By KASONDE KASONDE  –
COMMERCE, Trade and Industry Minister Margaret Mwanakatwe says poverty can only be defeated by promoting entrepreneurship among the locals.
Ms Mwanakatwe said foreign investments were only useful in supplementing local efforts.
She  said Government was focused on developing a vibrant micro, small and medium enterprise sector by providing ease and cheap cost of doing business in the country.
“Government is aware that economic development can only be achieved if the local businesses are empowered and it is important for businesses to register with PACRA as it is easier to loan out money to a business entity than an individual,” Ms Mwanakatwe said.
Ms Mwanakatwe said this yesterday during the official opening of the Patents and Companies Registration Agency (PACRA) branch in Kabwe.
She said local business entities could only grow if they were recognised and registered.
Ms Mwanakatwe said commercial banks and other financial institutions could only extend credit finance to businesses that were registered hence the need for local businesses to register their business with PACRA.
She said that Central Province had a lot of youths running businesses in various sectors and needed to be encouraged to formalise their businesses by registering with PACRA.
Ms Mwanakatwe urged PACRA to devise programmes targeted primarily at promoting youth entrepreneurship and intellectual property administration activities as a tool for economic development.
PACRA board chairperson William Nyirenda said the agency would before the end of the year introduce on-line business registration systems.
“I want to take this opportunity to inform our existing and would be clients that by the end of the year, we will be introducing internet registration, this development will be a milestone and will place
PACRA ahead of many registries not only in Africa but globally,” Mr Nyirenda said.
He urged business communities in Kabwe and the country at large to give PACRA all the necessary support and ensure that they file their annual returns as required by law.
Central Province Minister Davis Chisopa said he was proud of the statutory bodies which had continued working towards reducing the cost of doing business in the country.