During a consultation event, the Confederation of Economic Associations (CTA) argued that the tax levied as part of the implementation of the Decree on the Extended Responsibility of Producers and Importers of Packaging should be used to create a fund to finance private sector initiatives that promote the reuse of waste.
The event, which took place in Maputo a few days ago, was aimed at consulting on the legal provision and the Regulation on the Registration and Certification of Importers and Exporters of Basic Food Products, as reported by Jornal Notícias on Wednesday, 9 October.
According to the body, the operationalisation of the Environmental Packaging Tax, brought in by Decree No. 79/2017, of 28 December, of the Ministry of Land and Environment, aims to adopt principles, standards and guidelines to make producers and importers of packaging and waste responsible, with a view to protecting the environment.
In this way, entrepreneurs believe that the creation of a national industry capable of reusing the waste generated in various commercial activities can reduce the environmental impact and contribute to the creation of more jobs.
On the other hand, as this is yet another tax on businesspeople, according to João Carlos Frade, vice-president of the CTA’s Soils and Environment Department, despite feeling suffocated by what he considers to be ‘fees and taxes’, they recognise its relevance, given its purpose.
In this context, he emphasised that the confederation suggests that the amount collected be used to create a fund to sponsor small industrial initiatives aimed at processing waste throughout its value chain.
However, the source notes that, at the moment, initiatives to collect this material are geared towards export, due to the lack of local industries capable of promoting its requalification. This situation, he says, could lead to chaos the day that, for whatever reason, the export markets stop receiving it.
‘So what we want is for this tax to actually serve to finance private sector initiatives aimed at investing in industries capable of, on the one hand, absorbing this labour and, on the other, generating products and, consequently, added value from what we now consider waste,’ he stressed.
João Carlos Frade also said that, at the moment, there is still no consensus, although there is awareness of the damage that packaged products cause to the environment.
‘We are also aware that there are thousands of jobs generated by the collection of packaging, as any of us can see in any city in the country, and we need to counterbalance this,’ he said, adding that the Decree could bring challenges, but also countless opportunities.