55 Zambians attend Chinese trade fair
Written by Likezo Kayongo in Guangzhou, China
Sunday, October 18, 2009 3:13:16 AM
All the talk about poverty reduction amounts to nothing unless Zambia can develop business and industry that will create wealth for the people, Zambia China Business Association (ZCBA) chairman Sebastian Kopulande has said during his visit to China.
ZCBA sent a delegation of 55 business people, mostly from the private sector, to attend the 106th China Import and Export Fair in Guangzhou. The event, also known as the Canton Fair, is among the world's biggest fairs and will run up to the end of this month. It opened its doors to the public last Thursday with over 55,927 exhibitors.
Kopulande noted that despite a big public campaign in the media on the fair in China, only National Housing Authority (NHA) from the public sector was in attendance.
“This initiative by [ZCBA] is intended to bring the Zambian people for exposure and a lot of publicity was done [on] ZNBC, Times of Zambia, Daily Mail and in The Post but we only have National Housing Authority as the only institution from the public sector,” said Kopulande.
He said there was no other institutional arrangement that could develop the country other than a strong business private sector.
And ZCBA vice-chairman Elias Mpondela said the initiative by the association to organise Zambian businesspeople from the private sector to attend the annual fair started as far back as 2004, after the Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry showed no interest to participate.
''As individuals we set up Zambia-China Business Association and tried to engage ministry of commerce but they were not coming forthcoming,” he said.
Mpondela was happy that this year's Zambian delegation to the fair was the highest from the time the association started participating in the event.
“I am very excited that as an association, we managed to get a number of 55 businessmen from the private sector. This in itself is testimony that Zambians are moving into a right business path,” said Mpondela.
Jophael Chikoli, the director of Polite Car Hire Limited, said most of the countries were there to see what China could offer and it was an upcoming market as well as a member of the Group of 20 (G20) countries.
“As a Zambian businessman I have a privilege to come and see what China has put up as a country in a right path economically. We should tap from them and start production than coming here to buy finished products,” he said.
Chikoli's wish is to see the Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry take up the challenge and come up with deliberate policies to stimulate economic growth.
Labels: CHINESE, TRADE FAIRS, ZCBA
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Rupiah to attend opening of Trade Fair in Ndola
Written by Staff Reporters
Thursday, July 02, 2009 4:28:55 PM
President Rupiah Banda will this Saturday travel to Ndola on a two day working visit that will include attending the opening of the Zambia International Trade Fair on Sunday by Tanzania’s President Jekaya Kikwete.
According to his programme released by Special Assistant for Press and Public Relations Dickson Jere, President Banda will on Sunday be on hand to welcome President Kikwete at the Ndola International Airport when he is scheduled to arrive.
“After officiating at the International Trade Fair, President Banda and President Kikwete will depart for Livingstone where they will hold bilateral talks. The two leaders are also expected to attend the Lwiindi Traditional Ceremony of the Tonga People in Monze on Monday July 6th, 2009 where President Banda has been invited as Guest of Honour,” the statement from Jere read.
“President Banda will attend another Lwiindi Traditional Ceremony in Livingstone on Tuesday, July 7th, 2009 in Chief Mukuni’s chiefdom where he will be Guest of Honour.”
President Banda is expected to return to Lusaka on Wednesday, July 8th, 2009.
Labels: JEKAYA KIKWETE, RUPIAH BANDA, TANZANIA, TRADE FAIRS
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Statement on the Basic Commodity Supply Side Intervention Program
Dr Gideon Gono's statement on the Basic Commodity Supply Side Intervention Program (BACOSSI)
Tue, 29 Jul 2008 13:00:00 +0000
THIS is the full text of a speech given by the Governor of the Reserve Bank, Dr. Gideon Gono at the annual Midlands Agricultural Show in Gweru on July 26, 2008.
“BASIC COMMODITIES AVAILABILITY AND SOCIAL SAFETY, THE CASE FOR ZIMBABWE”
A PRESENTATION ON THE OCCASION OF THE MIDLANDS PROVINCIAL AGRICULTURAL SHOW OPEN DAY
BY DR. G. GONO
GOVERNOR RESERVE BANK OF ZIMBABWE
GWERU SHOW GROUNDS, GWERU
26 JULY 2008
SALUTATIONS
• The Honourable Governor of the Midlands Province, Comrade C.G. Msipa
• Leadership of the Midlands Show Society here present.
• Leadership of the Midlands Province Business and Farming communities here present.
• Fellow colleagues from the Financial Services Sector here present.
