President lauds value for money gains
PRESIDENT Mnangagwa has expressed satisfaction with the milestones achieved under the “Value for Money” policy, which has enabled the Government to make 30 percent expenditure savings and promotes prudent use of national resources.
In an endeavour to restore market discipline and price stability, the Government launched the “Value for Money” exercise in August 2022 to ensure the country derives commensurate value for money for all transactions in the public procurement space.
The intervention also sought to deal with unethical behaviour exhibited by various suppliers and contractors who were manipulating the foreign exchange market leading to speculative pricing volatility.
Authorities blame market indiscipline as a major drawback to Zimbabwe’s economic transformation with the recent surge in inflationary pressures linked to parallel market exchange rate volatility weakening consumer spending and threatening business viability.
The situation prompted the Government to take drastic measures, including loosening import regulations, allowing 100 percent forex retention on all domestic sales, and mopping up excess liquidity, among others, in order to restore macro-economic stability.
Addressing delegates at the second edition of Zimbabwe Economic Development Conference (ZEDCON 2023) Conference on Monday in Victoria Falls under the theme: “Public and Private Resource Mobilisation for Sustainable Development”, President Mnangagwa said it was important to find ways to enhance value for money methods.
“I am happy to hear from Professor Ncube and Mr Guvamatanga who said as a result of value for money concept, we have been able to save 30 percent of Government expenditure,” he said.
“Recently, some of the Government institutions would approach me saying, ‘Mr President we are short of this and that’.
Mr Guvamatanga would say he allocates the institutions $42 billion every week.
“We have supplied the institutions with a third of the $42 billion . . . So we must find ways for value for money methods,” said the President as he challenged the business sector to relook at their supplies of goods and services.
He said given the confidence in the country’s policies, there is a huge potential for the economy being funded by local institutions.
“I am happy that our mindsets are changing. In the past, when we thought about resource mobilisation, we would think about borrowing from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank and other institutions,” said the President.
“There is a possibility that our own institutions can fund the economy. There are institutions with unused vast funds. If we have confidence in our own institutions and policies, we have adequate resources to a greater extent at domestic level to drive modernisation and industrialisation of the economy.”
Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube said the Treasury, together with the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, will continue with the stance of maintaining tight fiscal and monetary policies, controlling liquidity and money supply to ensure a stable macro-economic environment, which is the cornerstone for sustainable economic growth and development.
“We will also continue to insist on the ‘Value for Money’ approach that we instituted last year following deliberations at ZEDCON 2022 that have eliminated forward pricing and arrested self-fulfilling inflation expectations,” said the minister.
President Mnangagwa further challenged the private sector, civil society, foreign investors, and development partners to work together for increased production.
“The ever-globalising world gives scope for the mobilisation of resources for sustainable development, leveraging on various regional economic communities and financial institutions to which Zimbabwe is a member.”
The Government, he said, will continue providing a conducive business operating environment, which encourages public-private partnerships while at the same time guaranteeing stability in the macro-economic environment.-herald
