By CHATULA KANGALI
THE Ndola City Council (NCC) will start offering rate rebates to investors who are willing to recapitalise dormant companies in the industrial area of the city.
Rate rebate is a scheme meant to provide a subsidy to low-income property owners on the cost of their rates.
Some plants like those which belonged to Johnsons and Johnsons, Colgate Palmolive and many others have remained dormant for more than 10 years now.
Mayor Amon Chisenga said in an interview that the council was ready to enter into agreement with any firm that was willing to revamp dormant companies located in the industrial area of the city.
Mr Chisenga said that the local authority was currently not collecting any rates from the companies since their collapse.
He said that the non-collection of rates from the dormant companies had negatively affected the local authority’s gross revenue.
“We are worried as the council, most companies in the industrial area are white elephants.As council, we want to attract investment in these areas and we are ready to give any willing firm a tax rebate,” he said.
Mr Chisenga said that the local authority depended on rates and taxes from these investors.
He said that Ndola had a shortage of land which affecting the flow of investment in other areas of the city.
