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Tina Musonza-Herald Correspondent

Decent workspaces are a cornerstone to the reorganisation and formalisation of the informal business sector, both the Government and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) agreed yesterday.

The Government said it was ready to push ahead with empowering sectors to fully play their roles.

SMEs had lobbied the Government to upgrade policies that guide their operations, improve their operations through licences and company registrations, and to press ahead with providing designated workspaces.

Speaking on reorganisation of the informal sector, Minister of Women Affairs, Community, Small, and Medium Enterprises Development Dr Sithembiso Nyoni said the Government agreed to refurbish existing infrastructure for legal informal businesses.

“The Government identified decent workspace as the cornerstone to reorganise the informal sector,” she said. “Workspace should be intensified through construction and refurbishment of workspaces in cities and towns, repurposing of existing workspaces in line with the needs of the SMEs sector, and promotion of public-private-partnership workspace construction.” 

Minister Nyoni said the previous conference came up with strategies to further support the formalisation of SMEs.

“In order to further support the formalisation agenda the Ministry is pursuing strategies,” she said

Secretary-general of Zimbabwe Cross Border Traders Association Mr Augustine Tawanda said engagement with the Government will help in promoting productivity, competitiveness and markets of SMEs.

“Our aim is to improve productivity and the market,” he said. 

“We hope that Government establishes a policy to guide street vendors, waste pickers, domestic workers and other informal trader’s movements legally.”

Speaking at the same event, chairman of Zimbabwe Informal Traders Council Mr Arthur Muromba expressed gratitude over Government participation in the transition of SMEs to formality.

“We are appreciative that our Government is participating in the transition,” he said. “Harare City Council has to play its part now and provide us designated areas to promote growth of informal sector.” 

A trader, Mrs Thandikile Mkwanazi, commended the Government effort to formalise their operations.

“We struggle to make ends meet, yet we have been engaged in hide and seek with police demanding fines if found in illegal spaces and we have encountered arrests and injuries,” she said. 

“Licences will end the harsh situations we have encountered.” 

Minister Nyoni said Government was mainly focused on bringing the informal sector into the main economic matrix since it was heavily affected at the height of Covid-19.

“I, therefore, call the sector to be receptive of policies and strategies being put in place by Government and reorganise itself in the transition to formality,” she said.