Online Reporter
Tapiwanashe Mangwiro
Senior Business Reporter
Zimbabwe’s leading business member organisations (BMOs) yesterday called for accelerated reforms to ease regulatory bottlenecks, improve access to credit and bolster national energy security.
The BMOs highlighted the teething issues facing businesses to Industry and Commerce Minister Mangaliso Ndlovu during the Third Strategic Engagement, which itself demonstrated the Government’s readiness to listen and address the challenges.
This also comes as Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion Minister Professor Ncube stated in his 2025 mid-term budget review that the Government would establish committees to examine regulatory issues, fees and levies charged in various sectors.
He said authorities would immediately start with the agriculture sector and gradually extend the exercise to other key areas, including retail, tourism, transport, manufacturing and energy.
These sectors, the Treasury chief noted, had a significant impact on economic growth.
Several representatives of BMOs, including the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC), the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI), the Business Council for Sustainable Development Zimbabwe (BSDZ), the CEO Roundtable, Tourism Business Council of Zimbabwe and the Confederation of Zimbabwe Retailers (CZR), attended yesterday’s engagement meeting.
The engagement underscored a shared belief that dialogue between the State and private sector is now positively impacting policy decisions.
According to the lobby groups, access to affordable financing remains the most urgent issue that requires attention for companies struggling to maintain supply chains.
“Businesses require concessionary credit windows designed for their realities,” ZNCC president Mr Tapiwa Karoro said. “Without that relief, firms are squeezed out of the formal economy and forced to scale back.”
Minister Ndlovu acknowledged the concern and said the Government, through the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, had put in place financing arrangements, such as the Targeted Financing Facility (TFF), to make working capital readily available.
But the captains of industry and commerce businesses said the interest rates were a bit steep, causing credit-based business entities to face difficulties in viability constraints.
Major concerns also centred around the issue of over-regulation.
BSDZ managing director Mr Dingane Sithole said it was time to accelerate reforms that have been on the table for years.
“Double and triple taxation is a problem and discourages businesses from being formal. A construction company faces up to three fees of the same nature to three different regulatory boards.
“This discourages compliance and forces entrepreneurs into informality,” Mr Sithole submitted.
In February 2025, during his first Cabinet meeting of the year, President Mnangagwa called for a comprehensive review of regulations to reduce the cost and bureaucracy of doing business in Zimbabwe. He emphasised that unnecessary fees, licences and permits should not hinder economic growth
The lobby groups called for a one-stop digital licencing system to ease the cost of doing business.
The minister responded that streamlining regulations is already a key element of the Government’s ease-of-doing-business reform agenda, and told the meeting that very soon, Cabinet pronouncements on those issues will be made.
The CEO Roundtable stressed that the country cannot achieve competitiveness without reliable power.
“Every outage means lost stock, higher costs and diminished consumer confidence,” said CEO Roundtable chairman Mr Oswell Binha. “We urge the Government to extend stronger incentives for renewable energy, from tax breaks to recognising large solar projects as national priorities.”
On taxation, the CZI singled out the Intermediated Money Transfer Tax (IMTT), which it identified as a “barrier” to digitalisation.
“The IMTT remains one of the heaviest burdens on formal firms,” CZI chief executive officer Ms Sekai Kuvarika said. “Reducing it to one percent on US dollar transactions and removing it on ZiG payments would encourage digital transactions and restore confidence.”
After the engagement, the BMOs said the minister took note of their proposals, pointing out that the Treasury had already been asked to examine options ahead of the next budget review.
The CZR voiced concern over the recent wave of tuckshop closures in Harare’s central business district by city authorities.
“While order is important, abrupt closures undermine livelihoods and shake investor confidence,” CZR president Denford Mutashu said. “We need structured dialogue that balances compliance with survival.”
The CZR also echoed the issue of over-regulation, saying it is fuelling informality, given that 30 licences are required to start operations in the sector.
At the end of the dialogue, Minister Ndlovu said, “These engagements are not talk shows; they must translate into measurable progress.
“Government is committed to easing the cost of doing business, consolidating multiple licences into fewer streamlined systems and creating space for private-sector investment in energy.
“We are also reviewing tax policies such as the IMTT to balance revenue needs with competitiveness.”
He added that the President has been clear that local investment must be respected and supported.
“That is why we are intensifying structured dialogue with BMOs, ensuring feedback mechanisms and involving other ministries where necessary.
“I want to assure the private sector that your voices are reaching the highest levels of Government, and that every proposal raised here will be consolidated, tracked and acted upon.
“Our goal is to ensure Zimbabwe’s formal economy not only survives, but thrives under Vision 2030,” he added.
The BMOs said such engagements were increasingly critical as Zimbabwe pursues its targets for Vision 2030, by which the country is expected to have reached upper-middle-income status.
As Zimbabwe works to expand its productive base and stabilise its economy, the meeting suggested a new chapter may be opening, one in which business and government walk closer together, tackling the same obstacles with a common goal of growth.
