Zimbabwe News Update
herald
1 min read
IN a sweeping move designed to ease the burden of steep fees for retailers and small businesses, the Government today unveiled a radical overhaul of the licensing regime for the wholesale and retail sectors.
The reforms, announced as part of the ongoing Ease of Doing Business initiative, promise to unshackle retailers from a tangled web of fees and bureaucratic hurdles, consolidating multiple licences into one and dramatically cutting costs.
The initiative, which follows similar successful reforms in the livestock, tourism and transport sectors, directly addresses one of the biggest complaints from business owners — the fragmentation and high cost of compliance.
One shop, One licence: The end of a bureaucratic nightmare
The cornerstone of the new policy is the consolidation of eleven different local authority licences into a single, unified shop licence.
This is a game-changer for businesses that operate multiple lines under one roof, such as a combined bakery, butchery and restaurant.
The relief extends across the board.
Bottle stores operating within a licensed retail shop will no longer need a separate licence, while businesses dealing in both wholesale and retail will require only a single permit.
Integrated factories and retail outlets on the same premises will be covered by one licence, slashing regulatory costs.
Further, supermarkets are freed from Zimbabwe Tourism Authority licence requirements, unless they are in designated tourist areas.
Capped fees and support for SMEs
In a direct bid to support small and medium enterprises (SMEs), the Government has mandated that local authorities implement a sliding scale for licence fees, with a firm cap of US$500.
