Govt nurtures SMEs
By NATION REPORTER GOVERNMENT will come up with Statutory Instruments (SI) to nurture and protect the interest of Small and Medium Entrepreneurs (SMEs) in the country.
Commerce, Trade and Industry Minister Christopher Yaluma said SMEs are an important driver of economic development.
Mr Yaluma said the SMEs and other players in the informal sector were significantly contributing to the growth of the economy and so government would level the playing field by coming up with Statutory Instruments to protect the businesses.
The Minister said in an interview in Kitwe on Wednesday evening that government was determined to protect the local businesses from unfair competition.
“As government, we are determined to ensure that we protect the local SMEs because they contribute to the economy of the country. We have initiatives and policies which would be translated into SI.
“These initiatives and policies which would be translated into Statutory Instruments are going to nurture and protect the interests and businesses of our local SMEs,” Mr Yaluma said.
Mr Yaluma said government wanted the Local SMEs to grow into big businesses but that they would firstly need to be nurtured for them to migrate into larger entities.
This was in response to concerns that foreigners, especially Chinese, were taking over businesses and disadvantaging Zambians.
He said government was aware about the concerns and would soon redress the situation.
“As government, we are aware about the concerns of the local SMEs and we are trying to work on their concerns. We have embarked on a number of measures to protect the local people.