Business talks tough on fiscal policy
Sunday, 17 July 2011 12:22
BY NDAMU SANDU
BUSINESS has proposed the introduction of a levy that penalises exporters of
unprocessed products to force companies to adopt value addition and
employment creation.
The proposal by the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) is meant to
reinforce calls by economic blueprints to embrace value addition.
CZI president, Joseph Kanyekanye said business expected the proposal to be
contained in the Mid Term Fiscal Policy Review statement.
Finance minister Tendai Biti is expected to present the midterm policy on
July 26.
The value addition must start on products such as cotton and tobacco, CZI
said.
“It is wrong socially, ethically and legally to have a situation where you
export over 90% of your cotton,” Kanyekanye said.
“The minister must put a scenario where he says ‘this year for unprocessed
tobacco, cotton, we will charge a 5% levy on the sale’.
“In year two it will go to 10%, in year three it will go to 30% and in year
four it will go to 80%. In year five it will be 100%.”
Value addition is contained in various blueprints unveiled since
Independence.
Despite its recognition, nothing has moved along that front and as a result,
the country has over the years exported only raw materials.
He said government had instruments such as the Medium Term Plan (MTP) and
other various blueprints but is not living the talk.
Kanyekanye added that the absence of value addition had not helped in
trimming down the country’s unemployment levels.
“It is painful that a country like ours where we have abundant resour-ces
should have unemployed people. We have Cotton Printers in Bulawayo currently
under liquidation.
“We have no yarning taking place,” the CZI boss noted.
If government decides not to listen to its proposal, CZI threatened a
demonstration.
“The era where business would come in suits and smile to you and say ‘thank
you minister’ is gone.
“We are saying government musttake cue from that. We have restless
businesspeople out there saying paying lip service to our requests must go,”
Kanyekanye said.