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Players in the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) sector have bemoaned the recently introduced government measures meant to formalise the informal sector saying they will push them out of business.
Over the years, Zimbabwe’s informal sector has grown to contribute an estimated 70% of economic activity but the growth has not translated to significant fiscal revenue thereby pushing the government to introduce measures to ensure compliance.
SMEs with US$25 000 yearly income are now required to register for value-added tax (VAT).
Formal businesses are now restricted from doing business with informal traders without VAT licences.
Small and Medium Enterprises Association of Zimbabwe executive director, Farai Mutambanengwe said the tax regime “criminalised” most of the informal sector.
He made the remarks at the Unpacking the Finance Act seminar held last Friday hosted by the Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Ministry. Said Mutambanengwe (via NewsDay):
<blockquote>
It looks like this tax regime is criminalising most of the informal sector. It’s not the issue of us not wanting to pay but the tax regime is quite radical.
The thing is if you look at the people selling on the streets, how are they going to pay those taxes? The city council will only have a lot of people to run after. This system will push the SMEs into non-compliance.
The policies that you are also implementing, are continuously increasing the number of taxations and they are going to facilitate the shunning of tax payments continuously.
We, as MSMEs, are trying to grow but these taxes are choking businesses. We are going to sink rather than grow to develop the economy.
The tax regime was supposed to be gradually implemented to avoid choking the sector.
The approach of the tax system should be gradual. The taxation system should be simplified so that they can understand.
The taxes are quite complicated, and we need to understand where they are coming from.
As SMEs, we are just trying to make a living and we try to formalise our businesses as well. We want to comply, but some of these taxes are unreasonable.
Some of these entrepreneurs do not even know the benefits of being formal. They need to be educated.
</blockquote>
According to the 2022 Labour Force Survey published by the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZIMSTAT), over 2.8 million Zimbabweans derived their living from the informal sector compared to 495 000 in formal employment.
More: <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

Pindula News

New Taxes Will Drive Us Out Of Business - SMEs

Several banks are leaving Harare’s central business district (CBD) which is becoming increasingly informalised.
They are establishing their headquarters in the affluent suburb of Borrowdale, escaping overcrowding and traffic congestion, <a href="https://www.newsday.co.zw/theindependent/business-digest/article/200017315/banks-troop-out-of-harares-cbd#google_vignette">The Independent</a> reported citing reports by property experts. The publication quotes a Harare-based real estate professional Kura Chihota as saying:
<blockquote>
The Harare CBD is in transition from all in one financial, political and commercial centre to a city premised on increasingly informalised retail and a transport hub.
The city council relaxed zoning requirements and allowed commercial uses in neighbouring suburbs of Milton Park, Alexander Park, Eastlea and Belgravia to name some. Smaller corporates and individuals chose to buy and convert existing houses to commercial uses.
The stand sizes are somewhat restrictive and users of larger space needed to look elsewhere.
</blockquote>
Chihota highlights that tenants in Harare’s CBD have taken on the responsibility of water, power, and refuse removal due to the municipality’s struggle to provide these services. The CBD is experiencing congestion exacerbated by the influx of affordable ex-Japanese vehicles used for public transport.
Chihota’s report, titled “Banking on Borrowdale – A commentary,” mentions banks like Stanbic Bank Zimbabwe, NMB, First Capital, and Ecobank considering relocation or already having moved. Stanbic is constructing a 7,600 sqm headquarters near the Borrowdale Race Course, enabling them to leave the CBD. NMB’s head office sits on a 3,700 sqm property along Borrowdale Road. He said:
<blockquote>
A stalwart of First Street in the Harare CBD, the original Barclays Bank will develop a new suite of offices as First Capital Bank. The site acquired is larger than immediate requirements and the balance of the land remains an investment option for future expansion and or development.
Ecobank, currently occupying units in the office park adjacent to Sam Levy Village, will move across the road to a development underway, literally across the road, on the corner of Piers and Borrowdale Lane.
</blockquote>
Due to low traffic in suburban areas, banks are targeting a new clientele and relocating from the CBD. Property expert Washington Musiiwa noted that Stanbic has established a presence in Belgravia, and AFC Holdings recently opened in Westgate. Additionally, two other banks are actively seeking properties south of Samora Machel Avenue. Musiiwa added:
<blockquote>
This shift reflects banks’ desire to follow their customers and tap into emerging investment opportunities outside the city center. Borrowdale is quite the ideal place.
</blockquote>
According to Musiiwa, banks are choosing to move from the CBD for various reasons, which are often revealed when they search for new properties. The CBD has lost its appeal due to overcrowding and lack of parking space, making it generally unfavourable for banks and their customers.
<h3><a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">More Pindula News</a></h3>

