Online Reporter
Rutendo Nyeve Victoria Falls Reporter
THE tourism industry has overwhelmingly welcomed the Cabinet’s approval of a comprehensive review of levies, licences, fees, and permits describeing it as a monumental step towards improving the ease of doing business that is expected to lower operational costs, attract critical investment, and enhance the sector’s global competitiveness.
The move which is further expected to redefine the operational landscape of one of Zimbabwe’s key economic pillars follows an extensive Government-led consultative process that engaged stakeholders across critical subsectors, including accommodation, hospitality and catering, tour guides and operators, boating services, and vehicle rental services.
The review exercise aims to remove unjustifiable licences and permits, streamline overlapping requirements, and significantly reduce what were deemed excessively high fees.
In an interview with Zimpapers, President of the Tourism Business Council of Zimbabwe (TBCZ), Mr Clive Chinwada, lauded the Government’s decision, emphasising its potential to address long-standing competitiveness issues.
“The move is a good move. The move is welcome. I think throughout various platforms, including the National Competitiveness Forum, there has been work around trying to deal with addressing facets that make our various industries uncompetitive. So we welcome the move. We are happy that for years we have been talking about the need to address the issues of cost of doing business,” said Mr Chinwada.
He also clarified that while consumers might not see immediate price drops, the reform is a powerful catalyst for investment.
“Ordinarily, the expectation is to have reduced prices for our customers, but pricing is a function of a lot of things… So you can’t then quickly conclude that a reduction in, but what it will do is attract investment, for instance, we know for certain that ease of doing business will result in investment coming in. And when investment comes in, there’s more supply and ordinarily more supply would eventually translate to lower prices,” he said.
Echoing this sentiment, tourism executive and Shearwater Public Relations and Corporate Affairs Manager, Dr Clement Mukwasi, highlighted the administrative nightmare of dealing with multiple authorities and expressed hope for a more coordinated system.
“The tourism industry has multiple licensing authorities which include The Zimbabwe Tourism Authority, Parks and Wildlife Authority, Roads Authority, the Aviation authority among others. It is our hope that there be established a licensing Authority for the tourism sector for ease of doing business.
There should be a coordinated approach to the acquisition of all licences and permits,” said Dr Mukwasi.
He emphasised that the rationalised costs would be a boon for local entrepreneurs and foreign investors alike.
“The rationalised lower costs inspires confidence especially to emerging businesses owned by locals. The industry had become very expensive and would require lawyers to deal with licensing issues. Lower fees will also attract direct foreign investments which in turn will increase the market base for the industry,” he said.
Dr Mukwasi detailed the inefficiencies that plagued the old system.
“In many cases, the multiple licences would create a chicken and egg situation. A lot of time would be spent shuttling between various government offices. This would lead to loss of service time for the operators. We celebrate the new initiative which will remove some of the red tape,” he said.
He confirmed that the ultimate beneficiary of these cost savings would be the tourist, reinforcing Zimbabwe’s reputation for high-quality service.
“If the licence and permit fee reductions are significant, the major beneficiary shall be the client. It is our hope that the reduction in the cost of sales shall benefit both the clients and the shareholder,” he said.
