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Zimbabwe is battling to turn around the economy whose growth has been negatively affected by many challenges experienced during the last decade. The imposition of illegal sanctions by the West has seen many companies scaling down operations and in some cases completely shutting down.

What used to be the country’s industrial hub, Bulawayo, was the worst affected as many of its industries were closed. The city lost close to 20,000 jobs as a result of company closures which were worsened by relocation of some companies to cities such as Harare and Mutare.

Most of the companies urgently need capital injection for plant and machinery as well as working capital. Efforts to revive the industries are yet to bear fruit and the major drawback has been lack of finance. Bulawayo, like the rest of the country’s towns and cities, has been reduced to a retailing city of products mainly imported from neighbouring countries such as South Africa.

Cheap imported textile products such as clothes and shoes have flooded the local market which has seen the sprouting of flea markets in the different corners of Bulawayo. The same scenario is obtaining in other cities and towns.

Zimbabwe’s economy cannot be sustained by retailing hence the urgent need to revive industries so that the country can once again produce products not just for its consumption but even for export. Government should therefore prioritise the allocation of resources to the productive sector so that the closed companies can be re-opened. The few companies that are still producing are facing stiff competition from imports because the cost of production locally is very high and as such prices of locally produced products are not competitive.

The high cost of production is largely as a result of obsolete machinery as well as outdated technology. It is therefore very disturbing when the few remaining companies are closed for failing to meet the minimum requirements to reduce pollution.

According to the committee appointed by government to monitor pollution levels, 31 companies have since been closed for failing to put in place measures to reduce the amount of pollutants they are releasing into water sources. The committee said 600 more companies risk being closed for the same reason.

The closed companies include five gold mines, 17 gold ore processing mills, two garages, a food outlet, abattoir, two tanneries and an electro-plating industry among others. The committees said it has served 656 companies with orders to put in place new systems or rehabilitate existing infrastructure.

We appreciate the importance of reducing pollution to protect the environment not just for the present generation but for future generations as well. It is therefore incumbent upon each and every company to ensure that it has done its best to reduce pollution. What this entails is that companies should invest in infrastructure to reduce pollution. We however do not support the closure of companies which in our opinion is very punitive.

The thrust at the moment should be to re-open the closed companies as well as assisting the ailing industries to increase their production capacities. We want at this juncture to implore the government committee on pollution to engage the companies failing to meet its requirements as opposed to closing them.

The alternative would be to come up with deterrent penalties. Closing companies worsens the plight of workers, many of whom are not being paid full salaries. We want to once again call on the committee on pollution to allow the closed companies to re-open but continue putting pressure on them to meet the pollution requirements.