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Vandudzai Zirebwa Buy Zimbabwe
Most Zimbabweans are still dwelling on challenges that the Zimbabwean economy is facing but Buy Zimbabwe has begun to see light at the end of the tunnel.
This by no means suggests that we are getting out of the woods but rather that sense is now prevailing. First, it was the Parliamentary Portfolio on Industry and Commerce who made a rare public admission that legislators should have prioritised the procurement of cars from the local motor industry instead of opting for South African-assembled Ford Ranger vehicles.

Next came Minister Chinamasa who declared at the Buy Zimbabwe Procurement Conference that our country’s preference for cheap imports at the expense of locally produced goods should be equated to some unqualified mental illness.

Now the recently appointed Governor of the Reserve Bank Dr John Mangudya, a man who spent his entire life in the private sector and grew CBZ to its present dizzying heights, has taken it upon himself to ensure that the war on imports is won.

In his maiden monetary policy statement released recently, Dr Mandudya said Zimbabwe must go back to basics.

One such basic requirement is ensuring that Zimbabwe does not continue bleeding herself to death through imports and capital flows out of the country. Belated as it may be, the Reserve Bank will now ensure that companies become more responsible and accountable each time they seek to spend their money on imports.

Dr Mangudya said the central bank has seen a mismatch between funds that are channelled out of the country and the goods that are being received as imports.

As a God fearing man and one who has built his entire career on the basis of integrity and a wish to see Zimbabwe prosper he has taken it upon himself to play his part in the fight against this systematic tendency to destroy industrial base through a corrupt and unregulated import dependence.

It may be prudent to once again remind us all, that our cumulative import deficit since 2012 to July was $9,6 billion and projected this year to surpass the gross national debt of $9,9 billion that we have accumulated as a country since 1980.

This year alone, the first half of the year registered a net loss of $1,7 billion. These amounts could have been directed to recapitalising industry, creating jobs and exploring for new mines.

The amounts are more than sufficient to have revived the closed Shabani Mashaba Mines, which requires $200 million and yet has potential to bring in $180 million a year in export earnings.

Again the statistics provide a glimpse into how a wealthy nation destroys herself due to her inability to prioritise the use of her money.

Over $2 billion of the total import bill in 2013 was spent in bringing trinkets into the country.

We imported water to the tune of $22 million, when we have Schweppes and Tanganda that bottle water locally.

There are many other examples that suggest that our accounting officers in Government and RBZ have just dozed off and need to have water sprinkled on their faces to wake up to their responsibilities of saving Zimbabwe from vultures that want to see her on her knees and reduced to a shameless beggar.

Buy Zimbabwe is encouraged that RBZ has now begun to speak of the need to weed corruption as a means to managing some of the challenges we are facing.

This could not have been timelier. In one of our previous insertions, we observed how senior government officials are refusing to travel on Air Zimbabwe preferring to travel on foreign airlines.

Similarly what we have gathered is that the most politically connected elites are the ones that are behind most of the imports into the country.

One such group is using foreign resident funds to buy cheap imports from China, Thailand and Brazil and then use various forms of chicanery to evade border controls and land products on local shelves at a fraction of costs.

Such goods are cheaper than they would be. As we write most industrialists are fuming but scared of publicly naming and shaming such individuals.

Buy Zimbabwe believes the solution to this challenge is for Zimra and Ministry of Industry and Commerce to make import statistics more open.

It should be possible for Zimbabweans to know which organisation has imported what goods or services.

At present all we have are gross figures that do not mention the company or individuals behind such practice.

Besides limiting the ability of local companies to properly measure their business against imports, what this form of secrecy has done has been to hide a host of underhand dealings.

Our current constitution recognises the right to know by citizens on matters of public interest.

Imports are clear issues that are brought to the country for use within the public domain and thus it goes without saying that by making known characters that bring various products onto the country we are enhancing Zimbabwe’s capacity to manage herself on the basis of accurate information.

Surely companies should not be forced to bribe Zimra officials simply for the sake of knowing which company is bringing competitor products into the country.

In the information age that we exist in, it is critical that public officials realise that it is their responsibility to empower citizens with information that enable organizations to compete effectively.

Sadly, Buy Zimbabwe notes with concern the reluctance to become more transparent by most institutions in our country. It should be possible at the click of a button for any individual to understand which company won a tender at the State Procurement Board or any parastatal in the country.

Even private organisations seem to enjoy existing in the world on the unknown. Most big corporations do not even have websites that indicate who they are, what they do and where they operate from.

The belief on the local market is that operating under the radar keeps you from attack from those that may want to harm your interests. Unfortunately what this mindset fails to appreciate is that you can never really insulate yourself from detection by authorities as long as you engage in public activity.

In any case what may happen because of your refusal to stand up for your interest is that you promote a rumour campaign that you may not even be aware of.

The Bible says people perish due to lack of knowledge. That might as well be applied to our country where some people in high offices gain power by withholding the most mundane information.

Unfortunately such mindset is one that can reverse all the gains of Zimbabwe’s educational strides. We must work hard to foster transparency and empowering our people with the ability to measure themselves against competitors both locally and internationally.

The Reserve Bank governor says, we must go back to basics by knowing where and how we are spending our hard earned money.

That is a great starting point. Other institutions must also take the cue and ensure that they go to basics by also revealing who is bringing which products into our country.

Zimbabwe’s problem has never been that it is a poor country but that she does not know how to use her riches and wealth. We are too rich to complain of a liquidity crunch.

Let’s all go back to basics. It’s less complex and much easier. The starting point is learning to prioritise local production instead of a preference for imports.

Till we meet again, God Bless.

[email protected], cell 00263773751878, website www.buyzimbabwe.org.zw