Farai Mabeza, Senior Staff Writer 
ZIMBABWE will exempt pharmaceutical manufacturers from paying import duty, in a bid to lower production costs and improve the sector’s competitiveness.
This is part of a wider government strategy which was approved this week to bolster the sector and increase local production of essential medicines from the current US$31,5 million to US$150 million by 2025. The sector is weighed down by obsolete and antiquated equipment, cumbersome registration procedures and limited innovation.
“Competitiveness of the local pharmaceutical industry will be achieved through such measures as the use of raw materials that are exempted from import duties as well as Value Added Tax deferment,” Information minister, Monica Mutsvangwa, told reporters after a Cabinet meeting adding that government institutions and hospitals will also be encouraged to procure pharmaceutical products from local manufacturers as part of the strategy.
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