Zimpapers Logo

Business Reporter
THE government has come up with a number of bold strategies to facilitate retooling and viability of local manufacturing industries as it moves to boost economic growth,” Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa said.

Responding to concerns on how the 2015 mid-term fiscal policy statement sought to address industry recapitalisation, the minister said several measures were being implemented to support domestic firms.

Chinamasa noted the submissions by the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Budget and Finance and other legislators that his fiscal policy statement was “devoid of bold strategies to retool the manufacturing industry”.

The government has taken a number of steps towards recapitalisation of local manufacturing industry, said the minister in on Tuesday.

This includes facilitating a number of lines of credit, for example, from the PTA, Afreximbank and many other institutions.

Hwange Colliery Company Limited, one of the ailing companies, has benefited from the government facilitation scheme and received equipment worth about $32 million in June this year.

Chinamasa said improving the investment environment by clarifying and resolving issues around indigenisation, BIPPAs and ease of doing business were some of the approaches being pursued to achieve growth.

He also highlighted issuance of guidelines on setting lending interest rates as recently announced by the central bank in the 2015 monetary policy statement, resolving the external debt overhang through various engagements with both bilateral and multilateral institutions and creditors including IMF, World Bank and AFDB as critical steps towards supporting local firms.

“The ultimate objective is to improve relations with our creditors in order to unlock new financing in the form of lines of credit, FDI and portfolio investments, etcetera for the benefit of our industries,” said the minister.

He also noted the committee recommendations that duty on raw materials be scrapped and imposition of strict penalties on finished imported products.

With respect to duty on raw materials, Chinamasa said the government has already availed a number of manufacturers’ rebates of duty, which provides for customs and tax free importation of key raw materials and inputs.

These include among others, the electrical manufacturers, bus assemblers, motor vehicle assemblers and the clothing manufacturers rebate.

“Furthermore, in the 2015 mid-year fiscal policy review, the manufacturers’ rebate of duty was extended to the printing and publishing industry as well as the furniture and textile industries,” he said.

“The advantage of a manufacturers’ rebate is that the benefits are availed to targeted beneficiaries.”