News / Local
Company closures in Bulawayo, Welshman Ncube came to the rescue
26 Aug 2011 at 06:11hrs | Views
Company closures in Bulawayo went largely unaddressed, until the new Industry and Commerce Minister Welshman Ncube tabled the matter in cabinet early this year.
A Cabinet meeting in April asked Ncube to lead a taskforce to find solutions to the crisis.
Ncube said about 75 companies that were operating in Bulawayo had either closed or relocated to Harare in the last two years.
"There are lots of companies that left Bulawayo: 46 companies in the motor industry, 24 in the clothing industry and one pharmacy have closed down while three other companies ' National Foods, Hunyani and StarAfrica didn't close but relocated to Harare," he said.
President Robert Mugabe, speaking days after attending the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair in the city in June, accused Finance Minister Tendai Biti of sitting on $250 million received from the IMF, which could be used to prevent more company closures.
"Mutare, where 10 factories closed, is now doing better than Bulawayo where 75 companies are almost closing.
"Some of the companies need small amounts ranging from $500,000 to $2 million, yet Biti is continuing to give empty promises," Mugabe said.
But Biti insists that while the deindustrialisation has been most severe in Bulawayo, company closures were happening countrywide.
"The economy went through almost 12 years of devaluation, industries were deserting the country en mass as inflation reached its worst levels," he said.
"Industries all around the country found it very hard to operate. However, now that we are slowly reviving our economy it is now critical for all stakeholders to come together in this revival scheme.
"We have in the past given Bulawayo a lot of money, in the 2011 budget we gave local authorities $32 million to be divided among them. I understand that for some reason best known to them some of that money is still yet to be used but what I should emphasise is that we will continue funding all projects targeted at the overall development of the Matabeleland region."
Local business tycoon Delma Lupepe estimates that company closures have resulted in the loss of over 20,000 jobs over the last decade.
A Cabinet meeting in April asked Ncube to lead a taskforce to find solutions to the crisis.
Ncube said about 75 companies that were operating in Bulawayo had either closed or relocated to Harare in the last two years.
"There are lots of companies that left Bulawayo: 46 companies in the motor industry, 24 in the clothing industry and one pharmacy have closed down while three other companies ' National Foods, Hunyani and StarAfrica didn't close but relocated to Harare," he said.
President Robert Mugabe, speaking days after attending the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair in the city in June, accused Finance Minister Tendai Biti of sitting on $250 million received from the IMF, which could be used to prevent more company closures.
"Mutare, where 10 factories closed, is now doing better than Bulawayo where 75 companies are almost closing.
"Some of the companies need small amounts ranging from $500,000 to $2 million, yet Biti is continuing to give empty promises," Mugabe said.
But Biti insists that while the deindustrialisation has been most severe in Bulawayo, company closures were happening countrywide.
"The economy went through almost 12 years of devaluation, industries were deserting the country en mass as inflation reached its worst levels," he said.
"Industries all around the country found it very hard to operate. However, now that we are slowly reviving our economy it is now critical for all stakeholders to come together in this revival scheme.
"We have in the past given Bulawayo a lot of money, in the 2011 budget we gave local authorities $32 million to be divided among them. I understand that for some reason best known to them some of that money is still yet to be used but what I should emphasise is that we will continue funding all projects targeted at the overall development of the Matabeleland region."
Local business tycoon Delma Lupepe estimates that company closures have resulted in the loss of over 20,000 jobs over the last decade.
Source - newzim
