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Rumbidzayi Zinyuke Manicaland Bureau
THE Manicaland business community is confident former President Cde Robert Mugabe’s resignation from office will bring about the much-needed policy changes for economic turn- around. Cde Mugabe resigned on Tuesday after a week of unrelenting calls from the public and his party, Zanu-PF, to step down.

In separate interviews with The Herald, business organisations acknowledged that while there was a lot of work needed to turn the economy around, a change in leadership was a step in the right direction.

Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC) Manicaland vice president Mr Kenneth Saruchera said business was relieved by the unfolding of events in the past week.

“As business, we are happy because there has been a lot of uncertainty about the future,” he said. “We are glad that this issue has been finalised and we might start to see some changes.

“We are hoping that the incoming President will create a conducive business environment that promotes both local and foreign investment into the country. We need policies that will facilitate ease of doing business, renewal of dead industries in Manicaland and promotion of value addition of our local products.”

Mr Saruchera said most products in Manicaland had been sold in their raw form instead of adding value to them for better prices. He said it would take time for change in the economy to bear fruit, but there was need to keep track of progress.

“In the past, it has been all talk but now we want to monitor progress of any policy being implemented to see if it is working or not and what changes can be made to make it work better. In this regard, we hope Government will continue engaging business and conducting dialogues that promote our participation in policy formulation,” said Mr Saru- chera.

In the horticulture industry, Mr Saruchera said farmers had expressed concern over the continued flooding of the local market with imports.

“Farmers are not happy that imports keep coming in despite policies prohibiting the importation of products produced locally,” he said. “You find that the bulk of fruits and vegetables being sold in supermarkets are imports, while local products are available. These imports are killing our horticulture in- dustry.”

The Hospitality Association of Zimbabwe (HAZ) president for Manicaland, Mr Clive Chinwada, said events of the past week were a welcome development for tourism industry players ahead of the busy festive season.

“The past week has seen a noticeable decline in police roadblocks, which is a welcome relief to the travelling public,” he said. “We hope the powers that be will learn from this and bring sanity to our roads.

“This new dawn should bring with it economic stability, creation of a pro-business and investment friendly environment as economic stability is fundamental to the success of our environment.”

Mr Chinwada said the industry was optimistic that Government would renew efforts to re-engage with the West, which is a major source market for local tourism players.

Mutare businessman Mr Joseph Sanhanga said the effects of the change in the political front would not be felt immediately in the economy, but it was a good start.

“Operating a business in Zimbabwe has not been easy because Government would take its time to approve project proposals,” he said. “This was a deterrent to investors, both local and foreign, who might be interested in operating in Zimbabwe. We hope that this will be looked into going forward to enhance ef- ficiency.”

Mr Sanhanga said while politics and economics always went hand-in-hand, Government should find ways of making the two meet without politics overshadowing the economy.