The Zimbabwean government has backtracked on a controversial decision to ban imports of used motor vehicles more than five years old, but will enforce a ban on the import of left-hand-drive vehicles beginning in November.
Transport Minister Nicholas Goche announced Tuesday that following wide consultations the government has indefinitely suspended the ban on older vehicles, mainly because the Zimbabwean economy and motor industry are still struggling to recover.
The Transport Operators Association of Zimbabwe challenged the government's use of a section of the Road Traffic Act cited by the government in imposing the ban.
Imported vehicles are very cheap compared with locally assembled vehicles that cost around $20,000for a small sedan.
Transport Operators Association Vice Chairman Bernard Lunga told Jonga Kandemiiri that his organization welcomed the government's decision.
Economist Prosper Chitambara of the Labor and Economic Development Research Institute of Zimbabwe said the government's decision was well-advised considering that most Zimbabweans these days have little money to spend on transportation.
