Harare City Council Slashes Shop License Fees
The Harare City Council has announced a substantial reduction in shop licence fees.
This initiative is expected to ease financial pressures on businesses and encourage the expansion of the informal sector, which plays a pivotal role in Zimbabwe’s economy.
Harare City Hikes Shop License Fees by 1,000%
The new fee structure introduces tiered charges based on business size, with small businesses now required to pay US$400 annually, medium businesses US$600, and large businesses US$800.
Additionally, the council has introduced flexible payment plans, allowing businesses to settle their fees monthly, quarterly, biannually, or annually.
According to a statement by the city council, this decision addresses longstanding grievances from SMEs about the prohibitively high licence fees and the rigid policies that previously rendered licences non-transferable.
Harare City Council Slashes Shop License Fees
Meanwhile…
THE Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) is confident the country can sustain the prevailing exchange rate and inflation stability provided the authorities maintain a tight grip on liquidity growth.
Both the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and Treasury have already expressed their desire to maintain tight fiscal and monetary policies to anchor exchange rate and inflation stability going forward.
This comes after the central bank introduced a precious minerals- and foreign currency-backed new currency, Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG), in April last year to engender macro-economic stability, which is largely a function of stable exchange rate and inflation.
