Story by Yolanda Moyo
INDUSTRY has hailed government policies aimed at improving the ease of doing business, saying they are yielding positive results for Zimbabwe’s manufacturing sector.
The Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Industry and Commerce, which is touring several industry players across the country, was in Bulawayo this Thursday where it engaged a cooking oil-producing firm, United Refineries Limited (URL).
Among the government policies welcomed by industry are currency stabilisation strategies and the Targeted Finance Facility (TFF), designed to provide affordable capital to manufacturers.
“We are seeing a certain level of stability and the disparity between the formal and informal rates converging together which is allowing better conversion through the willing buyer willing seller.
“We are looking forward to the stability continuing and we look forward to everything that comes to play with a stable environment,” URL’s general manager Mr Benjamin Blatche said.
The Parliamentary Portfolio Committee’s visit underscores the government’s commitment to supporting the manufacturing sector, which is seen as crucial for economic growth and job creation.
“We are encouraged by the progress being made by companies like URL. Our goal is to continue working with the private sector to identify and address any remaining obstacles to growth.
“We are also happy with the promotion of backward and forward linkages that are there, where they are promoting the whole value chain starting from the farmers,” Chairperson of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Industry and Commerce Honourable Clemence Chiduwa said.
The government’s focus on improving the ease of doing business is intrinsically linked to the objectives of the National Development Strategy Two (NDS2) 2026-2030, which seeks to among other things, promote innovation and industrialisation for the nation to attain an upper-middle-income society status by 2030.
