The permanent secretary in the Ministry of Industry and Commerce Dr. Mavis Sibanda has commended the growth in the production of locally produced products.
Speaking at a workshop organised by the Parliament of Zimbabwe’ portfolio committee on Industry and Commerce in Bulawayo, Dr. Sibanda spoke glowing about the excellent work between the Industry and Commerce ministry and Buy Zimbabwe.
” Today we have over 75 percent of goods and services on local retail shelves. In my office my furniture is made in Zimbabwe and it is very good. Our products might have poor packaging but the quality is great, ” she said.
She added that prior to covid-19 Zimbabwe did not produce sanitary masks but now has an abundance of locally produced masks.
Buy Zimbabwe Chairman Munyaradzi Hwengwere attended the two day workshop which is being organised to evaluate the work the ministry has done as its contribution to Vision 2030. It comes a day before the Buy Zimbabwe 2021 Annual Awards to be held at the Rainbow Towers in Harare this Friday.
Speaking ahead of the event, Hwengwere said the awards will honour companies that have their production value chain based locally.
“We are rewarding companies that have excelled at deepening the local content, ensuring that we have jobs, wealth and we are a proud people. One of the major objectives of our awards is to identify companies that go beyond Zimbabwe by name, to produce from primary, secondary, and tertiary value chains.
“Those companies grow crops, process them, use most of the local raw materials and employ Zimbabweans, creating local wealth. We have a lot of work to do in terms of our value chains. The bulk of our cooking oil is still being imported from countries like Ukraine, so when the world catches a cold we get a flue, when there is Covid-19 in China we become sicker because our local content is by and large small, ” he said
Minister of Finance and economic Development, Professor Mthuli Ncube will be the guest of honour at the event.
The Buy Zimbabwe Campaign is designed to unlock our country’s full potential and inspire economic growth and competitiveness of local brands.