.Mwanakatwe

By CATHERINE NYIRENDA –

GOVERNMENT is in the process of amending laws that govern the commerce trade and industry sector to keep them abreast with modern economic trends.
Commerce Trade and Industry Minister Margaret Mwanakatwe said the current legal framework which govern the commerce trade and industry sector were developed in the era of liberalisation in the early 1990s.
“Many of these laws whilst not archaic have with the passage of time, in a dynamic world of global business, become increasingly moribund and in dire need of revamping,” Ms Mwanakatwe said.
She said this yesterday when she gave her maiden speech in Parliament, following her appointment as minister recently.
In line with this, Ms Mwanakatwe said she would present to Parliament no less than 10 new bills which will cover among others, the company law, standardisation and quality assurance , intellectual property law, as well as other interventions aimed at developing the micro, small and medium enterprises.
“We have set ourselves an ambitious agenda aimed at bringing our business environment and investment climate to international standards, whilst remaining cognizant of the unique attributes of our country,” she said.
She appealed to the Members of Parliament (MPs) to work with her in expanding the involvement of the Zambian citizens in the economy.
She said the role of the leaders must be to find and deploy the necessary interventions and create an enabling environment which will foster the creation of wealth, empower and benefit Zambian citizens.
“If our citizens are reduced to the role of mere spectators, marginalised and sitting passively in the gallery and unable to share in the spoils of entrepreneurship, we shall have failed them,” she said.
She firmly believed that national development cannot be sustainable unless it is buttressed by the active involvement and participation of majority.
She said every investment in the country must come with opportunities for new businesses owned by Zambians, opportunities for Zambians to share in these multi-national companies and increased growth prospects for small and medium scale entrepreneurs.
She pledged to bring to Government and the House her experience and insight from the private sector and trust that these would be useful to deliver on the promise of the ruling Government.