Several Banks Leave Harare CBD Which Is Becoming Increasingly Informalised

The Government is targetting informal traders for taxation in a bid to increase revenue and also over fears that as the economy becomes more dollarised, the tax base could decrease by 25 percent as the informal sector fails to pay tax.
Zimbabwe’s economy is largely informal, and as a result, the country’s tax collection agency, the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) faces several challenges in raising revenue to fund the Government’s operations.
<a href="https://businesstimes.co.zw/tax-dragnet-closes-in-as-govt-targets-informal-traders/">Business Times</a> reported Treasury sources as saying the fiscal authorities were targetting foreign-owned shops among several strategies to broaden the tax base. Said a source:
<blockquote>
The government has a programme that is targeted towards compliance with reserved sector regulations with particular attention to foreign-owned shops in the downtown area.
Those that have not complied are duly required and requested to comply with the law.
Definitely, this will increase tax revenue into fiscus while reducing a lot of illicit transactions that have also been taking place in that area.
</blockquote>
In his mid-term budget strategy paper, the outgoing Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Mthuli Ncube, said the Government will devise various strategies to increase its tax base. He said:
<blockquote>
Achieving the target collections is underpinned by tax administration initiatives that enhance enforcement and tax compliance, in particular, of business processes and adoption of new technology, among other initiatives.
Expansion of the base through embracing emerging industries, including those in the informal sector, as well as capturing the digital marketplace where sellers and buyers of goods and services converge through e-platforms will ensure that eligible taxpayers contribute towards national development.
</blockquote>
The president of the Confederation of Zimbabwe Retailers Denford Mutashu told Business Times that the integration of informal traders into the economy was a welcome development.
More: <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

Govt Targets Informal Sector To Broaden Tax Base

Zimbabwe has been ranked one of the 12 most advanced countries in Africa in 11th position, due to its gross income from the informal sector which sustains the country’s economy.
In a recent survey by Yahoo Finance, global economic analysts noted that Zimbabwe followed South Africa, Morocco, Tunisia, Botswana, Kenya, Egypt, Ghana, Namibia, Senegal and Tanzania.
The survey stated that Zimbabwe’s economy has been mainly boosted by the informal sector due to high rates of unemployment in the country, according to <a href="https://www.newsday.co.zw/local-news/article/200005543/zim-ranked-one-of-the-most-12-advanced-countries-in-africa">NewsDay</a>. Said the survey:
<blockquote>
The Republic of Zimbabwe is a landlocked South African country with a $38 billion gross domestic product (GDP). Its economy is primarily fuelled by the services sector, due to low levels of industrialization. These are economies that remain undocumented as their transactions are generally conducted outside the formal banking system, which keeps them off of the authorities’ radar.
</blockquote>
The findings are consistent with the views of economist <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Eddie_Cross">Edward Graham Cross (Eddie Cross)</a> who said the informal sector “constitutes the majority of the Zimbabwean economy, and without this informal sector, our social economic situation would be much worse.” 
<ol>
<li><a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/mudenda-urges-govt-to-expedite-formalisation-of-informal-sector/">Mudenda Urges Govt To Expedite Formalisation Of Informal Sector</a></li>
<li><a href="https://news.pindula.co.zw/2022/02/10/mnangagwa-offers-title-deeds-to-informal-settlers-just-ahead-of-by-elections/">Mnangagwa Offers Title Deeds To Informal Settlers, Just Ahead Of By-elections</a></li>
</ol>
Statistics by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) show that Zimbabwe is the world’s second-largest informal economy, consisting of 64.1% of the economy, and second to Afghanistan. 
Economist Vince Musewe, however, told NewsDay that an advanced economy cannot be fuelled by the informal sector, adding that a country’s economy should be measured by its citizens’ standards of living.
<h2><a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/">More Pindula News</a></h2>

