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Senior Business Reporter
SENIOR Minister of State in the President’s Office Simon Khaya Moyo has urged quick formalisation of the informal sector to facilitate creation of a national employment database, trade statistics and local raw materials uptake.
In a speech read on his behalf by his principal director Dr Gatsha Mazithulela while officially opening the Zimbabwe Chamber of Informal Economy Associations (ZCIEA) congress in Bulawayo on Friday, Khaya Moyo said:
“As government we’re fully committed to superintend over the rapid growth of this sector because if it remains static it’ll be curtailed in its quest to play a meaningful part in the overall economic thrust of the country, which is economic prosperity, indigenisation and empowerment of the majority of our citizens.
“I therefore call upon every player in the sector to move away from the culture of informality to that of visible and formalised operations.”
The Senior Minister said it was easy for players in the informal sector to formalise their operations as they already possess the requisite entrepreneurship and trade skills in respective areas of specialisation.
“You’ve a good reputation of producing high-quality products for both the local and export markets. However, I’m aware that some of you are still comfortable with carrying out your businesses away from the scrutiny of government and regulatory authorities such as local authorities and the registrar of companies.
“There should be a paradigm shift involving the movement towards proper registration of businesses that operate in formal work spaces in order to be part of our national data base for employment levels, trade statistics and local raw materials uptake,” he said.
At present, the informal sector employs about 5,7 million people consisting of 2,9 million employed by the small and medium enterprises and 2,8 million self-employed people.
Minister Khaya Moyo said informal traders and vendors were also contributing significantly to high employment figures.
He said there were 9,800 cross-border traders whose business could be improved by opening up regional markets.
The Minister noted that Zimbabwe and Zambia, as members of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa), stand to benefit from regional trade treaties.
“That means Zimbabwe goods benefit from the Simplified Trade Regime rules only at Chirundu, and in Beitbridge these rules which facilitate the quick movement of goods across borders, don’t apply. As government we’re going to continue intensifying our negotiations with our South African counterparts so that cross-border traders’ goods obtain easier market access to the vast South African markets,” he said.
Minister Moyo said the government was aware that some of the challenges the informal sector faces emanated from constrained regulatory environment where local authorities made it difficult to obtain suitable working premises.
‘This isn’t your fault but the fault of local authorities yet this yields the untenable situation where vendors are considered to be non-law abiding public nuisances, and are then harassed by law enforcement agents which itself breeds fertile grounds for corruption,” he said.
Minister Moyo said some of the issues ZCIEA could tackle to improve its members’ business included asking government and local authorities to introduce incentives for the informal sector.
“I’m sure that you’re aware that Zim-Asset is the key economic turnaround and growth strategy for the next five years. While the informal sector hasn’t been specifically identified as a contributor to the successful implementation of the economic blue-print, I’m aware that the sector is non-the-less, pivotal as it’s a significant contributor to employment creation, value addition and beneficiation to our abundant natural resources and also to exports,” said Khaya Moyo. “It’s also noteworthy that where big companies have closed shop under the heavy yoke of economic hardships, the informal sector has stepped in to plug the supply gaps left by the closed shops.”
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