Govt abolishes 11 business licences in sweeping regulatory reform drive

STAFF WRITER

The Government has abolished eleven business licence requirements and consolidated fragmented local authority permits into a single, streamlined unitary licence, in a major policy shift aimed at enhancing Zimbabwe’s ease of doing business and stimulating private sector growth.

Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube said the sweeping reforms are designed to simplify regulatory processes, particularly for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and businesses operating under one roof with multiple lines such as bakeries, butcheries, restaurants, takeaways and food factories.

“As announced on the 10th of September 2025, the Government of Zimbabwe is continuing with Ease of Doing Business and Regulatory Fees Reforms for all sectors. To date, Government has announced these reforms for the Livestock, Tourism and Transport Sectors, and is now moving on to the Wholesale and Retail Sectors,” Prof Ncube said in a statement on Friday.

He said the measures seek to eliminate duplication, reduce compliance costs, and simplify approvals in one of the country’s fastest-growing sectors.

“The retail sector is one of the fastest growing sectors in Zimbabwe, and to further strengthen it, Government has converged to remove the fragmentation of licences, consolidating several retail licences into one shop licence and reducing the number of authorities involved in the clearance process to one,” he said.

Under the new framework, local authorities will apply a sliding-scale licence fee structure capped at US$500, allowing smaller businesses to pay less while promoting formalisation and encouraging enterprise expansion.

Among the most significant reforms, bottle store licences will no longer be required for outlets operating within licensed retail shops. Retail and wholesale licences will now be combined into a single permit for shops conducting both activities. Similarly, factory and retail licences have been merged for integrated operations, cutting both regulatory and compliance costs.

Supermarkets will no longer be required to obtain Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) licences, which will now apply only to tourism-designated businesses.

Prof Ncube said the reforms also extend to the tourism and transport sectors.

“Hotel, lodges and other tourism business licence fees have been reviewed downwards by 50 percent under the review of the Tourism and Transport sectors and further capped to a maximum of US$500 per business,” he said.

To further ease the cost burden on entrepreneurs, change of property use fees have been capped at US$1,000, down from as high as US$3,500 previously charged by some local authorities.

Effluent waste management fees have been reduced from US$575 to US$200 annually, while PRAZ licence fees have been standardised into a single licence costing between US$50 and US$120, allowing businesses to use one permit across multiple branches.

The Liquor Licensing Board has also harmonised all liquor licence permits, eliminating the distinction between urban and rural operations.

Meanwhile, the Local Authority Financial Services Licence will now be issued by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) as a single annual licence covering all business activities for a flat fee of US$20, slashed from as much as US$1,867 previously.

Additionally, the Permit to Sell Veterinary Products issued by the Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe (MCAZ) has been scrapped, as it duplicated functions already performed by the Department of Veterinary Services.

Prof Ncube said the latest reforms mark a significant step in Government’s ongoing drive to remove bureaucratic barriers and stimulate private sector-led growth.

“These measures are meant to aid in the creation of a conducive economic environment where jobs will be created, productivity improved across all sectors of the economy, achieving high growth rates through improving the ease of doing business,” he said.

He reaffirmed Government’s commitment to transforming Zimbabwe into a globally competitive investment destination.

“Government remains committed to improving the business environment to encourage domestic and foreign investment in which Zimbabwe can become an Upper Middle-Income Society by 2030,” Prof Ncube added.