Cheap imports leave local industries on the blink

Cheap imports are forcing local businesses to close down and the government is making frantic efforts to protect the industrial sector, Special Advisor to the President, Joram Gumbo has said.

Gumbo said the government did not support the importation of cheap goods but advocated the promotion of local products.

He said the government had engaged various stakeholders with a view to establishing a level playing field where local industry is protected and allowed to thrive.

“Through various initiatives, the government is discouraging the importation of goods and products that can be manufactured locally and (are) available on the market,” Gumbo said.

“This is out of the realisation that cheap imports will push local industries out of business and have a negative effect on efforts to create jobs and grow the economy. We, therefore, need to find sustainable strategies and initiatives supporting our own local industries.”

Gumbo said only Zimbabweans can unlock growth, unleash potential and employment opportunities for the population.

In 2015, Buy Zimbabwe in partnership with a number of companies embarked on a consumer engagement drive to create demand for locally-manufactured goods meant to unlock the potential of local industry.

In 2021, Nyanga South legislator Supa Mandiwanzira called on the government to support local industries to ensure job creation and grow the foreign currency revenue base.

Mandiwanzira made the remarks during National Assembly debate while contributing to a motion on the State of the Nation Address by President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Last year in December, Buy Zimbabwe had talks with the Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe for the entity to prioritise locally-produced goods and services.

This comes as Buy Zimbabwe, the local goods and services promoter, is seeking to step up its efforts to ensure that most goods and services on sale are local.

At the time Buy Zimbabwe chief executive Munyaradzi Hwengwere said Zimbabwe was too dependent on imported goods like petroleum products.

He said the sector was working on targeting the weakest areas of the campaign in support of locally-manufactured goods.-newsday