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The 60th edition of the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) begins in Bulawayo tomorrow, ending Saturday.

For the next five days therefore, national attention will be on the city as government leaders, local and foreign business leaders meet to showcase their products and services while seeking new investments and markets. The first days of the fair, to run under the theme “Propagating Industrial Growth through Trade and Investment,” are strictly business only which gives exhibitors and business visitors opportunities to transact in a quieter environment. The exhibition will then be opened for the general public later this week.  Tens of thousands are expected to make a date with the biggest event on Bulawayo’s calendar.  They will be able to see the various exhibits and pick up some mementos. Some can be lucky to secure jobs at the ZITF for this week and beyond. For children, ZITF is the place to be this week as there will, as usual, be a range of fun activities on offer among them police and army displays at the main arena, music, face painting and so on.      

By late last week, the ZITF Company had 444 confirmed direct exhibitors. Of these 22 are foreign exhibitors representing 16 countries — Belarus, Botswana, Ethiopia, Germany, Japan, Kenya, Malawi, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, United Arab Emirates, the United States of America and Zambia. The Republic of Belarus will be making a maiden appearance at this year’s show with exhibits relating to agriculture, medicals, mining, science and technology.  

This year’s ZITF is significant in a number of ways, among them the fact that it is the biggest in 60 years, the return of global economic powerhouse, the US and Belarus’ debut.  The US and Belarus join other powers who have been consistently exhibiting chief among them China, Germany and regional giant South Africa.  

Organisers have, this year, been forced to pitch tents outside the conventional exhibition halls to accommodate more exhibitors as the available space has been gobbled up.  The space available for sale rose from a low of 47 612 square metres in 2016 to a high of 57 732 square metres in 2019.

ZITF Company chairperson Ms Ruth Ncube told our sister paper, Sunday News:

“The show is the biggest ever. We sold all possible space and for the first time in the history of ZITF we had to hire  tents to accommodate 100 more exhibitors. This year we won’t be having VIP parking because we converted that space for extra exhibition space and the halls, which we haven’t been using for the last four to five years have been refurbished and converted to exhibition space.”

Ms Ncube is pleased with the big turnout and we share that delight with her.  This is so because in recent years the ZITF Company has struggled to sell exhibition space at the event.  This, in our view, was an indication of the poor health of the economy.  Also, it was evidence of the negative sentiment there was on the economy at that time.  In other words, one can use the ZITF to get a few clues on the general state of the economy and the business sentiment around it.  In that respect therefore, ZITF 2019 is a massive endorsement on efforts by President Mnangagwa’s government to revive the economy, attract and retain investment and improve the image of the country and its relations with others.   

We welcome all the visitors who will be in Bulawayo for the fair this week. They are encouraged to seriously engage for fruitful, win-win business transactions.  Foreign visitors should be free to explore trade and investment opportunities in the economy — manufacturing, mining, agriculture, tourism, education, energy, transport, health and so on. They must be assured that the Second Republic will protect their investments and intensify its programmes to create an environment for them to grow for the benefit of their shareholders and the local economy.  

We have a strong message to send to local businesses. ZITF is a once-a-year opportunity for them to seek, and hopefully clinch business deals to help them recover amid the prevailing economic challenges and to grow. They should be on the lookout for new markets at home and abroad as well as new capital which the economy has lacked over the past decade of isolation.    

Over the past few months, Bulawayo, like the rest of the country, has struggled with fuel shortage.  However, it is encouraging that the Government has made sure that the city is well supplied this week with enough of the commodity.  Indeed, we witnessed a massive change in that respect since last week as fuel supplies improved. This will enhance the mobility of visitors and locals for a successful ZITF.  

With respect to accommodation, Bulawayo was once again unable to provide enough beds at conventional hotels and lodges.  In response, we saw some establishments increasing their rates by wide margins as they sought to take advantage of the huge demand this week. We appreciate that when demand rises against low supply prices always increase, but the level at which some hotels and lodges in the city responded to that development smacks of profiteering, a disease that afflicts the entire economy.  That unhealthy tendency is condemnable. At the same time, we have to say that this exposes a gap in the Bulawayo hospitality sector that must be filled with more hotels and lodges.    

We look forward to a successful ZITF that will bring benefits to our economy.