Govt registers 600 co-ops Minister Sithembiso Nyoni

Walter Mswazie recently in CHATSWORTH
GOVERNMENT has so far registered over 600 cooperatives, with a combined membership of more than three million.

This was said last week by Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Minister Dr Sithembiso Nyoni during the AFM church’s Royal Queen Conference at Chatsworth, Gutu.

The conference was also attended by First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa.

“So far, we administer more than 600 cooperatives across the country with a membership of at least three million people,” said Dr Nyoni.

She said in Masvingo, people have also formed and registered fishing projects at the multi-million-dollar Tugwi-Mukosi Dam, with many beneficiaries coming from Chivi District.

The province has about 260 fishing co-operatives, of which 128 were in Chivi.

Dr Nyoni said women in church should also buy cages at the Tugwi-Mukosi Dam and be part of the fishery projects.

She said the women could also form savings cooperatives, which could be lent out to third parties at a reasonable interest.

Dr Nyoni also said Government, through her ministry, had established incubation hubs to provide platforms to equip women with different hands-on skills.

The incubation hubs are located in Harare and other major cities.

“We have enough incubation hubs that can train women on how to bake bread, whose price is now beyond the reach of many.

“In addition, we also want to promote our traditional food through cultural food festivals that we will hold next week. Our First Lady, Amai Auxillia Mnangagwa, is spearheading this.

“We also market your products at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF), provincial fairs, and I also encourage you as AFM to do your own fairs,” said Dr Nyoni.

She said Government was committed to economically empower women through the introduction of financial facilities to improve access to business funding.

The women can access funds from the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Cooperatives (SMEDCO), to boost the operations of their cooperatives.

Added Dr Nyoni: “We also have a Community Development Fund and Women’s Development Fund. This fund is accessed through the ministry.

“In every ward, we have our officers who can assist you to access financial services. In Masvingo, we have partners that work with the Women’s Bank, such as Nedbank and NetOne, which provides a mobile platform for account holders.

“Women can use their phones to apply for loans.”

Dr Nyoni also said 7 131 women in Masvingo had opened accounts with the recently established Zimbabwe Women’s Microfinance Bank (ZWMB) as part of Government efforts to promote women and community development initiatives.

She said it was critical for women to “have their own things” so that they are not oppressed by their husbands.

But she said empowered women should still be “submissive” to their husbands.

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