via Chinese, Nigerians blamed for cash woes 03/01/2014 NewZimbabwe
THE country’s black empowerment agency says at least 90 percent of foreign shop owners don’t have bank accounts and are hiding away money or smuggling it out of the country, worsening cash shortages in the troubled economy.
National Indigenisation Economic Empowerment Board (NIEEB) chief, Wilson Gwatiringa, said many of the foreign retailers lack proper identification documents required to open a bank account, leading to hundreds of million dollars staying out of the formal economy, state media reported Friday.
“These operators where operating without bank accounts, they are (also) not registered with the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority,” Gwatiringa said
“We are (now) directing that all the applicants must have bank accounts and must be registered with the tax authority and provide a tax clearance certificate so that they are proper business people who contribute to the economy in a manner that it is expected and that they must pay tax and the funds they handle must pass through the banking system.”
The NIEEB boss said that “raises eyebrows” after government recently allowed foreign shop owners – mostly Chinese and Nigerian nationals – to continue in retail trade, a sector reserved for local blacks.
But Indigenisation minister Francis Nhema this week lifted the ultimatum and commended the foreigners for playing a “very important role” in providing services to Zimbabweans.
“What we are saying is: new licensing in reserved sectors, from January, will be skewed in favour of indigenous people,” said the minister.
“Those foreigners operating in the reserved sectors of our economy should continue. One needs to understand that they have played a very important role in terms of providing services to our people during their time of need.
“We encourage those already in the industry to welcome new players and assist them wherever possible; working with them in the spirit of fair competition, which can only make Zimbabwe a great nation.”
An independent financial research group last year reported that 85 percent of small businesses in the “informal economy,” with a turnover of at least $7 billion, weren’t paying taxes.
COMMENTS
What and now you want action. What a joke. What a joke
You are not allowed to blame the zanupf criminals for absurdity
You must be careful otherwise you end up being what Hitler did to the Jews!! Quite understood, but if what you are saying is not applicable to the citizens, maybe you could have a point. People react to a given situation, how do you expect a sane person to deposit all their cash in a bank account only to wake up to hear that that the bank is liquidated!!
Yes the new players now will go and get licenses (skewed in favour of indigenous players). What licenses these guys have a premise, they sell/operate anyway they want, they are part of the informal traders that are everywhere on the road sides, informal markets etc. Why on earth do they want to have a license and then pay tax. Bribes work a lot quicker and better.
Why forever we blame someone else for our troubles? What percentage of indigenous Zimbabwe shop owners and informal traders have bank accounts? and how many of these indigenous traders are there compared to the number of Nigerian and Chinese small traders? Why swat at a fly when there is a goat that is causing the problem.
There is a good reason why small traders avoid registration and company bank accounts – the requirements to pay Zimra, City of Harare, NSSA, NEC and others are so great that these small businesses will just collapse since their goods will now become so expensive that no-one will buy them.
Anyway, this money is still circulating in the economy, so it is not such a big problem. The outcry is from the top since this cash is out of reach of the chefs who already pay themselves salaries of $25,000 each month.
Nhema should go. This man is mad and the the whole country is being lead down the toilet .
In short – You have to be a white Zimbabwean to be foreign. Chinese and Nigerians are classified as indigenous.