Zim tackles barriers to ease of doing business

Published: 11 May 2018

The government is revisiting some acts which are considered as an impediment to the ease of doing business in local authorities.

The move is being taken to make it easier for local authorities to attract both local and foreign investment.

The Shop Licences Act is one of the legislations which is targeted for amendment to reduce the entire process of licensing from three months to a maximum of two weeks.

The Physical Planning Act is also being revisited to eliminate through parliament, the elements that are not friendly with the mantra "Zimbabwe is open for business."

Local Government, Public Works and National Housing Minister July Moyo said in addition to the pending amendments of selected acts, his ministry is proposing that 5 percent of the fiscus be allocated to local authorities which have limited underground natural resources so that they do not lag behind in terms of development.

"Every local authority has some resource but those resources are not going to be equal, so government is encouraged to set aside 5 percent from the fiscus in order to assist those who are resource deficient. The first resource is land so the tax is the first source of revenue from all organisations and business in that district. We want to have policy of equalisation so we will come and do a property audit so that we compare which district has what," he explained.

The Ministry of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing has already engaged the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development to ensure that all government departments pay their rates to the local authorities, so that service delivery is not compromised due to unpaid bills by other state entities.
- zbc

Tags: Business,