Zimbabwe and South Africa should talk

South Africa’s Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act, which stipulates that 75 percent of procurement should be local to protect South African manufacturers, is against the Southern African Development Community trade protocol. The African Development bank said trade between Zimbabwe and South Africa was already biased in favour of South Africa. “To date, South Africa is only absorbing 12 percent of the country’s exports, a decline from a share of 30 percent. Suspension of the Bilateral Agreement has impacted negatively on Zimbabwe’s export revenue,” it said. In 2011, Zimbabwean companies exported R1.4 billion worth of goods while imports rose to R15.1 billion.

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