ZIMBABWE: Little Interest in Trade Fair Despite Political Changes

• by Ignatius Banda (bulawayo)
• Friday, April 24, 2009
• Inter Press Service

The ZITF is set to run from Apr 28 to May 2 in Bulawayo, formerly the country’s industrial hub. However, the past eight years of economic decline have seen factories turn into ghostly shells as one after the other company shut down.

Addressing a ZITF stakeholder's conference on April 9, Industry and Commerce Minister Welshman Ncube said ZITF board members had proposed to the government last month that the fair be shifted to a later date as few exhibitors have expressed interest in coming.

‘‘But we insisted that, as a new (unity) government, we cannot allow a situation where we are seen as having failed to kick-start the fair. This will send the wrong signals to the international community,’’ Ncube explained.

Officials were getting worried when only 88 percent of exhibition space was taken up by the beginning of April.

The ZITF has in the past decade experienced dwindling participation from the country’s erstwhile international trading partners like the United States and the European Union.

Despite this year’s formation of a coalition government by the country’s main political adversaries as part of efforts to stabilise the country and gain international investor confidence, this year’s show seems to be following in the footsteps of the last few years’ struggling exhibitions.

The show organisers have also been bedevilled by, among other things, threats of boycotts by local exhibitors after they protested against what they saw as prohibitive exhibition fees. The fees have been pegged in foreign currency after the new government adopted the use of multiple currencies in the place of the collapsed Zimbabwean dollar.

The ZITF was forced to reduce exhibition fees after lobbying from local firms, represented by the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC). The bulk of companies willing to exhibit were recording poor business returns, which is not surprising, given the economic disasters that have befallen the country as President Robert Mugabe clung on to power.

‘‘What we are seeing are government departments taking up exhibition space rather than international commercial exhibitors,’’ a ZITF official who spoke on condition of anonymity told IPS.

‘‘We are, of course, expecting to have a number of international exhibitors but because of the experience of the past few years, we are not raising our hopes too high,’’ the official said.

For economist Robert Svosvi, who teaches at the National University of Science and Technology, the new government ‘‘definitely’’ has a lot to do ‘‘before international purses will be opened. ‘‘The trade fair was always an opportunity for Zimbabwe to show the world what it has to offer investors but with the tough stance that has been taken by the countries with the money, their private investors have naturally not been encouraged to set foot here,’’ Svosvi told IPS.

Regional Integration and International Co-operation Minister Priscilla Misihairambwi-Mushonga contended at the stakeholders’ meeting that it will take some time before vital trade links with international investors are re-opened.

‘‘It is not going to be easy to get external resources to boost investment. All this has a bearing on the success of the ZITF,’’ Misihairambwi-Mushonga explained.

Investors have shied away from Zimbabwe after Mugabe and his ruling coterie embarked on land seizures some eight years ago. Later other steps were taken to entrench the ruling ZANU-PF’s elite interests, such as ‘‘indigenising’’ companies.

According to the World Bank, the Zimbabwe economy shrunk more than 70 percent in the past decade. This presents a daunting task for the new government which is on the prowl for an economic rescue package.

Late last month Southern African Development Community (SADC) leaders, who gathered in South Africa for a summit, said Zimbabwe needs up to 8.5 billion dollars to help resuscitate the ailing economy in the next three years.

Zimbabwe’s Minister of Finance Tendai Biti has already warned that the country risks falling into anarchy and civil strife if the international donor community does not respond swiftly to pleas for economic rescue.

However, the U.S. and some EU nations have said they are only prepared to make resources available when they see signs of economic reforms. Analysts say this is going to be a tough call while Mugabe is still in charge.

© Inter Press Service (2009) — All Rights ReservedOriginal source: Inter Press Service

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