CZI reviews companies performance

Published: 19 March 2014

THE Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) is assessing the performance and status of its 300-strong members in view of the economic challenges companies in the country are facing.

In an interview yesterday, CZI president Charles Msipa said the industrial body met on Monday to discuss at length economic problems facing companies and the need to gather facts on the true status of industry.

He said CZI needed to establish facts on industrial performance and level of production in the country.

"It is a dip-stick review among our 300 members. This will give us the basis to give recommendations to authorities to turn things around," said Msipa.

He, however, could not give the timelines on how long the assessment and review would take.

Companies are facing a host of problems among them liquidity challenges, obsolete equipment, low capacity utilisation levels and inadequate working capital.

Zimbabwe's economy went on a recovery path in 2009 when the Government of National Unity was established. But in 2012 it started to decline largely due to uncertainties over the direction the economy was taking after the government introduced the indigenisation programme.

The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions said over 9 000 people lost their jobs in 2013 while 75 companies closed shop during the same period.

The country in the past five years failed to attract meaningful Foreign Direct Investment unlike its regional counterparts that managed to woo FDI above $1 billion.

The country's FDI took off in 2009 at $65 million and last year it was below $500 million.

Treasury has been moving with a begging bowl to China and other countries, but has so far failed to attract any funding in its coffers.

International financiers have failed to give the country money as it has a debt overhang of $6,1 billion.

A delegation from the International Monetary Fund is currently in the country assessing the economic situation in the country.

- newsday

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