Govt warns against profiteering from national dress
OVERPRICING the national dress fabric by charging more than US$4 a metre will put it beyond the reach of many and yet its chief proponent and architect, First Lady Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa, wants the dress to be accessible to all Zimbabweans as it gives the country a unique identity which celebrates its rich cultural heritage.
Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Babra Rwodzi said the First Lady, who is also the tourism and hospitality patron, wanted the national dress fabric to be affordable to all Zimbabweans, hence the move to make sure it was not overpriced and beyond the reach of many.
The First Lady spearheaded consultations on the national dress which was later adopted and has since proved to be very popular.
Speaking during a provincial national dress competition at a Masvingo hotel that was organised by the Young Women4ED, Minister Rwodzi warned that it was a criminal offence to overprice the national dress fabric.
She hailed the First Lady as a woman with an overarching vision as evidenced by her spirited efforts for the country to have its own national dress.
“The official price for the national dress fabric is US$4 per metre and no one is allowed to profiteer from it. Anything above that is overpricing because the First Lady who was the brains behind the national dress does not want it to be beyond the reach of all Zimbabweans, hence any price that is above the stipulated US$4 per metre will be an offence and may invite arrests,’’ she said.
“We are lucky that we have a mother of the nation who is a visionary and is a loving and caring mother who is so particular about the need to uphold our culture and tradition that give us identity. I want to exhort all of you to make sure you don’t profit from the national dress because it is an offence. The national dress fabric can be ordered from our ZTA offices so those who want it can place their orders, not to profiteering even adding US$1 on the pegged price of US$4 per metre is illegal.’’
The Cabinet Minister exhorted Zimbabweans to embrace their culture, saying culture gave a people identity hence locals should be proud of their dress in celebration of their unique heritage.
She said Zimbabwe should anchor its growth in tourism, saying the country had rich cultural heritage which must be showcased to grow the country’s tourism sector leveraging on the increasing number of visitors eyeing original culture across the globe.
The local tourism industry was also supposed to leverage on the potentially lucrative domestic tourism market to grow that sector that has potential to continuously underpin the national economy since a country’s heritage will always be there.
The Minister lavished praise on models from all the seven districts of Masvingo who showcased the national dress, saying it was proof that Masvingo was Zimbabwe’s true home of the nation’s culture and heritage.
In his address at the same event, the Minister of State for Masvingo Provincial Affairs and Devolution Ezra Chadzamira lauded Young Woman4ED for the its leading role in promoting and showcasing the national dress whose design was predicated on the historic Great Zimbabwe monument and the Zimbabwe bird which is the national emblem.
Minister Chadzamira paid tribute to Young Women4ED for rolling out many projects such as goat-rearing across Masvingo’s seven districts in the process spawning large-scale empowerment of women and young people which is in sync with the leaving no one and no place behind philosophy advanced by President Mnangagwa.
Masvingo district emerged victorious in the national dress provincial competition.