Public transporters have welcomed the government’s decision to cut to 10 per cent import duty on semi-knocked down kits used in assembling buses through Statutory Instrument (SI) 8 of 2020 published in the Government Gazette last Friday.
Zimbabwe Passenger Transport Organisation (ZPTO) secretary-general Wilson Chibage said this will help in the revival of the local bus industry. Said Chibage:
The reduction is welcome and is a step in the right direction if we are to revive our local bus industry. At the moment, most operators are relying on imports that are very expensive and require hard currency.
There is no local bus assembly plant to talk about at the moment, so a reduction of duties will go a long way towards the revival of that industry and the creation of jobs.
Willowvale Body Engineering operations manager Silvester Matambo also welcomed the move and encouraged the government to further reduce the duty.
Matambo further urged the government to provide tax incentives for importers of specific parts as the company imports chassis from South Africa.