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Nqobile Tshili, [email protected]

GOVERNMENT has started the consultative process to map and assess major economic activities across the country whose input will be used to guide the formulation of the National Development Strategy (NDS2) – the last leg of the two five-year plans leading to Vision 2030.

The first-ever economic census will be conducted next year to provide a holistic picture of the size of the country’s economy, capturing unregistered backyard businesses to produce accurate Gross Domestic Product (GDP) statistics.

A total of US$120 million has been set aside for the successful rolling out of the programme. Ahead of the economic census, the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZimStat) has launched provincial sensitisation workshops to guide the process, which will inform policy formulation.

NDS2 (2026-2030) is a successor to NDS1 (2021-2025), which comes to an end next year and has seen Zimbabwe scoring major development milestones through close collaboration between the Government and the private sector.

Bulawayo held the first sensitisation workshop yesterday, which was attended by various stakeholders who include the heads of Government departments and the business sector. The programme will run under the tag: “The 2025 Economic Census Mapping and Listing Exercise,” which involves counting every business to shape economic policies.

ZimStat has described the economic census as a comprehensive and detailed survey conducted to collect information about the economy of a country. It said the exercise aims to systematically gather data on various economic activities, industries, establishments and other relevant aspects of the economy.

The census will cover all establishments operating in Zimbabwe except those engaged in agriculture, forestry, fishing activities, administration and the security sector.

Through provision of quality data, the process will effectively guide policy formulation, economic monitoring and analysis while assisting resource allocation and policy evaluation.

This is expected to benefit the business sector when it comes to market analysis and planning, industry benchmarking, research and analysis, as well as access to business support programmes.

For academic institutions, the economic census is expected to provide data for learning and research purposes while promoting transparency, accountability and employment and labour market insights for the general public.

In an interview, Zimstat acting director-general, Mr Aluwisio Mukavhi said the economic census is a landmark development, which will provide real-time data on the size of the economy.

“We are embarking on the 2025 economic census and this exercise is very important to our nation because the statistics that are going to come out from that census will inform us about the economic data of the country,” he said. 

“The economic data is really important as far as the economy of the country is concerned. Our major user of the economic census data is the Government of Zimbabwe, the private sector, academia and the general public,” said Mr Mukavhi. 

“So, it is our first time to embark on this economic census and can you imagine the data, which is going to come out.”

He said the economic census will fill in the economic statistics that have never been included in calculating the size of the economy.

“For example, our gross domestic product GDP is not fully measured due to the under-coverage effect of the informal sector element, which is now more rampant as compared to the previous years,” said Mr Mukavhi. 

“So, by conducting the economic census, we anticipate that we will provide information that will inform our GDP numbers accurately.”

He said after concluding the sensitisation workshops in all the country’s provinces next month it will start the economy mapping exercise. Starting next year, the agency expects to commence the data-gathering process with the preliminary results expected at the end of the year.

During the launch, stakeholders raised concerns that some players, especially in the informal sector might not provide accurate data of their economic activities, which might distort data outcomes.

“The results from the economic census will be important in the crafting of the NDS2. We are doing this for research purposes and no one is going to be victimised. Even those operating in the backyard need to participate in this survey,” Mr Mukavhi responded. 

“We are going to cover household, small, micro and medium enterprises, as well as the large corporations.” 

Bulawayo Provincial Affairs and Devolution Permanent Secretary, Mr Paul Nyoni, said the economic census will provide a realistic reflection of what makes the Zimbabwean economy tick.

“What makes it even more critical is that Zimbabwe is a very large informalised economic sector and typically, you will not have those numbers in the Government measuring scale,” he said. 

“For example, if you go to the National Social Security Authority (NSSA) today, you will have the numbers of those who are formally employed and their companies are registered with NSSA,” said Mr Nyoni.

“So, already you are leaving a gap of those who are formally employed and are not registered with NSSA. Then you go to those who are not registered with anyone. 

“The council (municipality) registers people, but you will have those who are not registered with anyone, but you need to measure that economic activity. How else will you measure your GDP without this economic census?”

Mr Nyoni said the census will cover everyone involved in productive sectors from a person who runs a bottle store in some rural area to kombi operators moving up to even large-scale economic players as the process aims to leave no business behind. — @nqotshili