TREASURY channeled $2.5 billion in direct support to Government ministries and departments as part of interventions to mitigate against the impact of the deadly Covid-19 on the delivery of public service.
Finance and Economic Development Minister, Professor Mthuli Ncube, revealed this during his virtual address to the 55th Annual Meetings of the Boards of Governors of the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the 46th Annual Meetings of the African Development Fund, which ended Thursday.
He told delegates the country remains under lockdown following the outbreak of the deadly pandemic in China early this year, which has seen Zimbabwe recording nearly six thousand confirmed cases, including 4 872 recoveries and about 155 deaths. Besides loss of life, Covid-19 has destabilised the economy through supply chain disruptions in trade, tourism, productivity, supply chains and other global integration mechanisms. The situation has also dampened public service delivery as frontline workers face transmission risks, which requires increased resources towards preventive measures.
“To this end, direct support amounting to ZWL$2.5 billion went to various ministries/departments,” said Prof Ncube. He explained that the funding has been directed towards aspects such as: Covid-19 risk allowances, additional employment coats from recruitment of additional staff to fight the pandemic, capacity building and training of health personnel, procurement of health and laboratory equipment including consumables, procurement of personal protective equipment, rehabilitation and construction of isolation centres, drilling of boreholes by DDF as well as production of face masks and sanitisers by higher learning institutions.
Over and above these resources, and in line with the regional bank’s crux indaba under the theme: “Building Resilience for a Post-COVID-19 Africa” the government of Zimbabwe has also unveiled a ZWL$18.2 billion Stimulus Package, amounting to 28.6 percent of the 2020 National Budget. The Package is aimed at scaling-up production levels across all sectors of the economy, addressing the constraints faced by a large section of small-scale industries and improving health facilities.
The package was allocated as follows: agriculture sector support ($6.1 million), working capital fund for industry ($3.0 billion), mining sector facility ($1.0 billion), SME support fund ($0.5 billion), tourism support fund ($0.5 billion), liquidity from statutory reserves ($2 billion), health sector support fund ($1.0 billion), broad relief measures ($1.5 billion), Covid cash transfer ($2.4 billion), as well as arts and sport grant ($0.2 billion)_The Chronicle
