ZIMBABWE’S manufacturing capacity utilisation is expected to surge to 65% in 2017 buoyed by an import ban imposed by the government earlier this year, the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) has said.
Source: ‘Manufacturing capacity to rise to 65% in 2017’ – NewsDay Zimbabwe December 28, 2016
BY MTHANDAZO NYONI
This year, capacity utilisation, which is a measure of industry’s use of installed productive potential, rose to 47,4%, up from 34,3% last year.
This would be the highest level of industrial capacity utilisation since dollarisation in 2009, after a peak of 57,2% reported in 2011 by the CZI.
Capacity utilisation in the post-dollarisation period peaked at 57,2% in 2011, before sliding to 44,2% in 2012, 39,6% in 2013 and 36,3% in 2014.
CZI president Busisa Moyo told NewsDay that the industry was expecting the manufacturing sector to perform better next year due to economic measures employed by government this year.
“We expected capacity utilisation to grow to at least 55% (in 2016), but we are satisfied with progress at 47,4%. We would like to see this reaching 65% by 2017 and manufactured exports growing by at least 20%,” he said.
However, to achieve this mark, government would need to deal with issues of corruption, policy instability and confusion, lack of access to cheap finance, competition from imports and low demand for domestic products, which are an impediment to the growth of the manufacturing sector, he said.
Moyo said in 2017, the industry was expecting government to conclude the external and domestic debt arrears clearance programme and urgently create fiscal space.
Other expectations include the realignment of the laws with the Constitution and work on the indigenisation legislation after President Robert Mugabe was forced to make a clarification following a spat between his two ministers, Patrick Chinamasa (Finance) and Patrick Zhuwao (Indigenisation).
The Indigenisation Act still has not been aligned to Mugabe’s communiqué, Moyo said.
“[We are expecting] to have closer working engagements with government on how we emerge from the current liquidity crisis. We will do this at our CZI Economic Outlook symposium to be held on January 26, 2017 with a clear implementation matrix that address short-term as well as medium term concerns for the private sector,” he said.
“We expect to see more support for local industries on a sector-by-sector basis to further boost the economy and reduce import dependence and stimulate exports. This should be a government-private sector effort.”
Moyo also said they were expecting the private sector to adopt softer currencies like the South African rand or an internal devaluation process as exports depend on a low cost base.
The industrial body conducts an annual survey of industrial development and its report is the most comprehensive private sector-led survey, which assesses industrial performance.
At least 15 economic sub-sectors are surveyed, including clothing and textile, pharmaceuticals, grain and milling, oil among other industrial manufacturing activities.
COMMENTS
This is about as believable as the couple of million jobs zpf promised at the last election. And the load-shedding will be back by then….
Is Zimbabwesituation.com becoming another mouthpiece for PF? One would think so when they publish such drivel as this!
The author must be on some strong brew and mbanje to write this baloney.
Figures show that from 2000 – 2013 a basket of 10 key agricultural products declined by 68% – which was the back bone to the economy and the manufacturing industry. Production potential is not a measure, its the output of physical goods on the shop floor for domestic and export that inform of the reality, not a pipe dream of numbers that simply do not add up to a I wish list.
Any analysis needs to start at a defined baseline not at some random point to suit the numbers on paper!
The writer needs to go back to 2000 for the honest picture.
It’s not so much the writer of the article that is at fault, it’s rather the CEO of the CZI, Busisa Moyo. He is either a serious ZanuPF a…e-creeper, a mega card-carrying member of ZanauPF or he is looking for a ‘farm’ handout. He is certainly trying to hoodwink the ZanuPF elite with all this clap-trap and lies. If all his lies are in fact the truth, why is he not a Cabinet Member for Finance or Government Infrastructure or Industry and Commerce? Pathetic creature. He also thinks that everybody but himself in this country is stupid. Stupid idiot.
Probably quite correct. 65% of very little = almost nothing.
Yes correct – for brevity – if I had one banana and now I have two – that is a 100% increase but 16 years ago when I had 10 bananas, my decline today is 90% in real terms, so as Harper says, 65% of close to nothing is nothing.
Yes indeed a banana republic – Homo E – also tells it right – These people are not fit for a kinder garden party, let alone junior school – all they know is how to lie & cheat – clowns is perhaps an insult to real clowns in a circus!
I suppose that includes the likes of Olivine who bring in oil by the tanker to put into bottles with a local label.
Wonder if the their supplier will be paid in the new zim dollar
I think this is mustarbation at its highest level almos next to schizophrenia.Hw can the banning of imports improve local manufacuring when there no raw materials. Maybe moyo Busisa is talking about growth at United Refineries where he is MD. No increase n Zim manufacture with same formula and expect diff results.Igwe must hear this ooooo