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Enacy Mapakame

Industry and Commerce Minister Dr Sekai Nzenza said Government is open for more private sector engagements on improving production capacity, competitiveness, export earnings and create employment especially now when the country is pushing towards achieving an upper middle income economy by 2030.

This way, Dr Nzenza said, will help both parties craft solutions to the challenges being faced by local businesses such as low capacity utilisation and limited foreign currency for procurement of essential raw materials.  

She commended ART Corporation for engaging Government on its five-year plan to improve production capacity, product quality as well as cut on import bill, an example of a fruitful partnership that is in sync with Government’s aspirations espoused in the National Development Strategy (NDS1).

Through those engagements, its battery making segment Chloride Zimbabwe has managed to increase production efficiencies and reduce its import bill by at least US$150 000 a month.

“It is pleasing to learn the company’s operations fit well with Government strategies such as the Local Content Strategy. Under the thrust of the NDS1, the Ministry is working to promote production and import substitution,” she said in a speech read on her behalf by director in the Ministry’s Department of Industrial Development, Mr Denford Nhema, at the Exide Express Winter Promo prize presentation dinner held in the capital last Friday.

Dr Nzenza also applauded the group for diversifying into clean energy, addressing one of the challenges affecting not only Zimbabwe but worldwide.

“The global problem of access to energy has been affecting the rate of industrial growth and required a global effort to invest in renewable energy such as solar, which is cheap and clean.

“It is important to note that Exide Express has diversified its product portfolio to include solar batteries and solar accessories.

“Rural farming and urban communities need such solutions for household use. Solar power has also become important for powering irrigation equipment which plays a key role in supporting the agricultural sector which forms the backbone of Zimbabwe’s economy,”

Exide Express is the retail and distribution division of Chloride Zimbabwe, with a direct staff complement of about 400 and about 1 000 indirectly and is geared to increase its footprint across the country.

The battery retailer has grown from 10 branches in the past 10 years to the current 43. Chloride Zimbabwe general manager Mr Kudzai Pasipanodya said plans were already underway to add two more branches this year before growing to 48 by end of next year.

Mr Pasipanodya indicated the battery business was not spared from the adverse effects of Covid-19 pandemic which caused supply chain disruptions. However, the business managed to grow despite the challenges.

“Businesses in Zimbabwe and globally faced viability challenges due to Covid-19 since April 2020. But despite the challenges, the business managed to grow in terms of volumes, revenues, product supply and foreign currency generation.

“We have also managed to supply solar batteries and accessories to mining firms and construction, manufacturing and agriculture. We are now in major towns bringing convenience to customers all over the country with a wider range,” he said at the awards ceremony where two customers walked away with brand new Nissan NP200 each.

He added that the firm was working on further enhancing capacity to meet market demand which is growing with the continuous growing vehicle population in the country and across the region.

The company has been in the business of supplying and servicing batteries for more than twenty years, commanding a market share of more than 56 percent.

During the half year to March 31, 2021, the batteries volumes were 22 percent ahead of same period in the prior year, while the group’s overall export volumes jumped 13 percent.