Imports do not create jobs

At present, we can increase exports and outclass the products that are denominated in United States dollars.

LEST we forget, Cecil John Rhodes defied his sickly self to make a thousand-mile trip to Africa in search of what he had been told was God’s richest bit of Mother Earth. As history has recorded, though short-lived, he did not disappoint.

He discovered the country of his dreams and at some point put it under his private tutelage in what was the British South African Company.

He named the jewel he had forcibly and treacherously annexed Rhodesia.

For years, indigenes who felt waged a liberation struggle whose main objective was to reclaim their lost land and make themselves masters of their own destiny once more.

Like the rest of mankind, the desired future entailed exiting colonial bondage for a place where citizens would each day swim in milk and honey. Jobs and wealth would be guaranteed for all.

Sadly, 38 years after Independence, the milk and honey is not flowing

Multitudes have skipped to countries far and wide. Insults to one’s country now seem fashionable. Selfhate, even in moments of triumph, have become an art form.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa has sought to right matters by steering a vision that will by 2030 deliver upper middle-income status, where the base income will be US$3 500.

What a day that will be for many who currently exist on a dollar a day.

Perhaps the contrast to present circumstances is what dissuades some among us from working on realising this vision.

It seems hard to believe we can transition from poverty to plenty. No wonder discordant voices now seem abundant.

Pulling up socks and using land to ensure that the chosen children of Zimbabwe escape the domineering spirit of poverty appears for some a difficult task.

We have become so corrupted by influences elsewhere to the extent of believing we can liberate ourselves through consuming imports and products that others sweat to make.

If this was a viewpoint shared by the common man, maybe it would be understandable.

But, alas, leaders of universities, economists and so-called thought leaders are fully convinced that customs duties from imports are better than growing wheat, soya beans and exporting Zimbabwean-made Cerevita.

So convinced are these band of analysts they will quote verse after verse of unknown books to back their claims.

For some reason, the analysts, almost all, do not work on the farm or industry but have found space in many think-tanks that have sprouted across Africa.

Their mission seems to be one of singularly standing up for products from outside their own motherland.

How did Africa create so many of such foreign worshipping citizens?

Is it our education system or perhaps a collective failure by formerly colonised nations that they have lost self-respect? This must be stopped. Industry, farmers and all patriotic Zimbabweans must realise that we stand up for the truth and be courageous enough to mobilise and speak out.

Rhodes will be smiling from his grave knowing full well that what he did to our forefathers will never die.

Surely, we cannot believe that Africans were meant to be subjugated for all time.

At first it was the imperial gun that did the talking, but in post-colonial times, the mind has been sufficiently programmed to think only that produced in Western capitals, Asia or light-skinned territories is good enough.

Has the African mind irretrievably lost its campus? We cannot accept this reality.

While the focus for many a producer in Zimbabwe at the moment is fighting for survival, we must guard against disengaging with consumers.

The time to communicate and engage aggressively is now. This is a crisis which if well managed, will certainly do good to local producers.

Look at it, before, the complaint was that local products were more expensive than imported ones. That argument no longer holds.

At present, we can increase exports and outclass the products that are denominated in United States dollars.

Now is also the time to increase our local content by tightening synergies with primary producers.

Cooking oil manufacturers must take the lead by using groundnuts, maize, sunflowers and cotton in their manufacturing processes.

We need to enhance relations with labour by showing that in return for their loyalty, we will keep their jobs.

The time to Buy Zimbabwe is now.