eBusiness Weekly
Africa Moyo
Seven months down the line, players in the hospitality industry have taken a measly $5 million or 33 percent from the $15 million Tourism Revival Fund set up by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) to finance developments in the sector.
The RBZ introduced the fund in January this year to help boost a sector critical to increasing national foreign currency earnings.
Zimbabwe is facing a foreign currency crisis, and the central bank has put up several incentivises for various sectors, including manufacturers, miners and farmers, aimed at generating more foreign currency.
In May 2016, the RBZ introduced an export incentive of between 2 percent and 5 percent to induce producers to export more.
The incentive scheme has since been increased to up to 12,5 percent, and the support for tourism sector players also seeks to boost exports receipts.
Small operators
RBZ Governor John Mangudya, told the Business Weekly that “plus or minus $5 million has been taken up under this Fund”.
“Most of the money has been taken up by small and medium tourism enterprises who want to improve their accommodation and sporting facilities, among others,” he said.
The Tourism Revival Fund was initially hit by apathy amid various claims including its poor marketing. The funds are disbursed by commercial banks and attract an interest rate of 7,5 percent.
Working capital under this Fund has a tenor of 12 months while for capital expenditure, the tenor is 36 months.
Hospitality Association of Zimbabwe (HAZ) president Innocent Manyera, conceded that appetite to access the funds has grown significantly in the last few months, with a number of applications having already been submitted to banks.
“We have been talking to our members and some have said that they have engaged their bankers and have filed applications for the funds.
“So I can say that at the moment, quite a number of our members have submitted applications so that they access the money. We have told them to engage their bankers so that they get a payback period of about three years,” he said.
Low uptake
There have been claims by some hoteliers that the low uptake of funds has been because of the limited tenor attendant to fund. But Dr Mangudya said the tenor of 12 months for working capital and up to five years for capital expenditure was reasonably long to allow a business to turnaround.
The loan facility is demand-driven and additional funds would be provided once the $15 million facility has been exhausted.
Government believes that a well-performing tourism sector is crucial to economic turnaround since it is a low-hanging fruit. In line with the Yamoussoukro Decision of 1999, the Government is opening up the air space to allow more airlines to fly into Zimbabwe.
More airlines flying in
Several top international airlines such as Kenya Airways, Ethiopian Airlines, RwandAir, Emirates, South African Airways, South African Airlink and Proflight of Zambia, are already flying into Zimbabwe.
Some airlines have increased frequencies as the economic environment is improving under President Mnangagwa’s administration.
Further, the Government has opened up local routes such as Harare-Bulawayo, for local airlines such as FlyAfrica Zimbabwe and fastjet with a view to increasing transportation options for travellers.
Today, fastjet launches its inaugural flight into Bulawayo from Harare, in a move expected to boost both the industrial and tourism sectors in the southern region.
