Peter Moyo
Small business owners across Matabeleland say recent changes to Zimbabwe’s business licensing rules could ease one of their biggest financial burdens, after government scrapped several overlapping permits and merged others into a single operating licence.
The reforms, announced on November 3 by Finance Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube, remove 11 licences that were previously required in the wholesale and retail sectors. Several fees have also been reduced, with some licences now capped at US$500 and others consolidated into a single annual payment. In some cases, the new combined licence costs US$20.
The changes affect everyday businesses such as bottle stores inside supermarkets, general dealers, butcheries, bakeries and small food outlets, sectors where many entrepreneurs operate informally due to the high cost of compliance.
In Pumula South, general dealer Sipho Dube says he has spent years juggling multiple licences just to keep shelves stocked.
“Every year I had to renew different permits for retail, for fire compliance, and other small things,” he said. “The fees would pile up. Sometimes it was over US$500. You end up choosing between paying the licence or re-stocking.”
Under the new unified licence, Dube expects to save several hundred dollars a year.
“This means I can buy more stock, and maybe hire my nephew to help in the shop. That was impossible before,” he said.
In Empumalanga, Hwange, caterer Thandiwe Nkomo has been operating from home because she could not afford the multiple licences required to open a small eating space.
“The licence fees were too high. I had to think twice about expanding because one mistake meant being shut down,” she said.
With the new combined permit for food-related businesses, she is considering opening a small takeaway spot near the market.
“It’s a small step, but it’s something. If local authorities don’t add extra charges, many of us will come out of the backyard.”
In Plumtree, cross-border supplier Mandla Khumalo says the changes could streamline operations for traders who move goods between Botswana and Zimbabwe.
“Before, you needed licences for the shop, for storage, for transport. It was too many. By the time you finish paying everything, profits are gone,” he said. He believes the reforms could help small wholesalers grow into formal supply chains.
While the reforms have been welcomed, business owners say they will be watching how fast councils update their processes. Past policy announcements have sometimes stalled at local level.
For now, many small traders describe the changes as overdue support.
As Dube put it, “This is a chance to rebuild. But it needs to happen on the ground, not just on paper.”
