By Leonard Ncube
Victoria Falls — PRESIDENT Mnangagwa yesterday appealed to Zimbabweans to develop a culture of buying locally produced goods and services to promote domestic industry and economic transformation.
Officiating at the 5th Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply 2018 annual conference in Victoria Falls, President Mnangagwa called for transparent strategic procurement as he challenged the sector to be involved in developmental programmes.
He said the country’s journey towards attainment of Vision 2030 requires procurement and supply strategies that sustain the present growth impetus.
The country aims to achieve a middle income status by 2030.
The President, who has pledged servant leadership, said open and constant dialogue is key in attaining the vision.
“No one has monopoly of ideas and together we will build the Zimbabwe we want hence I exhort the procurement and supply practitioners in our public entities to be involved throughout the planning and implementation of our developmental programmes and projects as this will prevent unwarranted loss of value.
“As procurement professionals, you must inculcate a culture of buying local products and promote our domestic industry across all sectors,” said President Mnangagwa.
He reiterated his call for a corruption free society saying ethical improprieties will not be allowed to take root in the second republic.
President Mnangagwa urged citizens to comply with legislative instruments saying Government will always enforce laws.
He said Government’s drive is to improve efficiency and enhance transparency, accountability and value for money as evidenced by the transformation of the State Procurement Board to the current Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Praz) through the Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets Act of 2017.
He called for good corporate governance by procurement and supply professionals adding that there can be no forgiveness for compromising the quality of goods and services.
The President challenged the Standard Association of Zimbabwe to facilitate production of quality, competitive goods for the market.
“In the Second Republic procurement is an important economic tool which must be leveraged to effectively allocate the limited resources and manage public expenditure. This will create sustainable local supply chain linkages,” he said.
“While the concept of ethical and responsible procurement is not new, the increase in global sourcing opportunities highlights serious issues in procurement practices. These often entail bid rigging, complimentary bidding and inflation of prices and contracts awarded without following procedure as well as committee members that double as contractors.”
The President said CIPS is an important platform to reflect on topical issues and how each citizen can effectively contribute towards the growth of the country.
He said women, youths and small and medium enterprises must also be supported and nurtured in business as they also play a part in the growth of the economy.
The President was accompanied by Minister of State for Matabeleland North Provincial Affairs Richard Moyo and Minister of State for National Security in the President’s Office Owen Ncube.
The conference started on Wednesday and ended yesterday under the theme: “Revitalisation of the Zimbabwean economy through strategic procurement.”
The post ED Calls for Culture of Buying Local appeared first on Zimbabwe Today.