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Minister of Finance Mthuli Ncube presented the 2024 fiscal plan with the theme Consolidating Economic Transformation, the 2024 national budget will focus on consolidating the gains by laying the foundation for sustainable and inclusive growth, Economic Development, Finance, and Investment.
Minister Ncube said, “The economy has undergone a fundamental transformation, driven by growth in the critical sectors such as infrastructure, agriculture, tourism, and mining”.
He addresses the nation’s aspirations for continued growth, prosperity, and stability.
He said, “The economy had exhibited resilience and growth in recent years, achieving successive growth rates above the regional average, having expanded by 18,5 percent and 6,5 in 2021 and 2022 respectively.
It is expected to register a 5,3 percent growth this year although this may slow down due to drought”.
Substantial investments have also been made in social infrastructure including learning facilities for primary, secondary, and tertiary sectors as well as health care facilities in both urban and rural areas. Infrastructure development has been a key focus with significant investments made in upgrading roads, improving energy, and enhancing water infrastructure.
The mining sector has experienced remarkable in recent years, fuelled by significant growth in lithium, gold, iron core, and platinum projects, creating employment, jobs, and increasing economic growth.
He said, “The speed and scale of the projects we are encouraging and would undoubtedly keep the country on course to become an upper middle-income economy. We want to consolidate to consolidate this transformation so that it takes us to the next level as move towards Vision 2023”.
Economist Mr Tinevimbo Shava reflected that the government may introduce measures to broaden the tax base while providing relief for certain income groups. Striking a balance between generating revenue and alleviating the burden on citizens will be a key consideration.
“The Zimbabwean tax framework remains growth limiting in terms of its overall haircut to business operations profitability. Any form of tax easing on the current tax structure should be welcoming to the greater business community”, said Rukarwa.
Dr Prosper Chitambara said, “Tax is one of the major challenges in terms of competitiveness gap as the economy and we need fewer taxes and simplified taxes across the board”.
Analyst Tafara Mtutu said, “Taxes were a delicate issue because if raised, they could make the few formal businesses run away from public glare into a shady informal market. The idea is to create an enabling environment to lure businesses in the dark to begin paying taxes after formalization, but unfortunately, l do not feel they will look in that direction”.
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