adminCletus Mushanawani Mash Central Bureau
FIFTY women from the eight districts in the province last week participated in a training workshop for cross-borders on trade agreements.
The two-day workshop was facilitated by the Ministry of Women and Youth Affairs. Officially opening the workshop, Minister of Women and Youth Affairs, Minister Sithembiso Nyoni, said the workshop was an important milestone in the understanding of trade processes and facilitation policies as well as other programmes that are designed to benefit women who are often unaware of such policies. The training programme will cover all the country’s 10 provinces.
“The focus is on the practical side of cross-border trading. That is the real women in business who are crossing the borders and trading their different wares for the benefit of their families, communities and the nation.
“This programme avails an opportunity for women to interact with policy makers and influence the design of appropriate policies and programmes that will ultimately benefit them,” she said. Minister Nyoni said cross-border traders who should be called small-scale importers and exporters are key stakeholders in the fulfilment of the country’s economic growth and prosperity.
“The reality is a clear indication that for the nation of Zimbabwe to achieve sustainable economic growth, special attention should be given to the needs of women in the trade sector,” said Minister Nyoni.
She added: “Government has therefore embraced the critical need to capacitate women entrepreneurs as they are the cogs driving the Zimbabwean economy.
“Women cross-border traders should be able through this workshop to appreciate the advantages of passing through official designated entry and exit points.
“They should be capacitated to complete the necessary paperwork and gain knowledge on how to protect themselves against unscrupulous officials who entice bribes.” She said identifying and removing barriers that inhibit women from contributing to trade and economic growth gives women in the trade sector the opportunity to contribute to economic recovery and growth.
“Developing interventions that support the economic empowerment of women through trade facilitation will help address the challenges brought on by the prevalence of poverty in Zimbabwe especially among women.
“Generally, women find it difficult to deal with customs and trade officials at our various ports of entry. They also find it difficult to access information on rules and regulations that govern the entry of various goods into the country’s borders,” said Minister Nyoni.
Minister of State for Mashonaland Central Provincial Affairs, Advocate Martin Dinha, who was represented by the Provincial Administrator, Mr Cosmas Chiringa, said women’s equal participation in economic growth was not only a demand for justice or democracy, but could be seen as a necessary condition for women’s interests to be taken into account.
“Without the participation of women at all levels of the economy, the goals of economic growth, development and sustainability cannot be achieved, hence the need to empower cross-border women,” he said.
Online Reporter