• Ladies and Gentlemen
• All protocols observed
INTRODUCTION
1. I feel greatly honoured and privileged to address this noble and certainly imperative gathering, where the whole Midlands Province converge to recognize and celebrate their economic productivity, as relates to the various economic sectors.
2. I am informed that since the early 1930s the Midlands Show Society has invested a lot of effort and hard work to make this show the most prestigious annual event in the Midlands Province and we commend the Show Society for that.
3. Again, your Governor is reliably informed that this year, more than 165 exhibitors are taking part in this grand event showcasing their businesses to at least 25 000 visitors who annually visit the show.
4. Ladies and Gentlemen, it is through these interactive get-togethers such as the one we have today that as stakeholders to this economy, we get time to reflect, exchange notes and cross-pollinate ideas in our collective endeavors to economically uplift our shared status as Zimbabwe.
5. In light of the above, your Governor is verily glad to be officiating at this gathering and certainly could not be happier being at any other place at this juncture.
6. My brief remarks today will focus on the current state of the economy, the attendant lack of basic commodities for the vast majority of our people and your Central Bank’s interventions in that regard.
7. Allow me, therefore ladies and gentlemen, to begin by sharing briefly on the current state of our economy.
THE CURRENT STATE OF THE ECONOMY
8. Currently, the state of our national economy is certainly far from what any Zimbabwean would want to see and endure.
9. As a nation, we find ourselves faced by the daunting task of healing an economy confronted by formidable challenges, largely accentuated by the multi-dimensional external factors.
10. From the external side, the economy is under pressure from the declared and undeclared sanctions on our various economic sectors especially with regard to access to foreign lines of credit.
11. In addition, Zimbabwe is not spared from the impacts of the rising international energy prices, especially petroleum.
12. Furthermore, internal but all the same exogenous factors such as droughts and floods have continued to militate against our national initiatives to rebuild our economy.
13. Ladies and Gentlemen, allow me to also point out that in as much as we are under intense pressure from the above external and exogenous factors, it would be naïve for us to forget that there are other factors affecting our economy that fall squarely within our reach of control as Zimbabweans.
14. Indeed, Ladies and Gentlemen, it is well within our collective capacity as Zimbabweans to realize that needlessly drawing spears against each other through internal squabbles only works to deepen the socio-economic challenges affecting our country.
15. It is another time tested truism, fellow Zimbabweans, that continued lack of unity and one common Vision as a People, at both political and commercial, as well as business levels coupled with high levels of indiscipline and bureaucratic inertia when it comes to implementing well-meaning Government programmes make it impossible for any society to achieve real progress.
16. Furthermore under utilization of our land and mineral resources as well as misaligned pricing and distribution policies and practices are other significant factors working to hold back our national economic progress.
17. All these factors are conspiring to cause an agonizing establishment of ridiculous price increases, shortages and consequently skewed distribution practices where basic goods are only available an affluent and connected few while the common man and woman in both urban and rural areas in particular are struggling to just survive.
BASIC COMMODITIES SUPPLY AND SOCIAL SECURITY.
18. In light of the above-described state of our economy and its attendant impacts on basic commodities supply, especially with regards to food items, allow me, Ladies and Gentlemen to highlight briefly on the critical subject of the importance of basic commodities availability in the face of the current global food security challenges.
19. Availability of food and other basic commodities have immensely transformed in level of importance over the recent past, not only in Zimbabwe but across the globe as food availability has become a major determinant for peace, national cohesion and security if food related disturbances that swept across the world a few months ago are anything to go by.
20. The sensitivity of basic commodities availability in society is not just a Zimbabwean issue, but a global matter generally imposing extreme implications and constraints on economic policy making and implementation in various countries of the world.
21. Allow me, therefore, Ladies and Gentlemen to pay special reference to Secretary General of the United Nations (UN) Mr. Ban Ki-moon’s statement to a Trade and Development Conference in Accra, Ghana, on the 20th of April 2008.
22. The UN Secretary General warned that the unavailability and unaffordability of food due to the global food crisis and the attendant surge in food prices was one of the greatest dangers that threatened socio-economic development.
23. To this effect, the UN Chief said: quote: “If not handled properly, this crisis could result in a cascade of others … and become a multidimensional problem affecting economic growth, social progress and even political security around the world”.
24. It is in view of the above that as Monetary Authorities, we have elected to be pragmatic as opposed to passively wait for disaster to strike in this nation.
25. In that spirit, we have, as is now characteristic of your Central Bank, dipped deep into our bag of innovations and came up with what we are convinced is a short to medium term response to the challenges confronting our nation in general and the vulnerable groups in particular.
