Economic commentator Professor Gift Mugano has implored Parliament to reject Finance, Economic Development, and Investment Promotion Minister Mthuli Ncube’s 2024 National Budget to save the majority of Zimbabweans from further impoverishment.
Ncube announced the proposed 2024 National Budget in Parliament on 30 November 2023. The budget will be debated and adopted or rejected by Parliament.
Responding to the budget proposals, Mugano urged ZANU PF and CCC MPs to reject it and request Ncube
redo the budget and produce a pro-poor budget. Wrote Mugano on X:
Parliament must reject the anti-people and anti-industry budget that was presented by Mthuli Ncube yesterday.
The proposed tax hikes and the move to exclude informal traders from the mainstream economy will bring more pain to the already impoverished people.
The decision to exclude traders without VAT certificates is very harsh and insensitive considering that more than 6 million people thrives on trading in the face of 85% formal unemployment and drought of economic opportunities.
These people, in their individual capacities, don’t have annual sales turnover of US$25 000 which is required to secure the VAT certificate.
This measure is expected to impact on the manufacturing sector negatively because the informal sector helps them to push volumes especially in manufacturing industries such as food and beverages (bread, ice cream, drinks, etc).
In the bread sector, for example, the volumes are pushed by vendors and tuckshops (not supermarkets) which are now supposed to be excluded from the bread value chain.
This will result in drastic fall in sales which has a net negative effect on production and jobs.
Is Mthuli Ncube aware of these dynamics and possibilities?
The following increases in taxes, levies and fees are a thorn in the flesh for an already struggling population:
– more than 100% increase in toll fees will push up bus fares and transport cost for the commuting public. The rural folks and pensioners will suffer the most as the timing of this policy measure is coinciding with a devastating drought – they will have to bear with these new measures over and above their struggle to put food on the table.
– introduction of levies on beverages with sugar is again insensitive as these are the drinks of the poor and our children.
– passport and vehicle number plates fees hikes are again schemes put in place to milk the poor.
– the US$300 will be taxed come January 2024 – so insensitive to the underpaid civil servants who were expected a salary hike.
– wealth tax reminds of the Rhodesian government which introduced hut tax and Mthuli Ncube admires the very same exploitative tax regime and introduce it again in “independent” Zimbabwe.
If Parliament is going to act in the best interest of the public, they must reject this budget and request Mthuli Ncube redo the budget and produce a pro-poor budget.
It is my prayer that ZANU PF and CCC MPs unite on this one and reject this useless budget.
If ZANU PF uses their majority vote to support this useless budget and overpower CCC by virtue of their numbers they are voting for more poverty for their rural constituencies where they got most of their votes.
In the same way, they are punishing the 6 million people in the informal sector as they will be endorsing their exclusion from the manufacturing sector value chains.
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