Stakeholders Urged The Government Departments to Promote and Buy Uniforms Made in Zimbabwe

Various stakeholders urged the Government departments to promote and buy uniforms made in Zimbabwe, at a two-day ‘Made in Zimbabwe’ clothing conference.
 
The Zimbabwe Revenue Authority, the Zimbabwe National Army and the Zimbabwe Republic Police were among the Government departments that came under fire at the conference, New Zimbabwe reported.
 
Jeremy Youmans, chairperson of Zimbabwe Clothing Manufacturers Association (ZCMA), said it was important that Government and other local agencies buy locally produced clothing.
 
Speakers said the Government departments should buy a certain percent of their procurements from the local industry, if they felt that domestic manufacturers did not have enough capacity to supply in large quantities.
 
Stan Mangoma, a director in the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, said it was important to support the local garment sector, and for that it is necessary to change the mind set that imported goods are superior.
 
Clothing producers claimed that they could make better quality goods for Government departments compared to some clothing imported by the various institutions.
 
They said the departments should work with domestic manufacturers to address quality and other issues, instead of importing apparel.
 
Moreover, buying locally would also spare the departments from the anxiety caused in having goods imported mainly from the Far Eastern countries, they added.
 
Meanwhile, the ZCMA has introduced a new logo with words “Made in Zimbabwe With Care”, along with an artistic design of rising sun that has the colours of the Zimbabwean flag used in sun’s rays.
 
The new logo would enable buyers to differentiate domestically made apparel and textile products from the imported ones.
 
In 1990s, Zimbabwean textile and apparel sector employed more than 35,000 people, but the number has since gone down to about 8,000 as of today. Only about 30 percent of the total capacity of Zimbabwean textile and apparel firms is currently being utilized.