Powerspeed sounds off on over regulation

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POWERSPEED Electrical (Powerspeed) says the increasing regulatory burden on formal business is driving costs up and tilting odds in favour of informal traders.
“Ever increasing regulation of formal business are increasing the cost of doing business in Zimbabwe while making it easier for informal traders, who are now our largest competitors,” Powerspeed said last week in a trading update for the quarter ending December 2019.
“Laws preventing formal business from accepting US dollar payments are not applicable to informal traders, which allows them to access markets from which we are precluded,” the company said.
A recent report by the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC) said the country’s thriving informal sector, which now accounts for more that 70 percent of the country’s labour force, has been abetted by policy loopholes.
“The informal sector is indeed enjoying some business opportunities and earns significant revenues that are more than enough to sustain the owners’ livelihoods,” the report said.