By BRIAN HATYOKA –
THE Bank of Zambia (BoZ) is reviewing laws guiding the operations of the Credit Reference Bureau (CRB) to provide a timeframe loan defaulters to remain in the database as this should not be a form of perpetual punishment.
BoZ Governor Denny Kalyalya noted that some people were still appearing as defaulters in the database of the CRB when some were no longer owing commercial banks.
He was speaking in an interview in Livingstone last week after he addressed the business community and other stakeholders during a meeting hosted by the Livingstone Chamber of Commerce and Industry LCCI).
“There must be a timeframe within which the list of defaulters appear just like the courts of law gives specified periods of sentences for those convicted. Your name should be removed from being a defaulter to give you a new life because you have served your punishment. It can’t be perpetual otherwise you can’t survive as a defaulter,” Dr Kalyalya said.
He also expressed optimism that the inflation rate would not jump to double digits even though the March rate went up to around seven per cent.
“We are hopeful that it won’t jump to double digits. What we are hearing and yet to get confirmations from colleagues from agriculture on the crop forecasting. Each particular phase where inflation has gone up, it is the issue of vegetables, tomatoes and these have seasons and so we are now going into the period the production of such products will be up and the price will drop in this coming season. We are still hopeful that the price won’t spike much from that level,” he said.