The government has failed to avail the ZWL$18 billion stimulus package it promised companies in 2020 to help them recover from the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2020, Finance and Economic Development Minister Mthuli Ncube promised to bail out embattled local companies.
However, Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce president Mike Kamungeremu told Business Times this week that businesses are still waiting for the rescue package. He said:
The 2020 (ZWL$18bn) support package did not reach the businesses which needed it the most.
The rescue package was equal to 9% of Zimbabwe’s gross domestic product or 28.6% of 2020’s National Budget.
The package was aimed at assisting businesses to get back other feet following the economic slowdown caused by COVID-19.
At the time the ZWL$18 billion package was announced, critics questioned the mechanisms to fund the economic recovery and dismissed it as pie in the sky.