Business / Economy
Industrial revival package unveiled
25 Jul 2016 at 16:16hrs | Views
ANOTHER financial package aimed at reviving the country's industrial base has been unveiled.
United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) has pumped a €20,6mln onto a three year support facility towards Zimbabwe's industrialization drive.
This comes after a highly publicised Distressed and Marginalised Areas Fund (DiMAF) which was launched under the unity government as a catalyst for the revival of collapsed industry in the second largest city, flopped after government failed to mobilise its $20 million contribution to the $40 million fund, with economic analysts subsequently writing off the bailout as a solution to the city's industrial woes. The initial $20 million contribution to DiMAF came from Old Mutual.
The stringent terms of accessing funding under DiMAF, plus the $40 million was paltry to address Bulawayo's challenges.
The UNIDO facility will run from 2016 to 2019.
UNIDO chief Africa bureau LCD coordinator Edme Koffi today said the strategy will support value addition, quality infrastructure and access to comparative markets for selected value chains.
"The program of Zimbabwe focus on industrial upgrading and modernization, improvement of industrial statistics in Zimbabwe, support green development, industrial energy efficiency and renewable energy development," he said.
Koffi said the programme will also focus on pharmaceutical sector recovery and competitiveness.
Director of Standards and Quality Assurance in the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, Florence Makombe, said the programme is expected to enhance capacities on industrialization intelligence and support the design of an industrial development strategy.
"We went to support industrial policy review and set up policy framework for the implementation of industrial review. We want to support value addition, value chain and the national quality system and also support industrial guarding and modernizing programme" she said.
United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) has pumped a €20,6mln onto a three year support facility towards Zimbabwe's industrialization drive.
This comes after a highly publicised Distressed and Marginalised Areas Fund (DiMAF) which was launched under the unity government as a catalyst for the revival of collapsed industry in the second largest city, flopped after government failed to mobilise its $20 million contribution to the $40 million fund, with economic analysts subsequently writing off the bailout as a solution to the city's industrial woes. The initial $20 million contribution to DiMAF came from Old Mutual.
The stringent terms of accessing funding under DiMAF, plus the $40 million was paltry to address Bulawayo's challenges.
The UNIDO facility will run from 2016 to 2019.
"The program of Zimbabwe focus on industrial upgrading and modernization, improvement of industrial statistics in Zimbabwe, support green development, industrial energy efficiency and renewable energy development," he said.
Koffi said the programme will also focus on pharmaceutical sector recovery and competitiveness.
Director of Standards and Quality Assurance in the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, Florence Makombe, said the programme is expected to enhance capacities on industrialization intelligence and support the design of an industrial development strategy.
"We went to support industrial policy review and set up policy framework for the implementation of industrial review. We want to support value addition, value chain and the national quality system and also support industrial guarding and modernizing programme" she said.
Source - Byo24News
