Business demands probe into Dimaf

Prosper Ndlovu Senior Reporter—
THE Bulawayo business community yesterday demanded a full scale investigation into how the Distressed Industries and Marginalised Areas Fund (Dimaf) was used, saying the city was still in the dark as to who benefited from the $40 million facility. Presenting their challenges to the Minister of State for Provincial Affairs in Bulawayo, Cde Nomthandazo Eunice Moyo, at a well attended meeting at

Mhlahlandlela Government Complex boardroom, businesspeople said the Government should account for Dimaf before talking about setting a new financing structure for the city.
Industrial financing, debts owed to utilities and impact of imports, dominated the proceedings of the meeting, which was meant to brief Cde

Moyo on the situation in the city’s companies ahead of today’s visit to Bulawayo by the Minister of Industry and Commerce, Cde Mike Bimha.
Dimaf has been shrouded in controversy since its inception in October 2011 with the then Minister of Finance Mr Tendai Biti of the MDC-T being accused of deliberately refusing to release the funding.

President Mugabe also said constant bickering by MDC-T ministers during the inclusive Government denied Bulawayo firms the opportunity to benefit from the facility.

“There is a need to take full stock of Dimaf money and find out how it was used because we want transparency when dealing with the Government on funding issues,” said Cde Charles Chiponda, a local businessman and Zanu-PF Bulawayo provincial secretary for indigenisation.

“We want to know what impact that funding made because we cannot afford to pump fresh money on companies that have reached their full lifespan. Support should be given to upcoming business with the potential to grow.”

Local businessperson and former Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC) Bulawayo branch chairperson Mrs Ntombenhle Moyo said city businesspeople were still bitter about how Dimaf, which was set up to assist Bulawayo companies in 2011, was administered.
“I was the chairperson of Dimaf in Bulawayo but I do not know anyone who benefited or where the money went. There was no transparency in the whole issue until we gave up talking about it,” said Mrs Moyo.

Affirmative Action Group (AAG) deputy president Mr Sam Ncube said Dimaf did not make any impact towards resuscitating industries and urged the Government to set a new industrial turnaround package for Bulawayo, which would prioritise key sectors of the economy such as the rail and power generation industries.

Cde Elifasi Mashaba, a local businessman, said Bulawayo people should be allowed to lead the process of reviving industries and complained that Dimaf failed to make an impact because it was administered by people who lacked understanding of the city’s business environment.

The chairman of the Grain Millers Association in Bulawayo, Mr Thembinkosi Ndlovu, said local industries, despite having capacity to meet domestic demand, were being suffocated by cheap imports that have flooded the market.

The participants expressed concern over the spate of litigations affecting their businesses that were struggling to clear debts owed to different service providers and meet statutory obligations to organisations such as the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority and National Social Security Authority.

They called for Government intervention on the issue and requested for a statutory respite for a certain period to allow recovery.
Astra Building Centre manager Mr Jabulani Nkomo, son to the late Vice-President Landa John Nkomo, urged the business community to rally behind Cde Moyo and utilise her office to unlock Government support for Bulawayo firms.

The business community said Bulawayo required a new business model that is anchored on the provision of incentives that would attract investors and retain the skilled labour force.

Others said the city needed to improve its connectivity with the global world and called for a speedy opening of the new terminal at the Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport to improve accessibility into the city.

Livestock farmers complained that cattle buyers and abattoirs were cheating them through deliberate reduction of prices, which leave them with peanuts.

In her response, Cde Moyo vowed to take the concerns up and urged the business community to support her.
“Bulawayo belongs to us all and no one will fight our war. Complaining will not help but doing something will take us somewhere.

“I will take up your concerns and I need your support also. We will discuss these issues with Minister Bimha tomorrow,” said Cde Moyo.
“We need to be aggressive and not give up easily. I support the idea to set up a think tank committee that will push the cause of the city’s industry.

“Let us work together to deliver and bring change to Bulawayo. Our firms are interlinked and if one collapses, others are affected.”
Cde Moyo said the meeting equipped her with information that she needed to lobby Government and engage different stakeholders towards revamping the city’s economy and creating jobs.