By JUDITH NAMUTOWE –
THE Government should strengthen local mining service linkages to allow more Zambian suppliers participate in the economy, the Civil Society for Poverty Reduction (CSPR) has said.
Acting executive director Makani Mzyece said in a statement in Lusaka yesterday that the mining sector in Zambia currently spends more than US$1 billion per year, with foreign firms dominating the industry.
Mr Mzyece noted that concerns have been raised by local organisations like Zambia Manufacturing Association (ZAM) that foreign firms have taken up a large chunk of support service expenditure of mining sector.
The Government should, therefore, strengthen local service linkages.
He said policy interventions were needed to improve the local linkages of high-value sectors if the country could improve the well-being of Zambians.
“We further call for careful interventions that help reduce the level of work that is exported outside the country while on the other hand ensure there was enough support given to improve Zambian capability to carry out the necessary support services to high-value sectors.
“The focus for Zambia will be to balance these efforts without disrupting the performance of industries,” he said.
