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would have none of it, he instead, preferred the foreign one.

Little did he know that local anaesthesia was a medical term that referred to the position the anaesthesia would be administered which had nothing to do with its origins.

This little story goes to show the extent to which we, as Zimbabweans believe that foreign products and services are better than what we have locally.

Of course, this holds true in some instances, but we have generally become a country that condemns its local products and prefers all things foreign. We would rather buy imported water, of all things, than have our local bottled one.

We would rather have imported milk, cheese, tomatoes and even chicken than the local ones.
I remember a few years ago, Minister of Finance Tendai Biti describing Zimbabwe as South Africa’s supermarket. Of course, this tendency originated from shortages experienced in 2007/2008 that left many with no choice but to buy such items as eggs and toilet tissues from South Africa and other countries in the region and beyond.

However, this practice has become deeply entrenched in the general buying patterns. There are many factors at play though.

One of the reasons why the situation has been  perpetuated is generally because many believe that buying foreign products is a form of sophistication that denotes status symbol.

Those with real money feel that local is cheap and hence they must buy their food, furniture, clothing among other things from outside the country.

Foreign is also looked at as a synonym for high quality and yet it is not always the case. Some of the foreign products on display in some shops will attest to this.

The majority of clothing shops and supermarkets in the country import at least 60 percent of their products and these are the first to disappear from the shelves because of the mentality I explained above.

Even when ladies meet at various forums, it sounds elitist for one to say “I bought this handbag from Turkey” and the outfit from Dubai instead of mentioning local shops.

On face value, all this may sound decent and yet it has a large bearing on producers. The manufacturing sector is presently under serious strain due to low demand of products on the market.

Factors such as obsolete machinery and inadequate working capital have compounded the situation leading to firm closures or the scaling down of operations.

However, in part, local firms are to blame because we have seen many of them producing substandard products. For instance, a colleague, Canisciouis Mashave, posted on Facebook two cooking oil products, one local and one foreign with the former poorly packaged and unappealing to the consumer.

Local producers seem to be taking the customer for granted hence the poor demand for the products. Issues of quality should be at the forefront in any operation and customers will naturally gravitate towards certain products and services.

The quality certification offered by the Standards Association of Zimbabwe should persuade producers to join and ensure they produce the best possible quality. This will leave consumers with no choice, but to support the product or service.

But conversely, local consumers need to make a deliberate effort to support local producers. A good domestic market is the launchpad for a successful international excursion.

A producer who has the confidence of local consumers is about to penetrate the international market more successfully.

Scary figures, for example, that Willowvale Mazda Motor Industries and Quest Motors exported 760 units against imports of 52 000 cars should nudge consumers into behaving differently.
WMMI is on the verge of collapse due to low demand for its units. Its case is replicated elsewhere in industry. It’s an unhealthy situation that has a tendency to affect even its perpetrators. This is untenable.

Zimbabwe continues to export foreign currency and jobs yearly and this happens when consumer tastes are more inclined towards foreign products and services. As Zimbabweans, we need to support our own.

This is not to say we must settle for mediocrity, but that we must support local production. This other day it was reported that the mining sector was compiling a list of local suppliers in their quest to purchase their needs and help boost performance of the manufacturing sector.

This is as it should be. All sectors of the economy should make a deliberate effort to purchase their needs locally where possible, with imports minimised only to instances where the goods or services are either not available locally or are of a poor standard.

Families and the community at large should take pride in supporting their own. A better domestic market will result in improved performance by a manufacturer, hence the ability to improve on quality and bring total satisfaction.

This will also boost export performance and thus earn the dollar that this economy needs.
A conscious decision, individually or collectively, to buy local will also translate into the creation of new employment and a retention of jobs that would have otherwise been lost.

Increased demand will also enable firms to retool and be compliant to international standards.
This boosts productivity and ensures that Zimbabwe’s position as a trader and player on the global stage is consolidated. Industrial disharmony and industry relations with other stakeholders will be improved and this will benefit the economy.

So much has been said about the need to boost productivity throughout the establishment of the national productivity centre, but such initiatives will yield better results once issues of demand and supply fall into place.

In fact, it’s a chicken and egg scenario, but all will fall in place once everyone, in their small way, begins to buy local.

We have noted efforts by the Buy Zimbabwe initiative led by its general manager, Mr Munyaradzi Hwengwere, to sensitise the domestic market on the need to support local producers.

The merits for this outweigh those against. The Proudly South African initiative has transformed SA’s domestic market in a big way. If we rally behind the Buy Zimbabwe thrust we will achieve big results that will help re-energise the economy.

In God I Trust!

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