ZNCC Retrenches Top Managers

Industry lobby group, the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC) has embarked on a major restructuring exercise with a view to revamping the organisation which will result in top managers losing their jobs.

The restructuring, which started early July this year and coincided with the Supreme Court’s three-month notice employment termination ruling, has already cost a number of top managers their jobs, sources said. More than 20 000 workers have been retrenched owing to the July 17 Supreme Court ruling that empowered employers to fire employees on three-months’ notice.

Insiders say the exercise is meant to make ZNCC robust in policy advocacy and is expected to be completed by the end of the month. The process comes as the lobby group’s presence and participation in the economic discourse was waning.

Responding to businessdigest this week, ZNCC CEO Chris Mugaga would not be drawn to comment on the full impact of the restructuring exercise on human resources, but indicated the broader strategic goal of the ongoing process included influencing policy direction by being well-represented each time government makes a trade decision relating to signing agreements, as well as increasing the membership base.

“We also want to lobby for the protection of this economy from cheap and substandard goods that have flooded our market,” Mugaga said, adding an annual review for the 2015 event would be hosted by the lobby group later this year.

Mugaga said the chamber currently has 5 000 members compared to peak levels of 20 000 members in 1999.
“The drop in membership can be attributed to economic decline and the dominance of small businesses in the economy which don’t seem to appreciate the significance of lobbying,” he said.

ZNCC is a business association that represents a wide variety of enterprises countrywide, across all economic sectors. The organisation will celebrate 120 years of existence later this year.

Zimbabwe Independent