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Munyaradzi Musiiwa, Midlands Correspondent
MORE than 7 000 underprivileged and vulnerable people including informal traders whose businesses were affected by the coronavirus-induced lockdown in Midlands Province have received aid from Government to cushion them during the period.
Midlands Province registered more than 15 000 small to medium enterprises and informal trader whose businesses were affected by the lockdown. Government recently announced it had secured a $600 million cushion for vendors, informal traders and small businesses whose operations have been affected by the lockdown and the money will start coming in this week.
Minister of State for Midlands Provincial Affairs Senator Larry Mavima said 7 000 people in the province have so far received the aid from Government and 8 000 others will receive the money this week.
“As a province we submitted 15 000 names to Government and we are happy that 7 000 of those people have already received the money and communication that we have received is that the other 8 000 will be receiving their money next week (this week),” he said.
Sen Mavima said more names will be compiled so that vulnerable people in the province can benefit.
“The 15 000 shortlisted beneficiaries are not the only ones that are going to benefit. We are going to add more people because we realised that some people were left out. We also do not want people who take advantage of this because if you benefit from the fund while you do not qualify under the criterion used we will definitely institute legal proceedings,” he said.
Sen Mavima said the province’s biggest Covid-19 referral facility, Gweru Provincial Hospital will be ready to start handling cases in the next two weeks. He said renovations were underway and the taskforce was waiting for equipment and material imported by Unki Mine to be installed before the facility becomes fully operational.
“As a province we have refurbished Gweru Provincial Hospital so that if we have a case people will be treated there. The facility should be ready in a week or two,” he said.
The hospital received R10 million from Unki Mine to refurbish and convert some wards into Covid-19 treatment facilities.
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