NES adopts ‘functional gear’ concept
THE Zimbabwe National Export Strategy has adopted the International Trade Centre’s “functional gear concept” of competitiveness and development aimed at creating an environment that encourages exporters to increase exports to existing and new markets.
The approach will also help Zimbabwean companies to promote development of new products.
The medium term blueprint is aimed at growing Zimbabwe’s exports to about $5 billion in the next five years and reduce formal unemployment by 50 percent. It mainly focuses on growing exports in food and beverages, pharmaceuticals, iron and steel, fertiliser, textile and clothing, horticulture, leather, furniture, arts and crafts sectors.
According to the NES document, the ITC approach would ensure the NES is comprehensive and inclusive, while it is integrated with economic development in general.
The supply side approach focuses on measures, which must be put in place to upgrade skills, competencies and capabilities available in Zimbabwe necessary to improve and boost the current production throughputs, value addition and quality enhancement.
In line with Industrial Development Policy, this gear seeks opportunities to develop new businesses that could potentially grow out of cluster development, joint ventures through linkages between large and small businesses whereby the former outsources to the latter.
Expectations are that existing and new small enterprises develop into national competitive entities.
To address the country’s challenges of competitiveness, with specific focus on trade facilitation ones, the Zimbabwe National Export Strategy will focus on the cost of doing business.
The World Bank Doing Business report shows that Zimbabwe ranks lowly in various areas of the business environment, that is, government regulations and trade facilitation. Of specific interest, administrative procedures, transport, documentation, customs regime, standards and communication are covered in the NES.
The demand-side approach seeks to broaden market access. Zimbabwe’s export basket is largely constituted by few products, which are exported in their raw form.
The border out gear therefore addresses the identification and communication of market opportunities, offers in-depth and customised market support on target markets and assists to maintain a good public image for the country internationally and on the domestic front.
The export drive will be championed through identified priority sectors.
“Naturally, the NES concentrates on export businesses,” reads part of the document. “However, experience from the Asian Tigers, that is, South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan has shown export performance is directly linked to economic development.
“Against this background, taking into account the fact that export contributes 60 percent to national liquidity, the NES aims to contribute to the national development agenda.
“In doing this, the NES notes the four gears do not operate independently, but rather three competitiveness gears of the NES must reinforce each other, while powering the developmental gear resulting in a combined competitiveness-development focus.
“The development gear strategies focus on the importance of an enabling macroeconomic policy environment, political commitment and main streaming of export trade issues into the overall economic planning process towards achieving the core development issues of poverty alleviation.”