Published by the government of Zimbabwe
7 January 2009
Harare — THE economic challenges facing the country require the development of small to medium enterprises to counter the effects of the illegal Western sanctions, a Cabinet minister has said.
In an interview yesterday, the Minister of Small and Medium Enterprises Development, Cde Sithembiso Nyoni, said SMEs were the only vehicles for translating into action the Economic Empowerment Bill that seeks to help indigenous Zimbabweans develop in business.
"The country is going through some economic challenges, but for Government to make sure that the economy is in their hands we need to support and develop SMEs," she said.
Cde Nyoni said SMEs, which are providing employment and sustenance at family level to about 70 to 80 percent of the population, have brought the best out of the people of Zimbabwe.
"The corporates or big businesses in Zimbabwe are not owned by indigenous people and if we continue to rely on the big businesses we would be going back to the colonial days.
"But the SMEs have triggered the people to think big business and have shown creativity and hands-on experience where ideas have been conceived, initiated and have grown to greater heights," she said.
Cde Nyoni said Government, although satisfied by the growth of SMEs, was aware of the need to galvanise people to move into the manufacturing sector to satisfy a growing market.
Government, Cde Nyoni said, was working out and finalising programmes to put a major thrust in developing the manufacturing sector so that the SMEs produce more.
"We would also want to encourage SMEs to go into service provision," she said.
She, however, lamented the unavailability of proper structures for SME development in the country's major centres.
"We need visibility for the SMEs and we should work at developing proper infrastructure. Because of the macro-economic situation in the country, SMEs cannot borrow from financial institutions and that is why they are found at homes.
"We, however, need to ensure that the Zimbabwean dollar recovers its value so that small businesses can see value in their activities," she said.
She commended the tourism sector, which has used the services of SMEs, buying artifacts and other materials for their booking rooms.
Cde Nyoni said SMEs should work together and form clusters to share ideas, raw materials and marketing strategies.
"The clusters would help in the development of value chains and linkages that help producers in their activities.
"We are also looking very seriously at reviving co-operatives. We need to get lessons from the past to develop our future in the growth of SMEs," she
said.
Cde Nyoni said SMEs, as engines for growth, can also provide a vehicle for development and empowerment for Zimbabweans.
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bhodlumlilo gt is damn right! The only way to remove (selected) sanctions is to get rid of murderer Mugabe and his gang of looters, murderers, rapists!
What sanctions is this person talking about? The mindset of Zanu PF officials never ceases to amaze me. Right away Zanu PF officials are busy looting fertilizer selling it on the parallel market at exhorbitant prices in USD. They loot and sloganeer about illigal sanctions just to blind the poor this time hapana takuketa.