adminLeonard Ncube in Victoria Falls
RESERVE Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) subsidiary, Homelink Finance has pledged funding for locally-driven business projects in Matabeleland North and invited chiefs to assist in coming up with viable proposals.
Chiefs and their assistants from the province attended a three-day training workshop in financial literacy last week whose aim was to capacitate leadership with entrepreneurship skills to be able to start and manage projects in their areas.
The workshop, was organised by Homelink Finance and the National University of Science and Technology (Nust) Centre for Continuing Education.
It is the third such training after two similar meetings were held in Matabeleland South and Bulawayo recently.
Homelink Finance channels and operations manager, Ms Busisiwe Mashoko, said her organisation was prepared to finance income generating projects in the country’s communities.
“The main thrust is to go to communities that we believe have the capacity to increase rural capacities and what we have realised is that for economic empowerment to happen, we have to go and get support of opinion leaders, who are chiefs in this case.
“All we want to do is to inculcate a culture of entrepreneurship and we want the chiefs to go to the village and educate people about benefits of running business and export to other provinces,” said Ms Mashoko.
She said traditional leaders should lead in identifying potential projects in their areas, which can be turned into revenue streams for their districts and the country at large.
“We look forward that after this programme, we will have various projects because we want empowerment to go to our communities. Choose your main priority project and work on what you want to do, how much is needed and when we come back we would want to see tangible things that we can put money on,” she said.
As part of the training, which was facilitated by Nust lecturers in the Centre for Continuing Education Messrs Vincent Mnkandla and Andrew Sibanda, the chiefs were made to outline resources available in their districts and identify one they would want to be financed on to start a project.
Chiefs from Umguza said while they have vast arable land and livestock as potential projects, they would want to start a goat project.
They said the Anglican Church had offered them 100 goats hence they need funding to kick start the project.
Bubi chiefs want to venture into recreation by building a recreational centre to be used for hosting conferences and social events.
In Lupane, the chiefs said while they want projects in gas extraction, animal husbandry, and others, they would want to start with timber processing. Chiefs from Nkayi said cattle fattening will be a better project for them because of vast pastures while those in Tsholotsho opted for Safari and photographic ventures.
Hwange chiefs said they wanted to start a cultural centre with accommodation facilities while those from Binga indicated that they would want to venture into fishing.
Matabeleland North is regarded as one of the richest provinces basing on availability of natural resources, which are however not fully tapped into.
The chiefs are expected to draw budgets and present to Homelink Finance for funding. Once successful, the projects will transform the economy and lives of people in the province and the country as a whole, in line with President Mnangagwa’s vision for a middle income country by 2030.
@ncubeleon
Online Reporter