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Vice President Joice Mujuru yesterday told delegates at the International Business Conference, running concurrently with the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair, Government will “fine tune” its customs duty regime to ensure it does not frustrate industrialisation efforts.
“I believe the time has come for us to fine tune this duty regime,” she said. “Specifically, I urge the Ministry of Finance to take advantage of the mid-term budget review and ensure that we do not continue to charge duty on imported raw materials while allowing finished products to be imported duty free.
“Due to circumstances prevailing previously, we had to remove duty on a number of products.”
Industry and Commerce Minister Professor Welshman Ncube added that Government was working on a number of strategies to achieve the projected economic growth.
He said under the proposed Industrial Development Policy, Government was also considering the establishment of an industrial bank dedicated to financing short- and long-term funding to distressed companies.
“The Industrial Development Policy is set to transform the country’s manufacturing sector into a regional hub of economic growth and push the country’s capacity utilisation to 100 percent in the next five years,” he said.
Customs duty is a tariff or tax on the importation or exportation of goods.
It is understood that more than 80 percent of goods in the country’s supermarket shelves are imported. The influx of cheap imported products has affected the quick take-off of the manufacturing sector that is expected to grow by a marginal 2 percent this year.
The biggest challenge to the development of the sector is lack of funding. Zimbabwe has only managed to get a substantial amount of working capital funding from the African Export and Import Bank and the PTA Bank.
The manufacturing sector, which requires an estimated US$6 billion for revival, is expected to benefit from the US$70 million from Botswana. The Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries is negotiating with South African financial institutions to fund the manufacturing sector.
Professor Ncube said funding was critical for refurbishment and upgrading of equipment and attracting requisite skills.
Vice President Mujuru added that the economy should take advantage of the country’s stable macro-economic fundamentals for forward planning and create a stable business environment to facilitate foreign direct investment.
Zimbabwe has been on a growth path since the adoption of the multiple-currency system in 2009. This year, agriculture, mining and manufacturing are expected to grow by a phenomenal 9,3 percent.
Vice President Mujuru said Government was also in the process of coming up with policies which empower every
Zimbabwean and enhance economic growth.
She said that more attention should be paid towards infrastructure and energy development. Zimbabwe was a safe investment destination and foreign investors should invest in these areas, she said.
She added that Government would soon come up with an appropriate policy response on the Air Zimbabwe plight.
Online Reporter