The Sunday News
Judith Phiri, Sunday News Reporter
THE Government has urged Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to embrace the new way of doing business that is being advocated for by President Mnangagwa so that they can keep abreast with new ways of doing business.
Speaking at the Bulawayo SMEs Solution Workshop yesterday held at a hotel, Women’s Affairs, Gender and Community Development Minister Sithembiso Nyoni said most of the challenges SMEs were facing were because they were still living in the old era.
“Most of you are still living in the Mugabe era and have not moved to the Mnangagwa era because a lot of the constraints you are facing emanate from the fact that you are still living in the past and not the new era. You need to understand that the President wants to elevate us under the new mantra ‘Zimbabwe is open for business’, this includes everybody. In the new era we say zero tolerance to corruption, any official whom you approach and are reluctant to assist you do not hesitate to report them, the ministry’s door is open because we are now living in the new dispensation,” she said.
Minister Nyoni said the prevailing challenge has shown that the country needs more players in the manufacturing sector than before so that the few manufacturers doing business now do not take advantage of the market.
“The disappearance of commodities has created space and opportunities which SME’s need to take up. The ministry in collaboration with the Bulawayo Chamber of SME’s has convened this meeting to explore ways and that means SMEs can be capacitated to contribute meaningfully to the production of various commodities, which are in short supply and help in solving this temporary crisis,” she said.
The Minister of State for Bulawayo Provincial Affairs, Cde Judith Ncube said in order to overcome the prevailing crisis SMEs had to work together.
“We are aware of the difficulties being faced by businesspeople during this time in our economy. I urge that we work together as the Small and Medium entrepreneurs of Bulawayo to take up the opportunities that are availed to us and put our province back on the map as the hub of industry in the country,” she said.
In an interview, Bulawayo Chamber of SMEs chairman Mr Energy Majazi said SMEs should register as members of the board and also take part in such workshops so as to come up with practical solutions to the challnges they are facing.
“We urge our SMEs to be bona fide members because initially we had 2 600 SMEs registered but only about 60 are active and compliant which is really pathetic.”
