Marondera Business Community Rejects USD Licence Fees
The business community in Marondera has voiced opposition to the move by the Municipality of Marondera to charge 2023 licence fees exclusively in United States dollars.
The local authority has reportedly ordered business owners to renew their licence fees in USD only even though the council budget is yet to be approved by the central government.
Some businesses have been ordered to pay as much as US$10 000 in licence fees.
Shopowners have demanded that the council should allow them to pay the licence fees in both local and foreign currencies.
Marondera Urban Business Forum (MUBF) chairperson Emmanuel Danha told Open Council Marondera that they will challenge the move by the local authority. Said Danha:
We have received quite a worrying number of complaints from those seeking clarity and guidance on the 2023 Business License Fees.
Apparently, the Council has started issuing quotations and invoices exclusively in USD terms only without any other payment options availed.
This is wrong, illegal and unilateral as the 2023 budget itself is yet to be approved by the government.
We will tackle the council head-on and come to the bottom of this dictatorship tendencies.
