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In an interview, CZI chief economist Mrs Lorraine Chikanya said the standard questionnaires for the survey would be distributed to different companies in the manufacturing sector next month.

“It is after June when we are expected to start distributing standard questionnaires to industries and we hope the results for the survey will be released in September,” she said.

She said CZI had already started updating the questionnaires.

Due to the adoption of favourable macro-economic policies and the liberalisation of the economy by the inclusive Government in February 2009, capacity utilisation in the local manufacturing sector has been increasing since then.

In 2009, Government targeted to increase capacity utilisation in the manufacturing from an average of 10 to 60 percent by end of the year.

In its industrial manufacturing survey report for 2011, the industry representative body reported that capacity utilisation over the past two years had increased to 57,2 percent.

The 60 percent target was yet to be realised due to constraints such as intermittent power supplies, aged plant equipment, as well as liquidity crunch to simulate production.

CZI chief executive officer Mr Clifford Sileya said: “We hope this year it will increase by at least 10 percent although the economy is still affected by major constraints such as erratic power supplies and lack of liquidity in the economy.”

At the end of 2009, production levels in the manufacturing sector increased to 33 percent while in 2010 it surged to 43 percent.

As part of their efforts to address some of the challenges stifling productivity, individual companies have to a certain extent negotiated with Zesa for ring-fenced power tariffs.

However, CZI has expressed concern over ring fencing electricity tariff saying although under the system firms were guaranteed of uninterrupted power supplies, the mechanism was expensive.

Although some individual firms have negotiated for offshore credit lines to address liquidity challenges, lack of foreign direct investment has also been one of the fundamentals hindering economic growth prospects and productivity in the economy.