OUR SHORT TO MEDIUM TERM RESPONSE TO THE CHALLENGES: THE BASIC COMMODITIES SUPPLY SIDE INTERVENTION (BACOSSI) FACILITY
26. The Basic Commodities Supply Side Interventions (BACOSSI) Facility is a multidimensional programme which seeks to ensure the availability and affordability of basic commodities to the vulnerable members of the Zimbabwean society.
27. The sole objective of this initiative, itself an intermediary intervention is, to alleviate the current shortages of basic commodities in the formal markets, especially in the rural areas.
28. As your Central Bank, we are therefore working hand and glove with the Ministry of
Industry and International Trade as well as other arms of Government to ensure that this initiative is effective as a market instrument to deal with the current market failure generated by rampant market indiscipline by way of profiteering and side marketing at the expense of the real consumer.
29. The facility is being implemented at broadly two levels namely supply side interventions at industry level as well as the distribution part at house hold level.
30. Having shared enough on basic commodities availability, allow me, fellow Zimbabweans to divert and touch briefly on another critical issue affecting the economy.
CURRENCY REFORMS
31. Ladies and Gentlemen, let me also take this opportunity to reassure the nation that this coming week, the Reserve Bank will be implementing far – reaching reforms to the Payment System whichreforms would address the current genuine constraints being faced by the public.
32. As your Central Bank, we are duty-bound to listen to all stakeholders submissions on how best to resolve known economic challenges and through this consultative process we then design appropriate responses.
33. I am, therefore, very confident that this coming week will bring about the much needed relief in our National Payment System.
CONCLUSION
34. In conclusion, allow me Ladies and Gentlemen to take this opportunity to, once again, congratulate the Patron of the Midlands Show Society, Governor Msipa, and the Executive Committee of the Midlands Show Society, the entire Farming and Business sectors in the Midlands province for contributing in your various but all important ways to make this amazing event a success.
35. In addition, Ladies and Gentlemen, I am heartened by the spirit of ownership and partnership revealed by some of the exhibitors to this year’s event whom I am told went out of their way to construct their own exhibition stands to make this show the accomplishment it is today.
36. In this regard, Ladies and Gentlemen, please help me recognize and salute the Grain Marketing Board (GMB), Bata Shoe Company, the National Social Security Authority (NSSA), the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority ZIMRA, Dairiboard Zimbabwe and Sino-Zimbabwe Cement for having contributed to the success of this year’s show in their own special way.
37. Lastly, allow me, ladies and Gentlemen to reiterate that our current interventions in the productive sectors of our economy are not an end in themselves but rather come as transitory measures meant ensure continued national survival while at the same time gravitating the economy towards a self reproducing mode which would allow it to sustainably recovery and prosper.
38. As Monetary Authorities, therefore, we continue to call upon our leadership in Politics, Business, Labour and Civil Society to subvert their narrow individual and sectoral purviews to the global picture that benefits the country and the economy through coming together under a form of progressive understanding or social pact inspired by the collective goal of growing our National wealth in harmony.
39. With these few remarks, Ladies and Gentlemen,
40. I thank you.
Dr G Gono
Governor, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe
Gweru, 26 July 2008
Labels: BACOSSI GOODS, GIDEON GONO, SPEECHES, TRADE FAIRS, ZIMBABWE
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Exploit trade fairs for business growth
INTERNATIONAL trade fairs are important business platforms for opening up new markets and helping businesses maximise opportunities to become global brands. The Zimbabwe International Trade Fair, which opened last Tuesday, is one such powerful tool providing the country with a window of opportunity for both local and foreign traders to do business.
We welcome local and foreign exhibitors that are participating at the 49th edition of the ZITF, whose theme is "Made in Zimbabwe for Africa and the World’’. One of the positive developments at this year’s trade fair is the presence of a significant number of local small-to-medium scale businesses that have seized the opportunity to exhibit at the fair.
This should give them the necessary exposure to not only open up new markets but also learn a lesson or two from other exhibitors.
However, this year’s trade fair is taking place against a background of heightened vitriolic attacks on the Government by the country’s detractors.
Speculation had been rife in anti-Zimbabwe Western media during the run up to the trade fair that the event would be cancelled owing to what they described as a "political crisis" precipitated by the March 29 harmonised elections.
The United States and some Western countries led by Britain have stepped up their hostile campaign against the Government in a bid to effect regime change.
But there has been nothing to remotely suggest that the trade showcase would be cancelled or postponed.
The country has succeeded in dispelling the propaganda and we commend the organisers of the trade fair for efficiently preparing for the event.
