HARARE, (The Southern African Times) – The Zimbabwean government, through the central bank, has put in place an incremental export incentive scheme to boost the country’s exports.
This comes as the country has started implementing the National Development Strategy 2021-2025 which seeks to make exports one of the major drivers of economic development, among other objectives.
“Going forward, as we pursue the ideals of Vision 2030, and the objectives of the NDS1, export growth will play a major role in the economic development of Zimbabwe.
“Higher exports will earn foreign currency remittances; create higher quality and higher productivity jobs; and lower the current account deficit, hence improving the country’s overall economic growth.
“In this regard, the government is now putting in place incentives to motivate exporters and investors to stimulate incremental exports,” Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube was quoted as saying by the Herald newspaper on Tuesday.
Under the new incremental export incentive scheme, all exporters currently retaining 60 percent of their foreign currency receipts will have their retention threshold increased to 80 percent.
Exporters licensed under the Special Economic Zones currently retaining 60 percent now have their threshold increased to 100 percent, the same as exporters listed on the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange.
Ncube said to encourage gold production and deliveries to Fidelity Printers and Refiners (FPR), gold producers who deliver gold quantities above their average monthly deliveries shall be entitled to a retention level of 80 percent on the incremental portion of the gold delivered to FPR.
The government, the minister added, is also putting in place measures to rejuvenate the gold sector through putting in place a Statutory Instrument that recognizes artisanal gold miners and ensure they enhance gold production.
Gold is one of Zimbabwe’s major foreign currency earners alongside tobacco leaf and platinum.
Ncube said the government had also put in place several fiscal incentives to promote exports and investment, which include tax holidays, duty-free importation schemes, export drawback schemes and inward processing rebate schemes, among others.
He said the government had also digitalized export documentation to assist exporters to mitigate against the risks associated with the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
