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Victor Basoppo-Moyo, the production manager at Datlabs stresses a point to the Deputy Minister of Industry and Commerce Chiratidzo Mabuwa and the chief executive officer of Datlabs Todd Moyo during a media tour at their factory yesterday

Oliver Kazunga Senior Business Reporter—
THE influx of donated drugs and imported health products is responsible for the collapse of the local pharmaceutical industry, a leading industrialist said yesterday. Speaking during a tour of industries in Bulawayo by Industry and Commerce Deputy Minister Chiratidzo Mabuwa yesterday, Datlabs’ chief executive officer Todd Moyo implored the government to help capacitate local pharmaceutical firms and curb imports.

He said industry was not amused after it emerged the government had signed a three-year contract with a donor from Denmark for the supply of health care products such as drips to the government health facilities.

This has pushed local firms out of business, he argued.

“At Datlabs we’ve two factories, one which deals with the production of critical health care products and the other side that deals with personal care products.

“Our critical health care side isn’t operating at all because of the donation of intravenous (drips). As a group, we’re not doing too well because our critical care section isn’t operating as donors have come in to donate to government institutions and they’ve signed a three-year contract with the government,” Moyo said.

He said 80 percent of their intravenous drips were being produced for the government but due to the contract that government had with the donor community, their viability had been crippled.

“Finished pharmaceuticals’ have been coming into the country duty free while locally we’ve been paying Value Added Tax and that doesn’t create a level playing field,” Moyo added.

He said Datlabs was operating at 60 percent capacity utilisation with about 200 workers while at its peak the company employed 586 people.

The pharmaceutical firm, he said, requires about $2,5 million to upgrade the critical health care factory.

“We’ve applied for a loan from different institutions. We need $2,5 million to resuscitate the critical health care factory,” he said.

The Bulawayo-based company got $1 million funding from Distressed Industries and Marginalised Areas Fund (Dimaf), which the government launched in partnership with Old Mutual through Cabs a few years ago.

On the personal health care side, Moyo said they were having challenges with imported products from South Africa.

In 2013, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange listed Tiger Brands terminated a 50-year manufacturing arrangement with Datlabs to produce Ingram’s Camphor Cream, paving way for the latter to launch a new Camphor Cream brand, CamphaCare.

In her response Deputy Minister Mabuwa said the challenges facing the pharmaceutical sector needed to be addressed to promote growth and development of the sector.

“Donors are a very important component in our societies but the issue is once you do it (relying on donors) in such a way that companies close, it’s a cause for concern.

“The impact of donor aid must reduce the burden on the fiscus but if it goes to an extent of closing industry then it’s something else,” she said.

The minister also toured Ref-Air, Viva Marketing, National Blankets, Shoe Pack, Ceratrex and Coronet Buttons.

The company executives highlighted their successes and challenges to the deputy minister.

The tour comes at a time when the city is hosting the country’s premier trade showcase, the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair, whose thrust this year is on enhancing trade opportunities to achieve growth.