The Treasury chief’s sentiments come on the back of the rising
number of infected people since the advent of the Omicron variant.
The first, second and third waves of Covid-19 caused
significant negative economic impact across the globe due to reduced
productivity, loss of life, business closures, trade disruption, and decimation
of the tourism industry.
Zimbabwe’s economy had begun to show signs of resurgence
following bruising battering of the industry by the first and second waves of
the pandemic experienced in 2020.
The domestic economy is expected to grow by 7,8 percent
this year, largely driven by agriculture, mining and construction across the
country.
Despite the pandemic, production has expanded, with
industrial capacity utilisation expected to reach 61 percent this year from 47
percent last year, according to the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries.
A number of mines have been opened or reopened while
production capacity has been increased
in a number of mining firms. Still, demand is expected to pick up on the back
of investment projects lined up.
For instance, mining houses are planning to ramp up
production in 2022 by between 3 percent and 100 percent, according to the State
of the Mining Survey Report 2022.
Previously, Covid-19 has resulted in the imposition of
travel bans and movement restrictions worldwide in a bid to curb its spread,
which negatively affected most business activities.
According to the World Bank, nearly every business in the
world has been negatively impacted by Covid-19 in one way or another, while a
quarter of companies have experienced a decline in sales, which fell by at
least 50 percent between October 2020 and January 2021.
Zimbabwe has procured more than 20 million vaccines,
including support from its development partners, and the Government is looking
forward to upscaling the vaccination campaign in view of the new variant.
Addressing delegates at the launch of Zimbabwe National
Chamber of Commerce’s (ZNCC)’s inaugural State of Industry and Commerce Survey
2021, Professor Mthuli Ncube said he prayed the pandemic would not get to the
previous levels, which led to the imposition of strict lockdowns which were
detrimental to the economy.
“Our current major threat is the Covid-19 pandemic
situation. It is our hope that the current wave does not get bad enough to
warrant further lockdowns which are counterproductive to the economy.
“On our part, we have so far spent US$204 million on procurement of 17 million
vaccines and syringes, most of which was financed through budget savings of
US$100 million from the previous year,” said Minister Ncube.
On the other hand, recommendations of the ZNCC industry and
commerce survey implored the Government to maintain the momentum in the
Covid-19 vaccination campaign towards achieving herd immunity to reduce the
need for frequent lockdowns.
Data shows that nearly every business in the world has been
negatively affected by Covid-19, through multiple shocks at the same time.
According to the World Bank, companies’ sales dropped 27
percent in October 2020-January 2021 from pre-pandemic levels.
The spread of the virus is likely to continue disrupting
economic activity and negatively impact manufacturing and service industries,
especially in developed countries, it is anticipated that the pandemic will
lead to financial markets volatility.
The unprecedented impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has
negatively affected international tourist arrivals which according to the
latest United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) world tourism
barometer reduced by 85 percent between January and May 2021 compared to the
same period pre-pandemic year (2019).
ZNCC vice president Mike Kamungeremu implored business to
be innovative in face of the looming pandemic and remain strong amid the
difficulty brought by the disease.
“As the current variant is said to be more malignant than
the previous ones, let me hasten to say let us not fight the pandemic from the
position of fear, but from a position of courage and strong will to survive in
face of the adversity, “said Mr Kamungeremu. Sunday Mail
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