20 000 workers lost their jobs in Bulawayo

Over 20 000 workers lost their jobs in the city of Kings [Bulawayo] in 2010 due to 87 companies closing down shops, a development that has put government under pressure to save the country's second-biggest city, a Cabinet minister has said.

Industry and Trade minister Welshman Ncube on Friday told business leaders that a seven-member ministerial taskforce set up to deal with the industrial problems would tour the whole country.

However, Bulawayo was a priority because of its legacy as Zimbabwe's industrial hub that is now on its knees.

"The (ministerial) taskforce has been mandated by the government to look at the challenges that the business community in Bulawayo is facing and, together with the business community, come up with solutions.

"Once we have done enough in Bulawayo, we will then move to other cities, but our top-most priority is Bulawayo because it has suffered more than any other city," said Ncube.

"The most affected was the motor industry, followed by the manufacturing sector and then the construction sector. In addition to closures, there are companies that have relocated from Bulawayo to Harare. A lot of reasons have been given for that, but we are not here to debate those reasons," he said.

Ncube said he chairs the ministerial taskforce committee that would also include Finance minister Tendai Biti, Agriculture minister Joseph Made, Labour and Social Welfare minister Paurina Mupariwa, Economic Planning and Investment Promotion minister Tapiwa Mashakada, and Youth, Indigenisation and Empowerment minister Saviour Kasukuwere.

"The full ministerial committee will return to Bulawayo in the first week of June to have a further conversation with business here. The whole idea of the conversation is to ascertain how much is required in terms of money. It is not just money; issues related to policy framework, for example as regards imports, are important," he said.