Zimbabwe tops in informal trade - Minister

The Minister of Small to Medium Size Enterprises and cooperative developments, Mrs Sithembiso Nyoni has indicated that Zimbabwe was recently given a World Bank Award for being the country with the best managed and run informal sector businesses.

Speaking at a gathering of SME operators in Gwanda on Tuesday, Minister Nyoni indicated that her Ministry was given the award ahead of countries such as India and South Africa following a survey carried by the World Bank recently. According to the Minister, Zimbabwe has more than 2.8 million SMEs employing more than 5 million people which is the biggest in the block and continent.

The revelations by the Minister come at a time when the country is going through a heavy de industrialisation phase with a lot of companies closing down forcing people to resort to back yard and small scale vending businesses to make a living. In a recent release, the country's statistical office Zimstat made a claim which left many people shocked when it revealed that Zimbabwe only has a 15% unemployment rate indicating that the majority of the country's work force is in the informal and unregulated SME sector.

Minister Nyoni urged the informal traders in the Matabeleland South capital to regularise their activities by registering their operations with her ministry and other bodies for them to operate within the legal frameworks of the country. According to the Minister unregistered operators find themselves being victims of corrupt law enforcement agents who prey on them for their personal gains because of the illegal operations.

"If you do not register and regularise your operations the corrupt police and other officers will not hesitate to pounce on you to illegally confiscate your wares for their personal gains or solicit bribes from you," said the Minister.

The Minister further indicated that her Ministry has come into an agreement with the Ministry of Local Government compelling all local authorities in the country to reserve certain portion of all their commercial stands to SMEs. According to Minister Nyoni, government has also given a directive to all its Ministries to make sure that 25% of all government tenders are awarded to SMEs a move which Minister Nyoni vowed to make sure it is implemented.

Responding to questions from the attendants, Minister Nyoni urged all SMEs in the town to register their operations with her office and set up representative bodies within their sectors that will help the SMEs access government funding and programmes easily. The Minister was shocked when it was revealed to her that the Gwanda SMEs did not have any functional representative structures blaming her Ministry's officers in the town for failing to do their work by not facilitating for the structures.

Speaking at the same gathering, Minister of Provincial Affairs for Matabeleland South Mr Abednico Ncube hailed the Ministry of SMEs for the work it is doing in the town "as every SME operator in the town is now driving a car and leading a luxurious life." Speaking in the same wake Minister Nyoni castigated the Gwanda SME operators for not paying back funds that she had advanced to them through her Ministry in her last visit to the town in 2010.

The informal traders complained to the Minister over continuous harassment by the police and council for trading at un designated areas where as council was failing to provide them with alternative operating places. Those who are renting properties also complained of high rental charges by land lords and high taxes and tariffs by the local authority. Minister Nyoni promised the operators that her Ministry will prioritise the setting up of mini factory shelves and market stalls for the informal traders also promising to help the entrepreneurs access funding and training offered through her Ministry and other government departments.