LEGISLATORS from the Matabeleland region have called on the government to stop charging exorbitant taxes, which discourage growth of the industrial sector, leading to a high rate of unemployment and the closure of companies.
Speaking to Southern Eye yesterday, the lawmakers said exorbitant taxes crippled industries in Zimbabwe especially the industrial hub of Bulawayo.
Pumula legislator Sichelisile Mahlangu said charging exorbitant taxes to businesses hindered the revival of Bulawayo industry.
“Government should adjust taxes for the environment to be investor friendly, hence encouraging industrial growth but at the moment it has been charging unnecessary taxes without considering industrial production,” she said.
Mahlangu said the government should engage the private sector for the revival of industries while creating a sustainable environment that encourages investment.
“Most companies in our country import raw materials using foreign currency while selling their products in the local currency. We are appealing to government to introduce a mechanism that allows industry to access foreign currency at affordable rates,” she said.
Echoing the same sentiments, Makhandeni-Luveve legislator Descent Bajila said the government needed to engage the private sector and craft sound policies that encouraged investment in the country.
“The revival of Bulawayo industry hinges on three parastatals, namely Zesa, the National Railway of Zimbabwe (NRZ) and Zimbabwe National Water Authority.
- Water shortages hit Gutu-Mpandawana
- Power cuts hit Karoi water supplies
- Fire destroys city flats
- New water policy brings less sharing, more spying
Keep Reading
“We need uninterrupted power and water supplies to revive our productive capacity. We need the NRZ back to create employment while reducing road destruction caused by haulage trucks,” he said.
Bajila said the revival of industries would create employment within the country and improve the growth of the economy.
Matabeleland North Youth Proportional Representation legislator Lovejoy Sibanda said government should address water scarcity and electricity blackout challenges negatively affecting the country’s second-largest city.
“The bureaucracy surrounding setting up an industry in our country is too much, hence, the majority prefer to operate illegally or informally. The government should revamp most major roads leading to the city because without infrastructure, there is no way industry growth can be achieved,” she said.
Sibanda said the private sector was prepared to participate in the revival of industry if government addressed hurdles such as taxes and customs duty.
“We import a good percentage of raw materials from other countries and it is important for the government to reduce duty to smoothen business transactions,” she said.
Bulawayo will this month host the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) with captains of industry and commerce from across the country and the world over expected to attend.
Welcoming delegates to last year’s ZITF, Bulawayo mayor David Coltart said the city was determined to revive its industry and restore its status as Zimbabwe’s industrial hub.
He, however, bemoaned the water challenges afflicting Bulawayo.
