State addressing business bottlenecks - Yaluma

By BUSINESS REPORTER GOVERNMENT will remove barriers that are hindering the growth of local businesses in Zambia, says Commerce minster Christopher Yaluma.

In an interview with the Daily Nation, Mr Yaluma noted that economic growth could be attained if Zambian owned-enterprises were supported in various ways.

“Remember when you talk of diversification and the release of industrial policy as a standalone policy, one of the strategies is to ensure that we promote small scale manufacturing to add value,” Mr Yaluma said.

He said Mansa Chili Limited was the latest classic example of Zambian-owned firm contributing to job and wealth creation.

“The company has created jobs, it has created wealth for more than 500 out-grower farmers for a small set up as it is but that thing will grow,” he said.

“The company talked about creating 15, 000 jobs in the next five years, that’s what we want to hear. Regarding access to finance, government has gone a mile ahead to ensure that we help our small scale industry,” he said.

He said one of the risks besetting the small scale industry was lack of knowledge.

“They would go in but they haven’t developed themselves sufficiently, they haven’t built capacity to understand the business dynamics. So as a result it becomes hand to mouth.

“But as government we said we must ensure that we train them, we capacitate them with required knowledge about particular business they can go in so that they can manage the business and grow it,”

Mr Yaluma also said setting up a business in Zambia had become so easy due to various policy interventions government was implementing.

“Today if an investor comes in it will take him a week and everything will be completed and they will get licences. Yes it used to be cumbersome back then but now things have change for the better,” he said.