Bulawayo, (New Ziana)-The business community in Bulawayo has welcomed the move by the Ministry of Industry and Commerce to revive the Commercial and Industrial Premises Rent Boards to cover all parts of the country.
The Northern Region Commercial and Industrial Premises Rent Board covers Harare, Mashonaland East, Mashonaland West, Mashonaland Central, Manicaland, and the Midlands Provinces, while the Southern Region Board oversees Bulawayo, Masvingo, Matabeleland North, and Matabeleland South provinces.
The Northern Region Board operates from the Mukwati Building in the capital and the Southern Region Board at the Mhlahlandlela Building in Bulawayo.
The mandate of the boards, as outlined in Statutory Instrument 676 of 1983 (Commercial Premises Rent Regulations of 1983), is to determine fair rents for commercial and industrial properties.
In recent years, the absence of these boards had left many business owners, particularly small and medium enterprises (SMEs), at the mercy of exploitative property owners and real estate agencies, who were taking advantage to charge exorbitant rates.
A survey by New Ziana found that some building owners are charging over US$4 000 for 90-square premises, excluding electricity.
Shop owners lamented that, in addition to the high rents, they must cover other overheads such as salaries, council licenses and Zimbabwe Revenue Authority obligations, making their businesses unsustainable.
Many property owners, predominantly foreign investors from countries like Pakistan and Somalia, have been buying buildings and partitioning them into smaller units, charging exorbitant rents and profiting significantly.
Local business people interviewed welcomed the revival of the rent boards, describing it as long overdue.
“This is a welcome development because these property owners were pushing us into the streets,” said one businessman, whose rentals were recently raised to US$4 000 per month from US$1 500.
“They are charging exorbitant rents, and we are left with no choice but to pass the costs to the ordinary person on the street or close shop and join the bandwagon in the streets,” he added.
Another businessman, Allan Ndhlovu, who runs a grocery shop along Fort Street, blamed property owners for pushing prices of other commodities high.
Devine Mpofu, a cell phone retailer, applauded the government, saying most foreign investors are focused on collecting foreign currency in Zimbabwe and repatriating it to their home countries.
He further noted that these foreign businesses often refuse to accept local currency.
Other entrepreneurs said the revival of the rent boards is a critical step toward protecting local businesses and ensuring fair rental practices in the face of rising economic challenges.
New Ziana
