Business confidence in Zim undermined after controversial tax

Annheuser -Busch InBev’s Zimbabwe interest said the government dithering over a controversial tax on money transfers had led to panic buying of beer. Photo: Reuters

Annheuser -Busch InBev’s Zimbabwe interest said the government dithering over a controversial tax on money transfers had led to panic buying of beer. Photo: Reuters

Published Nov 8, 2018

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JOHANNESBURG - Annheuser -Busch InBev’s Zimbabwe interest said the government dithering over a controversial tax on money transfers had led to panic buying of beer and a disruption in fuel supplies, overshadowing a bumper six-month period of sales. 

Delta Corporation, which has the world’s biggest brewer as its largest shareholder, said business confidence had been undermined in the nation. The shortage of fuel has disrupted deliveries, while a surge in demand has made the market unpredictable, it said yesterday.

Zimbabwe’s Finance Minister, Mthuli Ncube, introduced the levy last month to help repair stretched state finances, only for President Emmerson Mnangagwa to announce a rethink after a wave of panic buying and a rise in basic-commodity prices. Foreign-exchange shortages and austerity measures have also hurt consumers yet to see signs of an economic revival after the ouster of Robert Mugabe a year ago. 

Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa. PHOTO: ANA Reporter

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