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Industry and Commerce Minister Mike Bimha

Business Reporter

THE government is reviewing the country’s pricing model to align it with the regional trends as it moves to enhance industrial competitiveness with the matter set for discussion in Cabinet, an official said.

Contributing during a Chronicle business breakfast meeting in Bulawayo in the morning Industry and Commerce Minister Cde Mike Bimha said pricing was a major factor hindering domestic industrial growth amid concerns the country’s prices for basic commodities and utilities were the highest in the region.

“The pricing structure is affecting our competitiveness and foreign products are cheaper than ours. The government is doing a comprehensive exercise on pricing structure in terms of goods and utilities,” said Cde Bimha.

“We’ve local consultants on the ground interacting with a number of business players to determine what contributes to their costs.”

The minister said the team will study the pricing structure and models in the sub-region, integrate and determine how their pricing was done.

“The exercise is almost complete and should be presented in cabinet soon,” he added.

Higher pricing for domestic goods gas also been blamed for fuelling the influx of cheap imports into the market.

Last month Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Dr John Mangudya also raised the alarm about the high prices saying this was stifling growth.

Economists have urged increased investment in technology and retooling saying increased cost of production was a result of obsolete machinery and outdated technology, which forces manufactures to pass the burden to the consumer.

Cde Bimha also said the government has set up an advisory committee to look at ways in which the government could enhance ease of doing business in Zimbabwe.

He said mechanisms were underway to ensure goods coming into the country were subjected to certain tests in terms of quality as a way of protecting local industry.

“We’ve agreed with business associations this should be an on-going process to weed out impediments and offer solutions,” said the minister.