THE business community should fully utilise its legal right to petition Parliament on matters affecting the operating environment, including taxation issues and other business constraints, Speaker of Parliament Advocate Jacob Mudenda has said.
Adv Mudenda said this while addressing delegates at the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC) Business Review Conference recently.
He said industry players must not “cry in the wilderness” about policy shortcomings without formally engaging lawmakers.
He reminded the business community that Section 149 of the Constitution grants every person, including the business community the right to petition Parliament to consider any matter within the legislature’s jurisdiction.
That may include proposals for a new law, amendment of outdated legislation, or the repeal of legal provisions that hinder business operations.
Adv Mudenda criticised the practice where captains of industry wait for the national Budget to be tabled before raising concerns about taxation or regulatory reforms, instead of offering well-researched and constructive proposals throughout the year.
He urged business leaders to provide Parliament with technical input through corporate lawyers and industry experts to give business insights that can help to improve the quality and effectiveness of economic legislation.
The call comes at a time when the business community has been increasingly vocal about the need for tax rationalisation, policy predictability and streamlined regulation to support investment and competitiveness.
Industry players say the economy has seen an increase in regulatory costs and licences over the past decade, which have seriously dented competitiveness on domestic and foreign global markets.
According to the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI), one of Zimbabwe’s leading voices of business, compliance accounts for about 18 percent of total overheads incurred by companies on average. It also says manufacturing firms must comply with a minimum of nine regulatory bodies, excluding the central Government, which requires an average of three full-time employees to deal with regulatory issues only.
CZI says about 242 hours are committed to processing or following up on all the regulatory requirements per year. Compared to regional peers, Zimbabwe has a total of 51 taxes and regulatory payments that need to be paid by a business, compared to seven and 11 in South Africa and Zambia, respectively.
In response, the Government has already commenced an extensive review to simplify business licensing, cut excessive fees and reduce red tape across sectors like agriculture, tourism, transport and retail to ease the cost of doing business, encourage formalisation and boost competitiveness. Adv Mudenda said there were many pieces of taxation and other areas, but business leaders did not go to Parliament to present proposals on what needs to be done.
“The business sector can and indeed should petition Parliament on issues such as the rationalisation of the tax regime, the removal of regulatory bottlenecks, the harmonisation of legislation affecting investment, and the modernisation of laws governing economic zones and trade facilitation,” said Adv Mudenda.
Adv Mudenda criticised the business community’s habit of waiting until the national budget is presented to raise their concerns, instead of proactively sharing views and suggestions during the policy formulation process.
He said firms choose to remain silent and then complain once the budget is already presented, stressing that this reactive approach limits parliament’s influence on fiscal measures that could affect cost structures, tax rates, or incentives.
“Why then does the business sector have to wait for the budget to be tabled in Parliament and then reactively condemn the non-reformation of the tax regime, while at the same time failing to proffer alternative domestic resource-mobilisation initiatives?” he asked.
“You must proffer the type of business environment that you want during the course of the year, and Parliament will attend to your suggestions, even by way of petitions. We should provide business technical expertise and insights that can materially improve legislation promoting a qualitative business environment,” he said.
Calls for rationalisation of Zimbabwe’s tax regime are intensifying as businesses warn that a complex and frequently shifting fiscal framework is undermining investment, productivity and long-term economic growth.
Also speaking at the event, United Nations Development Programme Zimbabwe country economist, Mr Alex Rodriguez, said the Government should continue working to achieve a policy environment that allows businesses to thrive and boost productivity.
This, he said, was possible through a regulatory framework that allows firms to operate efficiently and invest with confidence.
“A policy environment that enables businesses to thrive and improve productivity means creating a regulatory and institutional framework where companies can operate efficiently, invest confidently, and boost output.
“This also entails clear, stable regulations, predictable tax codes, licensing procedures, and trade policies that reduce uncertainty,” said Mr Rodriguez.
Presenting the findings of the 2025 Annual State of Industry and Commerce Survey, Tax expert Mr Marvellous Tapera said the country’s tax architecture had become increasingly challenging to navigate as companies point to the proliferation of taxes and statutory charges, inconsistent policy directives, and a heavy administrative burden that continues to erode competitiveness.-herald
