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THE 55th edition of the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair opens in Bulawayo today amid renewed hope that the annual trade showcase will lay the platform for the resuscitation of the country’s economy. Bulawayo will be a hive of activity this week as virtually the whole country turns its attention to the city as it hosts the biggest trade event on the business calendar.

Hopefully, concrete deals will be struck and businesses will benefit from showcasing their wares at ZITF which is running under the theme “New Ideas to New Heights”. Zimbabwe’s economy desperately needs a stimulus and we expect the trade fair to be an exhibition of the country’s intention to turn around its economy. As is the norm, hotels are fully booked and various places in Bulawayo will record roaring business this week.

Officials at ZITF told Business Chronicle last week that 44,000 square metres out of the available 51,000 had been booked as at two weeks ago. As the trade fair opens, we expect all the available space to have been snapped up. The fair also comes as the country is implementing its five-year economic blueprint — the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation (ZimAsset).

We expect the blueprint to dominate discussions particularly during the International Business Conference which runs concurrently with ZITF. Delegates will obviously be seized with coming up with ideas on how to revive industries and increase capacity utilisation at firms that have not been operating at optimum levels due to various challenges such as lack of working capital and obsolete machinery.

The revival of industries in Bulawayo will also come up for discussion and we expect the government to spell out clearly how it intends to assist companies in the city get back on their feet and restore the city’s status as the industrial hub of the country. There is a biting liquidity crunch blighting efforts to get the economy on a sound footing and we expect delegates to tackle this issue head on. Zimbabwe urgently needs to access cheap finance offshore to give the economy a lifeline and debate around this issue should come up with ideas on how the country can get lines of credit.

The success of Zim-Asset hinges on the availability of finance and the collective will of everyone in implementing it. Unity of purpose is crucial if the blueprint is to be implemented to fruition and it’s time Zimbabweans realised that. Discordant voices are detrimental to the image of the country and raise the risk profile which scares away investors. This year’s trade fair therefore affords the country an opportunity to show the world that Zimbabwe is open for business and is ready to welcome international investors.

The quality of exhibitions should reflect a serious intent to impress visitors particularly those from outside the country while also assisting companies clinch lucrative deals. We also expect an improvement in the farming section following good rains received this year.

The livestock section should as usual keep up the high standards it has set over the years. In the overall scheme of things, this year’s trade fair should show that the country is moving ahead following the 2013 harmonised elections which ushered in a unitary government which has made policy implementation smoother and easier.

Business is best advised to work hand in glove with the government to revive the economy. It should put its ideas clearly to government so that policies are crafted to make the environment conducive to it.

The days of a love-hate relationship between government and business are long gone. In the same vein, the current Zanu-PF government got an overwhelming mandate from the people on the back of clear policies such as the indigenisation and land reform programme.

Investors should come in knowing clearly that these policies are cast in stone and government will not compromise on them.

So as ZITF opens this week, we expect it to run smoothly and come up with tangible deals and ideas on how to get Zimbabwe working again. It should not just be a talk shop.