The business community in Ndola has advised the Ndola City Council (NCC) to introduce quarterly payment of license fees as opposed to the annual payments which they say quiet costly on the their businesses.
Chief Steak House proprietor Wellington Malindi says there is need for the local authority to consider introducing quarterly statutory payments to reduce on pressure that businesses under go in settling annual payments.
Speaking during a business networking meeting organized by The Chief Steak House in Ndola, Mr Malindi said the local authority should support all businesses in the City by addressing the challenges surrounding payment of fees.
While coming the hospitality industry ‘s resumption after the COVID 19 restrictions, he however explained that the industry would meaningfully contribute to creating the needed revenue if the council came up with quarterly payments of license fees thereby keeping the business running.
“ Paying annual fees is one of the major challenges that come along with running businesses but we have to pay all by the end of the year. This is not good as this is too much,” he said.
Mr. Malindi said for the business men and women to raise enough money to be able to pay for all the licenses, they need consideration from the council such as allowing them to pay in instalments and allow them to generate funds.
He said business networking is meant to help the business community collectively address common challenges and find solutions which complement their businesses to grow.
Currently business entities are expected to pay annual fees such as fire prevention, trading, health permits among others which the business community is proposing that council to considers revising into quarterly payments.
And Ndola Mayor Jones Kalyati has assured the business community that his office will support them adding that the council is working on slashing off some of the arrears owed to the council by the business community in form of rates.
Mr. Kalyati has urged them to engage the council and see how best they could improve trading sector in the district.
He said the council had embarked on a pilot project to establish a one stop shop where licenses will be given at one place unlike the current situation where licenses are being issued in different places.
Under the Trading Licence CAP 393 of the laws of Zambia , the local authorities are by law regulators of all forms of licenses.
Get innovative…I used to struggle with that our family business so one day we called a board meeting and resolved as follows we secured annual payment sum times two…we placed this in a call account next we ‘service this account quartley’ …we have never looked back as we have stop order that annually settles what we owe. Its just a suggestion and it takes loads of discipline