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Sikhulekelani Moyo, Business Reporter
BULAWAYO City Council (BCC) is partnering with informal sector representatives and Government departments in developing and providing a conducive business environment that will see the growth of micro, small, and medium enterprises.
In his presentation during the launch of Catalysing Economic Development through the Informal Sector (CEDIS) Programme in Bulawayo last week, BCC representative from the city planning department Dr Shelton Sithole said creating a conducive business environment will help to grow the informal sector and promote formalisation which will contribute to economic growth.
“As the city of Bulawayo, we say the informal sector is here to stay, it can never be wished away, it is now the economy and it will remain an integral part of us for a very long time. Hence, we felt the need to align our policies and our practice to MSMEs planning and development.
“We work so much in hand with the Ministry of Women Affairs, Community, Small, and Medium Enterprises Development, we have an apex board that is comprised of the ministry, and our associations, which represent various informal traders who engage in the informal sector issues within the city,” said Dr Sithole.
He said the apex board also includes the Zimbabwe Republic Police and eight departments from the City of Bulawayo.
Dr Sithole said they have aligned their daily activities to the SMEs policy of 2020-2024, which will promote the formalisation of MSMEs through reviewing regulations, awareness campaigns, incentives, and direct support as well as workspace provision and infrastructure development.
Bulawayo Vendors and Traders Association (BVTA) executive director Mr Michael Ndiweni said BCC has been doing well in terms of coming up with policies that support the growth of the informal sector.
Mr Ndiweni said many Memorandums of Understanding have been signed between the City of Bulawayo and the associations that represent SMEs.
“Signing the MoUs define how traders co-operate with the city and it helps to avoid playing hide and seek with the authorities,” said Mr Ndiweni.
“This contributes to the CEDIS by integrating the work of informal traders in the city of Bulawayo, truly we are going to measure the contributions made by associations or informal sector actors to the local economic development.”
Mr Ndiweni also said there is a need to decentralise and digitise licensing services as many traders shun licensing and compliance due to costs associated with the procedure. — @SikhulekelaniM1
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