Call for increase in Zim, Eswatini trade

HARARE, Zimbabwe: Trade between Zimbabwe and Eswatini runs into billions of Emalangeni. However, His Majesty the King has described this value as insignificant and has challenged the country to raise the figures. Statistics show that Eswatini imports over two billion US Dollars (about E37 billion) worth of goods per annum, while Zimbabwe imports over 5.6 billion US Dollars’ worth of goods per year.

Speaking at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair yesterday, His Majesty noted that Zimbabwe and Eswatini are members of both the common market for eastern and southern Africa (COMESA) and SADC, which enables the two countries to do business without technical barriers to trade. “I, therefore, would like to call for closer trade and investment collaboration between Eswatini and Zimbabwe. We make this call at a time when most African countries, including ourselves, are operationalising the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA). When it is fully operational, there should be seamless trade and business transactions between Eswatini and Zimbabwe,” he said.

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To address the challenges associated with the low levels of intra-Africa trade, the King said governments must make a conscious intent to do business with each other as African countries. “This will go a long way in creating jobs for our economies and eradicate poverty from Africa. To support this, the smooth movement of goods across our borders must be enhanced. Infrastructure and interconnectivity must be given priority, including the removal of all bottlenecks in trade,” he said.

The king further said that digital trade must be the new normal in Africa, and Zimbabwe should be one of the countries that take the lead in this, alongside Eswatini. “In our view, liberalisation of trade in services, which also includes the movement of business persons, will be a positive step. This allows our private sector, especially small, medium and micro enterprises to travel across the African continent without any stringent and sometimes prohibitive visa entry requirements and customs duties,” he said.

The king reminded the gathering that Africa, with a population of more than 1.3 billion consumers and a combined gross domestic product (GDP) of more than US$3 trillion, should be and is capable to support herself and ensure self-sustainability into the future. The 63rd Zimbabwe International Trade Fair, 2023 with 533 exhibitors, has seen a 30 per cent increase in foreign exhibitors from last year and the King commended the country for hosting and growing this event over the years.

His Majesty described the ZITF as a corner pillar and a very important platform to boost and stabilise the economy, not only for Zimbabwe but for the SADC region and Africa as a whole. “You will agree with me that there is always spill over effects between economies. When one country prospers, its neighbours and the region benefit from such outflows. In the same vein, when one economy struggles and suffers, the ripple effects still pour into the neighbouring countries,” he said.

The head of State added that trade fairs were important because they facilitated the African industrialisation agenda, which seeked to promote value addition for goods in order to move away from trade in raw materials. He lauded Zimbabwe, which had been through turbulent times, for continuing to strive economically and peacefully, proving to be one of the most resilient economies and in Africa. “This is a great demonstration to the world that Africa can find and implement her own solutions to issues and cases that are uniquely African,” he said.

The theme set for this year’s trade fair is, ‘transformative innovation, global competitiveness’.

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His Majesty described the theme as setting a tone that would guide the business and trade community to focus on transformative innovations that would also put Zimbabwe in a competitive position on the global markets. “We call upon all exhibitors to take this standard seriously in ensuring that the innovations you have are of high value addition and find a place of recognition in the markets that are available in the region and globally as you have been challenged,” he said.

Prior to the speech, His Majesty, together with Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa, took a tour of the exhibition stands where he witnessed various developments in the private, public and diplomatic sectors. The king was later asked to present awards to the various winners among the exhibitors before departing for Harare.

Meanwhile, the Zimbabwe Minister of Industry and Commerce, Sekai Nzenza, has praised President of Zimbabwe Emmerson Mnangagwa for his leadership towards motivating the growth of the country, which aims to become an upper middle-income country by 2030.

She said the president had tasked the citizens to become more self sufficient by reducing imports and increase productivity through being innovative. She said government had been given a mandate to grow its private sector relations for meaningful results