The Sunday Mail
Livingstone Marufu —
ZIMTRADE — the country’s premier trade promotion body — is exploring measures of ensuring efficiency in the collection of the trade development surcharge (TDS), and potentially diversification, as it seeks to shore up its dwindling revenue streams.
This follows a 2 percent drop in total income from US$2, 651 million in 2014 to US$2, 595 million last year. ZimTrade chairman Mr Lance Jena says TDS remains the group’s key source of income, contributing 95 percent of the total income, hence the need to locate avenues of ring-fencing it.
“The board continues to explore measures to ensure efficiency in the collection of TDS, while also seeking to augment total income through diversifying the revenue streams,” said Mr Jena in the chairman’s report for 2015 presented recently. TDS was US$2,5 million last year, unchanged from 2014.
Total expenditure was US$2,422 million, representing a 2 percent increase compared with 2014. Exports development expenditure increased by 10 percent due to an increase in the number of export programmes undertaken.
ZimTrade facilitated the participation of local manufacturing companies in various regional trade fairs including the Source Africa, Africa’s Big Seven and the Zambia Agricultural and Commercial Show and orders of about US$2,8 million were confirmed as a result of the initiative.
The national trade promotion body says the general economic performance remained depressed throughout the financial year, compounded by the effects of low foreign direct investment inflows, liquidity challenges, low exports, business failures, retrenchments and a decline in disposable income.
Liquidity challenges are impacting negatively on the general economic performance but the situation is expected to improve markedly in the next few months following the introduction of bond notes by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe to spur exports.
So far, the central bank has injected US$17 million into circulation. RBZ Governor Dr John Mangudya has indicated that about US$75 million worth of bond notes would be in circulation by end of year, which could oil the economy.
ZimTrade is planning to embark on vigorously export programmes so as to improve the country’s trade deficit. There has been a marginal improvement in the trade deficit, from US$3,32 billion in 2014 to US$3,29 billion last year, but the figure is seen as unsustainable.
High production costs, high transportation costs, prohibitive requirements for multiple export licences or permits and cumbersome and expensive product registration, are some of the challenges that have largely weighed down exports as they become uncompetitive in foreign markets.
Meanwhile, Mr Mike Juru and Mrs Peggy Rambanepasi have been elected into new ZimTrade board. The duo took office almost a fortnight ago.
Mr Juru, who is the current Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC) chairman, has promised to add his entrepreneurship skills to the board.
His involvement with many disciplines including industry, commerce, standards, corporate governance, financial services, construction and property valuation and negotiation would be crucial in mobilising resources for the company.
