Reforms must move beyond rhetoric to reality

President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s renewed pledge to fast-track ease of doing business reforms signals an important recognition of what Zimbabwe’s economy desperately needs, a decisive break from bureaucracy and the creation of a genuinely enabling business environment.

The message delivered through Finance Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube at the CEO Africa Roundtable in Victoria Falls yesterday  was both timely and necessary.

But the real test lies not in policy pronouncements, but in execution,  in whether government can finally dismantle the entrenched red tape that has long throttled private enterprise.

For decades, Zimbabwe’s competitiveness has been undermined by a suffocating regulatory ecosystem,  a labyrinth of licences, fees, and permits that make it easier to give up than to start a business.

Under the previous licensing regime, entrepreneurs were required to secure as many as 30 approvals before commencing operations, often from different ministries with overlapping mandates.

It is no surprise, then, that compliance costs accounted for nearly a fifth of total business overheads. These structural inefficiencies have deterred investment, distorted competition, and stifled innovation.

That government now acknowledges this burden is encouraging.

The new sector-based approach, targeting reforms in 12 key industries by next year, offers a pragmatic route to rationalizing regulation.

The early progress in the transport and agriculture sectors — through the elimination of redundant fees, harmonization of licences, and removal of the punitive US$23,000 duty on transit fuel, demonstrates that reform is possible where political will exists. But speed, discipline, and consistency will be critical.

Zimbabwe has a history of bold policy launches followed by muted implementation. The ease of doing business reforms, like earlier blueprints before them, risk becoming another well-intentioned initiative lost in the maze of institutional inertia.

Unless government ministries align on a shared reform vision — and unless bureaucratic incentives are restructured to reward efficiency rather than control ,  the reforms will remain cosmetic.

What the private sector is demanding, as articulated by CEO Africa Roundtable chairman Oswell Binha, is not more policy rhetoric but measurable progress. Business wants predictability — a government that speaks with one voice, enforces rules fairly, and creates stability in exchange rates, taxation, and investment frameworks.

As Binha rightly observed, genuine public-private partnership must rest on trust, accountability, and respect. Too often, business is treated as a suspect rather than a stakeholder; policy changes are announced without consultation; and investors are left uncertain about the future regulatory environment.

This mistrust has real costs. It discourages long-term investment, reduces formal employment creation, and fuels capital flight. Investors, both local and foreign, cannot plan in an environment where policies shift overnight or where permits are subject to political discretion. Mnangagwa’s administration has an opportunity,  perhaps its last before 2030 — to correct this and to anchor its legacy on institutional reform that outlives personalities.

Beyond bureaucracy, deeper structural constraints remain. Zimbabwe’s economy continues to wrestle with inflationary pressures, exchange rate instability, and a crippling US$21 billion debt overhang. These macroeconomic imbalances erode the very competitiveness the President seeks to restore. Without fiscal discipline, transparent public finance management, and reform of state-owned enterprises, ease of doing business efforts will be like planting seeds on rocky soil.

The reform agenda must therefore extend beyond licences and permits. It must tackle the full spectrum of distortions,  from opaque procurement systems and inefficient parastatals to the inconsistent enforcement of tax laws. Only when government institutions become predictable and service-oriented will the private sector respond with investment, innovation, and growth.

Moreover, Zimbabwe cannot reform in isolation. As Binha noted, Africa stands at a crossroads, balancing vulnerability and opportunity within a US$3.2 trillion regional market under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). If Zimbabwe’s reforms are credible and sustained, the country could position itself as a competitive manufacturing and logistics hub within this emerging regional value chain. But this demands coherence,  reforms that align national ambitions with regional standards, and policies that favour production over protectionism.

The President’s commitment to complete the remaining eight sectoral reforms by next year should therefore not be another political deadline. It should be a national imperative, backed by clear milestones, public progress reports, and accountability mechanisms for ministries and agencies. Investors must see that Zimbabwe is serious not only about simplifying paperwork, but about building a rules-based economy where efficiency, transparency, and meritocracy are the norm.

The business community is not asking for miracles,  only for consistency and fairness.

If government listens, implements, and sustains the momentum, Zimbabwe can unlock the competitiveness it once enjoyed. But if reforms stall once again, the country risks remaining trapped in the rhetoric of potential , a phrase Binha warned has defined Africa for too long.

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