Govt sticks to its gun on secondhand ban

Finance minister Patrick Chinamasa yesterday told the National Assembly that the government would not budge on its ban on importation of secondhand clothes, as the move was meant to protect the local industry.

Chinamasa said this while presenting Finance No 2 (2015) Bill to do with the Mid-term Fiscal Policy Review statement. He said it would be hypocritical for him to say that he wanted to protect local industries, and still allow the sale of secondhand clothes.

He said the textile industries in South Africa had collapsed because of sale of secondhand clothing, adding he will not allow Zimbabwean companies to follow suit.