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Farirai Machivenyika Senior Reporter
THE National Assembly portfolio committee on Youth, Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment has called on Government to adequately capitalise the National Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Fund to ensure it performs its role of facilitating empowerment deals for Zimbabweans.
The call was made by the chairperson of the committee and legislator for Gokwe Nembudziya Cde Justice Mayor Wadyajena when he presented the committee’s report on their analysis of the funds allocated to the ministry in the 2014 budget.
“The committee recommends that the NIEEF be adequately capitalised to enable it to amortise the debts it accrued due to the non-release of the funds which were due in 2013 and to perform its statutory function of facilitating indigenisation transactions,” Cde Wadyajena said.
“More funding should be availed for the Youth Development and (Employment) Creation Funds to accelerate development of the youths, stampede the empowerment process and create employment,” he said.
The ministry was allocated US$44,4 million from a bid of US$85,5 million while the NIEEF was allocated US$2,2 million out of a bid of US$10 million. The fund has US$1m debts.
Cde Wadyajena said inadequate funds would hamper the indigenisation programme, the cornerstone of Government policy.
“This small allocation provided to the fund coupled with the absence of the requisite approval from the Minister of Finance to authorise the NIEEF to collect an ‘Empowerment Levy’ will negatively impact on NIEEB’s empowerment programmes for 2014,” he said.
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