital Bank, dubbed “Challenges, Opportunities and Trade Optimisation for Industry and Commerce.”
Nzenza said government was creating a favourable business environment which enables private sector led economic growth.
“I am pleased to realise that despite Covid-19 we are very much on track to build a resilient and sustainable manufacturing sector,” she said.
“We are increasing investment, we are retooling, and we are engaged in refurbishments which will ultimately see the re-generation of the Zimbabwean economy. And synonymous with this re-generation of the productive sector, we have witnessed increased investment by multinational companies in Zimbabwe. We are targeting the private sector led growth.”
Nzenza added; “The CZI 2021, annual manufacturing sector survey showed that large scale capacity utilisation went up by 62.7 percent and SMEs were 54 percent that is remarkable and I would like us to go as much as 70 percent. It is a target and one has to dream and also to make it happen. We are also looking at the creation of a favourable operating environment where the ease of doing business is a reality.”
She said local companies were also making headway in upgrading their technologies, in pursuit of robust industrial growth.
In 2021 alone, Nzenza said local companies invested up to US$145 million in technology.
However, she said government was aware of challenges that were hindering local industry from performing at optimum, including high costs of production.
“These challenges require us to work together,” she said.
“Platforms such as this enable us as government to be willing to be interrogated, to be willing to accept that at times our polices are not so consistent and I will take that on board.”
New Ziana
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