The government has collected approximately US$18 million from the sugar tax since the beginning of the year, according to Finance, Economic Development, and Investment Promotion Minister Mthuli Ncube.
This controversial sugar tax was introduced to raise funds towards the procurement of cancer treatment equipment and accessories.
Announced in the 2024 National Budget late last year, the tax came into effect at the start of the year as part of measures to reduce the consumption of high-sugar beverages.
During a question-and-answer session in Parliament last week, Luveve-Emakhandeni National Assembly legislator Discent Collins Bajila (CCC) inquired about the sugar tax collection for the first quarter of 2024. In response, Ncube said:
<blockquote>
Madam Speaker, special tax of beverages with sugar content for the first quarter amounted to ZiG7,9 million, cumulative collections to date amounted to ZiG248,9 million which is equivalent to about US$18 million.
Treasury is in the process of working on modalities to join in with the Minister of Health for the procurement of cancer machines and drugs for distribution in our hospitals.
We are working speedily with the Ministry of Health and Child Care through the procurement processes so that we can acquire these machines and drugs as soon as possible.
</blockquote>
In his 2024 budget presentation, Ncube proposed a levy of US$0.02 per gramme of sugar contained in beverages, excluding water.
However, following lobbying from the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI), which argued that the initial figure was too high, Ncube later reduced the tax to US$0.01 per gramme.
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The government collected $18 million from a sugar tax to get money for cancer treatment equipment. The tax started at the beginning of the year. The tax is meant to decrease the intake of high-sugar drinks. They are working to get cancer machines and medicine for hospitals. At first, the tax was $0.02 per gram of sugar, but they reduced it to $0.01 due to complaints.

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