Treasury to commission SMEs study
TREASURY plans to commission a study on the operations of small to medium enterprises (SMEs) to ascertain the sector’s needs so as to come up with adequate supporting policies, a Cabinet Minister has said.
Speaking during a debate in the Senate recently, Finance and Economic Development Minister, Patrick Chinamasa, said inclusion of women and the youth in mainstream economy was crucial in developing a solid economic base.
“We are talking about women, youth, economic players who are in the informal sector. Clearly, we cannot leave women behind and in this case they are very much in the forefront of informal businesses,” he said.
“I am going to commission a study to do a survey of the informal sector. We have got a regional company, which is specialised in conducting those surveys.
“We are doing a survey of the informal sector. We want to know how many they are. We also want to know what specific activities they are doing, the environment, and the location - are they under a tree or in some accommodation.”
On the basis of information that will be gathered, Minister Chinamasa said Government will be able “to form informed decisions”, which can be the basis of policy formulation.
“So we will do this undertaking. We also want to know how many women, how many are the youth, the elderly, and the disabled? Are business people in the informal sector? If I may make reference to a contribution made later. All that information will be very useful to formulate our policies,” said Minister Chinamasa.
In a related matter a non-governmental organisation, Proweb Zimbabwe, has embarked on a business training and mentorship programme for women entrepreneurs in Bulawayo.
Executive director Mrs Sithabile Mangwengwende said the training was meant to equip women with business skills and training them to have knowledge about the business aspect in order for their businesses to be viable.
“We have been coming to Bulawayo for the past three years and in this workshop we are mentoring women with business skills and giving them knowledge about the business aspect in order for them to be successful in their businesses,” she said in an interview last week.
“Women are excited about this programme and the response is very encouraging because they are eager to be given the skills. I urge women to fully commit themselves because their business lives can be changed for the better.” FIDELITY Printers and Refiners (FPR) has introduced an additional facility for small scale miners in which those who opt to be paid in bond notes will receive three percent more of their earnings.
This incentive is in addition to the five percent export incentive that all producers are already enjoying for bringing foreign exchange into the economy. Miners were mainly paid in United States dollars for gold delivered to RPR, a Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe subsidiary.
The new development was revealed last Wednesday during a workshop for small scale miners organised by the Environment Management Agency (EMA) in Gwanda, Matabeleland South.
FPR’s customer relations officer, Mr Bhekilizwe Manyathela said those miners who prefer to be paid in bond notes were eligible to getting the incentive. “This does not mean that you don’t get paid in US dollars if your want them. It only applies to those who opt to be paid in bond notes. Even if you said a certain percentage should be in hard currency and the other in bond notes you still get your incentive. However, for those who opt to have their money transferred to the bank they will have a five percent incentive,” said Mr Manyathela.
He, however, said miners were free to get their money in any currency they wanted without any restriction.
“You are free to get your money in any currency you prefer. The issue of bond notes is not imposed on you but it’s a voluntary thing, which has been incentivised,” he said.
Meanwhile, small scale miners appealed for a grace period from EMA to allow them to operate before submitting an Environment Impact Assessment report and being licensed.
“The money being asked for is too much for us. You should remember that we are poor and have no means hence we ask for a grace period so that we first mine and sell our gold then pay the fees. We are not saying EMA should not ask for that but if it gives us such an incentive our sector will grow and we might meet the gold producing target,” said Mr Leonard Moyo, a miner in Gwanda. — @ richardmuponde