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Although Prof Ncube said there was still hope the $40 million fund for the revival of Bulawayo and Matabeleland industries would come, he said some issues like obsolete equipment, changing world industrial patterns and viability of business in the  modern world should be put into consideration as some had closed down because they had outlived their lifespan.

“Yes there is still hope in Dimaf which is why we are doing what we are doing as Government. But most importantly let us not believe that all companies that closed will reopen because they were no longer viable because of issues like obsolete equipment among others which means they had been overtaken by time,” he said.

Prof Ncube said some of the industries closed because of competition challenges from the global world.

“Some companies closed because they are old and overtaken by history. These are not going to be revived and we will focus on the relevant ones because even if we give them all the money they would not reopen,” he said.

Prof Ncube admitted Government was incapacitated to fund the revival of business and called for a financing framework.

Dimaf was launched by the Minister of Finance Tendai Biti in Bulawayo last year after recommendation by the Save Bulawayo Campaign team after touring Bulawayo industries.

Under the fund, the Government was supposed to commit $20 million with the other $20 million coming from Old Mutual.

The fund has been marred by confusion and controversy since its launch and recently there were concerns that at least $3 million of the fund had been released and given to companies from outside Bulawayo although there has been no official confirmation of the beneficiaries.

About 60 companies from Bulawayo reportedly applied for the fund but the status of the applications is still a mystery as CABS, the official Government agent that is overseeing the fund, has been adamant it would not release the information.

Prof Ncube said Minister Biti only deposited $10 million on 17 April and they were waiting for the other part to start disbursing the fund.

“Surely the Government has not played its part and the Minister of Finance only deposited $10 million a day before independence and we are pushing that the other $10 million is deposited to the fund. If the $30 million that was supposed to be put last year had been deposited and another $20 million this year, that would make it $50 million which would add up to $70 million and $40 million of that is for Bulawayo and Matabeleland industries,” said Prof Ncube.

“Dimaf is part of a wide range of measures the Government is putting in place to rationalise and offer protection to local industries. We are still in the process of rationalising tariffs and the Government applied to Sadc for exemption on some issues. We will still continue to source money through Zetref and channel it through Dimaf because the Government on its own can never fully fund business.”

A number of industries are reportedly operating below capacity as funding needed to retool and recapitalise has proved elusive and expensive.

Many Bulawayo companies have either closed down or relocated to Harare as conditions for operating in the once industrial hub continue to deteriorate leaving an estimated 80 000 people jobless.

About $2 billion in fresh capital is required to recapitalise industries in Zimbabwe.