Informal sector here to stay: Nyoni

Auxilia Katongomara, Business Reporter
THE informal sector is here to stay and regulators should stop harassing entrepreneurs but facilitate their growth to derive economic value, a Cabinet Minister has said.

In an address on the informal economy during the International Business Conference in Bulawayo yesterday, Small to Medium Enterprises Minister, Sithembiso Nyoni, noted concerns over alleged harassment of vendors by local authorities and the police and called for dialogue.

“I almost feel like taking a loud-speaker and going into the street and say please leave the vendors alone, they shouldn’t be beaten up, their goods mustn’t be taken away from them,” said the minister.

“They should be treated like business people, talk to them and some of them come from your houses. They’re people and let’s talk to them. When you start talking to them you’ll find the asset that they’re flagging as Zimbabweans”.

An estimated six million of Zimbabwe’s 13 million population are believed to employed in the informal sector where close to $5 billion is circulating.

Minister Nyoni said although government was working on formalising the informal sector, the process should not be imposed hence the need for consultation.

“We’re running workshops throughout the country to consult not just the SMEs or the formal sectors but also those that are giving services to them. The local authorities and government institutions are included to make sure that when we formalise there’s a buy in. It can’t be imposed,” she said.

Nyoni said SMEs must be celebrated and not harassed.

“The informal sector is the beginning of that process, it’s a blessing not a curse, it reflects a nation with people that are self-made who say no to going into the streets to commit crime, but people who say I’m going to think about what to sell in order to make money. So they need to be celebrated, they’re not a curse but a blessing to the nation,” she said.

Nyoni commended players in the sector for their innovation and resilience saying the group was self- motivated and needed all the assistance to grow.

She said formalisation was important to ensure increased earnings and improved standards of living.

Surveys have shown that 70 to 85 percent of SMEs are operating informally, which means they are not registered or licensed.

Minister Nyoni said formalisation was going to widen the job market and urged interested parties to assist SMEs.

She also said formalisation would assist in channelling funds to banks.