Officially opening the 60th edition of the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) in Bulawayo, President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni said trade is central to economic development. Museveni said:
When I buy what you produce, I support your prosperity,” he said. “When you buy what I produce, you support my prosperity. Therefore, trade is very crucial. Fortunately, in Eastern Africa we are now developing the railway system through Kenya and through Tanzania.
Therefore, it will be easy to access our products and your products through the ports of Dar es Salaam and the ports of Mombasa.
He also lamented over the exportation of raw, unprocessed goods noting that constitutes revenue leakage and exportation of employment. President Museveni said:
His Excellency has told me that as of today, Zimbabwe is only processing 30 percent of its cotton, 70 percent is exported unprocessed. That has been the problem with Uganda and we have been struggling with that.
We need to educate our population that when you export a kilogramme of unprocessed cotton, when the prices are not good, you may get $1 and when the prices are good you may get $3. But the one who takes that kilogramme of cotton and makes it into a number of shirts may get $15. So, you get $1 from the same amount of cotton from which there is $15. That means Uganda and Zimbabwe, in each kilogramme of cotton, we are donating $14 to other countries.
Therefore, when we go for a donors conference in Paris, one is not sure who the donor is and who the donee is. It is, however, not the loss of money, the $14 in every kilogramme of cotton, it is the loss of jobs.
Related:
- Poverty and Unemployment Are The Major Causes of Youth Violent Protests
- Workers Fired On 3 Months Notice In 2015 To Receive Damages For Loss Of Employment
More: TheChronicle