Govt departments rescues Show

Traditional Doves stand at HAS

By Daniel Chigundu

GOVERNMENT departments, parastatals, tertiary institutions and a few commercial banks are the only big institutions that exhibited at the just ended Harare Agricultural Show (HAS), as other companies adopted a wait and see approach on the new government.

Last year the show was dominated by Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) who occupied close to 62 percent of exhibition space while big companies only accounted for 38 percent

Although Zimbabwe Agricultural Show Society (ZAS) public relations manager Heather Madombwe tried to lie in vain that there was 98 percent uptake of space this year but the situation on the ground told a different story.

Lack of interest by traditional and usually reliable exhibitors such as Doves Morgans and Chicken Inn is said to have dealt a catastrophic blow to the 103^rd edition of HAS compared to previous version were conglomerates and multinational companies would hog the limelight.

A top Harare based economist who spoke on condition of anonymity indicated that the situation was a true reflection of what is happening in the country and added that if it were not for government firms the show would have been a total disaster.

“One needs only to move around the exhibition halls to see who the biggest exhibitor is, this year. There is one hall which is only occupied by government departments, parastatals and universities but you can still see that the stands are few there compared to last year.

“The upper part of Nelson Mandela Hall has only three stands while the lower part is visibly empty, other companies have resorted to outside stands and tents which are a bit cheaper.

“The other part of the Exhibition Park resembles a ghost town but it’s not a surprise at all because that is the same situation if you visit the industries and situation is being reflected here also,” he said.

Exhibitors interviewed by this blogger expressed disappointment with the crowd that visited the show ground saying that they did not get value for money as they realized inquiries below their expectations.

Others also took a swipe at the number of days arguing that they were too many and that they are not conducive for business.