adminMidlands Correspondent
Gweru City Council is contemplating slashing debts owed by Gweru industries by half to enable the distressed and ailing companies in the city to resuscitate as well as scale up production, the local authority’s chairperson for the finance committee, Councillor Albert Chirawu has said.
As of June, Gweru City Council was owed $17 million by the Gweru companies and industries.
Speaking during a dinner organised by the Confederation of Zimbabwean Industries (CZI) in Gweru on Thursday, Cllr Chirawu said Gweru City Council had realised that due to the dire economic situation these industries were exposed to a few years back, there was need for the local authority to reduce the burden on the companies to ensure resuscitation.
“We saw it fit in our budget for 2014 that we try to offer reprieve to the local industries. We have suggested that since the economic situation has made it difficult for the industry to operate on full throttle as well as meeting their dues.
“We have ailing industries like Zimbabwe Alloys, Bata and other industries that have a potential of turning the economy around if they get necessary support from both the Government and the private sector.
“Some of these companies were shortchanged by the dollarisation of the economy while some plunged into huge debts where they are failing to extricate themselves from.
“Our duty as the local authority is not to strangle these ailing and distressed companies but to also support them so that they revive and contribute significantly towards the revival of the economy at large,” he said.
Cllr Chirawu said the council felt obliged to slash the debt for the local companies after writing off debt for residents.
He said council was also contemplating supplying untreated water to industries in a bid to help them access water at lower rates.
“We also want to relax the payment terms for these industries. We also want to promote use of raw water by these industries because the water situation in the city is dire,” he said.
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