In 2015 the Deputy Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education Godfrey Gandawa is on record inviting tertiary graduates from 1980 to submit their names to countries Zimbabwe had signed an agreement with as a way of creating employment. The government would financially benefit from the arrangement as the receiving countries would pay a certain amount, as well as cater for the welfare of the exported staff according to Gandawa in the Herald.
Progress for such an initiative has not been reported by the media since 2015 and the discussion has surfaced again this year as a suggestion for the government to make some revenue.
An top economist said that the government can export labour to other countries in order to increase revenue in the country. Professor Makochekanwa said this during the National Export Strategy Draft validation workshop in Harare.
The Professor said that some sectors such as health were producing nurses every year and the government could learn from other countries which export workers.
“We are saying that rather than letting them (graduates) staying (copy the Philippines) we can get Memorandum of Understanding to export workers” said Makochekanwa.
The National Export Strategy is expected to drive the manufacturing sector and other quick-win sectors towards export orientation and international competitiveness.
The workshop also ventured into entrepreneurs who are finding it hard in producing internationally competitive products for exportation
One of the participants who contributed to the draft said that the SMEs are building businesses which are crumbling.
“Most of the SMEs are building jobs for themselves not businesses. Businesses have got structures which jobs do not have. These businesses crumble because they don’t have structures” said the contributer.
“Currently, the difficulty macroeconomic environment obtaining in Zimbabwe has resulted in a situation of widespread “production aversion”, where producers and entrepreneurs tend to shy away from investment in production capacities because of perceived uncertainties; costs are high leading to uncertainties about the price of the final products as to whether they can compete with similar products in the international and domestic markets. Insufficient production results in insufficient exports” states the draft.
The National Export Strategy draft is being headed by the Ministry of Industry and Commerce in partnership with Zimtrade to spur economic growth of the country. The strategy draft is also one of the steps the country is taking in order to address the economic challenges facing the country. Among the countries that export workers to other countries, Philippines exports most.
