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The Herald
Mashudu Netsianda and Patrick Chitumba
A stimulus package to support companies shaken by the Covid-19 blockade will be released soon, as part of measures to prevent massive job loss and save livelihoods, said Minister of Finance and Economic Development , Professor Mthuli Ncube.
In interviews on the sidelines of his tours of the Ekusileni Medical Center in Bulawayo and the Midlands State University in Gweru, Professor Ncube said the package was intended to provide much-needed financial relief to businesses and industries reeling from the effects of the imposed blockade. to control the pandemic.
“What you will see during this overall Covid-19 response is a stronger shift toward supporting our social action programs and that is very critical,” he said.
“Another part of saving livelihoods is supporting businesses so that we can retain jobs, as we don’t want our people to lose jobs.
“We want to create more jobs, which is precisely why we want to help companies retain, expand and access working capital. He will see us in the coming weeks announcing the recovery package to address those issues and look at the space for that. “
During his tour of the MSU Incubation Center, Professor Ncube said that a $ 500 million national risk fund was already available and would provide affordable loans to young entrepreneurs and institutions like the MSU.
“Now, reaching $ 500 million, this refers to the risk fund resources that we launched as a government,” he said. “The reason behind this is that we are looking for ideas for viable projects that we will invest in that convert ideas into goods and services.”
Professor Ncube said the idea revolved around creating a business culture among Zimbabweans.
“It is nice to note that most of our universities are doing similar things in the sense of trying to be practical, proposing innovations and ideas, which is very encouraging in terms of our educational system. The fund will go a long way in supporting the growth of innovation and commercializing these institutions. ”
The government recently unveiled a $ 600 million package to support the informal sector and vulnerable households.
About a million people who lost their incomes receive support through cash transfers and food barriers.
“We already have another $ 180 a month cash transfer to cover the rolling food subsidy because if you can’t find rolling food, the option is to get cash instead of rolling food, especially those in urban areas because in We are already giving free food in rural areas and this is part of our support for the vulnerable, ”said Professor Ncube.
He said the government was working with the private sector to fight Covid-19, adding that the emphasis was on saving lives and livelihoods.
Professor Ncube said that when it comes to saving lives, it is about prevention, testing, tracing and treatment.
“Those who are out of the country will be quarantined and some of you must self-quarantine at home and all of this is designed to deal with our Covid-19 strategy, including social distancing and blockade,” he said.
“We are working on massive tests targeting at least 40,000 people next week so we can get a better sample to find out if the curve is flattening or not.”
The Minister of Public Services, Labor and Social Welfare, Professor Paul Mavima, recently issued a statement urging companies to avoid reductions, unpaid licenses and unfair dismissals during the closing period.
According to the Zimbabwe Confederation of Employers, tourism, hospitality and airlines were the most affected by the pandemic.
The tourism sector, 61 percent of whose workers are women, is bleeding as hotels, restaurants, and bars remain closed and international travel is paralyzed.
