Online Reporter
Nqobile Bhebhe
Zimpapers Business Hub
FOR years, the debate around regulation in Zimbabwe has largely centred on the number of licences, permits, fees and approvals businesses must navigate.
But a more consequential question is now emerging: What does regulation itself cost the economy?
Industry estimates that regulatory compliance accounts for about 18 percent of production costs, putting a significant burden on companies that must simultaneously invest in machinery, technology, skills and productivity while competing for markets at home and across increasingly integrated regional and continental economies.
The issue has now moved to the centre of the Government’s industrialisation agenda, with the institutionalisation of regulatory impact assessment (RIA) across the public sector emerging as one of the key instruments for ensuring that new laws and regulations do not inadvertently add to the cost of doing business. For the Zimbabwean industry, the significance goes beyond reducing paperwork.
The quality of regulation can influence whether a company expands, delays an investment, adopts new technology, enters an export market or redirects capital towards other opportunities.
It is against this backdrop that the National Competitiveness Commission (NCC)’s second competitiveness summit in Bulawayo placed regulatory reform and ease of doing business at the heart of discussions on building a more competitive economy.
Vice President Kembo Mohadi said the urgency of regulatory quality had increased because Zimbabwe was operating in an economic environment characterised by rapid change.
“The summit comes at a critical moment in Zimbabwe’s economic transformation journey,” he said.
“We are operating in an environment characterised by volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity. An environment that makes traditional planning complicated.”
He said the changing environment made the quality of the regulatory framework increasingly important. “In this volatile and dynamic environment, the quality of our regulatory framework matters greatly,” said VP Mohadi.
“How we design, implement and continuously review our laws, regulations and administrative processes will determine, to a significant extent, how effectively we can unlock the productive potential of our economy.”
Industry and Commerce Minister Nqobizitha Mangaliso Ndlovu said the Government was embedding regulatory reform within its broader industrialisation strategy.
“For the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, this agenda is further operationalised through the Zimbabwe National Industrial Development Policy 2 (ZNIDP2) 2026-2030, the Local Content Strategy 2026-2035, the Consumer Protection Policy 2026-2030 and the National Quality Policy 2026–2030,” he told delegates at the summit.
“These frameworks recognise that industrialisation and competitiveness require an environment in which businesses can invest, innovate, access markets, adopt new technologies and compete on a fair and predictable basis.
“A key development in this regard is the institutionalisation of regulatory impact assessment across Government. RIA strengthens the quality of policymaking by ensuring that proposed regulations are properly assessed for their economic and social implications before implementation.”
That marks an important change in approach.
Instead of waiting for businesses to identify the consequences of a regulation after it has taken effect, RIA provides a mechanism for examining those consequences before the regulation becomes law or policy.
“We expect this approach to strengthen evidence-based regulation, reduce unnecessary regulatory burdens and improve the overall business environment,” said Minister Ndlovu.
He said Zimbabwe’s regulatory reforms, therefore, need to support participation in regional and global markets. “Our competitiveness agenda must also be viewed within the context of the African Continental Free Trade Area and the broader regional and global economy,” he said.
“As markets become increasingly integrated, Zimbabwe must ensure that its regulatory standards, customs and trade facilitation systems enable our businesses to compete effectively and participate meaningfully in regional and global value chains.”
For exporters, regulatory efficiency is, therefore, closely connected to market access.
Standards, certification, customs procedures and trade documentation can determine how quickly and cheaply products move across borders.
Minister Ndlovu said reforms should also recognise the realities facing smaller enterprises.
“We must, therefore, move decisively towards smarter regulation — regulation that is proportionate, predictable, transparent, digitally enabled and responsive to the realities of business, particularly our micro, small and medium enterprises,” he said.
Industry and Commerce Permanent Secretary Ambassador Tadeous Chifamba said industry was already feeling the impact.
“Competitiveness lies at the heart of industrial development. Industry players have indicated that the cost of regulatory compliance, estimated at approximately 18 percent of cost of production, has increasingly affected the competitiveness of the sector,” he said. “Smart, predictable and efficient regulatory systems are, therefore, imperative. Regulation must become an enabler of productivity and innovation rather than a constraint on enterprise.”
Ambassador Chifamba said mineral beneficiation was now a central component of industrial policy.
“A central and new focus of ZNIDP2 is the strong and structured emphasis on mineral value addition and beneficiation as a manufacturing imperative,” he said. “We can no longer be content with exporting raw materials; our minerals must contribute meaningfully to domestic industrialisation and employment creation, technological development and economic growth.” Ambassador Chifamba said the recently launched ZIDA (Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency) e-Regulations Portal was intended to make regulatory requirements more transparent and easier to navigate.
“The recent launch of the ZIDA e-Regulations Portal represents a significant step forward in improving transparency and reducing bureaucratic bottlenecks,” he said.
“This digital platform is designed to cut bureaucratic hurdles by providing transparent, step-by-step guidance on regulatory procedures, making it easier for investors to navigate the business environment.”
The potential benefit of digital platforms lies not only in convenience. The Government is also examining the direct financial costs associated with regulation.
“In August 2026, Cabinet approved a wide-ranging review of licences, permits, levies and fees, which included removing unnecessary levies and reducing unjustifiably high fees in all key sectors of the economy, including dairy, tourism, transport, manufacturing, mining, financial services, wholesale and retail, energy, construction and health,” Ambassador Chifamba said.
NCC board chairperson Mrs Patience Chimuka said regulatory coherence was central to national competitiveness.
“As a board, we firmly believe that regulatory quality and excellence is a cornerstone of national competitiveness. This calls for regulatory coherence and coordination across institutions to reduce duplication, overlaps and compliance costs,” she said.
Mrs Chimuka said the NCC’s competitiveness strategy incorporated RIA as part of the wider regulatory reform programme.
“Regulatory impact assessment entails review of existing and new business regulations to ascertain their impact on the cost of doing business and recommend amendments or repeals where appropriate to enhance competitiveness,” she said.
ZNIDP2 2026-2030 places emphasis on domestic manufacturing, value addition and the development of industrial capacity.
One of its major areas is mineral beneficiation.
‘‘This is an area where the regulatory environment will have to accommodate large-scale investments in processing, manufacturing and supporting infrastructure. The Government has identified 11 mineral-based value chains for focused promotion.
That creates an immediate regulatory challenge.
Investors in mineral processing require certainty around licensing, environmental approvals, energy, land, taxation, standards, infrastructure and movement of goods. If these processes are fragmented or unpredictable, the cost and timing of investment can become more difficult to manage.
Digitalisation is emerging as another important component of the reform programme.
The review provides another avenue through which the cost of compliance can be addressed.
But for businesses, the issue is likely to be broader than the fee attached to a licence.
Bulawayo mayor Councillor David Coltart, in a speech read on his behalf by Councillor Aleck Ndlovu, said the city was examining its own systems.
“The City of Bulawayo recognises that our regulatory processes, planning systems, licensing procedures, land administration, infrastructure provision and service delivery all influence the competitiveness of our city,” he said.
“We have been continuously examining our own systems and asking ourselves whether we are making it easier or more difficult for businesses to operate, invest and grow. Where we identify barriers, we must be prepared to address them.”
Businesses require a regulatory environment that protects consumers, workers, communities and the environment, while also allowing productive enterprise to operate efficiently.
