Commerce, Trade and Industry Permanent Secretary (PS) Kayula Siame says government has relaxed conditions for accessing business loans by small and medium enterprises in order to boost economic activities in the country.
Mrs. Siame noted that the business community can now access investment loans from lending institutions using movable assets like a vehicles as collateral.
She said the move is aimed at making finances available especially to the small and medium enterprises to grow their businesses.
ZANIS reports that Mrs. Siame however, called for a strong cooperative movement in the country in order to maximize business opportunities in various sectors of the economy.
She observed that the viability of the cooperatives has the potential to create jobs and improve income levels among households if well managed.
The PS further said diversification programme remains key to the growth of the country’s economy hence, the need to focus on empowering people with business knowledge and skills.
Mrs. Siame was speaking when she paid a courtesy call on Northern Province Deputy Permanent Secretary Boniface Mbuzi at his office in Kasama yesterday.
And Mr. Mbuzi thanked the Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry for establishing offices to manage the operations of cooperatives in Northern Province.
He said despite a lot of cooperative operating in the region, most of them are not doing fine due to lack access to loans to expand their businesses.
Mr. Mbuzi has since called for more support to cooperatives especially those in rural areas in order to enhance business activities in the province.
The Permanent Secretary for Commerce, Trade and Industry is in Northern Province on a tour of duty to check on operations of cooperatives and meet various stakeholders in selected districts.
Hope the loans will not be used on buying latest Mercedes Benz cars.
“She observed that the viability of the cooperstives has the potential to create Jobs….”, but these are being dissolved in some markets then what type of coops are being talked about here.
Ubuteko is full of amalanda kanwa.
The way the loans are structured isn’t helpful. Just to get a short-term loan to finance an order they will profile and assess you like you need long-term finance with a lot of hidden costs such as arrangement and legal fees. It’s like you’ve committed a grave sin.
Please give more details……………the government must do more by using IDC to guarantee such loans. What type of loan to you get against a Japanese car?
5 pin
The statement from the PS does not make any sense. What conditions exactly have been relaxed and for which financial institutions? Does her ministry have any sway on any lending institutions? Assuming it does, her proclamation in itself would be a cause for alarm as financial institutions should be left to determine their own credit risk management policies without government interference.
Relexes how? How do you print useless half baked news like this?
Please get to the point. Which lending institutions and have they agreed with you or it’s just your wishful thinking. In zambia these lending institutions don’t even finance government projects saying they are bad payers which shouldn’t be the case. Every one should take pride in getting goverment projects but its a shame for local banks not even to invoice discount a government IPC or invoice .
Such could only be taken seriously if it came from the bankers themselves ….unless she is referring to Natsave which falls under her supervision
What clowns are these? Nothing is making sense here. What kind of tour is this? I hope not honeymoon.
Amazing how our society expects so much from the Government. What comprises collateral is for the individual leading insitution to decide. Infact any asset that can be liquidated or has potential cash inflows and is owed by the applicant or the applicant has the right to assign can be used as collateral. Finance 101. Governments or Bureaucrats are not good business men, that is the reason they work for the Government in the first place.Expecting them to come up with business solutions is expecting too much.Please finance professionals help the so called” bankers” create innovative solutions.
Aren’t fiance professionals running banks and non-business people working for GRZ? So, which finance people are we talking about here?
Government relaxes conditions for getting business loans:
What conditions he is talking about? Have you lowered the borrowing rates? This is the main condition. Vehicles as collateral, not sure know which bank can accept this.
The credit market in Zambia has failed and will not grow. Poor town planning is the main reason why you cannot borrow in Zambia. It is impossible for any lender to prove the residential address of the borrower.This is also why we do not have credit information companies which helps in flagging up the risk of borrowers. If you look at the balance sheet of any bank, you will notice that most lending is done to foreigners.