adminDespite the postponement, Buy Zimbabwe remains acutely aware that stronger convergence between the resurgent mining sector and rest of industry is critical to unlocking value to our country.
Indeed, the appetite for imports seems to continue unabated. Our deficit against South Africa has shot up and our current account deficit continues to worsen. That can only spell doom for our economic growth in future.
Recently the Governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, Dr Gideon Gono, spoke strongly against our seeming tolerance for a worsening import bill against dwindling export receipts.
All elementary economic understanding indicates that until and unless we begin to deal with the negative current account deficit our capability as a nation to create new jobs and support the growth of new entrepreneurs is seriously undermined. In the long run, all our investment in the development of an education system, which has become a shining beacon in Africa, will go to waste as our graduates roam the streets in search of jobs or undertaking various menial tasks totally out of sync with their skill and knowledge.
With time, social unrest becomes inevitable and this starts with what we see already in the form of overcrowded cities that cannot support their populations with basic water and sanitary facilities becoming the norm. Surely, that cannot be the Zimbabwe we want.
A visit to Beitbridge Border Post over the Easter holidays was clear testimony that by failing to deal with key economic concerns within reasonable time Zimbabwe is now biting more than it can chew.
Increasingly, it is becoming a nightmare for ordinary visitors and tourists to pass through that border post, as they have to endure hours of agony against ever rising tides of informal traders and truckers whose numbers continue to swell.
The South African immigration officials also seem to have lost their patience and instead of welcoming increased traffic are now abusive to visitors. In the end families that desire to drive to Zimbabwe for a simple holiday visit are discouraged from doing so by the combination of poor reception and delays.
While arguments have been made that suggest building additional infrastructure to support growing traffic, we wonder what the benefit for Zimbabwe would be besides creating a more efficient way of impoverishing our country.
Given this sad state of affairs, Buy Zimbabwe hopes the Ministry of Finance can take advantage of the current review of our tax system and laws to align them to the development needs of Zimbabwe.
While we notice a need to ensure that current loopholes within our tax system are eliminated, we wish to see equal efforts to ensure that we use tax legislation to stimulate economic growth and encourage job and wealth creation. At present our tax regime does not incentivise companies that contribute to community development or invest in enterprise development particularly for the youth.
Recently, we heard of a case in which our local companies were denied an opportunity to support an infrastructure rehabilitation programme at one of our major national hospitals because Government could not provide them with tax relief. As it is, all efforts that are undertaken by private companies in support of alleviating poverty, creating new jobs or training young entrepreneurs are solely at the discretion of that particular organisation.
As a result, few companies take an active interest in engaging in activities that complement the State’s own programmes to ensure that our youths secure jobs and that they are given necessary skills to become their own bosses.
Sadly, the result is that our poverty levels remain high and disposable incomes that are also critical to the regeneration of industry and commerce continue being depressed.
Our tax system is thus a useful starting point in incentivising the private sector in particular to direct their budgets to activities that align with key national goals.
With the right incentives it also becomes possible to push for increased local procurement, support graduate trainee programmes, funding of youth entrepreneurship initiatives and related incubation arrangements.
Our neighbour, South Africa, has found a way to structure taxes in ways that speak to aspirations of the country.
The current deputy president of the ANC, Cyril Ramaphosa, through Shanduka Black Empowerment Group has done sterling work in taking promising young entrepreneurs, training them and eventually securing funding for them to start businesses.
The key to his model is tax breaks given to companies that fund Shanduka. As Zimbabwe we have demonstrated on numerous occasions our ability to pioneer thinking on different fronts. Through the land reform programme and creation of community trusts we have given impetus to our communities to succeed. What is now required is to ensure that the private sector is an essential component of initiatives that support the creation of jobs, wealth and pride in the country.
What may also be helpful in the process is for Zimstat to begin releasing statistics that are relevant to the common man.
On a monthly basis we need to track our national employment figures and consumption figures. These statistics not only enable organisations to plan for growth but ensure that there is national convergence on key economic issues.
The time to Buy Zimbabwe is now. Till next week God bless.
l Email: [email protected]; cell +263 77 3 751 878
Online Reporter