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Last night we told you about the sudden change of direction with the change in trade license regime. Cabinet got jumpy before a 2025 general election and changed and ordered that municipal governments and village councils put a pause on the change in how licenses are assessed.
Today the CEO for local government confirmed this:
Valentino Shal, CEO,Ministry of Rural Transformation
"I think what I can say about that is the trade license regime will go ahead. What was changed by the cabinet is simply the effective day of implementation so it was moved from January to October so that will still go ahead just the time change that's really it yeah."
The plan - well sensitized and advertised - was that as of January of 2025, trade licenses would be charged based on the productive footprint of the business - as opposed to a percentage of the rental value. The new system - it was said - would provide more predictability and revenue neutrality - and give councils a modest bump in revenue.
There is disappointment in the city, town and village councils since public education and sensitization had already been done and they were all looking forward to the increased revenue.
