It is globally accepted that focus on raising industrial production levels in any country is the sure way to grow the economy. This means in the case of Zimbabwe, for this trajectory to be achieved, all pillars that is Government, industry, consumers and civic society must channel efforts towards economic revival.
Discord at the expense of a global national focus will lead to the demise of not only political actors, but industry as well as some will close shop never to open again -- a scenario we do not want to happen. Therefore, growing the industry has a number of positives to the economy that include improving food security, reducing imports, particularly of locally available products, halting export of jobs and saving the country foreign currency. Last week we carried a story that capacity utilisation in the manufacturing sector declined to 45,1 percent in 2017 from 47,4 percent recorded last year as rising costs of production and foreign currency shortages, among other challenges continued to take a toll on the sector. Competition from cheap imported substitutes, antiquated machinery constantly breaking down, low local demand and failure to access affordable finance, were some of the key exogenous factors impeding industrial growth, the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries revealed during the release of the Manufacturing Sector Survey 2017.
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