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Africa Moyo, Harare Bureau

ZIMBABWE is set for rapid economic growth following the approval of by Cabinet yesterday of two key policies, the Zimbabwe National Industrial Development Policy (ZNIDP) and the Zimbabwe Local Content Strategy.

The policies are expected to result in massive jobs creation, especially in the value addition and beneficiation sectors, while also generating the much-needed foreign currency.

Both policies run from this year to 2023.

Addressing journalists during yesterday’s post-Cabinet briefing, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said Cabinet approved both the ZNIDP and the Zimbabwe Local Content Strategy.

“Cabinet considered and approved the Zimbabwe National Industrial Development Policy (ZNIDP) (2019-2023) as presented by the Minister of Industry and Commerce (Nqobizitha Mangaliso Ndlovu),” said Minister Mutsvangwa. 

“The Industrial Policy is guided by the principles of value addition and beneficiation; export-led industrialisation; promotion of sustainable industrial development; gender mainstreaming; and modernisation as well as upgrading of industrial equipment and machinery.

“The policy aims to attain the following: a manufacturing sector annual growth rate of at least 2 percent per annum; a 30 percent contribution to the national gross domestic savings; a manufacturing value added growth of 16 percent per year; a merchandise export growth rate of 10 percent per year; and increased employment in the manufacturing sector to 20 percent by 2023.”

Minister Mutsvangwa said attainment of the Industrial Policy’s goals would be predicated upon facilitation of financing for industrial development; embracing the fourth industrial revolution; establishment of industrial clusters; pursuing the concept of Specific Economic Zones; mainstreaming the devolution agenda into industrialisation; fostering industrial competitiveness; provision of fiscal incentives for the manufacturing sector; and providing industrial skills training.

Minister Mutsvangwa also said Cabinet considered and approved the Zimbabwe Local Content Strategy, which was also presented by Minister Ndlovu.

She said the Strategy, which is a component of the country’s Industrialisation Policy, aims to promote local value addition and linkages through utilisation of domestic resources. 

“The critical strategic actions will include preferential local procurement, capacitation of local suppliers and capacitating research and development institutions; establishment of plants for the transfer of technological know-how.

“More specifically, the Zimbabwe Local Content Strategy will help to increase local content levels in prioritised sectors from the current levels of approximately 25 percent to around 80 percent by 2023; increase capacity utilisation in prioritised sectors from the current levels of about 40 percent to around 75 percent by 2023; and; increase manufactured exports in prioritised sectors by 5 percent per annum.

President Mnangagwa is driving the export and beneficiation agenda to ensure more revenue is generated while decent jobs are also created in live with Vision 2030 of an Upper Middle Income economy.

The move is also in line with the Transitional Stabilisation Policy (TSP), the country’s economic blueprint that runs from October 2018 to December next year.