Zimbabwe Ranked Among 12 Most Advanced Countries In Africa

Speaker of the National Assembly, Jacob Mudenda, says the government should urgently modernise the taxation systems and also formalise the informal sector for accelerated economic transformation.
The World Bank estimates that Zimbabwe’s informal sector dominates 60 percent of the economy but the Vendors Initiative for Social and Economic Transformation (VISET) puts the figure at 92%.
Speaking at the 2023 Pre-budget seminar last Friday running under the theme “Leveraging on domestic resource mobilisation to accelerate Economic Transformation”, Mudenda said:
<blockquote>
Domestic resource mobilisation can be achieved if we spruce up our taxation regime through a sustainable digital taxation system.
This will ensure the maximisation of revenue collection thereby guaranteeing optimum resource mobilization through the taxation avenue.
Treasury should invest expeditiously in this area. In tandem, the formalization of the informal economic sector is long overdue.
Let us learn from Bolivia, Bangladesh, and Iran how these countries have exponentially formalized their informal economic sector.
At the moment, 60% of our economy is in the informal sector. If and when we formalize it, we are likely to increase the tax base and in so doing enhance our domestic resource mobilization for accelerated economic transformation.
</blockquote>
In 2015, and then again in 2021, the government held discussions to develop a formalisation policy for Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) but nothing has been done to date. | <a href="https://openparly.com/expedite-formalization-of-the-informal-sector-gvt-told/">Open Parly</a>

Mudenda Urges Govt To Expedite Formalisation Of Informal Sector

Informal traders have begun registering or confirming registration and are readying their stalls after the government announced the COVID-19 guidelines the informal sector has to adhere to for the resumption of activities.
Traders at Mbare’s Mupedzanhamo flea market are already registered by paying fees to the council but now have to fix up the market as well.
Speaking to The Herald on Monday, Chairman of Mupedzanhamo Traders Committee Charles Marufu revealed that traders expect to be back at work next week. He said:
<blockquote>We are already registered. We were already paying money to the council and that has not changed.
We engaged the council informing them of our intention to reopen and they gave us conditions, which we are in the process of satisfying.
We were told to fix precast walls, which were vandalised, and we are almost done with that then we engage them for inspection and subsequent reopening.</blockquote>
Archford Manjoro, the Mbare retail market committee said traders have registered with the Harare City Council and were dedicating this whole week to cleaning.
Zimbabwe Chamber of Informal Economy Association (ZCIEA) vice president Stella Chivandikwa encouraged players in the sector to register in compliance with Government’s precondition for the resumption of business.
<h4>More: <a href="https://www.herald.co.zw/informal-traders-prepare-return/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Herald</a></h4>

Informal Sector Prepares For Comeback

Zimbabweans living and working in South Africa have expressed concern over reports that the government mulls plans to ban foreign nationals from working in the informal sector.
A Zimbabwe national identified as Samantha Dube (29), who runs a nail and hair salon where she trains her workers told VOA News that if the proposal is put in place, many people will suffer. She said:
<blockquote>If South Africa stops allowing us to do this, it means the people that I’m empowering will also fall. The children that I feed will also be affected. I will no longer be able to take my children to school. My sisters that are going to school, it means they will have to drop out. My parents, it means they will have to suffer more and more.</blockquote>
This follows remarks made by South Africa’s Minister of Small Business Development, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni who reportedly said that she will put a proposal before cabinet to reserve the informal sector for locals.
Ntshavheni argued that the South African government will follow the Zimbabwe, Angola and other African countries’ model of restricting what foreigners can do.
<h4>More: <a href="https://www.voanews.com/africa/south-african-minister-ban-migrant-workers-informal-jobs" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">VOA News</a></h4>

Zimbabweans Fret Over SA Minister's Proposal To Ban Foreigners From Informal Sector

A South African cabinet minister said that the government should ban foreign nationals from working in the country’s informal sector.
Small Business Development Minister, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, argued that South Africa should follow the Zimbabwean and Botswana model of reserving some sectors of the economy for locals in order to prevent “problems” in that country. She said:
<blockquote>We as a department, we are going back and check within the provisions of our law that says, within this threshold, foreign nationals cannot participate… But we are going to be specific, like what they have done in Ghana, what they have done in Zimbabwe, in Angola, in Botswana. We are going to engage with Cabinet to say, Cabinet, if we are not definitive there is going to be a problem.</blockquote>
Ntshavheni said that banning foreigners from working in salons, small shops, and as street vendors would prevent recurring xenophobic attacks on foreign nationals.
<a href="https://news.pindula.co.zw/2019/09/09/12-people-killed-during-sa-recent-xenophobic-attacks/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">In September this year, 12 people were killed following xenophobic attacks in Gauteng and other areas.</a>
<h4>More: <a href="https://www.voanews.com/africa/south-african-minister-ban-migrant-workers-informal-jobs" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">VOA News</a></h4>

SA Minister Proposes Ban On Foreigners From Informal Jobs

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