We do not expect serious exhibitors to take business decisions based on political expediency because ZITF is an apolitical organisation used only as a platform to forge trade links.
Another notable development in ZITF 2008 that has been of grave concern to both exhibitors and visitors was the acute escalation of costs, particularly accommodation.
Service providers, hoteliers in particular had sharply increased their accommodation fees, a development which only serves to scare away exhibitors and visitors from coming to such trade showcases.
We thank the National Incomes and Pricing Commission for moving in swiftly to allow sanity to prevail in the pricing of services.
We cannot at this moment afford to behave in a manner that discourages potential business to come our way when the country is facing serious economic challenges, which have been worsened by unjustified sanctions imposed against the country.
But despite all the efforts to discredit the country, it is pleasing to note that optimism has been high among exhibitors, with quite a good number of them expressing satisfaction with the inquiries they received since the very first day.
Exhibitors normally get out of the trade fair what they put into it, and any exhibitor or business person worth his salt should know that business does not end on the last day of the ZITF.
Indeed, the whole essence of the trade fair is to receive inquiries, be able to follow them up and translate them into concrete business deals.
Our wish, therefore, is for the ZITF to end resoundingly, particularly with yesterday’s befitting official opening of the event by President Mugabe.
Labels: TRADE FAIRS, ZITF
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ZITF shames Zim’s critics, say ministers
Bulawayo Bureau
FOREIGN exhibitors at this year’s edition of the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair say they have identified business opportunities that can be exploited in the country despite the obtaining economic problems. In the run-up to the annual trade showcase which began here on Tuesday, speculation was rife in anti-Zimbabwe circles that the event would be cancelled because of the "crisis" that they alleged had engulfed Zimbabwe in the aftermath of the March 29 harmonised elections.
The detractors said the "delay" in the announcement of results of the presidential election would scuttle efforts to attract both local and foreign exhibitors, forcing the Government and ZITF to cancel the premier international trade event.
However, organisers went ahead with the fair with 565 exhibitors — 544 of them local and 21 foreign — taking part in this year’s event.
Hordes of foreign buyers and travel agents have also descended on the ZITF grounds for a specialised exhibition, A’Sambeni Africa Tour and Travel, which has become the second most important tourism exhibition in Zimbabwe after Travel Expo.
In separate interviews at the trade fair, the Minister of Industry and International Trade, Cde Obert Mpofu, and the Minister of Small and Medium Enterprises Development, Cde Sithembiso Nyoni, said the turnout by foreign exhibitors had rendered futile, the diplomatic offensive launched against Zimbabwe by Britain and its Anglo-Saxon allies.
"The fears that the trade fair would not be held were coming from our detractors, the prophets of doom. We have seen foreign and local exhibitors coming out to exhibit at the fair and this is a slap in the face of those detractors," Cde Mpofu said on Tuesday after touring stands at ZITF.
Cde Nyoni made similar remarks yesterday.
"I know that our enemies were saying we would postpone the fair. What they did not realise is that as Government, we are keen to promote business because it has a direct link with the livelihood of the people.
"Why then would we postpone such a thing? It is just that some people want to politicise virtually everything," she said.
"We have both foreign and local companies at the ZITF out to do business and that’s as it should be."
Foreign exhibitors expressed satisfaction with the organisation of the event and the business contacts and deals that they were forging.
In an interview on Tuesday, the first secretary for economic affairs at the Zambian Embassy in Zimbabwe, Ms Dyriss Kabwita, said eight companies from her country were displaying their products at the embassy’s stand.
"People have expressed interest in buying sugar, cooking oil and medicines, which apparently are in short supply here," she said.
Ms Kabwita said despite economic challenges that Zimbabwe was facing, some Zambian companies continued to invest and do business in the country.
"We are not just looking at the present but also focusing on the future. There might be difficulties now, but we know that this is not a permanent situation. The economic situation will improve," she said.
"Zambia and Zimbabwe continue to have trade relations. The cross-border trade activities have increased a lot."
A representative of the Indonesian Embassy at the country’s stand said there was need for more aggressive marketing of ZITF to attract even more companies from Asia.
Following the fallout with Britain, the United States and other Western powers over Zimbabwe’s land reform programme, Government launched the "Look East Policy" to encourage more investment deals and trade relations with Asian countries.
Representatives of Botswana and Malawi embassies have also hailed the way the exhibition has been organised and expressed hope that companies from their countries would be able to clinch business deals at the fair.
Labels: TRADE FAIRS, ZIMBABWE, ZITF
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