Friday, March 29, 2024

Zambia needs a strong and stable banking system-HH

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HH at at the Graduate Business School of the University of Cape Town
HH at at the Graduate Business School of the University of Cape Town

United Party for National Development (UPND) president Hakainde Hichilema has said Zambia needs a strong and stable banking system that could offer finance at affordable interest rates, especially for start up businesses in various sectors.

In a statement released to the media, Mr Hichilema said that the banking must provide start-up to small scale mining, tourism, agriculture and alternative energy sources such as solar panels.

Below is the full statement

OFFICIAL STATEMENT

HH Meetings in South Africa

In our other investment promotional side closed-door meetings we have been mindful of the many challenges our small and medium sized businesses are facing, such as increased interest rates that makes it difficult for them to access cheaper financing and erratic power supply. Ensuring these businesses can participate in the mining sector is essential in making sure we benefit fully from further investment in the sector.

Zambia needs a strong and stable banking system that can offer finance at affordable interest rates, especially for startup businesses in various sectors such as small scale mining, tourism, agriculture, and even alternative energy sources such as solar panels.

We have also advocated for action to redress the trade imbalances between bigger nations and ours that are still developing, and the need for fair export and import arrangements.

The interest amongst financing institutions was encouraging and we hope that they can be persuaded to move in and offer cheaper loans for our small businesses, especially youths and women. But for this to happen we need to create a stable, predictable, and consistent economic policy environment, and build confidence in government’s ability to manage the economy. This is the only way we can have a strong middle class of women and men running their own businesses in various sectors and employing our people directly and indirectly through value addition industries.

Hakainde Hichilema
UPND President

12 COMMENTS

  1. In all fairness HH, you are very correct, and that is precisely what PF have been working towards since 2011. Banks can play a good role in helping develop and support SMEs, but interests rates must be based on protected levels in times of unfavourable economic market performance.

    It’s good you understand the need for stability and we hope this will translate in you appreciating that Power is obtained by permission of the people not coercion. PF have done very well any hint of a criticism is unfair. They have brought infrastructure changes, targeted ICT /Telecoms (Mobile usage is higher now), developments all these are part if value addition in the long run.

  2. What Zambia needs are stable ZAMBIAN OWNED Banks. Gorget the Barclays, Stanbic and Standard chartered developing Zambia. s

    • @Inge Sorensen,I agree with you that is why countries like Nigeria and even Ethiopia and Kenya, indegenous Banks are very strong. Even South Africa has its own strong Banks! The trouble with us is that we fail to look very well after our own things that is why we almost collapsed ZANACO while less strong Banks like Union Bank and Prudence are long gone! Govt needs to support indigenous like Investrust Bank for us to start building brands like KBC of Kenya,Nigerian (Zenith,UBA,Access Bank etc).

  3. With proper legislation and a stable environment Zambia could become an international financial hub that could provide thousands of good high paying jobs.

    Unfortunately we have a bunch of useless clowns that have zero understanding of the world of finance. The flip flops by the dinosaur fossil Chilkwanda and his idiiotic SI have proven that Zambia is not ready for global business.

    Domestically, besides load shedding blues, unrestrained government borrowing has driven up interest rates that have strangled small businesses.

    This PF GOVERNMENT is big on talk of job creation, but their ill considered, ignorant and chaotic management has achieved exactly the opposite!

    Its time to have a businessman running the country. This dull drunkard we have now is completely out of his…

  4. Where are our wealthy Zambians to invest in our banking system, mines & generally take up leadership in our industries. We need to stop this thinking that an investor is only a foreigner. As citizens we need to think big while our govts should formulate policies in which locals take up the running of our economy. This idea that we should be perpetual SMEs is backward.

  5. @ microscope, this is what we term as consistency bwana and this is what lacks in our policies and plans as a country called Zambia today. So get used to this style and not the flip flopping we have had to endured.

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