Let's celebrate Zimbabwe brands, achievers

The forthcoming Buy Zimbabwe Week promotion to be held during the final week of November will be a great national bonanza filled with lots of pomp and fanfare.

Designed to celebrate the joys of nationally and locally recognised brands, the success of the promotion banks on the collective sentiment and support of every Zimbabwean.

I am talking about the same manner that we rallied behind the warriors in that memorable 3-0 win over the Lone star of Liberia in a 2012 Africa Cup of Nation's qualifier.

I am also referring to how we have finally acknowledged Stephen Muzhingi after cruising to an emphatic win in the Comrades Marathon for a record third time.

Clearly, Zimbabwe is a country with a lot of great exploits and there is no need for us to continue to wallow in self-pity at the expense of celebrating one another.

When we celebrate our achievers in the sporting arena we should also celebrate the arts and indeed our great local brands manufactured and designed by men and women that are committed to making Zimbabwe a vibrant economy. We definitely have some winners in our local brands.

It takes eleven gifted men to make a victorious National soccer team which sends a 60 000 strong crowd into a frenzy every time the team scores.

Imagine what the same number of proud local brands can do to an entire nation, if lots of exciting prizes and great savings are brought into the mix.

I hope you get the picture because I am painting you a portrait of FUN. The Buy Zimbabwe promotion week is designed as a cross promotion which is an assembly of some of Zimbabwe's finest brands, the Team Zimbabwe of brands that everyone ought to be proud to associate with.

Brands that have received special mention from consumers include Mazoe Orange crush, Capri Refrigerators, Tanganda Tea, the Mazda BT50, Turnall's Fibre Cement Asbestos sheets, Cascade, the TN Cash Card, Powerbrite dishwashing liquid, Panol Oil, Red Seal and ZENT Electric Motors.

These are some of the few brands that continue to fly the Zimbabwean flag high and proud.

Participating brands in the Buy Zimbabwe week are not only looking to boost sales during the festive season but are working together to reward consumers for their loyalty through reduced prices and great exciting prizes for lucky shoppers.

Furthermore, there is a lot of excitement that comes with the possibility of walking away with the big prizes.

During the week consumers will get to witness the Buy Zimbabwe insignia's association with local brands as it will feature extensively during the promotion.

Consumers who actively look out for the insignia shall be rewarded. This promotion is an opportunity to prove that Zimbabwe has an array of competitive brands on the local market.

If you can recall the sadness that gripped the nation when our senior men's senior national soccer team lost in the 2004 Nations Cup in Tunisia after Wilfred Mugeyi's infamous miss, then its not hard to imagine the heartbreak if local brands fail to compete favourably with foreign brands.

While it is important for us as consumers to focus on the tangible benefits that the brands offer, sometimes we have to afford the same emotional support that we take into the sporting arena.

Whilst attending the hand over of 50 ambulances by Willowvale Mazda Motor Industries (WMMI) recently, I learnt that they has certainly been a positive shift in mindsets towards buying local.

While there are still some people who choose to highlight the negatives of the exercise the bandwagon has already left the station and this time it's headed in the right direction.

It is only commendable that Government has set the example. Health and Child Welfare minister Dr Henry Madzorera said: "If you may allow me to be modest and say that my ministry has been WMMI's longest customer and that we will continue to do business with WMMI as we continue to support local industry in order to improve capacity utilisation."

The same admiration goes to the Finance Ministry for availing the finances to purchase the vehicles.

We now see Government, business and consumers speaking the same language of co-operation.

Only this week one of our valued Buy Zimbabwe partners actually suggested that Buy Zimbabwe should encourage businesses to buy from each other because it encourages growth.

The procurement policy of Government institutions should not just be taken as a piece of legislation but for the economic value that it promises to give Zimbabweans.

Go Zimbabwe Go . . . God Bless.

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Robert Muganda is the Media and Communications Executive for Buy Zimbabwe. Email: robert@buyzimbabwe.org.zw or buy.zimbabwe@gmail.com Cell: 0772 714 233 Website: www.buyzimbabwe.org.zw