Dumisani O Nkomo: Reviving The City of Kings -Paradigm Shift Needed

Dumisani O Nkomo: Reviving The City of Kings -Paradigm Shift Needed: Ideas and Perspectives On The Revival Of Bulawayo By Dumisani O.Nkomo The revival of Bulawayo which once was the industrial hub of the ...

Dumisani O Nkomo: Reviving The City of Kings -Paradigm Shift Needed

Dumisani O Nkomo: Reviving The City of Kings -Paradigm Shift Needed: Ideas and Perspectives On The Revival Of Bulawayo By Dumisani O.Nkomo The revival of Bulawayo which once was the industrial hub of the ...

Reviving The City of Kings -Paradigm Shift Needed

Ideas and Perspectives On The Revival Of Bulawayo

By Dumisani O.Nkomo

The revival of Bulawayo which once was the industrial hub of the country has been a topical issue for the past few years. In this article i would like to suggest some ideas and issues that we need to consider in order to revive the City of Kings.  I would like to suggest  we as the citizens of Bulawayo both at individual and corporate levels have to  gravitate toward new paradigms of socio economic development and not necessarily be stuck in a moment of history almost forty years ago when Bulawayo was the industrial hub of Zimbabwe .We  need to envisage Bulawayo as it will be in twenty to fifty years not seek to return it to what it was forty years ago .

The dictates of globalization and the Information Communication  Technology revolution make it imperative for the city to re position itself ,identify its strategic competencies and build its development foundations upon new opportunities in the new national and global socio economic and political environment .It may be a fallacy to think the same industries that made Bulawayo the industrial hub of Zimbabwe forty years ago can be revived in the same state and compete with industries for example in the emerging economies of Brazil Russia ,India   ,China and South Africa .It may be necessary to identify the new competitive advantages of Bulawayo and build upon old ones which are still feasible .

I would like to argue that the future growth of Bulawayo should be premised on the following fundamentals and considerations

1.Development of alternative ,renewable, eco  friendly  and sustainable energy sources .

2.Utillization of the huge potential in tapping surface and underground water .

3.Masive investment in road ,rail and air infrastructure mainly through private public partnerships .

4.Exploiting  potential of the extractive sector with huge possibilities in gold ,diamond  and coal mining .

5.Devolution of power and  decision making to maximize on local resource potential and access to decision makers for corporate and individual citizens .

These fundamentals will then inform the growth of industry and business activity in Matabeleland in general and Bulawayo in particular in the following ways:

1.Currently industry cannot reach capacity utilization  targets let alone compete with huge production volumes of competitors .Production has been severely affected by  perennial load shedding and power cuts .The exploitation of alternative ,sustainable renewable energy  would be foundational to the growth of industry in Bulawayo

2.Completion  or commencement of water projects such as the Gwayi - Shangani Dam ,the duplication of the Insiza  Dam and the subsequent release of Mtshabezi Dam to support irrigation in Umzingwane  .Bulawayo will not grow or attract  investment without sufficient reserves of water for domestic and industrial purposes .The potential of underground water sources such as the Nyamandlovu and the Matsheuhlophe aquifers would boost the irrigation potential of areas in and around Bulawayo.

3.Investment in transport infrastructure namely roads ,rail and the Bulawayo airport will play a critical role in ensuring that Bulawayo repositions itself as a strategic route  to South Africa ,Botswana and Zambia in the context of the SADC region .Already the Plumtree –Bulawayo -Mutare highway is due to be constructed ,opening avenues to the  eastern Highlands and Mozambique .The Joshua Mqabuko airport refurbishment and expansion has to be speeded to boost the tourism industry especially with easy access to tourist destinations in Victoria Falls-Hwange  which has the  potential of raking in millions of dollars  .The growth of the sector will largely depend on the  development of a sound road ,rail and airport infrastructure .Several hundreds of millions of dollars will also be required to revive the rail industry as it will play a critical role in catalyzing industrial growth premised on coal in Hwange ,Iron  and steel in Kwekwe  and timber in rural Matabeleland   .These will provide a basis for the redevelopment of heavy industry and furniture industry Development of transport infrastructure will thus  be pivotal  to the industrialization of Bulawayo .

4.Bulawayo As A Legislative Capital

I fully subscribe to Welshman Ncube’s bid to have Bulawayo declared as the seat of parliament .All progressive people and Bulawayans will support this  move especially seeing that funds are actually available for the construction of a new parliament .The actual construction of the parliament building will generate activity for the construction industry whilst also providing jobs in the process Downstream industries such as the transport  sector , the hotel and hospitality industry will benefit as a result of the increase of parliamentary activity in Bulawayo  with members of parliament ,legislative staff and lobbying groups locating their activities in Bulawayo .

5.Tourism

Tourism is one competitive advantage that south western Zimbabwe 6.Bulawayo can also position itself as a centre of arts and culture giving rise to cultural tourism ,festivals and carnivals with their downstream contribution to the economy .

7.The revival of the livestock centre will be central to the growth of industry in the city as the city is located in a region which has a climate and geography which is suited to ranching .It will however take up to five years for the Matabeleland   region to build its herd levels to pre 2000 levels .

Bulawayo must take its place in the sun.

