Online Reporter
Business Reporter
More than six in ten approved business reforms have now been implemented across 12 economic sectors, Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube announced in Parliament today, as the Government moves to consolidate gains from a year-long regulatory overhaul.
Presenting the 2026 Mid-Term Budget Review, Professor Ncube said 61 percent of the approved reforms relating to licences, permits, levies and fees had been actioned as of June 2026, following President Mnangagwa’s January 2025 directive to reduce the cost of doing business and eliminate unnecessary regulatory burdens.
The reforms span agriculture, wholesale and retail, tourism, transport, energy, telecommunications, broadcasting, construction, financial services, manufacturing, health, and mining – all sectors for which Cabinet has now completed its review process.
“The review includes removal of unjustifiable and redundant licences and permits, the streamlining of duplicative and overlapping regulatory requirements through the consolidation of licensing functions under single regulatory authorities, as well as the review and reduction of fees and levies that were increasing the cost of production and service delivery,” Professor Ncube told Parliament.
In the transport sector, reforms already gazetted include the scrapping of the Road Access Fee, with first-time motor vehicle registration slashed from US$500 to US$50, change of ownership reduced from US$515 to US$95, and route permits cut from US$75 to US$20. The requirement for garage inspection reports, which previously cost US$25, has been removed entirely.
The mining sector has seen licence fees for artisanal and small-scale operators pegged at a fraction of the rates charged to large-scale firms, while in the livestock sector, 96 regulatory fees will be eliminated or significantly reduced after it emerged that a typical small beef farmer faced regulatory costs exceeding 400 percent of annual revenue.
The Government has also introduced measures to harmonise and cap similar fees across local authorities to address disparities, enhancing consistency, predictability and transparency within the regulatory framework.
To consolidate the gains, a mopping exercise is now under way to review licences, permits, levies and fees not covered during the first phase, as well as those applicable to sectors outside the priority review programme. Stakeholders are encouraged to raise any outstanding policy, regulatory and structural issues affecting sector performance.
Going forward, Cabinet has approved additional measures requiring all proposed regulatory fees and administrative requirements to undergo a Regulatory Impact Assessment by the National Competitiveness Commission prior to implementation, to prevent regulations that impose unnecessary costs on businesses.
“In the short to medium term, Government will undertake a comprehensive review of the regulatory institutional framework to determine the optimal configuration of regulatory bodies required to effectively discharge regulatory functions while minimising the burden on businesses and the economy,” Professor Ncube said.
The review will be guided by international best practices and the need to establish a more efficient, transparent and investment-friendly regulatory environment.
The Government is currently finalising the requisite legislative and administrative instruments to facilitate the full operationalisation of the approved reforms.
