Heed laws, Kitwe Mayor tells investors
KITWE City Council has appealed to foreign investors to adhere to the Investment act and other laws to avoid being sanctioned.
The local authority has observed that many foreign investors in Kitwe had not met the $250, 000 threshold worth of investment, which is required for foreigners to be given a trading license in Zambia. Christopher Kang’ombe said the council was not interested in investors with small businesses but those that will add value to the country’s critical sectors of the economy. Mr Kang’ombe said the council was only interested in investors that would create jobs for the locals on a large scale. He was speaking in an interview yesterday after an ordinary full council meeting. The Mayor said the council had been engaging investors and inspecting their premises to identify businesses according to the requirements of the Zambia Development Agency (ZDA) Act. Mr Kang’ombe explained however that the local authorities decided to engage the investors as opposed to pushing them out for not adhering to the law on investment. “We are not interested in investors who will come and employ three people. We are interested in registering businesses to individuals and companies that would want to add value to our raw materials and create jobs. “We started engaging investors last year because according to the ZDA Act, for one to be given a licence to invest in a country you need to commit $250,000 worth of investment. Ask me if any of those have invested that much in Kitwe the answer is no,” he said. Mr Kang’ombe said investors had agreed to do large commercial activities as opposed to trading in compounds and competing with the local businesses. He said the investors would all move to either the industrial area or town centre where they will be conducting their businesses. Mr Kang’ombe has since appealed to all investors to ensure they follow the ZDA Act and avoid conflicts with local businesses as well as the authorities.
We started engaging investors last year because according to the ZDA Act, for one to be given a licence to invest in a country you need to commit $250,000 worth of investment. Ask me if any of those have invested that much in Kitwe the answer is no,” - Christopher Kang’ombe