BUSINESS has called on the government to expedite operations of the Tripartite Negotiating Forum (TNF) to reinforce efforts towards the revival of the economy.
The forum’s mandate is to ensure consultation, cooperation and negotiation on social and economic issues by the government, organised business and organised labour.
It was formed in 2019, but various constituencies, which include the International Labour Organisation (ILO), have raised concerns over the pace at which it has been operating.
In its recent mid-term budget review, the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC) said while it remains important for the government to guard against destabilising salary increases, it should be mindful of the effect of poor remuneration on labour productivity and corruption in the public sector.
“These have their own undesirable effects, especially on the cost and ease of doing business. Therefore, a living wage for civil servants is very much in the best interests of the government. In this light the key measure on ‘Operationalising and strengthening the TNF under the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS) Pillar: Effective Institutions and Governance Pillar, should be expedited,” the business member organisation said.
NDS1 is the government’s five-year economic development plan. According to that blueprint, Harare is prioritising “social dialogue facilitates cohesion and shared national vision”, with authorities bidding to strengthen social institutions in order to reduce the country risk factor.
This also comes as the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) has said coalitions between the government and business that existed between 2013 and 2015, when the country was pursuing economic development through the ZimAsset blueprint, should be reinstated to buttress efforts to revive the economy.