The Government is set to gazette new, lower regulatory fees for three critical agricultural value chains, beef, dairy, and food processing, to make local businesses more competitive.
In an interview with The Sunday Mail, Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion Minister Mthuli Ncube said the adjustments are part of broader efforts to ease the cost of doing business. He said:
We are making very good progress. The issue really is regulatory fees; it’s not taxes… are collected by the Central Government through ZIMRA (Zimbabwe Revenue Authority) and the regulatory fees are collected by agencies, in line with regulatory processes.
So far, we have been focusing on the dairy sector, the food processing sector, but also the beef and meat processing sector.
There is a lot going on there, and very soon you will see us gazette the new fees that will really lower these fees.
In the beef value chain, stakeholders such as farmers, abattoir operators, and meat processors currently contend with a range of regulatory charges, including livestock movement permits, veterinary inspections, meat grading, and slaughter fees.
Many of these costs are imposed by different agencies, often duplicating requirements, thereby increasing the cost of formal operations.
The food processing sector, encompassing bakeries, canneries, beverage manufacturers, and small-scale agro-processors, faces a similarly burdensome regulatory environment.
Operators are required to pay for inspection services, product certification, health and safety licences, and local authority permits.
These fees are often charged annually, placing a heavy financial strain on businesses, particularly start-ups and smaller players.
Minister Ncube added that once the revised regulations are finalised for the beef, dairy, and food processing sectors, the government plans to extend the reforms to other key areas of the economy. He said:
We are moving in stages. After these three sectors, we are going to move on to the next sectors. So, we will keep going in stages.
There is a lot of work to do, but we are on to it. We really want to lower the cost of these fees.
More: The Herald
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