The ManicaPost
Rumbidzayi Zinyuke Senior Business Reporter
Women in Manicaland have called on the Zimbabwe Women Empowerment Bank (ZWMB) to relax requirements for them to access loans to ensure that they start benefiting from the projects they have lined up.
The bank, which opened its doors last year, is one of the measures put in place by Government to empower women by ensuring that they access money at concessionary rates.
Speaking at a Zanu-PF Manicaland Women’s League inter-district meeting held recently, provincial chairperson Cde Happiness Nyakuedzwa said women were ready to kick off their projects but lack of resources was delaying them.
“We have been urging women to take a chance in empowering themselves and so far we have 6 000 women who have opened bank accounts with the Women’s Bank in Manicaland. They have applied for loans but processing of the loans and the requirements are taking too long. Inflation is depreciating the value of the loans so that by the time the money comes, we cannot do much with it,” she said.
“We are appealing to authorities to relax some of the requirements and processes so that women can get their loans on time and use the money to improve their livelihoods.”
Cde Nyakuedzwa said some of the women’s applications were being turned down due to lack of collateral.
She said women in the province were ready to take up empowerment projects rolled out by Government and urged the Ministry of Women’s Affairs and the Women’s Bank to facilitate the release of the inputs.
Zanu-PF launched the projects in August, which saw women from all 26 constituencies in the province being trained in bread making and confectionery, petroleum jelly making, shoe polish and floor polish making.
A $2 million revolving fund for the projects has since been disbursed by the Women’s Bank through the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development and each province is set to receive $200 000 seed capital.
“We have women who have already prepared their Dutch ovens ready to start making bread for sale, but they are still waiting for inputs. Once they are capacitated, we will see a change in the lives of so many women in this province,” she added.
