SPECIAL adviser to the President, Christopher Mutsvangwa
has called for the immediate scrapping off of Statutory Instrument 64 of 2016,
as one of the tangible measures to reduce the cost of food and goods.
Mutsvangwa was speaking at a breakfast meeting held by the
Embassy of India in collaboration with the Industry, Commerce and Enterprise
Development ministry in Harare yesterday.
“I do not want to be emotive, if we want to make progress
scratch section 64 (Statutory Instrument 64 of 2016), lower the cost of food to
the consumers by importing as much from South Africa, open up Belmount and
Graniteside as Special Economic Zones, get new equipment, get everyone
employed, start exporting Nike quality shoes to the global market from Zimbabwe
(for an example), and you will never be poor again in Zimbabwe,” he said.
He said improving the country’s stature involved improving
bilateral ties such as reducing the cost of goods in the country and allowing
for cheaper goods to come into the country.
“Do you know what our biggest export is where we cannot be
doubted? Brains. All Zimbabweans who leave this country are not under the
United Nations Commission for Refugees, they support themselves in foreign
countries,” Mutsvangwa said.
“So, what do you do if you have got a brain power like
that? Get investment at home, make them produce world class goods for the
global market then you never have any problems with foreign currency.”
Mutsvangwa was speaking in reference to improving bilateral
ties with other fast-growing economies, like India, who have surged in recent
years and may soon overtake other economic powerhouses such as Japan, Germany
and the United Kingdom.
Improving those ties involves putting policies that attract
and allow manufacturers to seek out investment from other countries.
For example, despite India availing a $10 billion line of
credit to Africa in 2015, Indian ambassador to Zimbabwe Rungsung Masakui said
he has only received one project proposal from Zimbabwe.
“This fund ($10 billion line of credit), unfortunately,
remains under-utilised for some reason (which I would like to discuss with the
Honourable Ministers) which can be easily corrected. In the last year, I have
been pushing for viable project proposals. Till now, I have received one and
that is already under review by the government of India,” he said.
He said considering the new trajectory of the country,
businesses needed to tap into India’s growing global economic footprint.
Newsday
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