present bigger plans that also transform them to big companies, Small and Medium Enterprises and Co-operatives Development Minister Sithembiso Nyoni has said.
Speaking during a tour of SMEs in Mutoko on Friday, Minister Nyoni said the appeal had given the small businesses a chance to prove that they could also grow into bigger companies if given adequate assistance.

“Let us have factories in Mutoko to produce our own raw materials rather than always buying finished products from big cities like Harare.
“Local leaders must embrace the vision of Zimbabwe, which is growth coming from bottom-up rather than a top-down approach.

“Our President (Mugabe) is a visionary . . . he is the only one in Africa to think of coming up with this ministry.
“As we speak, more than 500 growth points have grown to that state thanks to the President,” she said.

The minister was speaking to local administrators, councillors and traditional chiefs from Marondera, Mutoko, Murehwa, Goromonzi, Uzumba-Maramba-Pfungwe and Mudzi who were part of the delegation.

She said that there would be concrete Government support towards the SMEs as this was vital for economic growth.
She said a law that empowered her ministry to manage affairs of SMEs would be in place soon.

“With this law, we will ensure that something that is not well planned like the Murambatsvina do not happen again.
“We would like Mutoko to grow in an organised way, where SMEs become the basis for the indigenisation process.”

Minister Nyoni said the Government expected all growth points in the country to grow into people-centred towns in five to 10 years.
“Government is planning to adopt the SME model for countries such as India and China, where the SMEs have become the backbone of the economy . . . even some African countries have a good SME base, but what will be distinct with the Zimbabwean SMEs is integrity and cleanliness.

“If Mutoko can adopt this system successfully, then definitely the growth point can become a town,” she said.
Minister of Women Affairs, Gender and Community Development Olivia Muchena supported SME growth.

“What we have learnt today is that if SMEs have an organised structure, it makes growth easier, benefiting local authorities and Government.
“Urban development should not radically change the culture of people, but it should support the local identity and improve it,” she said.

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