Clothing industry hit by staff shortages

ZIMBABWE clothing industry has been hit by a shortage of fabrics resulting in the shrinking of jobs in the sector, players in the industry have said.

Instead of 30 000 employees, the sector now employs only 15 000 employees due to the economic challenges facing the country.

“The sector has the capacity to employ 30 000 people but only 15 000 are employed at the moment due to problems down stream,” said Silas Morgans, a chairman of the Bulawayo Clothing Manufacturers’ Association.

He said at the present moment there was insufficient capacity in the spinning and weaving sector in the country.

Morgans said the industry was facing shortages of fabrics, which had been exacerbated by foreign currency shortages.

“There is not enough fabric and this is our biggest constraint. If we had foreign currency, we would have imported material to fill the void.”

He said the shortage was hampering the sector’s potential to export into the region, particularly South Africa, where there is a lucrative market.

The amount of lint for processing on the domestic market is also inadequate to cover the sector, which suspected the policy stipulating that 30 percent of national lint should go to local spinners before export, was not being complied with, he said.

“We are not confident the policy is being complied with. We encourage the National Cotton Council to monitor the movement of lint,” said Morgans.

He said three was no reason for fabric shortages in the sector given the good cotton crop the country produces.

Zimbabwe produces around 300 000 tonnes of cotton in a good rain season.