SATA
By KAIKO NAMUSA-
THE Citizens Economic Empowerment Commission (CEEC) disbursed K34 million in 2013 for 746 projects to boost the rural industrialisation strategy, President Michael Sata has said.
President Sata said the projects financed by the CEEC totalling K34, 504, 305.93, included 44 micro processing units, 55 factories, 280 in dairy production, 115 in fish production and 225 involved in trading.
Mr Sata posted this on his Facebook page yesterday and reiterated Government’s commitment to foster industrial development that was led and owned by Zambians.
“Government will continue to empower the people of Zambia through diverse but integrated socio-economic strategies that include ownership of productive assets and resources, increasing levels of employment in the formal sector, increasing household incomes, expanding literacy and skills development, and ensuring preferential procurement and access to services of state institutions,” he said.
The President said Government intended to provide access to finance over the period 2013 – 2017 to at least 2,700 Small and Medium Entrepreneurs and 45,000 micro-entrepreneurs in line with the Patriotic Front manifesto.
He said the CEEC had also extended a finance facility of K3.5 million for a new cotton project, which included setting up of a cotton ginnery in Mumbwa that would create up to 11, 000 employment opportunities.
