Online Reporter
Africa Moyo
Deputy National Editor
DOMESTIC resource mobilisation, including through taxation, is critical for Zimbabwe and other African countries to close the gap created by the withdrawal of donor support, Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube, has said.
Upon taking office in January this year, United States President Donald Trump temporarily suspended almost all foreign assistance as part of his “America First” agenda.
He said the US will not continue “to blindly dole out money with no return for the American people”, a development that has left mainly the health and education sectors in Africa at risk of collapse if innovative internal resource mobilisation programmes are not adopted.
In an interview, Prof Ncube said there was a need for Zimbabwe and other African countries to explore ways of generating funds to plug the holes left by the suspension and/or withdrawal of official development assistance (ODA).
But some people in Zimbabwe, especially some social media warriors, have been expressing concern over the increase in taxes, saying they were making products more expensive.
Asked for his thoughts on Zimbabwe’s taxes, Prof Ncube said they were necessary to support development.
“You know what, I think it’s fair to say, colleagues (to say) all countries, especially African countries, are under pressure,” he said.
“So, there’s need to do something about domestic resource mobilisation. And this is to support critical sectors like health, education, social protection, including productive social protection in agriculture.
“These are critical sectors that we hold, where 60 percent of our citizens are impacted. If you think of the Pfumvudza/Intwasa programme, for example, there is 60 percent of the population that lives in the rural areas, and they need to be supported. So, all these kinds of taxes, not regulatory fees which go to agencies, go towards such programmes.”
Some of the taxes include the sugar tax, fast food tax, betting tax on winnings and tax on plastic carrier bags.
The sugar tax introduced in the 2024 National Budget, saw US$8 million being mobilised in the first half of last year, with the funds deployed towards the procurement of vital cancer diagnosis, care and treatment equipment, and medication for public hospitals countrywide.
Prof Ncube said taxes by the central Government are budgeted for by Parliament and their use is known by everyone.
He explained that in the health sector, for example, the drop in ODA as a result of cuts in funding that supported HIV/AIDS programmes, requires a complete rethink to save the millions of people in need of services such as anti-retroviral therapy.
“ . . . I am pleased that some of the taxes will go along and plug those holes,” he said.
Zimbabwe has about 1,2 million people on ART and health experts say that if donor funds, mainly from the US, are eventually cut, some lives could be lost.
Zimbabwe is one of five African countries to have achieved the UNAIDS 96-95-95 targets, which mean 95 percent of people with HIV know their status, 95 percent of those diagnosed are on ART, and 95 percent of those on ART have achieved viral load suppression.
The move to freeze foreign aid by the US threatens the progress that Zimbabwe has made in the last two decades.
To save the situation, additional measures are required to fund the sector.
UNAIDS director of data for impact, Dr Mary Mahy, has warned that the impact on the HIV response could be extreme, with the world expected to record about 6,3 million AIDS-related deaths between this year and 2029.
There are also fears that about 8,7 million new HIV infections could be reported globally.
Peter Tanyanyiwa