KARAMCHAND

By JAMES KUNDA and MUNAMBEZA MUWANEI-
THE Kitwe District Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KDCCI) has said the Government’s decision to revoke Statutory Instruments (SIs) number 33 of 2012 and 55 of 2013 will stir-up investor confidence.
And the The Zambia Association Manufacturers (ZAM) has said the SI 55 had created a negative perception in the business environment.
KDCCI president Raj Karamchand said in interview from Kitwe that the two policies were an impediment to attracting investments in key sectors of the economy due to prolonged procedures in their application.
Mr Karamchand said both policies also disadvantaged local suppliers of imported products as the Kwacha intermittently lost value against other convertible global currencies.
He said the move to revoke the SIs was likely to improve Zambia’s ranking among global economies providing the most favourable environment in which to do business.
“The pronouncement to revoke the two policies is to the betterment of business entities operating in Zambia because it opens the window for more people to invest in the country,” he said.
And ZAM chief executive officer Maybin Nsupila said revocation of the SIs has sent a strong message that Government was not interested in exchange controls.
Mr Nsupila said the SI 33 resulted in a number of organisations to incur losses but with the revocation, Government should strengthen the currency by promoting domestic manufacturing.
“This is a starting point and more needs to be done by the Government to strengthen the economy,” he said.
He said a lot of lessons have been learnt from the two SI’s and urged Government to consult widely whenever it wants to come up with such policies.
An economist Noel Nkhoma urged government to step up measures aimed at strengthening the local currency by reducing on imports of consumer goods.
Finance Minister Alexander Chikwanda on Friday announced the revocation of SIs 33 of 2012 and 55 of 2013 in a move to salvage the depreciation trend of the Kwacha.
The SI 33 was a policy that prohibited the quoting and payment of goods and services in foreign currency locally, while SI 55 compelled the Bank of Zambia to monitor inflows and outflows as well as international transactions.