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“It seems Dimaf is no longer going to distressed companies but those that are operating well. We expected funds to be given to companies that can employ about 500 people or more. We are shocked that the Minister of Industry and Commerce Professor Welshman Ncube is now running to the Midlands and Mutare without finishing the Bulawayo issue.
“Who are those companies that we are told benefited? I feel bitter because the Government is abusing us. CABS is doing what it likes over this fund. It was going to be better if this money was given to several banks to break this monopoly,” she said.
Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC) chairperson for Matabeleland Mrs Ntombenhle Moyo said the Government should come out in the open and tell people the truth.
“We feel there is no transparency in this whole matter. We demand to know the three companies that benefited. When this thing started we were working together with Government but all of a sudden there is confidentiality.
“People have suffered for too long but the responsible people are not taking the matter seriously. Can they tell people what is really happening? They are taking the people of Bulawayo for granted. CABS conditions are ridiculous and they should be done away with,” said Mrs Moyo.
But in an interview in Gweru at the weekend, Prof Ncube dismissed the widely held belief that Dimaf was a Matabeleland region project.
He said the programme was aimed at assisting struggling industries nationwide and announced that $30 million had been availed to assist Midlands companies.
“Dimaf is a Government initiative which is meant to assist struggling companies nationwide not only Bulawayo companies. Bulawayo only became the first city to benefit from the first $40 million fund, which was availed by virtue of it being the second largest city with many industries having either relocated or closed. Government continues to mobilise funds and so far $30 million has been availed to assist companies in other cities. The most probable city to benefit next would be Gweru or Mutare,” he said.
Prof Ncube said Bulawayo was given first preference under the Dimaf programme by virtue of having many companies with their headquarters situated in the city.
“Bulawayo had been the country’s industrial hub and still has companies like the Cold Storage Company (CSC) and National Railways of Zimbabwe that have headquarters there. There was an urgent need to bail out the ailing industries in that city,” he said.
Prof Ncube said Dimaf would be going to every city and town in the country giving preference to those companies in dire need of financial assistance.
He said the Government was planning to categorise cities and towns into clusters with specialised industries to make sure that every industry was resuscitated.
“Government’s plan is to put the country’s cities into industrial clusters. These clusters will help us identify what one city or town is specialising on, say if Kwekwe and Redcliff
are for steel industry, let Mutare be paper industry and so on. This will help Government to evenly distribute the Dimaf to each and every industry,” he said.
Dimaf was launched in October last year when the Government put aside $40 million to assist struggling companies in Bulawayo.
Since then the fund has been mired in confusion, which has drawn the attention of politicians, labour bodies and ordinary people.
President Mugabe has also expressed concern over the controversy surrounding the disbursement of the fund and attributed the development to bickering in the Inclusive Government.
Senior political leaders from Matabeleland region at the weekend castigated Prof Ncube and Finance Minister Tendai Biti for letting people from the region down and accused
them of turning the facility into a political gimmick.
Prof Ncube on Monday said he was going to present an update report over the issue in Cabinet next week.
Bongani Ndlovu
Online Reporter