Government directs resources towards tourism recovery
Hosia Mviringi
Minister of Finance and Economic Development Professor Mthuli Ncube has once again reaffirmed Government commitment to the development of tourism through a special Memorandum of Understanding to finance retooling of the sector’s value chains.
The MoU to finance the Retooling and Replacement of the Value Chain Revolving Fund, which was signed in Harare at last week is set to inject US$22,500,000 which will be made available immediately to the tourism industry players through identified partner banking institutions.
Speaking in a posting on it’s microblogging handle, the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development revealed that Treasury had engaged a number of local banks to help in the administration of the revolving fund.
“The MoU was signed between the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Environment, Climate, Tourism & Hospitality Industry, Ministry of Industry and Commerce, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, and the implementing banks namely Ecobank, FBC Bank, African Banking Corporation of Zimbabwe, and the People’s Own Savings Bank (POSB).”
The launch of the revolving fund could not have come at a more opportune time when the sector is still reeling under the effects of the pronged Covid-19 lockdowns which crippled the sector for more than two years as the sector faced an almost indefinite closure of the travel industry.
The revival of the tourism industry naturally augurs well for the country’s aspirations to see the overall economic recovery, growth, and creation of employment as key pillars of the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1) economic blueprint which runs through the 2021 to 2025 economic planning period.
“The facility can be accessed through normal channels where eligible intended beneficiaries are required to submit their requests to the implementing banks with requisite information. This is in line with the aspirations of the NDS1 to promote value chains and create jobs,” said the treasury chief in the statement.
The launch of the financing facility comes as sweet music to the ears of tourism players as it coincides with this year’s hosting of the premier travel and tourism expo, Sanganai/Hlanganani World Tourism Expo by the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA).
This year’s tourism expo is hyped as a dedicated attempt by the country’s tourism body at breathing new life into the sector which was ravaged by the pandemic through formulation and consolidation of marketing synergies with other world players.
Recent Comments