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The outcry was sparked by a presentation by Zimra Customs and Excise Division regional manager, Mrs Lonto Ndlovu, when she spoke on the operations of Zimra and its impact on industry.
“If you continue garnishing your clients like you are doing, all companies will eventually fold because there is no activity at all in our industries. On a lighter note, there is more noise in residential areas than in the industries yet it should be the other way round,” charged a participant.
Another participant said industries were willing to pay, but were being crippled by the amounts Zimra and NSSA were demanding from them.
Indications are that Zimra at some point was taking away as much as $100 000 and $150 000 in tax, which they said was fast- tracking insolvency and liquidation of businesses.
“It is not that industries do not want to pay but there is nothing going on there. Capacity utilisation is at zero but it seems Zimra and NSSA have developed targets, a situation that is killing industry.
Forcing industries to pay outstanding debts by garnishing them accelerates the rate at which they are closing shop and will eventually remain with no company at all. Zimra and NSSA should think about this,” said a participant.
The businesspeople also wanted to know from EMA what was being done about the influx of pampers, which they said had destroyed the textile industry while at the same time polluting the environment because they were not disposable.
They wanted EMA to push the Government to ban importation of the products and their use in the country to give breathing space to the textile industry, which is one of the hardest hit by the economic situation that resulted in the closure of the majority of companies in Bulawayo.
“I am from the textile industry and I can testify that we are in trouble because of these pampers. With the coming in of pampers, the market for our products like napkins has gone down.
“These pampers do not burn and people end up burning the environment in trying to dispose of these. Why is the Government not banning them?”
“The textile industry has been pushed under by the influx of pampers. We have allowed our industry to be killed by a single product, which at the same time is polluting the environment,” said a participant.
EMA quality control officer Mr Kwanele Ndiweni said there was no Government legislation to ban the importation or use of the product in the country.
“There is no regulation which bans importation or use of pampers, maybe there might be such a policy in future. But the fact that there is litter everywhere does not reflect failure by EMA, but that of the local authority,” said Mr Ndiweni.
Mrs Ndlovu also encouraged local industries to diversify their operations and start manufacturing the pampers. “We are getting the message on garnishing loud and clear and it will be looked into but what we should know is that some do not pay their taxes at all,” she said.
NSSA regional manager for Matabeleland Mr Vusa Mdlongwa encouraged companies to apply for loans, saying the authority had invested more than $5 million for development of different sectors.
The Zesa southern region manager, Mr Lovemore Chinaka, said clients could avoid being garnished by making payment plans.
Online Reporter