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Midlands Bureau Chief
The Minister of Small and Medium Enterprises and Cooperative Development, Sithembiso Nyoni has applauded President Mugabe for coming up with policies that helped reduce poverty and other socio-economic challenges brought about by the illegal sanctions among Zimbabweans. Addressing nearly 2 000 Zanu-PF supporters at Mvuma Primary School in Mvuma on the occasion of the official opening of the Chirumanzu-Zibagwe Women’s Savings and Credit Cooperative Society on Tuesday, Cde Nyoni said if it were not for President Mugabe’s policies and sound leadership qualities, most Zimbabweans would have “fallen on their faces” at the peak of the country’s illegal-sanctions induced economic woes in 2007 up to 2008.
Minister Nyoni said President Mugabe created the SMEs ministry which gave birth to a SMEs sector that created more than five million jobs and 3.7 million businesses over the years.
Most SMEs are in rural Zimbabwe, she said. “According to research carried out by the World Bank, Zimbabweans are the most resilient people who are self-reliant and development oriented.
At the height of our economic challenges in 2007 and 2008, most people could have fallen on their faces were it not for SMEs that created employment for many.
The sector created 3.7 million businesses and 5.7 million jobs. We will remain forever grateful to President Mugabe for setting up the ministry of SMEs,” she said.
Minister Nyoni applauded the Chirumanzu-Zibangwe constituency people for launching their own bank. The bank, Chirumanzu-Zibagwe Women’s Bank (Chizi Bank), was formed last year in October with an initial capital of $300 donated by Cde Auxillia Mnangagwa wife to Defence Minister, Cde Emmerson Mnangagwa.
Cde Nyoni said the SMEs sector’s savings and credit cooperatives were proving to be a crucial source of developmental capital. However, she said, the sector as whole continued to face challenges in accessing operational capital owing to stringent bank conditions.
“Women and youths have been proved to be the most disadvantaged groups in accessing finance in the mainstream financial system because of the stringent terms and conditions which include collateral, registration and updated books of accounts, among others.
Savings and Credit Cooperatives are proving to be a powerful sustainable source of developmental capital.
They mop up excess liquidity among members, the savings become a huge capital pool of funds which are then used to finance income generating activities.
The Chirumanzu-Zibagwe Women’s project should be applauded because it is an initiative that complements our efforts as a ministry of nurturing and developing the SMEs sector.
Financial institutions are concentrated in towns and cities yet the majority of the population is in rural areas. The rural population remains unbanked.
The Minister said members of Chirumanzu-Zibagwe Women’s bank were now drawing benefits from their cooperative as they were borrowing from the bank to sustain their self-help projects.
The cooperative bank was started by a group of 20 women in October last year who started the project with a capital base of $300 donated by Mrs Mnangagwa.
Barely 10 months down the line, the group has increased its membership to 153 rural women and now boasts of savings amounting to $10 000. Minister Nyoni urged the members to remain united for their banking project to grow bigger.
She said if women were united, the country was bound to develop.
Labour and Social Welfare Deputy Minister, Cde Monica Mutsvangwa and the Indigenous Women in Business Organisation President, Cde Jane Mutasa graced the occasion.
Online Reporter