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Dr Killer Zivhu

Herald Correspondent
Cross-border traders have thanked President Mugabe and First Lady Dr Amai Mugabe for ensuring that they get a $15 million facility from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe to enhance their operations. Speaking at a meeting with hundreds of cross border traders in Kadoma yesterday, Cross Border Traders Association president Dr Killer Zivhu said they were now expected to contribute meaningfully to the economy.

The meeting was meant to create awareness of the RBZ facility among the cross border traders, with two other such meetings having already been held in Harare and Victoria Falls.

“The money for our businesses is now available and this has happened for the first time in our history,” said Dr Zivhu. “This could not have been possible if the President and the First Lady had not intervened after noticing our potential and the problems we were facing in enhancing our businesses.

“We want to thank them for managing to identify our role within Zim-Asset, which includes our potential to bring foreign currency when we sell our wares in markets outside the country.”

Dr Zivhu said RBZ governor Dr John Mangudya and Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa were also instrumental in ensuring that the cross border traders got the funds.

“As cross border traders, we view Dr Mangudya as the best RBZ governor since 1980 because he came to our rescue by offering this facility which comes at one percent interest rate,” he said.

“We are saying many of our problems as cross border traders will be solved through this facility and we can now show our potential in our trade.”

Dr Zivhu said cross border traders wanted land to be availed to enable them to build houses and appealed to Amai Mugabe to help in that regard.

He said most of the cross border traders were women, and they felt at ease approaching the First Lady, who is also the head of the Women’s League in Zanu-PF.

“We have started a programme as cross border traders we have termed “My Dollar My Stand, My Dollar My House” in which we encourage our members to save money for residential stands and houses,” said Dr Zivhu.

“Through this programme, we hope by depositing a dollar each day in a fixed account, many of our members will be able to buy a stand and build a house in the near future.”

Dr Zivhu said youths were also welcome to join the programme.

Cross border traders held a meeting with Amai Mugabe at her Mazowe Children’s Home in 2014, where she noted their contribution to economic programmes like Zim-Asset.

Dr Zivhu urged the cross border traders to live within their means and ensure they put funds they get from the $15 million facility to good use.

The facility is being handled through RBZ’s subsidiary Homelink and Agribank.