By KENNEDY MUPESENI – KITWE’s Nkana Mall developer has bemoaned the delay by the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) in clearing construction materials which has pushed completion schedule to November this year. The mall is being developed by Akrasi Properties Limited (APL) in Kitwe at a cost of US$20 million and was earlier planned to be operational by June 2016. With an area of 22,000 square metres, the shopping centre will accommodate retail shops, cafés, a cinema complex, hypermarket, restaurant and an underground parking space, among other facilities. APL chief executive officer Steven Voyiatzis said the mall was supposed to be commissioned last month, but that ZRA had been delaying in clearing materials. “ZRA has been delaying to clear materials which was procured outside the country so that we finish up the remaining parts and commission the project,” Mr Voyiatzis said. He said this in an interview in Kitwe yesterday. Mr Voyiatzis said investment formalities with the Zambia Development Agency had been done and wondered why ZRA had been taking long to grant it clearance papers to bring in the materials. He said the consignment was worth $4.5 million, adding that the country stood to gain from customs duty if it was promptly cleared. The materials include fire extinguishers, air conditioners, power generators, and other electronics to prepare the state-of-the-art shopping and office complex for occupation. Mr Voyiatzis added that ZRA owes his company K4 million in Value Added Tax refunds which he said was needed to be ploughed in other investments. “ZRA already has K4 million tax refunds to pay us for us to venture into other economic activities and increase employment opportunities for the youths in the city and the country at large,” Mr Voyiatzis said.