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Partnership between Government and the private sector is the key to a successful economic turnaround strategy, spurring the country towards double-digit economic growth, a senior Government official has said. 
Deputy Prime Minister Professor Arthur Mutambara was addressing delegates at the inaugural National Productivity Convention aimed at improving the overall productivity of businesses in Zimbabwe.
Professor Arthur Mutambara said Government should forge partnerships with the private sector in order to stimulate economic recovery.
“Public, Private Partnerships (PPPs) should pave the way for economic revival while the State plays the enabling role to these efforts,” he said.
“There has been a slow uptake of PPPs by Government. We are still grappling with the ownership doctrine and we need to move away from that because it is killing our country.”
DPM Mutambara said private companies should not think of profits only, but also of what was good for society, the nation and the economy at large.
“What is good for the community and the economy should be the basis of your day-to-day strategies,” he said.
He said Government had a responsibility to create an enabling environment                 in which the private sector could manoeuvre.
“As Government we need to partner with private companies. It is not sustainable for us to carry on like this. It is better to own 10 percent of an elephant than to own 100 percent of a rat. Partnership is vital if we are to move this economy from the ditch it finds itself in.
“We can only achieve total sovereignty when Government is able to provide clean, adequate water, power and other basic services to its people and when we can export more than we import. Then I can    say we are a sovereign nation.” 
DPM Mutambara also encouraged private companies to desist from competing among themselves which often resulted in them duplicating roles.
“You should work together to put infrastructure in place. You should aim at             creating shared value. You will have               better products and drive productivity            up, if you combine different ideas,” he said.
He cited the installation of the fibre optic cable network, which he said the three companies involved should have carried out jointly since they aimed at achieving the same objective. — New Ziana.