Dumisani O Nkomo is a political analyst and C.E.O of Habakkuk Trust .He can be contacted on dumisani.nkomo@gmail.com or on his blog www.dumisanionkomo.blogspot

Economic Development-Beyond Mugabe

The Post MUGABE ERA –FUNDAMENTALS FOR NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND ECONOMIC GROWTH

By Dumisani O. Nkomo

We as Zimbabweans need to get past our fixation with Robert Mugabe and ZANU P.F and begin to forge a very clear path to the future characterized by economic growth ,improvement in service delivery, access to basic services such as health ,education ,water ,energy and yes critically availability of jobs ,steady incomes and housing .We should not allow hatred for individuals and personalities to cloud a  shared national vision and defined strategies of how Zimbabwe can emerge from economic stagnation and place herself on the solid path of socio  economic growth .

I would like to suggest that in order for the nation to move forward besides addressing the usual governance challenges we need to start reflecting on at least five critical areas or sectors which the government and the nation should focus on in order to catalyze economic growth and development. I would also like to argue that it may not be possible to revive many of Zimbabwe’s ailing industries and instead more effort should be made in facilitating the development of new ,viable and competitive sectors .

In building Zimbabwe’s competitive strengths and advantages it would be essential to focus on building five primary pillars of growth namely rehabilitation of the transport sector ,development of the energy sector ,the extractive sector ,water development and the enhancement of the country’s fiber optic network .

De Industrialization Is A Global Phenomenon

It will be crucial to ask ourselves whether our industries our competitive enough for the global market and to make tough decisions about which sectors we should focus on .Rapid global advancements in technology ,policy inconsistency ,lack of capital ,high operating costs which make the costs  of production high are making it increasingly difficult for industry in Zimbabwe. This is accentuated by stiff competition from emerging economies such as China ,Brazil and India which has affected industries even in countries such as the United States of America and Great Britain .In the USA computer giants Dell had to close one of their plants and relocate it to China  due to cheaper production costs in that country .Similarly  whilst Britain’s POST SECOND WORLD WAR 2 ECONOMY was heavily dependent  on manufacturing with manufacturing accounting for over 40 % of the G.D.P the current British economy is heavily dependent on the so called service industry and not actual production .The competition from China and other emerging economies has taken toll on many economies resulting in these countries having to re adjust their competitive advantages to concentrate on their strengths instead of their weaknesses .The big question which i have no answer for is ?can Zimbabwe reverse the tide of industrialization ?Can de industrialization which actually began in the pre  Economic Structural Adjustment era  be reversed or stopped or should the country focus on industries and sectors that are viable and competitive in the global arena  .De industrialization whilst being a global phenomenon has been accentuated in areas such as Bulawayo which have borne the brunt of marginalization in infrastructural development  which is essential in attracting investor confidence .

Tough Questions On De Industrialization

The obsession to revive Bulawayo’s industries to what they were thirty years ago is actually misplaced because some of  those industries cannot survive in the new global environment .We need to be thinking of what Bulawayo and indeed Zimbabwe will be like in fifty years and which sectors of the economy will enable us to take our place in the sun We should not be merely  crying about restoration of old industries but agitating and organizing for new frontiers .The same goes for Harare , Mutare  , Gweru ,Masvingo ,Kwekwe ,Chegutu and Kadoma as these places cannot base their future growth on past successes .Critical questions need to be asked about the competitiveness of industries upon which these cities and towns were founded upon Failure to appreciate this could be a case of investing in our weaknesses and not on new opportunities  and competitive advantages .

I believe we need to ask ourselves these questions because if we fail to do so we may try and inject a lot of resources into industries that may only be able to survive to subsistence levels .At the same time revival  of some of these industries may contribute immensely to the G.D.P and result in  phenomenal socio economic transformation .We need as new audacity as a nation that will make us question current economic transformation models and paradigms .This sober introspection will enable us to focus on our strengths and not our weaknesses .Truly speaking some of the industries that closed down  may never be able to survive in this harsh global environment  epitomized by phenomenal  growth in technology and automation .

Nationally whilst the operating environment may be extremely harsh ,the situation may even be more challenging globally .The introduction of tariffs to protect local industry whilst being a  very noble initiative may as Professor Tony Hawkins intimated fall short because of other trade  agreements   at regional and international level which gravitate towards free trading zones and areas .It is for this reason that i would like to suggest that we should then expend our energies on what can give us the most mileage ,benefit and advantage .

I would like to suggest that on abroad level Zimbabwe need to invest in infrastructure and frameworks that provide  a sound  foundation for the development of the economy .Investing in five key strategic engines of economic growth and these five primary pillars would then build a solid base for the growth of related and inter dependent industries and sectors .

Some of the critical  areas are overhaul of the transport sector ,exploring the potential of sustainable alternative   energy sources  ,development of a sound fiber optic network to boost the country’s I.C.T  competence   .Critically an enabling environment with incentives for value addition and beneficiation  for the extractive sector could unlock mining as the bedrock of the country’s economic growth .Development of water sources for industrial ,commercial and agricultural use will be key .Priority should also be placed on the development of tourism which has a knock on impact for downstream businesses .

Yes we can make it ,lets start thinking differently

Dumisani O .Nkomo is the chief executive officer of Habakkuk Trust  and  a political analyst

He can be contacted on dumisani.nkomo@gmail.com  or follow his blog www.dumisanionkomo.blogspot.com

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