eBusiness Weekly
Last Word
The need for effective representative bodies in all economic sectors, formal and informal, has been highlighted by the present policies to manage the Covid-19 pandemic and allow a staged restart of economic activity.
The Government is more than willing to listen to the private sector, but often does not have an effective partner to listen to or else needs to use a large hall to seat delegations, often self-appointed, of a plethora of small organisations or organisations dominated by a handful of giants with the medium and smaller businesses frequently swamped or facing the problem that they cannot assign a senior manager to the meetings.
There have been major changes in the economy since the heyday of the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries and the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce. At one time industry largely consisted of a modest number of very large firms. Now a lot of manufacturing is done by a far larger number of smaller and more specialised companies, yet they all need to have their voice heard when economic policies or the actual tactics of re-opening businesses are being set.
Commerce is in an even bigger potential conflict of interest. The original Associated Chambers of Commerce of Zimbabwe was a federation of local city chambers, largely businesses in the city centres and the major towns with very similar interests. Smaller traders in the high density suburbs had their own organisation, and the Government sensibly soon after independence wanted the two bodies to unite, although needs varied.
Since then we have seen a major growth of suburban shopping centres. We have seen the basic grocery and food trade move steadily from a large number of independent supermarkets and modest sized stores to a handful of chains of giants, with the rest of commerce largely small family owned shops. Even old department stores have gone under, so we have just the giant supermarket, furniture, fast food and hardware chains swimming in an ocean of small shops, sometimes very small shops in the poorer parts of city centres and more prosperous stores in upmarket suburban shopping centres.
There is also double representation, with the ZNCC and the Retailers Association of Zimbabwe. Industry has tended to form specific sector groups, such s the Grain Millers Association of Zimbabwe. All this makes it difficult to come to a common position, or at least a common set of positions, and makes it harder to speak authoritatively on a range of issues affecting all parts of the economy.
Membership has been declining, as least as a percentage of registered businesses, as many in the new economy see little value in paying subscriptions and finding the time to participate in the jacket-and-tie meetings.
And although the informal sector is now playing an even larger role, there is little proper representation for these small and very small businesses. Some non-Government-organisations try and fill the gap, but being run by helpful outsiders rather than by tuckshop owners, and there are a variable number of small organisations, few of which have large membership or proper elections to generate a representative leadership that can effectively articulate problems and concerns.
Yet the need for something better becomes ever greater with each day.
The challenge to the organisations that try and represent huge sectors, such as all industry and all commerce, is to become relevant for everyone, right across the range. This might well require, especially in commerce, a return to multiple chambers grouping businesses in particular geographical areas or in particular sections of a large city.
There may be conflict of interests, although some of the conflict is self-inflicted, and there have been complaints that the giants try and monopolise the representation and the special programmes that are negotiated. So the CZI and ZNCC have to figure out how to restructure themselves so that every voice can be heard, even if it requires three or four levels of membership.
The conflict between the formal and informal sectors is often overblown. They can complement each other by creating the business mass that attracts more customers. One good Harare example is Avondale, possibly the worst planned suburban shopping centre, despite the intense competition for that title, thanks to its development in four separate and unconnected blocks, car parks that do not link together and with parking reserved for particular blocks of customers.
Yet starting from the early 1980s formal businesses have made serious attempts to link the interests of formal and informal traders, which culminated in a private developer managing to open a giant flea market without major objections from the neighbouring upmarket formal shops. The result is that a lot more people visit that shopping complex, bringing more business to everyone, so everyone wins.
One reason everyone wins is that business and property owners, their tenants and the informal markets do talk to each other and work out rules and deals so that no customers are driven away. You can compare this with say Newlands, on the other side of the city centre, where unregulated vending has made much of the complex unattractive to those with money to spend, despite the efforts to put in the informal craft market, and where no one seems willing to organise the sort of deals that are desirable.
Such deals can be struck. Mabelreign was losing business and shoppers until the local MP and local councillor started talking to formal and informal businesses, effective representatives came to the front and deals were made and systems put in place. The result was a resuscitation of an older shopping centre and that in turn allowed property owners and developers to find it worthwhile to pump in more money to upgrade the area.
Yet many of these negotiations and deals are very local, with zero input from the major national bodies or even their area committees. Successful programmes cannot be extended because no one else knows about them. Yet this growth of local initiative does open the door to a new federation built on strong local leaders coming together to share ideas and form common policies and initiatives.
The advent of the Second Republic has emphasised the need for better private sector articulation of needs, and for more private sector involvement in planning. Activist ministers are keen for this involvement, and do take their own steps to try and find out what is required. A good example was the recent intervention by Minister of Industry and Commerce Dr Sekai Nzenza on the very first day that the lockdown regulations were modified to exempt formal commerce and industry. The conditions were not easy to meet and she managed to assemble a meeting, find out what was the problem, and get some variation.
But it would be easier if these ministers knew who they could call to meetings, who they could trust to tell the truth and who, above all, could help strike deals because they were also trusted by the full range of those they claim to represent.
A lot of the new system requires careful articulation of ideas, willingness to find new ways of achieving old goals. It is no use to object to every change, and it is no use to expect one particular business section to run roughshod over everyone else. But it is often possible to find a solution where everyone wins, although this might involve a completely new way of thinking through the problems.
This is the challenge, and the opportunity.
