adminBig economies such as that of the United States and the European Union are benefiting immensely from the growth of SMEs that are contributing more than 60 percent in employment, 40 to 60 percent to GDP and 30 to 60 percent to exports.
In Zimbabwe although the statistics are not readily available, it is a fact that the greater percentage of those workers that were retrenched by companies as they scaled down production or closed, were absorbed by the SMEs or the informal sector.
Bulawayo which was the hardest hit among the country’s major cities, had more than 80 companies closing leaving more than 20 000 workers jobless.
Most of these former workers have set up their own businesses, some using the little money they got as retrenchment packages. What is pleasing to note is that the city is fast running out of space for SMEs, a confirmation of the sector’s rapid expansion.
The SMEs do not require huge amounts of money as working capital and this explains why most of them are thriving despite the country’s liquidity challenges.
The Government, in an effort to create a conducive environment for the growth of SMEs, has come up with the Micro, Small to Medium Enterprises (MSME) Act which repealed all laws deemed subversive to the growth of SMEs. Under the new Act, 25 percent of all contract suppliers to Government, local authorities and State Enterprises is set aside for SMEs.
The challenge now for local authorities such as the City of Bulawayo is to provide operating space to SMEs.
Many buildings in Bulawayo are lying idle following the closure of many companies and we totally agree with Minister of Small to Medium Enterprises and Co-operative Development, Sithembiso Nyoni that such buildings should be availed to the SMEs.
The owners of these buildings should lease out the buildings to SMEs at reasonable rentals while waiting for the promised re-opening of some of these companies. Government is working on a number of schemes meant to revive Bulawayo companies and as we wait for these schemes to come to fruition, SMEs should be using the idle buildings to grow their businesses.
We have already stated that big economies are relying on the SMEs and Zimbabwe cannot be an exception. The SMEs have the potential to meet the economy’s domestic needs as well as exports and all that is required is the support.
The SMEs have already demonstrated that they are a very organised group by the setting up of the Chamber of Small to Medium Enterprises which has already opened chapters in Bulawayo and Harare. We have no reasons to doubt that more chapters will soon be opened in other centres.
The issue of availing idle buildings to SMEs which have become the city’s lifeline should be addressed urgently.
The owners of buildings have no reasons to refuse with the buildings as the proposed arrangement does not only preserve their buildings which have started decaying but also provides them with regular income.
The owners of the idle city buildings, we want to believe, are, like the rest of the city’s residents, worried by the state of affairs in the city and should therefore do all within their powers to help Bulawayo survive.
We want to once again implore owners of idle buildings to put the interests of the city’s residents first and avail their buildings to SMEs whose expansion and growth could address most of the challenges facing the city’s residents.
Online Reporter