The Minister of Finance, Economic Development, and Investment Promotion, Mthuli Ncube, on Thursday suspended duty on power equipment, critical spares, and transformer components imported by subsidiaries under ZESA Holdings.
ZESA Holdings’ subsidiaries are ZESA Enterprises (ZENT), Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC), and Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC).
The suspension was announced in Statutory Instrument 93 of 2024 cited as Customs and Excise (Suspension) (Amendment) Regulations, 2024 (No. 272) published in an Extraordinary Government Gazette on Thursday. It reads in part:
Subject to this section and to such conditions as the (ZIMRA) Commissioner General may fix, a suspension of duty shall be granted for a period of two years, on power equipment, critical spares following commodity codes, imported by ZENT, ZETDC, the successor company of the ZETDC and the ZPC.
The elimination of duty will enable ZESA’s subsidiaries to acquire necessary equipment and components at a lower cost.
It will also allow for more efficient maintenance and repair of power infrastructure. Timely repairs and replacements can minimize downtime and improve service reliability.
ZESA has lost millions due to vandalism and theft of its equipment, particularly transformers, and the suspension of duty is expected to reduce the financial burden of replacing stolen or damaged equipment.
