Business Reporter
The 2023 Zimbabwe Competitiveness Report (ZCR) and the soya bean value chain competitiveness report were launched by the National Competitiveness Commission (NCC) in Harare yesterday.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, Dr Thomas Utete Wushe, and also the guest of honor at the launch of the 2023 ZCR and the soya bean value chain competitiveness report whilst speaking at the event said, the launch of the reports was a diagnosis of how the country can better its competitiveness position, towards vision 2030.
“It is a great honour and privilege to be the Guest of Honour at this auspicious event, where we are gathered to unveil the 2023 ZCR. This report we are unveiling gives a diagnosis of how the country can better its competitiveness position as a nation. The event is therefore a significant milestone in our collective journey towards achieving our national vision of becoming an upper-middle income Society by 2030,” said Dr Wushe.
Dr Wushe also said the two Reports provided current status of the country’s competitiveness and proposed areas of intervention in order to achieve economic structural transformation and sustainable productivity.
“The launch of the two Reports we are witnessing today has come at an opportune time when the Ministry is seized with implementing various policies and programs aimed at making Vision 2030 a reality. Key among these include; the Zimbabwe Motor Industry Development Policy (2018-2030), the Zimbabwe Leather Sector Strategy (2021 -2030) and the Five-Year Fertilizer Import Substitution Road Map (2020-2024),” he said.
The NCC produced a Soya Bean Value Chain Competitiveness Report as one of the ten (10) value chains prioritized for implementation during the National Development Strategy (NDS) 1 period to promote industrialization and the domestication of local value chains, the Harare Post has learnt.
Remarkably the Zimbabwe National Industrial Development Policy (2019–2023) and NDS1 have laid a solid foundation for the structural transformation of the economy and the successful execution of the strategy hinges on creating a conducive and competitive business environment and developing robust value chains.
This launch has come at the right time when the Ministry of Industry and Commerce was implementing various policies and programs to make Vision 2030 a reality.
Meanwhile, the 2023 ZCR gave a sectoral analysis of the Mining sector, which is one of the key sectors of the Zimbabwean economy. The proposed areas of intervention emanating from the Report are therefore critical in addressing the identified
competitiveness gaps and opportunities.