$300m funding backlog for Women’s Bank

The Women’s Microfinance Bank has a funding backlog of $300 million for approved business loans and needs more resources to be allocated if it is to achieve its mandate of promoting women empowerment especially in marginalised communities, chief executive Dr Mandas Marikanda has said.

Appeared before the sub-committee on State-owned Enterprises and Parastatals of Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee, she said the bank had provided loans to at least 92 000 people across the country since it opened its doors in 2018 but the $250 million allocated in this year’s budget had been exhausted by mid-year.

The bank is wholly-owned by Government. “As we speak now we have a $300 million deficit for funding for approved projects so we continue to ask for more resources to enable us fulfil our mandate,” Dr Marikanda said.

The bank relied totally on Treasury for funding as funds from other sources was expensive and would make loans inaccessible to intended beneficiaries. The bank’s target was to be self-sufficient in five years if it was adequately resourced with capital.

Appearing before the same committee, the general manager of the Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe, Mr Tongai Muzenda urged the committee to lobby on its behalf for its removal on the US sanctions list, he said has crippled its operations.

The MMCZ has been sanctioned by the US government’s Office for Foreign Assets and Control and has had its funds frozen.

“Because of the sanctions we have been operating in an uneven field and this has affected our operations,” he said.
Because of the sanctions Mineral Marketing had to terminate an arrangement with the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority where it collected mineral royalties on its behalf.

He also said Government had approved plans for it to construct its own laboratory to test mineral quality to ensure the country was not prejudiced of potential revenue.

The Government laboratories where they usually conduct their tests was facing shortages of equipment compromising their work.

Apart from constructing their own laboratory, the MMCZ, he said would also procure mobile testing equipment to enable them carry out the required tests at mining sites.-The Herald