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Molline Gagare Business Reporter
THE Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) has challenged companies to stick to good corporate governance to improve their operations and enhance the quality of their products in order to compete in the global market.

CZI Matabeleland Chamber president Busisa Moyo, who is also the chief executive officer for United Refineries Limited in Bulawayo, told a gathering during the southern regional top managers’ awards Thursday that good management was a key ingredient for a successful company.

He stressed the development of four key factors; good governance, skilled labour, technology and vibrant production processes, as major determinants of a growing company.

“Good governance is the key to quality production and enhancement of competitiveness. Companies should be well structured in order for them to perform exceptionally. This starts from top management and flows right to the bottom.

“Board members should posess skills that will enhance the progress of their companies,” Moyo said.

He condemned most firms for poor supervision and failure to recruit personnel with the required skills saying this was compromising product quality.

“Most people are found lacking in terms of skills. People must develop a good working attitude. Some people come to work in the morning and leave their offices only to return to knock off.

“Honestly speaking the quality of work ethics must improve starting from top management. You can’t expect to become a player on the global scene if you’re lazy,” said Moyo.

He bemoaned the state of poor technological equipment as part of the reason Zimbabwean companies were not achieving quality improvement or enhancing competitiveness.

“To be honest, we really need to look seriously at the state of technology in our country. In most cases it’s letting us down. What we also lack in our economy is a vibrant banking sector that’s relevant to our industries. New technologies have to be developed in order to be competitive,” he added.

Moyo said maximising on quality production should be at the core of all production processes.

He said Zimbabweans have lots of talent in terms of creativity that should be used to the fullest extent.

“Zimbabweans the world over have a reputation of being innovative. That ability to be innovative must be used so that we can compete on the global market. For example, we’re known for producing organic food. There is a high demand for organic food worldwide. We should be able to market our products against any competition. Quality is the centre of competitiveness.” said Moyo.