President Emmerson Mnangagwa has signed into law the Finance Act and the Appropriation Act, giving legal effect to the 2026 National Budget recently passed by Parliament.
The signing was announced by Chief Secretary in the Office of the President and Cabinet, Martin Rushwaya, in an Extraordinary Government Gazette published on Monday.
The notice reads:
“The following laws, which were assented to by His Excellency, the President, are published in terms of Section 131 (6)(a) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, Finance Act and Appropriation Act.”
The Finance Act gives legal effect to the fiscal policy measures outlined in the Budget, while the Appropriation Act authorises spending by ministries and Government departments.
During parliamentary debate, Finance Minister, Mthuli Ncube withdrew his proposal to double the gold royalty rate to 10 per cent after lawmakers warned the increase would harm miners and the wider industry. As a result, the royalty will remain at 5 per cent for gold prices ranging from US$1,200 to US$5,000.
Ncube also dropped plans to introduce a cash withdrawal levy, following concerns that it would overburden formally employed citizens and undermine efforts to formalise the economy.
However, he rejected a proposal to ring-fence sugar tax revenue exclusively for the health sector, as initially intended when the levy was introduced.
He also refused to reverse the decision to raise Value Added Tax (VAT) by 0.5 percentage points from 15 per cent.
