Bulawayo, (New Ziana)-Zimbabwean micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) have been urged to regularise their operations, pay taxes and obtain operating licences in line with government efforts to formalise and improve working conditions in the sector.
The Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution for Bulawayo province, Judith Ncube, made the call after touring the Highlanders Safe Market site together the Swiss ambassador to Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi, Stephane Rey on Thursday.
She said the rehabilitation of the market represented the broader government vision of creating dignified and formalised trading spaces for informal traders.
The City of Bulawayo received US$200 000 from the Swiss government for the reconstruction of the Highlanders Safe Market to build urban resilience and ensure safe markets, a project which will see the installation of sheds for traders operating at the site.
In addition to the US$200 000 that it extended to the City, the Swiss government pledged avail US$8 million to other local authorities for future urban resilience programs.
Ncube commended the partnership between the Swiss embassy and the Bulawayo City, saying the project would significantly improve working conditions for MSMEs.
She said the government appreciated the cooperation from development partners as the country pursues its vision of becoming an upper-middle-income economy by 2030.
“As government, we value the cooperation that we are receiving from various stakeholders as we seek to transform our country into an upper-middle-income economy by 2030,” Ncube said.
Ncube commended the Swiss government for extending funding towards the rehabilitation of the Highlanders Safe Market, saying the support demonstrated confidence in the city and country at large.
She said the rehabilitation of the market aligned with the government push to ensure informal traders operate in clean, organised and dignified environments.
“As a government, our desire is to see informal traders working in a dignified environment, and the transformation of the Highlanders traders’ market speaks to the dignity that we want to see across the city,” Ncube said.
Ncube implored informal traders to regularise their businesses by paying taxes and licensing fees, saying this was critical for national development.
She said formalised trading spaces had already transformed livelihoods in the city, citing the Bulawayo Chamber of SMEs, where some traders were now producing goods for export markets.
Ncube also called on residents and businesses to work closely with local authorities to restore Bulawayo’s economic standing and support government’s industrialisation agenda.
She said the government was moving towards establishing special economic zones in the city as part of efforts to reignite industry and stimulate investment.
“There is an opportunity for us as a city to make sure that we work together through the identification and also making sure that the special economic zone principle is actually applied.
“If we are not very careful, in the next three to four years, we will be the fifth economy in the country. We are the second. So let us take this opportunity when government says we have special economic zones that are going to be there to reignite industry,” Ncube she said.
New Ziana
