Martin Muleya
MUTARE-FightInEqualityAlliance Zimbabwe has urged citizens to actively participate in the upcoming 2026 national budget consultations, advocating for significant policy shifts including a wealth tax and increased allocation to health care.
Addressing a people’s assembly that was organized by Zimbabwe Coalition on Debt and Development (ZIMCODD), FightInEquality Alliance Zimbabwe national coordinator Nqobizitha Mlambo highlighted his organization’s call for wealth tax, proposing that 15 percent of the national budget be directed towards health care. He criticized the 2025 budget, which allocated a ‘paltry’ 10.2 percent (ZIG 28.3billion) to health, a figure he stated violated the Abuja Declaration, to which Zimbabwe is a signatory.
“Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) speak to reducing inequality and Zimbabwe is a part to the SDGs. The National Development Strategy 1 (NDS) which is coming to an end, and we hope that the NDS2 will also look at ways to reduce inequality. One of the ways we are advocating for is the introduction of wealth tax. Those who are super rich should pay the tax and finance health care.
“Zimbabwean citizens on national budget are encouraged to participate in the public consultations. We are calling Zimbabweans to call for the implementation of wealth tax, introduce more wealth taxes, 15 percent of the total budget goes towards health care. We call on citizens to state these matters categorically clear without any equivocation or ambiguity,” he said.
He urged government to prioritize re-industrialization, suggesting that the Ministry of Industry and Commerce should receive increased funding to revatilize defunct companies and factories. He cited this as a ‘global trend’ where governments intervene with bailouts to prevent company closures.
Addressing the country’s economic landscape, Mlambo noted that Zimbabwe’s economy was 76 percent informal, with a target to reduce to 50 percent by 2030, a goal he believes is achievable through re-industrialization and a robust industrial policy.
“Government should re-invest on the re-industrialization of this country. We need to see the Ministry of Industry and Commerce to be allocated more money but that money should go towards revitalization of dead companies and factories. It is a global trend that when companies are struggling whether public or private government comes into play through bailouts so that those companies do not close,” Mlambo added.
He also brought attention to Zimbabwe’s public debt, stated by the Finance Minister in July as US$21.5 billion, with US$13.8 billion being external debt.
Mlambo expressed concern over the increasing external debt due to lack of commitment to service it, despite some of it being ‘illegitimate’.
The FightInEqualityAlliance Zimbabwe is fighting for debt forgiveness and a transparent forensic public debt audit involving Parliament, Civil Society and citizens. He criticized government’s commitment to compensate former white commercial farmers with US$3.5 billion, arguing that this uses taxpayer’s money to service a debt for land obtained during the liberation struggle. He reiterated that debt forgiveness, relief and absolute cancellation are crucial, especially if tied to funding health care.
