By Derick Tsimba

The Ministry of Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises and Cooperative Development has developed a strategy to reopen registered and organized micro enterprises ensuring sustainability in the post COVID-19 period, the Harare Post can report.

Yesterday in the twentieth Cabinet meeting decision matrix, Cabinet was briefed that the Ministry of Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises and Cooperative Development has developed a strategy to reopen registered and organized micro enterprises. The strategy helps to formalize the sector and ensure sustainability even in the post COVID-19 period.

“The strategy will involve a phased approach based on micro-enterprises market hubs. Each individual market will be required to satisfy the COVID-19 public health guidelines, which include testing for temperature at entry points, sanitization, mandatory wearing of face masks and social distancing in the market.

“The markets will be expected to have adequate water for hand washing and ablution facilities. Alternatively, mobile toilets will be made available,” said the Cabinet meeting decision matrix.

 “Only registered micro-enterprises will be facilitated to access the ZW$ 500 million SMEs Support Fund put forward by Government to aid the recovery of the sector.

“Cottage industries are also expected to start operations subject to meeting the same COVID-19 conditions for opening of all businesses in general,” said the decision matrix.

Government is stepping up efforts to ensure the country’s economy is back on track despite the challenges it faces from the global pandemic, as it continues to experience lock down regulations restricting movement and the operation of some of the economic sectors.