Fishy foreign investment questioned

THE influx of foreign investors who have taken over small businesses meant for young entrepreneurs have become a menace, says Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) National Youth Coordinator, Gerald Chiluba.

And Mr Chiluba called on government to regulate the extent to which foreign investors were operating, adding that foreigners should come with massive investments.

He said in a statement that small entrepreneur businesses had been suffocated and some shut down due to the uncontrollably penetration of foreigners.

Mr Chiluba pointed out that young people today could not even do small businesses and compete among themselves as the competition was now with foreigners.

He claimed that when someone visits any place or market in Zambia, they would find that most people doing small businesses were foreigners. Mr Chiluba said that foreigners were the ones running small shops and hardware shops and that Zambian traders were slowly being displaced because they could not compete favorably due to lack of empowerment.

“Today when you visit any place or market in Zambia you will find that most people doing small businesses are foreigners. They are the ones running small shops and hardware shops, Zambian traders are slowly being displaced because they cannot compete favorably due to lack of empowerment and under empowerment among other things,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mr Chiluba advised government to restrict investment permits been accorded to foreigners.

He also stressed the need to integrate entrepreneurship in the education curriculum so that citizens could be exposed to the knowledge of entrepreneurship at an early stage.

Mr Chiluba further urged government to deliberately put up stringent measures on foreigners who had invaded small scale businesses by ensuring that Zambians were protected.