President Emmerson Mnangagwa this week met with the captains of industry and commerce at the State House where he had a candid interactive meeting with the businessmen in a bid to arrest the spiralling economy which has seen prices of basic commodities being pegged at unprecedented levels by the retailers.
The failing economy has been the Achilles’ heel for the Mnangagwa administration which has flown into a storm since they came to power after the 30 July elections.
Following a mid-term monetary policy by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) and a 2% tax on every dollar transacted, the business community adjusted prices to unparalleled levels that created immediate shortages of goods such as fuel, bread and cooking oil as shelves went empty.
The government has since amended Statutory Instrument (S1) 122 that lifted ban on imports to allow more players in the retail sector as companies and people with free and offshore funds have been allowed on the dance flow. President Mnangagwa believes in engaging the business community because this country belongs to all of us and he is right. It takes two to tango. The business community is very crucial in that it owns the means of production and funds that have the potential to oil the economy of the country out of the woods.
However, we believe the country’s economic renaissance lies in the creation of jobs, jobs and jobs. Jobs can only be created through the resurrection of the industry and maximising the potential of other productive sectors such as mining and agriculture.
We applaud the government’s initiative to establish an Industrial Fund, through the cabinet, in order to re-tool the ailing local industry and assistance targeted at Small and Medium Enterprises involved in the manufacturing. This will boost production, avail basic commodities while at the same time creating the much need employment.
The reason there has been such high unemployment rate is our failure to plan especially for students in tertiary education through industrial growth that is in tandem with what we churn out of the universities and colleges.
The result has been loss of the productive sector group on the streets as they do jobs that do not match their qualifications and costly leakages of human resources outside the country. All these losses are a source of growth of the economy and that can only be achieved if jobs are created.
Government plays a facilitation role of creating an enabling and stimulating environment for job creation. It is paramount to bring on board all stakeholders so as to highlight and harness the embedded multiple job opportunities in different economic sectors.
Presenting at an International Labour Organisation (ILO) symposium recently, Godfrey Kanyenze gave a snapshot of the current employment situation in the country and citing agriculture as the largest employer at “67,2% of total employment…. (it) means that 83% of the employed are vulnerable. The majority of people in this ‘sector’ are at the very bottom of the economic and social ladder, working under precarious conditions. They typically suffer from a deficit of decent work, with its defining characteristics that they are ‘unprotected,’ ‘excluded,’ ‘unregistered,’ or ‘unrepresented.’ ….The majority of the workers are youth and women,” adding that poverty therefore has a woman’s and youth face.
He decried the absence of creative thinking in the country where opportunities that could create employment were going to waste. Comparing the tourism industry to the South African set-ups, he highlighted the many opportunities lying untapped just at the Victoria Falls resort alone.
South Africa has in some cases marketed Zimbabwean tourist destinations in their country depriving employment and foreign currency the country.
In the final analysis, while President Mnangagwa is right to continuously engage the business community in trying to get the economy back on its feet, the fact still remains that the basis of economic recovery lies in job creation.
