There have been immediate positive spin-offs for transporters and cargo owners through a presidential Ease of Doing Business initiative. However, there are new restrictions on foreign ownership of logistics service providers. In September 2025, the government slashed parking fees, including clamping and towing penalty charges in all the countrys local authorities. In addition, the cost of vehicle number plates was reduced from 500 to 50 as the plates are now made in the country. Also dropped was the 23 000 duty on transit fuel. The reviewed licences, permits, levies and fees will be subjected to further refinements, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Jenfan Muswere told the media in a post-Cabinet meeting briefing. The review process is aimed at reducing the cost of doing business, increasing competitiveness and enhancing the growth of the Zimbabwean economy, he said. Cabinet has reduced regulatory overlaps, simplified licences, cut unnecessary levies, and lowered excessive fees for passenger transport, haulage and cargo, taxi services, tobacco transportation, and boating services, he said. Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion Minister, Mthuli Ncube, told the briefing that Cabinet had dropped the electronic cargo system fee, which was previously set at 30. FN25J0390S FN26M0481S Parking fees outside the Forbes Border Post in Mutare have been removed, reducing the cost of road transport. Ncube said a recently announced presumptive tax on the transport sector was also under review. The tax runs from 200 to 500 a month for commercial vehicles where operators are not fully tax compliant. We are in a cutting mode. We do not want people to be discouraged by the cost of doing business, said Ncube. There is much red tape to cut. According to the sixth edition of the World Banks Zimbabwe Economic Update, there are nearly 25 regulatory agencies and additional ministry departments stifling business in the country. Reforms continue to be rolled out. In November 2025 the wholesale and retail sector benefited from the introduction of a single licence for retail and wholesale operations, lower effluent and property fees, changes to liquor licensing and the scrapping of the Medicines Control Council of Zimbabwe MCAZ veterinary permit fees which applied to retailers of registered products. However, in December 2025, the government designated 14 economic sectors which must be locally owned, with foreign owners required to transfer a 75 stake to locals within the next three years. Included in the sectors are shipping and forwarding, and customs and clearing, according to a government notice. The Ease of Doing Business initiative is designed to support economic growth, which is expected to have been about 6.6 as measured by the gross domestic product GDP. Growth is broad-based, supported by recovery in agriculture, increased mining investments gold, lithium, iron and steel manufacturing, and services, according to the World Bank report. This growth outpaces many regional peers in sub- Saharan Africa. GDP growth for 2026 is predicted to be 5, due to robust growth in agriculture, industry and services. The improvement in the economic prospects gives the government more freedom to implement reforms. Now that the macroeconomy is improving, efforts to improve Zimbabwes private-sector growth and competitiveness are more than necessary to enhance the overall growth and eventually translate economic growth into lasting economic benefits, says Victor Steenbergen, senior country economist for Zimbabwe at the World Bank. ER
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