The First Lady of Zimbabwe, Auxillia Mnangagwa, has launched an appeal to financial institutions urging them to provide cheap and affordable loans to women in the construction sector or women-led companies as they are better options with trusting qualities such as sincerity, accountability perseverance, hard work and being averse to corruption.
Speaking at the launch of the Zimbabwe Building Contractors Association (ZBCA) Women’s Desk where she was appointed patron of women contractors, the First Lady noted that the construction sector globally is a male-dominated industry even as certain governments have put policies and laws that promoted gender parity in the construction sector in place. She pointed out the importance of the construction sector and why it is a sector that needs more women.
“The theme for this launch is in line with the Government’s policy on gender. Section 56 of the Zimbabwean Constitution provides a framework for the protection and promotion of the rights of women and the girl child in Zimbabwe. The construction sector is an important sector for our country.
“It is responsible for the building of schools, hospitals, roads, dams, airports and other infrastructure and social amenities that are required for economic activity to take place. It is therefore important to know that this sector is a bigger contributor to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country” she said.
According to the First Lady, investors world over are comfortable in doing business with a country that has a well-structured framework to accommodate women in general, encouraging higher participation from women in the industry after bemoaning the low number of women involved there. She tasked women to contribute their quota to building Zimbabwe and urged more participation in the construction industry while appealing to financial industries to support women and help their development in the construction business.
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