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The Government is prepared to assist school-leavers and retrenchees to set up businesses and income-generating projects as a way of reducing unemployment, a Cabinet minister said recently.
Retrenchees have expressed fears about entering the informal sector due to the high interest on loans from banks as well as high operational costs and restrictive council by-laws.
Small and Medium Enterprises and Co-operatives Development Minister Sithembiso Nyoni told New Ziana that Government was prepared to provide school-leavers and retrenchees with loans to set up businesses.
“People must organise themselves into groups and each one will receive amounts ranging from US$500 to US$5 000 depending on the size of the project,” she said.
Minister Nyoni said her ministry did not have a special fund for retrenchees but anyone interested in setting up a business was free to apply.
The Government has been the main financier for small- scale operators who cannot afford the expensive short-term loans offered by the banking sector.
Zimbabwean companies continue to retrench as they juggle to cut costs while struggling to increase capacity utilisation which had plummeted during the past decade.
High rentals charged by property owners and restrictive council by-laws have proved a burden for SMEs. — New Ziana.