SI 41 of 2026: What the New Model Fees Mean for Every Zimbabwean Business

By Tinotenda Bhunu

HARARE – WHEN Government gazetted Statutory Instrument 41 of 2026, many people saw just another legal notice. But for entrepreneurs, farmers, retailers, transport operators, and even municipal police, the Model Fees By-Laws, 2026 could quietly reshape the cost of doing business across Zimbabwe

Issued under the Urban Councils Act and the Rural District Councils Act, the instrument standardises, caps, reduces, or abolishes a wide range of local authority fees.

In simple terms: Government has moved to stop councils from overcharging businesses.

But what does this mean on the ground?

For the Entrepreneur in Gokwe and Other Rural Areas

In places like Gokwe, business is often tied to livestock, small-scale agriculture, boreholes, and informal trade.

Under SI 41 of 2026, several long-standing rural levies have been abolished:

• Livestock movement clearance fees
• Cattle levy
• Dairy permits
• Carcass inspection fees
• Borehole and water abstraction costs
• Generator levy
• Timber transportation levy

For a cattle trader moving a herd, that is immediate cost relief. For a farmer drilling a borehole for irrigation, it removes a recurring annual burden. For small grinding mills and rural shops relying on generators, the abolition of the generator levy reduces operating expenses.

In rural Zimbabwe, where profit margins are thin, these changes are not symbolic, they are practical. They lower barriers to formalisation and could encourage more small operators to register legally instead of staying informal.

For Small Businesses in Harare

For entrepreneurs in Harare, Bulawayo, and other urban centers, the reform focuses mainly on capping excessive business licence fees.

Restaurants, butcheries, bottle stores, wholesalers, food factories, and other businesses operating separately from retail shops now face a maximum annual fee capped at US$500. Many licences for operations within retail shops have been abolished altogether.

Previously, councils could charge layered fees, meaning one supermarket might pay separate licences for a bakery, butchery, takeaway, and bottle store inside the same premises. The new framework limits that multiplication effect.

The impact is clear:

• Greater cost predictability
• Reduced risk of arbitrary fee increases
• Lower compliance costs for SMEs
• A more uniform national licensing framework

For small restaurants, tuckshops expanding into formal takeaway services, or entrepreneurs opening butcheries, the capped fees improve business planning.

What It Means for Big Companies Like TM

Large retailers such as TM Supermarkets already operate formally. For them, the biggest advantage is regulatory consistency.

Before SI 41, fees varied widely from one municipality to another. A national chain expanding into multiple towns faced fragmented and sometimes inflated council charges. With standardised caps and abolished duplications, expansion becomes easier to forecast financially.

However, there is a second effect: reduced barriers for small competitors. As SMEs find it cheaper to formalise and operate, competition in retail markets may intensify.

Consumers may ultimately benefit the most.

Does This Prove Zimbabwe Is “Open for Business”?

President Emmerson Mnangagwa has repeatedly declared that Zimbabwe is “Open for Business.” Regulatory reform is central to that message.

SI 41 of 2026 supports that narrative in three ways:

1. It reduces the cost of doing business.
2. It limits arbitrary local authority charges.
3. It signals recognition that SMEs are key economic drivers.

But openness is not just about lowering fees.

Investors > both local and foreign also look at:

• Speed of licence processing
• Transparency in enforcement
• Quality of municipal services
• Stability of regulations

If councils comply with the caps but introduce new hidden charges, or if service delivery declines due to reduced revenue, the reform’s impact could be diluted.

<> The true test lies in implementation.

What It Means for Law Enforcement and Councils

For municipal police and enforcement officers, SI 41 narrows discretion. With clear caps and abolished levies, there is less room for interpretation or fee inflation. This shifts the role of enforcement from revenue collection toward compliance monitoring.

However, local authorities will face reduced income streams. Abolished livestock levies, generator charges and abstraction fees remove revenue lines many councils depended on.

That creates pressure.

If not managed carefully, councils may attempt to compensate through stricter enforcement elsewhere or introduce new charges under different names.

Strong oversight from central government will therefore be critical.

The Bigger Picture

At a national level, SI 41 of 2026 reflects a policy shift: moving from revenue extraction at local level toward enterprise support.

For:

• A cattle trader in rural Zimbabwe, it is relief.
• A small restaurant owner in Harare, it is predictability.
• A transport operator, it is lower friction.
• A large retailer, it is regulatory clarity.

If implemented faithfully, the reform could improve Zimbabwe’s local business climate significantly.

If poorly enforced, it risks becoming another well-intentioned but unevenly applied policy.

Conclusively,

Statutory Instrument 41 of 2026 may not dominate headlines, but its economic implications are real. By abolishing and capping numerous council fees, Government has taken a visible step toward reducing the burden on entrepreneurs.

Whether this step transforms Zimbabwe’s business environment will depend less on the wording of the Gazette and more on what happens at the licensing desk, at the cattle market, and in municipal offices across the country.

For now, the signal is positive. The delivery will determine the legacy.

Tinotenda Bhunu is an economist and emerging thought leader specializing in economic policy, entrepreneurship, and development in fragile economies. With a sharp focus on market reforms, private property rights, and sustainable growth, he transforms complex economic challenges into actionable solutions that empower communities and shape the future of Zimbabwe and Africa. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tinotenda-bhunu-114645208?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=android_app