Earlier this year the Zimbabwe government decided to update the list of goods that required an import licence when brought into the country for commercial purposes. There is a fair bit of latitude on goods imported for personal use. The resulting document is the Control of Goods (Import and Export) (Commerce) (Amendment) Regulations, 2026 (No.15). The rationale behind the update is to put it simply trade protection, stimulation of local businesses and the saving of foreign currencies (they could start on the latter by not stealing so much themselves). There is a condensation of the rationale here but for those who insist on reading the original document you can download it here.
The document is mostly mundane but there are a few items that are quite unusual. Let’s start with the toilet paper.
Yes, we are protecting the local toilet paper industry. I cannot say I’ve had much in the way of first hand experience of using local toilet paper but I strongly suspect that the occasional roll of single ply that I’ve experienced in toilets attached to customers’ waiting rooms has been the local stuff. In this household it’s strictly multi ply.
Most serious toilet paper is double ply though I have come across triple ply. Single ply is in its own league. Whilst not useless there are challenges involved. Using it single is not an option for obvious reasons so it is sensible to double it up. Even that is risky so fold again to get four layers – economising is not wise. By now you might have realized that it would be cheaper to have used regular double ply in the first place. Will local manufacturers step up to the plate and produce decent quality now that they are protected? We’ll see.
Then we come to the nukes. Yes, you read that correctly.
I have to admit I have no idea what they mean by this. We have no locally produced nuclear reactors and no money to import one either. The government is heavily in debt and looking to China to help us out with our “$34 billion infrastructure challenge” in exchange for mineral deals. So I guess we won’t be needing import licences for “Parts of nuclear reactors” either.
Then we go from the absurd to vague – “other”.
Other what? Again this is more than a bit vague and gives the customs officials overseeing the import more than a bit of latitude. It appears in a few other places in the document as well. That could be intentional.
Some of it is quite reasonable – no importation of second-hand underwear at all. Not sure why anyone would want to wear used undies even if they had been washed. What will hurt is the importation of bales of second-hand clothes that is big business. It’s all very well encouraging people to “buy Zimbabwean” but if they cannot afford new clothes, as is evidently the case, what are their options?
The document is by no means an exhaustive list of items requiring an import licence. Last year I imported coir pith, from Sri Lanka, that we used in the nursery as a medium in which the seedlings are grown. It required in import licence and the requirements for that were onerous but I’ve done it for 11 years so it was tedious but expected. I do have to wonder how many people will not be familiar with the import requirements and will arrive at the border posts with items in commercial quantities that now require a licence only to have them impounded. I am fairly certain that nuclear reactors, tariff code 8401.10.00, won’t be among them.
Zimbabwe Absurdity 
No nukes please – local ones excepted!
5 07 2026Earlier this year the Zimbabwe government decided to update the list of goods that required an import licence when brought into the country for commercial purposes. There is a fair bit of latitude on goods imported for personal use. The resulting document is the Control of Goods (Import and Export) (Commerce) (Amendment) Regulations, 2026 (No.15). The rationale behind the update is to put it simply trade protection, stimulation of local businesses and the saving of foreign currencies (they could start on the latter by not stealing so much themselves). There is a condensation of the rationale here but for those who insist on reading the original document you can download it here.
The document is mostly mundane but there are a few items that are quite unusual. Let’s start with the toilet paper.
Yes, we are protecting the local toilet paper industry. I cannot say I’ve had much in the way of first hand experience of using local toilet paper but I strongly suspect that the occasional roll of single ply that I’ve experienced in toilets attached to customers’ waiting rooms has been the local stuff. In this household it’s strictly multi ply.
Most serious toilet paper is double ply though I have come across triple ply. Single ply is in its own league. Whilst not useless there are challenges involved. Using it single is not an option for obvious reasons so it is sensible to double it up. Even that is risky so fold again to get four layers – economising is not wise. By now you might have realized that it would be cheaper to have used regular double ply in the first place. Will local manufacturers step up to the plate and produce decent quality now that they are protected? We’ll see.
Then we come to the nukes. Yes, you read that correctly.
I have to admit I have no idea what they mean by this. We have no locally produced nuclear reactors and no money to import one either. The government is heavily in debt and looking to China to help us out with our “$34 billion infrastructure challenge” in exchange for mineral deals. So I guess we won’t be needing import licences for “Parts of nuclear reactors” either.
Then we go from the absurd to vague – “other”.
Other what? Again this is more than a bit vague and gives the customs officials overseeing the import more than a bit of latitude. It appears in a few other places in the document as well. That could be intentional.
Some of it is quite reasonable – no importation of second-hand underwear at all. Not sure why anyone would want to wear used undies even if they had been washed. What will hurt is the importation of bales of second-hand clothes that is big business. It’s all very well encouraging people to “buy Zimbabwean” but if they cannot afford new clothes, as is evidently the case, what are their options?
The document is by no means an exhaustive list of items requiring an import licence. Last year I imported coir pith, from Sri Lanka, that we used in the nursery as a medium in which the seedlings are grown. It required in import licence and the requirements for that were onerous but I’ve done it for 11 years so it was tedious but expected. I do have to wonder how many people will not be familiar with the import requirements and will arrive at the border posts with items in commercial quantities that now require a licence only to have them impounded. I am fairly certain that nuclear reactors, tariff code 8401.10.00, won’t be among them.
Share this:
Related