Business responds seriously, positively to vision challenge

THE Zimbabwean business community has responded very positively to the call by President Mnangagwa to back the national vision of an upper-income economy by 2030, and as part of the debate initiated by the President has come up with some good ideas to help that process.

Obviously everyone in business would like both a wealthier country and have the average income of all Zimbabweans higher, and the national vision of the President encompasses both, greater production with the benefits of that rise spread across the whole population rather than being concentrated in the hands of a favoured few.

But equally obviously the President wants something better than lip-service, or having this vision treated as simply a word without any practical backing.

From the business side a practical policy does open doors, giving opportunities to expand businesses and create new ones, so they do want more than just a phrase.

The actual growth of the economy requires the principle generators of value, the business community and largely the private sector business community, to create and expand businesses, hire more people, which in turn means there are more potential customers with a salary in their pockets, and generally produce and sell more.

The Government still needs to step in to make sure that the basic conditions are in place, the infrastructure, the licencing and other systems, and that unfair and illegal business, such as importing smuggled goods without paying duties or manufacturing and selling in unsafe premises and the like are not permitted.

So business would like to see a bit more than a level playing field. It would like everyone to be operating under the same rules, usually agreed and essential rules, and where these are considered unnecessary or badly run then discussion with the Government.

This is why the careful responses from the representative business associations were important and promising.

The Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries, for example, wants to see a high-level committee representing both the Government and the private sector to look into continual refinement of the ease of doing business and the cost of doing business.

Everyone recognises there are a range of essential rules such as paying taxes, being licenced, having a safe environment for staff and customers, following environmental regulations, following the labour laws and the like.

Much of those regulations need to be set by Government, but obviously those who are affected, the businesses, should have the right to have their input.

In many cases there can easily be several ways of ensuring that a desired national aim, that the Government has to decide, can be implemented and here in particular it makes sense to see which alternative is the easiest cheapest to implement. So long as the resulting regulation does the job, then we should choose the easiest.

The Second Republic has done a lot of work on simplifying the regulations, putting more and more of where businesses need to interact with officials on-line, and especially for new businesses bringing all the licencing and registering requirements into a single centre and as far as possible dealt with at a single desk. That has been appreciated.

Other business associations were keen on working with Government to ensure that inputs and raw materials were available and that everyone in a sector was operating under the same rules.

The Grain Millers Association of Zimbabwe, for example, has seen some members criticised when the price of bread in a hard currency such as the US dollar, suddenly rises without explanation or reason.

At the same time its members, which supply 100 percent of a modest range of essential products, have always said they have the capacity, and yet we have seen “logistical problems” creating shortages.

At one stage there was even a huge range in prices of roller meal between brands, the most expensive more than twice the price of the cheapest, which seemed to defy normal competition.

As a result there is now more discussion and more joint working over how to eliminate bottlenecks and other problems between the millers and the Government and that should be encouraged.

But, while the Government is willing to help smooth out problems, businesses must also accept that they are not going to have some cosy arrangement entrenched that allows inefficiency.

There has been a welcome trend in the business world for greater competition, with price wars even being fought. In several cases a new investor has been able to move in and significantly undercut some old timer, who may have become a bit complacent.

But to give most businesses their due, they recognise this is an essential part of an economy driven by the private sector, and that no one can really sit back and relax.

The relationship between the private business sector and the Government is improving, with more communication and more detail in discussions.

Both want the relationship to be built on honesty, efficiency, fairness and transparency, and thus are prepared to take it seriously, which was not always the case a few years ago.

The Government has shown it is responsive to the needs of business, so businesses should be forthright about what they need, and at the same time the Government has high expectations from the business sectors, and so is quite justified in wanting them to exercise the highest levels of integrity and efficiency.

There may well be differences in method, and these should be discussed, but with everyone wanting the same result, a prosperous Zimbabwe with a growing economy.