Govt fails to avail promised ZWL$18bn

BUSINESS REPORTER

 

Finance and Economic Development Minister Mthuli Ncube, has failed to avail the promised ZWL$18bn stimulus package for companies to recover from the adverse effects of Covid-19 pandemic.

Two years ago, Ncube, promised to bailout embattled local companies.

But, captains of industry told Business Times this week that Ncube has not released the promised rescue package, two years after making the announcement.

“The 2020 (ZWL$18bn) support package did not reach the businesses which needed it the most,” the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce president Mike Kamungeremu told Business Times this week.

The rescue package was equal to 9% of Zimbabwe’s gross domestic product or 28.6% of 2020’s National Budget but with inflation that amount was reduced to a pittance.

The ZWL$18bn package was aimed at reinvigorating the economy and providing relief to businesses impacted by the economic slowdown caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

There have been questions on the mechanisms to fund the economic recovery and stimulus package with some dismissing it as just hot air.

Last year, Zimbabwe received US$960m windfall from the International Monetary Fund, to help the ailing economy deal with adverse effects of Covid-19 pandemic. The government says part of the money would be deployed in some sectors of the economy.

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