By Nobleman Runyanga

The Buy Zimbabwe campaign, which promotes the consumption of locally-produced products, has praised Government for the progress which it has made so far in the formulation of Local Content Policy that would promote the manufacturing and consumption of local brands.

This came out of a statement which the campaign issued today following Cabinet decision to support small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to produce high quality goods to reduce dependence on imports while it finalises the local content policy as a long term measure.

“Buy Zimbabwe has noted with satisfaction the approval by Government of the Local Content Policy and accompanying measures for an industrial fund to boost local production especially by SMEs,” read part of the statement.

The Buy Zimbabwe campaign appealed to stakeholders to leverage the proposed fund to boost their operations and participate in the process of finalising the envisaged policy.

“We urge our esteemed partners, other manufacturers and stakeholders to take advantage of this pronouncement to fully prepare for the next phase of the Local Content Regulations Framework development through participation in various meetings,” said the campaign in the statement.

“Buy Zimbabwe urges manufacturers to support the Buy Zimbabwe Week (which runs) from 6 to 9 November 2018 in Harare to highlight the availability, affordability and competitive pricing for local products and services,” said the campaign group.

The Buy Zimbabwe Campaign statement comes against the background of a post Cabinet media briefing given by the Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, Monica Mutsvangwa yesterday.

The minister pledged Government’s support for SMEs to assist them to manufacture goods, while work on the local content policy to progresses. The measures follow the recent severe basic commodity shortages which compelled Government to temporarily lift the ban on the importation of goods that can be manufactured locally.