MR. ZVIDZAI: Mr. Speaker Sir, I wish to really applaud the Minister for very strong and commendable passion around helping the poor to come up; I represent Gweru urban in the centre of the country. This constituency used to be a proud industrial area. We have got colleagues here who represent Intuthu Ziyathunqa (Bulawayo), Harare and Norton in which these huge companies were the backbone upon which the SMEs rode. They were the basis for the success of the SMEs. Zimbabwe Alloys, for example in Gweru, a major ferrous alloy producer in the country used to employ about 6000 people but downstream, also assisted the small scale person like the small scale welder, the small boogie park manufacturer, you know myself as well and hot metal handling processes. We used to thrive because there was something bigger that we were riding on.
The Minister of Industry and Commerce is battling at the moment as well, trying to find money to make sure that the formal sector is working so that it can assist the informal sector. I thought and I still believe that there is a strong relationship and there should be a strong synergistic approach to SMEs and big businesses. They need each other for success. So, if we believe that the elephant is ugly because the ant is more beautiful, I do not think things should work that way, Mr. Speaker Sir. I propose then that as the Minister of SMEs works on her strategies for success of SMEs, there must be an exchange of love letters with the
Minister of Industry and Commerce because it is necessary that these two work together for the success of the SMEs. Without that, we will celebrate fragmentation of these huge institutions that provided jobs, helped in a big way to drive the economy and fund the fiscal demands of the nation. I think honestly that yes we must celebrate SMEs but yes too, there must not be animosity between SMEs and large industry. Thank you Mr. Speaker.
MRS. NYONI: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. I honestly do not know where the hon. member got it from that there is tension or enmity between SMEs and big industry. The contrary, hon. member is true. When we launched this formalisation, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce was there to receive people who had graduated from my Ministry. One of the mandates or instruction that we gave, the encouragement that we give to SMEs and big companies is that there has to be linkages.
An economy that encourages the development of SMEs parallel to the big industries creates a dual economy. A dual economy has never worked anywhere. An economy works when there is synergy between SMEs and big companies. Therefore, my Ministry has a programme that we call the backward and forward linkages with big companies. That is very important. The point you raised is very important, the elephants and the ants must work together provided the ants do not get into the trunk of the elephant, because it could then kill the elephant vice versa.
Your point is valid; we need to work together and my Ministry has a linkage programme. Those who graduate from SMEs, medium to large, are already connected to their sisters and brothers and we want that connection to remain. I will give you an example, one of the companies we graduated was a retail company that started as a tuck shop, grew into a general dealer, a supermarket and now it has a chain of supermarkets and a wholesale. It orders its products from SMEs such as candles, peanut butter, honey, work suits and furniture. This is a success story of my Ministry nurturing someone from a tuck shop to somebody who now links with other producers within the SMEs sector. Thank you.
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