Industrial revival vital key in economic resuscitation

THERE has been a great deal of excitement about Zimbabwe reviving its national economy following, first, the inauguration of Cde Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa as Robert Mugabe’s successor on November 24, 2017, and second, after the presentation of the Budget by Finance Minister, Cde Patrick Chinamasa.

It is the general national feeling that the pre-Mnangagwa administration was highly regimented, corrupt, uncommunicative and anti-investors.

The current popular sentiment is that President Mnangagwa’s administration should be given sufficient time to generate and implement its own economic and social policies which will, hopefully, rectify the negative results of its predecessor.

One place that is an unfortunate victim of Cde Mugabe’s poor socio-economic policies and practices is Bulawayo, a city which was an industrial hub many years earlier until about 10 years after Zimbabwe’s independence when most of its former factories became empty shells.

There is a serious hope that industrial investors will return to the city, and unemployment will be drastically reduced. Without looking into the causes of Zimbabwe’s economic decline, it is certainly helpful to know and understand the factors that are vital to industrialisation in any society and at all times.

There are at least six such factors or requisites, in fact: a market for what will be produced or generated, manpower and management to make or generate products or services to distribute them, material with which to make the products or to generate the services, adequate money (capital), and last but certainly not the least, motivation.

An investor needs to be assured of the availability of a highly motivated pool of workers (manpower) before he or she ploughs his or her money into a project.

Some communities have a very poor work culture so that there are cases of foreign investors who have had to recruit workers elsewhere rather than employ indigenous people. Zimbabweans, most fortunately, are globally famous for being quite industrious, a very useful strength most necessary for economic development.

Management personnel have got to be professionally qualified, or at least they must be very much functionally literate for them to play their role efficiently, which is a stewardship position in relationship to the ownership of the enterprises of which they are employees.

Zimbabwe has thousands of such people most of whom are currently walking the country’s roads and streets looking for employment. What with the country’s 12 universities, six polytechnics plus a large number of private colleges, which churn out thousands of management professionals annually.

Zimbabwe does not lack raw materials that are usable in various manufacturing lines, especially the food-canning sector because of the country’s highly productive agricultural industry.

It has a variety of timber trees including mukwa and other hard wood, like teak. The furniture manufacturing sector is a very financially rewarding undertaking in Zimbabwe.

Botswana, Malawi and Mozambique are easily accessible and most reliable furniture markets because they do not have timber, a raw material that Zimbabwe has in large quantities.

In addition to the three mentioned countries, two of which, Botswana and Mozambique, have common borders with Zimbabwe, the country is a member of the Southern African Development Community (Sadc), comprising 15 states, eight of which import most of their food.

Zimbabwe is an agriculture country with several large dams that were created primarily for irrigation. The country’s soils and climatic conditions are highly suitable for various tropical and sub-tropical crops and fruits.

Some of those fruits, including mangoes, can be canned for export. Other types of fruits can be exported fresh to Namibia, Botswana, Zambia and Angola.

Investment by Zimbabweans is an aspect of indigenisation, of course. However, the country’s precarious financial situation militates against many local people aspiring to participate in the national economic development.

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