Blog #Zimbabwe

A few weeks ago, the government announced the scrapping of some fees and the reduction of fees in a wide range of areas from motorists fees, to city fees and to even business and agriculture fees but despite the announcement these fees had not yet been reduced raising concerns about the disconnection between central government and local authorities. In another move, the government has scrapped eleven licence requirements and consolidated fragmented local authority permits into a single, unitary licence as part of broader reforms to enhance the ease of doing business, Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube has said.

It all started in the telecommunications industry when StarLink entered the scene ending the monopoly enjoyed by Econet and Netone, we also radical reactions from these companies introducing cheaper solutions something they could have done before be didn’t because there was no real alternative. Now the same strategy will applied to the energy sector, to help end a monopoly with failed service delivery in most instances. Zimbabwe is poised to finally end ZESA Monopoly, as private companies can now buy and sell electricity to citizens. Let’s hope it will have the same impact as StarLink so here is all you need to know.

To say there has been discrepancies on water bills by councils would be an understatement with a lot of inconsistencies and unfair bills often attributed to guess work, as they had to send people to physically do meter readings. Well we don’t need to point out the flaws in this method as sometimes those sent might not be able to actually have readings for each and every household given in some homes there would be no one during the day and several other reasons. As we did with electricity, water bills have finally joined the club starting with Harare. The City of Harare, in partnership with Helcraw Water Pvt Ltd and Laison Technologies, has begun installing prepaid water meters, a move aimed at improving efficiency and promoting fair billing for residents.

For the past few weeks, as we have covered in our earlier articles, the government has been slashing prices on several fees for things like licenses, city parking and more though the price cuts haven’t come into effect. This comes at a time where citizens are suffering with the deteriorating economy and failing to pay some of these fees, another agency has joined the bandwagon to try and ease the financial issues the Citizens are facing. The Zimbabwe National Road Administration (ZINARA) has introduced flexible payment terms for motorists who are in arrears in terms of vehicle licences. The headline is you can now pay in structured payment plans to help everyone clear their debts.

Ever since the modern day AI got on the scene, it has been impacting almost every aspect of our lives and in business, from finance to the health sector. Some companies have even gone as far as replacing some jobs with AI in a frightening reality check of the future awaiting humanity of a world run by AI. In the latest series of AI driven events, Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) is adopting artificial intelligence (AI) in its new five-year strategy to transform tax administration, integrate the informal sector and raise the country’s tax-to-GDP [gross domestic product] ratio to US$11,5 billion by 2030. Here is all you need to know.

Some time ago the US announced a list of 7 African countries where no new visas were to be issued for the time being. So basically this meant that those who wanted to apply for new Visas to go to the United States couldn’t expect for officials. In a surprising turn of events the U.S. government announced official application locations for citizens of seven African countries that currently lack local visa services. This move aims to streamline the visa application process for applicants who previously faced the challenge of traveling long distances to access U.S. consular services. So here is what you need to know.

For centuries the standard world map used in schools, offices and pretty much everywhere has been the Mercator projection, a centuries-old map style from the age of sail, still prevails in the internet age. Just in case you didn’t know, it was drawn that way to be easily used for navigation particularly in the sea so generally some of the countries were distorted and their sizes magnified or reduced in size. For example Africa seems like a small continent but the truth is USA, China, South America and most of western Europe can fit into Africa and still leave some space. Relevant African bodies are pushing for the correction of this centuries old misinformation and introduce a map that truly reflect the true sizes of continents and countries. So Here’s what the African Union wants to use instead.

Fraudulent documents are now the theme of the day from fake academic certificates to fake licenses now the ZIMRA Tax Clearance is now being faked. So why does this matter to you?, well a Tax Clearance certificate is something that you need to have when you are running a business whether small or big or if you want to buy or sell properties, it’s an important document but if you are caught with a fake document you risk jail time whether you unknowingly secured it so it’s always best to know what to look out for. Zimbabweans are being advised to verify all Capital Gains Tax (CGT) Clearance Certificates before using them in any legal or property transaction.

Prior to StarLink entry, Zimbabwe had one of the most expensive data packages if not the most expensive in the world. While the introduction of StarLink might have resulted in changes the problem is still not yet resolved. Some giants like Econet were forced to innovate, coming up with SmartBiz to counter the StarLink threat. While StarLink monthly pricing is cheap, well there Kit to get started has a steep price tag which most Zimbabweans can’t afford in one go, that’s why most Zimbabweans have failed to crossover. But StarLink now offers these Kits for free in Zimbabwe and DRC just like how it has done in several European countries but to get a free kit you have to commit to a 12 month subscription plan. So here is all you need to know.

It all starts with a dream and a vision to have a place you call your own, without having to actually worry about monthly rentals or bothersome landlords who can be sometimes too demanding. That pursuit for freedom leads you to deciding on building your own house and you would need a place to build your dream home and that’s where the councils in every city and rurals come in, to sell you the stand to build on. With the instability of our economy, well things don’t go according to plan, you may have the money to buy the stand but you may soon realise you don't earn enough to build a house and the law doesn’t permit resale of undeveloped stands unless you are a licensed developer. If you don’t develop for a certain period your land gets taken without compensation, let’s delve in to what really goes on.

While Zimbabwe might have been slow in embracing the current technology, it’s evident the digital platforms are here to stay and lately we have been trying to keep up. Last year we saw the introduction of electronic case management system for courts then followed by the more recent Border Management System with the latter greatly reducing waiting times on airports and borders. Now it seems a new sector is going to see this digital transformation. In this piece we are going to take a closer look into Validation of Title Deeds Under the New Deed Registries Regulations, 2025 (SI 76 of 2025). It was long overdue but better late than never right?, Zimbabwe has now introduced digital title deeds under new 2025 property law. So how does this really work.

Scams have come in many forms or shape in Zimbabwe, from the infamous E-Creator pyramid scheme that duped millions of their hard earned cash to Metamax and more. There is always a new thing on the block so it’s always advisable to be vigilant and stay up-to date with the latest. Recently a new scam has taken Harare by storm with con artists masquerading as H-Metro journalists and blackmailing people which included a legislator - demanding payments to ensure they don’t publish sensational stories of those targeted individuals. Organised crime is not a new thing but it has evolved in recent times. This new group seems to be targeting influential individuals but no one is off limits for them so how exactly are they doing it.