via Economy cannot be built by politicians: Bimha | The Zimbabwean 30.10.13 by Sofia Mapuranga
Government is awaiting the input of all the relevant stakeholders in the economic sector to ensure the revival of the country’s economic performance, says the Minister of Industry and Commerce, Mike Bimha.
“The economy cannot be built by politicians – but by all of us,” Bimha told retailers and manufactures at a meeting organised by Buy Zimbabwe in Harare last week. “Our doors are open because we thrive on the contribution of your expertise as business people on how to take the country’s economic performance forward. Government thrives on the wise counsel of business people and economists’ – although political leaders are at the helm of power.
“We have been put in positions to lead but let us hear your voices on what government should do and how to make business thrive,” said Bimha.
He said the country was spending over $3,9 billion on food imports, the majority of which the country had the capacity to produce. “The import deficit has increased by 26 percent over the past few months, an indication of the negative trends of our economic performance,” he said.
The Zimbabwe Statistical Agency reported that the country’s trade deficit ballooned to over $3 billion in the eight months to August 2013 following the importation of goods worth $5,137 billion against $2,11 billion exports during the same period last year.
Local industrialist Muvirimi Kupara, who is the Chief Operations Officer for Anchor Yeast, revealed that the country was exporting 68 – 72 cents for every dollar made by industrialists.
“The economic reality is that we are exporting jobs, tax, social services including infrastructural development to neighbouring South Africa,” he said. “The past 12 months have been catastrophic for Zimbabwe because the country has doubled its imports. Citizens have stopped believing in locally made products. We need to change the people’s mind sets towards appreciating locally made products.”
Albert Katsande, the Chief Operations Officer for OK Zimbabwe, called on local manufacturers to specialise in particular products to ensure that they were consistent in producing quality products.
“We are forced to import because of lack of products available locally. But importing is expensive and it is time consuming,” he said.
COMMENTS
Funny…….
With great respect Minister Bimha…….you are right, “the economy cannot be built by politicians”, and to build it you will need capital, and capital needs to come from outside the country simply because there does not exist enough capital within the borders…..
BUT……
unless you give the owners of that capital a chance to make a risk adjusted reasonable rate of return and stop putting the grab on investments via “Indigenisation” programs then there is ZERO hope of the economy getting rebuilt…..
pretty simple really……..
Well put, Johno… for businesses to venture into expansions and upgrades, they need confidence the government or one of its entities will not come and take it over. But, with the history of this government, the “risk-adjustment” is very high.
In truth, government should not be in business, or running businesses, but governments should be encouraging businesses by reducing their tax load, import/export fees, etc., and providing a viable business environment… and accept that businesses are there to make a profit. Businesses are not charities, but by providing wages for their workers, goods for the consumer, and a return for the investor, they are the heart of the economy.
@ Johno, you nailed it… it is all very simple.
POLTICIANS BEHAVING BADLY WONT HELP!!!!!!!!
Wow. Genius economist. Kikiki
…….and further, you can BET YOUR BOTTOM $$$$$ that
Van Hoogstraten is NOT going to do any deal to bail out Air Zim unless he absolutely has control of the company…..no Indigenisation for him, for sure !!!!!!
the argument even if the land would not be compensated where is the compensation for the improvements and loss of earnings when the crops were harvested by the greedy ministers!!!!???? Its been like 12 years now. And even since 1980 willing seller willing buyer taxes paid when farms were bought so they should be fully compensated including the farm workers who were the backbone of driving zimbabwes economy. Its just a mess as is the whole countrys’ politics, economy,
ownership and freedom within protective and fair laws would facilitate and nurture growth. Not grab and steal and pillage. simple!
Are politicians that dumb with psycho problems or what. This is exactly what has been said ever since the hyper inflation era. It seems like these people never learn and the blame should be put squarely on Commander In Chief. This 51% blanket policy does not work. The structures of indeginization should be per each industry sector and further it should be per each company. Zisco is a good example. Anyone setting up shop in Zimbabwe is a benefit to Zimbabwe no matter the structure of the business. We should just put in place measures to ensure that that which they say they do is what they are doing. If a company says they are exporting 20tonnes of steel, are they really doing that, same for diamonds, gold, platinum, etc. To me that is the most important issue. Presently the western owned companies seem to be accounting better for what they take than whats going on in Marange. Rumors and rumors is all we know, form different “NGO’s “. No one in the diamond industry (including the ministry) seems concerned about putting up systems to correct the perception. Thats how much the government respects its citizens.
IF the politicians cannot build the economy, they can frustrate and destroy it. In Zimbabwe they ca do that and more. The politicians we have are the wrong crop. We have got weeds in the fields. JANJAWEEDS. THIS IS A BAD COMMENT FROM THE ONE WHO SHOULD BE DOING SOMETHING. We need a serious government not greedy kletomaniacs at the helm. CHANGE YOU WAYS FIRST…..GOT THE MESSAGE?
it is a prerogative of any progressive nation honourable minister, but can yu tell that to a grade two drop out and hope to make strides. Avarice within the rank and file of your fellow zanu pf moguls has and will foever stall the economy.
A quote from Dr. Adrian Rogers, 1931 :-
“You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving. The Government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else. When half the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half get the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work so hard for, that my friend, is about the end of any nation.”
How very true that is Smith, was in 1931 and still is, in Zim or anywhere else in the world, and btw, the good old USA where I reside presently should take note of that………