GOVERNMENT and private sector leaders have called for transparent implementation of Statutory Instrument 215 of 2025, as debate intensifies over how the country’s reserved sectors policy will affect investment, competitiveness and local enterprise growth.
Speaking at a Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC) engagement in Harare, Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development deputy minister Kiven Mutimbanyoka defended the policy as a necessary tool to protect and grow indigenous businesses, particularly small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
He said SMEs remained central to Zimbabwe’s economy, accounting for over 60% of employment and contributing more than 70% of GDP.
“It is for this reason that National Development Strategy 2 places SMEs at the centre of economic growth as Zimbabwe accelerates towards Vision 2030,” he said.
SI 215 reserves sectors such as transport, haulage, retail and wholesale for Zimbabwean citizens, limiting foreign participation where local capacity exists.
Mutimbanyoka argued that foreign firms often outsource services to providers from their home countries, crowding out capable local SMEs.
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He noted the expansion of foreign-owned retail outlets to spaces traditionally occupied by small traders, which he said weakened entrepreneurial ecosystems and limited opportunities for women and youth.
ZNCC president Tapiwa D Karoro said the private sector broadly supported economic empowerment but remained concerned about implementation, drawing lessons from the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act.
“How empowerment is pursued matters just as much as the objective itself,” he said.
Businesses are seeking clearer definitions, sector boundaries, exemptions and treatment of integrated business models under SI 215.
Karoro called for harmonised interpretation across institutions, clear transitional periods and predictable localisation pathways.
“Protection without productivity is unsustainable,” he warned.
ZNCC Trade and Investment Sub-committee chairperson Washington Dube said discussions revealed broad agreement on empowerment objectives, but deep concern that success hinges on execution.
“The core debate is not about whether empowerment is necessary, but how it is implemented,” he said.
Participants highlighted risks tied to legal ambiguity, administrative unpredictability and compressed timelines.
The dialogue ended with calls for continued government-business engagement to ensure SI 215 strengthens local enterprise without undermining investment confidence or economic stability.