Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion Minister Mthuli Ncube has announced that the government will begin gazetting a series of legal instruments this week to implement new measures aimed at reducing the cost of doing business in Zimbabwe.
In recent months, the government approved a review of licences, permits, levies, and fees across several sectors, including tourism, agriculture, and the retail and wholesale industries.
This follows a directive from the President instructing Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) to implement ease-of-doing-business initiatives across 12 key sectors within six months, starting at the end of July.
The targeted sectors are health, agriculture, retail, tourism, transport, energy, manufacturing, broadcasting, telecommunications, liquor, construction, and financial services.
However, despite approving the review, statutory instruments to give legal effect to the changes have not yet been issued, meaning there has been no formal reduction in licences, permits, levies, or fees.
Speaking on the sidelines of the recently concluded pre-budget discussions in Bulawayo, Minister Ncube said the government is now ready to “walk the talk” on these reforms. He said:
“In terms of legal effect to support the pronouncements I have made in reducing the cost of doing business, these will start trickling in from next week.
“You will see individual ministries announcing new fees and procedures through SIs, and some of these will also be reflected in the Finance Act proposals in the upcoming Budget.
“The implementation process will be gradual to allow ministries to align their fees and regulations with the broader national reforms. Next week, we will delve into the energy sector.
“So far, we have done parts of agriculture, retail, wholesale, transport, and tourism. We’ll continue until we cover all major sectors, including services.”
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