Foreign firms hit by Zim payment gridlocks
BUYERS representing foreign firms importing goods from Zimbabwe said this week delays in processing payments were among several factors increasing the cost of doing export business.
e buyers, who spoke during an exporters’ seminar in Harare on Wednesday, said it was taking up to 10 days for funds sent by importers to reflect in Zimbabwean banks. e delays have compounded other problems, such as complications in securing export permits, one buyer told the seminar.
ey said the government must review requisite policies to build viable exporting businesses in Zimbabwe.
“Payments are taking too long to reflect in Zimbabwe,” said Newton Magoronga, a representative of Zambian firm, Nartbridge. “It is frustrating because right now the standard practice is that within 24 hours if you send money, the money should reflect. But in Zimbabwe sometimes it takes 10 working days for the money to reflect. So imagine, you waited for the export permit and you are now waiting for the payment to reflect in your account. At the end of the day we (Zimbabweans) are losing out because there are other countries who are presenting better (options),” Magoronga added.
He also spoke on challenges faced by exporters with regards to a system run by the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra).
“My understanding is that the automated systems for customs data (ASYCUDA) is just the same whether it be in Zambia, Zimbabwe or South Africa,” Magoronga said.“But when you are in Zambia, if you do your export, the maximum is two days and there are time frames laid down. But here we don’t have laid down time frames. You just have to wait and wait. My plea to policy makers is that (they look at those issues),” he added.
In March, Zimbabwe’s trade promotion agency, ZimTrade, said high permit fees charged by the government to floriculture exporters, for instance, were draining fortunes out of farmers annually because markets were shifting to other countries.
ZimTrade revealed that floriculture export permits were 35,7 times more expensive in some cases for Zimbabwe, compared to the region.