By CHRISTINE MWAABA –
THE Zambian textile industry can become one of the country’s economic sectors that can play a major role in contributing revenues to the treasury after proceeds from copper mining and agriculture.
But the sector’s performance since the liberalisation of the economy has been below expectations.
Despite the sector having great potential to contribute immensely to Zambia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as well as the creation of jobs, its potential has not been fully tapped.
According to the Import Substitution Industrialisation (ISI) of the 1960s through to the 80s, the textile sub sector received substantial support and grew to become the biggest contributor to Zambia’s economy.
At the time, towns like Ndola and Livingstone hosted more than 100 textiles and garment manufacturing companies.
Further, companies like Serioes International in Luanshya, Mulungushi Textiles in Kabwe and Kafue Textiles of Zambia (KTZ) in Kafue were household names.
These contributed immensely to the country’s cotton value addition value chain and were critical to job creation.
However, most of the textile industries in Zambia went under after privatisation.
At present the local textile industry has not been active in production and export of finished products such as footwear and garments.
Meanwhile the Commercial, Trade and Industrial (CTI) Policy 2009 to 2014 and the Strategy Plan on Industrialisation and Job Creation identified the textile and garment sub sector as being a priority sector for Zambia’s industrialisation and economic development.
The policy stated that the sub sector is considered to be labour intensive with potential to greatly contribute to employment and wealth creation at all stages of its value chain.
It also outlined some of the deliberate measures that Government needs to put in place to support the growth of the sector.
The policy through the Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry recommended that public institutions like the Zambia Correctional Service, Zambia National Service, and Zambia Police, among others, should be purchasing 20 per cent of their uniform requirements from local manufacturers as a way of promoting the sector.
Private Sector Development Programme chairperson Yusuf Dodia said boosting the local textile and garment industry to greater heights will eventually gain ground locally, regionally and internationally.
Mr Dodia said the local textile industry has the potential to significantly contribute to the country’s GDP.
He said reinvesting in the sub-sector will scale up the growth of the local textile industry.
Mr Dodia said the opening of Mulugushi Textile plant in Kabwe is an outstanding step which will attract investment and help to develop the sub-sector.
“The rebirth of Mulungushi Textiles creates outstanding opportunities to reinvest in textile production,” he said.
Mr Dodia urged the Government to introduce incentives to investors who want to venture into the textile industry.
He expressed concern that the 2017 National Budget, which has just been approved, did not strongly take account of growing in the local textile industry.
Mr Dodia said the textile and garments sub-sector in Zambia has a huge potential to contribute to the country’s quest to create jobs and wealth for the citizens.
The Zambia Association of Manufacturers (ZAM) is of the view that there is need for the country to consume what it produces.
ZAM President Roseta Chabala said Government should set up deliberate policies that will promote the local textile industry.
She said some of the best ways to support the local textile industry is to completely stop importing a selected number of textile products.
For instance, cotton can be turned into textile products like cloth, garments that can be exported thereby contributing to the country’s economy.
“We need to ask ourselves what has gone wrong with the textile industry in this country. At some point, this sector was doing so much better,” she said.
She said the widespread importation of second hand clothes commonly known as salaula on the Zambia market is one of the major factors which are negatively affecting the local textile industry.
The other contributing factor is the failure by the Zambian textile industry to compete favourably with other countries.
Ms Chabala noted that the revival of the local textile industry will bring a lot of opportunities to hundreds of cotton farmers countrywide.
She said increasing import duty for the same product’s and raw materials will enable local firms to compete favourably on both the local and international markets, thereby contributing greatly to the country’s GDP as there will be increased exports that will help strengthen the value of the local unit, the Kwacha.
Vice President Inonge Wina said Government was eager to support the growth of non- traditional sectors like textiles.
Ms Wina said textile was one of the sub sectors that have been have been identified to the potential to create export oriented products, generate employment and enhance value addition.
“As Government, we are fully committed and resolved to promoting the implementation of policies and programmes that support the growth of the leather and textile sub sectors in Zambia,” she said.
She noted that a number of interventions have been put in place to ensure that these sub sectors are helped.
One such intervention is to support the growth cotton production which the Government is doing through the Citizen Economic Empowerment Commission (CEEC) Reservation Scheme.
The CEEC, in collaboration with the Cotton Association of Zambia, has financed and set up a small scale cotton farmer owned ginnery in Mumbwa.
Besides that, the Zambia leather value chain strategy has been developed to transform the Zambian leather industry from production and export of raw and partly produced leather products into production and export of high quality finished leather products such as footwear and garments.
Ms Wina said that Government would support the leather and textile sub sectors by creating an enabling environment for business to grow.
The Vice President urged various stakeholders to take advantage of opportunities that these sectors are offering by participating in activities that add to national development.
Ms Wina said this recently when she launched the first ever Zambia Leather and Textile Expo 2016.
One of the exhibitors at the same event Siku M Concepts, a local shoe manufacturing company, is of the view that the potential of the leather and textile industry is neither well known nor appreciated.
Siku M Concepts Director Nosiku Masese was pleased that the expo provided a platform for Small and Medium Entrepreneurs (SMEs) to showcase their products, interact and network with one another.
“We didn’t understand until the expo that the leather and textile industry has the potential which the country can fall back on when other economic sectors like copper mining fail or experience shocks as has been the case of late,” she said.
She said the expo created an opportunity for the manufacturing company to interact with various stakeholders.
“We interacted with the Cotton Association of Zambia, specifically the cotton weavers where we shall be getting our local fabrics,” she said.
She said local producers are ready to satisfy the local market if there is an enabling environment of doing business.
Zambia’s textile sub sector has had an important role to play in the country’s development.
It is good for the Zambia’s economy in terms of diversification, away from dependence on copper.
If well developed and managed, the sector is headed for a brighter future which will increase its contribution to the national economy.