By Wallace Mawire.
Harare. (News Of The South) The Cosmetic Association of Zimbabwe (CAZ) has been relaunched with a mandate to revive standards and see the sector contributing to economic growth, according to CAZ Chairperson, Jackline Granger.
Grander said at the launch of the association, mostly attended by women who actively participate in the sector that there have been convergence of interest between the association and the Hairdressers Association of Zimbabwe (HABIAZ) working towards reviving the association.
Currently Zimbabwe’s cosmetology sector is dominated by the Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and the informal sector.
“The constitution was amended from the HABIAZ which catered for hairdressers only in 2007.The amendment led to the birth of CAZ which is a combination of hairdressing and beauty therapy under one umbrella body covering hairdressers, beauty therapists, barbers, salon owners, suppliers and interested parties,” Granger said.
She also revealed that the revival of the association has been done with the support of the National Manpower Advisory Council (NAMACO).NAMACO’s mandate focuses on skills development through education and training for sustainable economic growth.
NAMACO is a public private sector partnership which was established by an Act of Parliament in Zimbabwe under section 19 of the Manpower Planning and Development Act (28:02) of 1996.
According to Granger, the initial committee of the association went into oblivion due to brain drain and the fast changing business environment, the larger salons turned to rent a chair system and downsized operations. Some closed business and committee members dwindled hence a new executive was elected on the 18th of May 2015 to revamp the association. A new team with zeal and enthusiasm is ready for the challenges that lie ahead,” Granger said.
According to Granger, some of the objectives of the association include promoting hairdressing and beauty therapy, bringing together owners of hair and beauty salons and maintaining high standards of practice and professional conduct by all members.
Membership is expected to be drawn from qualified hairdressers and beauty therapists, barbers, apprentices and students, salon owners and suppliers.
Tendai Bare, NAMACO Chairperson Commissioner said that the association was vital in pooling members’ energies together under a single body.
“Only sector based solutions can effectively deal with sector wide challenges,” Bare said.
rning out poorly trained graduates to prematurely deal with hair and beauty issues.
“Health conditions in an increasing number of hair salons and beauty parlours are fast falling far below expectation,” Bare added.
She also said that out of a global cosmetology business value of $265 billion which is in Africa, Zimbabwe only grosses an estimated $13 million and the sector needs revamp. Bare added that the absence of professional standards has been identified as the root cause of the challenges facing the sector.
“To develop and enforce professional standards requires a professional body and by nature, this is an aspect which attracts NAMACO’s attention. The role of NAMACO in the rebirth of the association has been that of the midwife,” Bare added.
The organisation seeks to develop the structures of sector constituencies of which cosmetology is one of them. Some of the sector committees targeted by the organisation include agriculture and food processing, arts and culture including textiles, clothing and leather.
Deputy Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development, Dr Godfrey Gandawa said at the launch that the sector plays an important role in the economy of the country.
“It is against this background that my ministry is well prepared to cater for the training in hairdressing, beauty therapy and cosmetology,’ Gandawa said.
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