Government to support business with friendly policies -Prof Ncube

Government is impressed by the resuscitation of factories in Bulawayo and will continue to support the manufacturing sector across the country, a cabinet minister has said.

Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion Minister, Mthuli Ncube said this after touring Arenel Foods (Pvt) Limited and the newly commissioned Bakers Inn plant in Belmont industrial area here.

In the past few years, government has introduced a cocktail of measures to help resuscitate industries in the city, after they collapsed due lack of lines of credit for retooling.

Ncube said he was impressed by the growth being experienced in the economy, particularly in the manufacturing sector.

“I’ve been asking whether our figures are correct when we say (the) manufacturing sector is growing at 2.5 percent per annum. I think that’s an underestimate. I didn’t see 2.5 percent here. I saw 20 percent solid growth per annum in the last five years,” he said.

“But it also shows that the industry in Bulawayo is being resuscitated.

It is happening, and they’re employing people in the area, and it is really commendable. I think we should continue to support them, and we’ll see growth everywhere, not just here, but also right across the country in the sector,” he added.

Most factories in the city have been supported by government to retool through duty free importation of equipment and availing foreign currency through the auction system.

Ncube said the tour was intended to get first-hand information on how factories have expanded in last five years as well as checking on how government policies have assisted them in their growth.

“As you know, this (Arenel) is an old company that goes back to the 1940s and 50s. I wanted to see for myself how they’ve expanded in the last five years, but also to check with them which policies simply have assisted them to expand, and I’ve been very impressed,” he said.

“But I also wanted to understand their challenges so that we can keep changing our policies and fine-tuning and unblocking those blockages. I have been very, very impressed with the growth I have seen here. For example, when I came here almost five years ago, it was a small company,” Ncube said.

He also commended Bakers Inn for installing modern and automated equipment to improve productivity. The robot-controlled equipment was acquired through South Africa from Europe.

Ncube said the expansion by the two companies speaks to government`s blueprint National Development Strategy, adding that government will put in place policies that seek to grow the economy at an average of 5.5 percent per year.

“As I said, in this sector alone, I saw 20 percent growth per annum, so already they are exceeding the NDS1 targets, and I am convinced that really (we) will achieve our upper-middle-income status by year 2030,” he said.

New Ziana