Zimbabwe’s exporting firms say that the government policy which requires them to utilise proceeds from their export receipts within 30 days has choked the life out them.
This was revealed by Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) president Sifelani Jabangwe in an interview with The Independent. Said Jabangwe:
The exporters feel their voices are not being heard and say they can’t work with this policy in place anymore.
They are not complaining about the 20% retention but about the 80% like you rightly stated. Its true we have submitted our papers both on the budget and the MPS, but remember government has to strike a balance between its concerns and that of the private sector which has upset the manufacturers because they feel the real issues that concern them have been left out and there is no roundtable to discuss the issue for the betterment of the economy.
What’s now worrying is that some of the major exporters have threated to stop production which is a threat to the economy.
That is why we have requested the meeting through the Ministry of Industry so that they can bare their soul.
We are hoping by the end of this week we will have the meeting. They feel their values are being eroded and cannot continue to work under such conditions.
Foreign exporters who spoke to The Independent disclosed that the current situation has forced them to consider investing in other countries that have less punitive policies.