The Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry, Mr. Robert Sichinga , recently  held business meetings with the business community in the  North-Western and Copperbelt provinces  to address the challenges that the communities face in doing business in Zambia as well as look at business potential of the two provinces.

During the business meetings, Mr. Sichinga emphasized that the government was keen on bringing development to the whole of Zambia by addressing the concerns of the citizens.

In the North Western province , challenges  that the business community face in doing business that were brought up in the meeting included access to finance and loans, high cost of living, the awarding of tenders to supply the mines as well as lack of  capacity building  of  Micro and Small Enterprises.

On the Copperbelt, some of the challenges of doing business involve corruption, poor road infrastructure, access to finance, capacity and access to business in the mines.

In response to the challenges raised by the business communities in the North-Western and Copperbelt provinces, Mr. Sichinga emphasized that the government will work towards creating jobs and wealth.

He said one of the ways in which this will be done would be through lowering of taxes and creating clusters similar to multi-facility economic zones (MFEZs) for MSEs in which five products will be identified in each province that will be supported thereby creating more opportunities for citizens to make more money.

Mr. Sichinga added that the government had urged banks to reduce lending rates and is establishing one stop border posts to fasten the clearing process.

He further noted that the Zambia Development agency (ZDA) was establishing One Stop Shop facilities that are aimed at reducing the business registration process. Currently, the OSS is operational in Lusaka.

Mr. Sichinga made mention that a law for MSEs has been developed and taken to parliament to enhance the MSE Policy.

Mr. Sichinga emphasized that certain sectors of the economy will be reserved for Zambian citizens only and that the country needed to experience higher Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth from 7.6% to at least 11-12% for social benefits to be realised.