Zimpapers Logo

Lovemore Chikova Development Dialogue

The preliminary results of the 2022 population census released this week showing Zimbabwe now has over 15 million people, an increase of 16,2 percent from 2012, is a positive move when it comes to attracting foreign direct investment.

The population growth in terms of investments simply means that the country has enhanced its market for goods and services, which in turn draws the attention of those who want to do business.

In fact, a huge population does not only provide a market for goods and services, it also means the availability of labour to push Zimbabwe’s industrialisation and modernisation initiative that is already taking root.

Those who are being born add to the country’s youthful population, thus solving the ageing crisis that haunts, not only Zimbabwe, but many other countries as well.

The specific objectives of the 2022 Population and Housing Census were: to establish the size and structure of the population of Zimbabwe; the spatial distribution in the provinces, districts and wards; the demographic, social, economic environmental and cultural characteristics; the rate of population growth; and the population density.

Results will continue to be announced in modules as the raw data is processed by the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZimStat).

Those who plan the economy will benefit immensely from these figures as they will be more detailed in terms of breaking down the population, its ages, housing standards and other critical factors.

In terms of the population growth and development, especially the attraction of investments, it should be remembered that when investors come they always target the production of goods and other services, where they invest their capital.

This ultimately means that the size of the population is an important factor in attracting such investors.

With more than 15 million people, Zimbabwe has shown that it is improving in terms of creating a market for such goods and services.

For instance, a car manufacturing investor might end up choosing to come to Zimbabwe because the vehicles will find a ready market due to the increasing population.

That car manufacturer would not consider coming if the population was to remain static, as that would imply less potential buyers of the newly manufactured cars.

Zimbabwe is known for its education system that has been producing highly qualified people, and any investor in any sector would feel comfortable knowing that there are a lot of educated people in the country.

The huge the population, the wider choice the investor has when it comes to engaging experts in various areas concerning the production of goods and services.

In short, the high number of educated people means there will not be any shortage of skilled labour for any industrial operation.

It has been proved in the past that countries with small populations can have problems in attracting investments because of the limited markets, as pointed above.

But the increase in Zimbabwe’s population will aid the emergence of a middle class, leading to a strong demand for goods and services that investors could be producing locally.

Countries that have been known to attract investors are mainly those with high populations that create huge markets for the goods and services.

China is one such example, where investors have taken most of the spaces in its industrial parks and special economic zones.

In fact, companies from the United States and many other European countries have been attracted to these economic development zones in China.

This is because China, with its population of more than 1,4 billion, provides a ready market for consumption of goods and services produced by these investors.

The Asian country has been adjusting its policies on child birth to ensure that the ageing population is quickly replaced by youthful people who can form the next middle class.

China used to have a one-child policy since the 1980s, but after realising the population was ageing, the country relaxed it to a two-child policy in 2016.

Now the Asian economic giant has been discussing allowing couples to have three children.

All this is meant to maintain the country’s population at a level that can attract investors and increase the flow of capital in the country.

In fact, relaxation of the child policy in China is a result of the realisation that the graying population is threatening to undo all the industrial and technological achievements the country has made so far.

For the wheel of industrialisation to keep moving, there is need to ensure that a youthful populace remains the force behind that wheel.

Japan is also another country that is battling to ensure that its birth rates remain high in order to maintain its economic status.

This has seen the Japanese coming up with various measures designed to ensure that having children becomes an easier and more attractive option.

It is time African countries realise this reality of creating a big market for the production of goods and services, and the foresight should be on creating a single market hub for the continent.

The establishment of the African Free Continental Trade Area is one such positive move aimed at making investors look at Africa as a single market, with more than 1,3 billion people.

Apart from the ACFTA, regional bodies such as the Southern African Development Community, Economic Community of West African States and the East African Community should strive for a truly integrated system that help create the huge markets that investors are looking for at the regional level.

But this calls for each country to play its part in terms of increasing the internal market by adopting policies that help increase their populations.

With the 16,2 percent increase in its population in the last 10 years, it is clear that Zimbabwe is playing its part and there should be expectations that investors will start to look at the country from a fresh angle.

This is because investors usually prefer markets that are growing faster because they offer more prospects and opportunities.

While the increase in population augurs well for the attraction of investments, it should be noted that it also places huge responsibilities on the Government to increase provision of services and infrastructure.

The New Dispensation led by President Mnangagwa has been well aware of this demand as seen by the accelerated development trajectory the country has taken since 2017.

Infrastructural developments are taking place throughout the country that are leading to the ease of doing business, creating employment and ultimately improving people’s livelihoods.

Power generating projects are being implemented and these will ensure that investors’ needs are catered for, while locals’ businesses are also improved.

Roads are being developed to cater for the easy movement of goods and the increasing population.

At the same time, more people means more demand for food, and the Government is fully aware of this demand through funding agricultural programmes like Pfumvudza/Intwasa and the creation of the Agricultural Finance Corporation for lending funds to commercial farmers.

New irrigation schemes are being established, while those that had ceased functioning are being resuscitated.

And the new thrust of accelerated rural development being implemented by the Government is another move that is meant to cater for the growing population.

The Government has also adopted a stance on fast tracking the country’s industrialisation and modernisation, with innovation centres set up at various universities to drive this thrust.

All these efforts will ultimately lead to the creation of employment and improvement of people’s lives as the population continues to increase.

The latest increase in population, although placing more demands on the Government, should be viewed as a move in the right direction when it comes to aiding the country’s developmental agenda.

Feedback: [email protected]