ZANAMACA empowers Chipata marketeers

The Zambia National Marketeers Credit Association (ZANAMACA) has embarked on a program to empowered marketeers with loan facilities.

ZANAMACA President, Frank Kameya, disclosed that Chipata market communities would be the first to access the loan facility in the Eastern Province.

Mr Kameya said this when he addressed marketers from Kapata and Saturday markets in Chipata yesterday, adding that the main objective of the association was to better the living standards of the most disadvantaged persons who are the marketeers and traders.

Mr Kameya said that the funds would be paid through the Zambia Nationasl Commercial Bank (ZANACO) XAPTI Instant Banking, a newly introduced ZANACO bank product.

He noted that the loans, which ranged from K200,000 to K500,000, would only be given to indigenous Zambians who have stands and shops inside the legally designated markets.

And ZANAMACA Secretary General, Conard Hanyanga, said that the intention of his association was to reach marketeers in Petauke, Chadiza, Katete and Lundazi districts so that all interested members can benefit from the program.

He disclosed that the membership fee was K20,000 per person of which the renewal would be K10,000 annually while opening a XAPIT account with ZANACO would cost the interested marketeers K30,000.

Mr Hanyanga added that the programme will also reduce the HIV/AIDS infections because the marketeers will not indulge into illicit sexual activities because they would be empowered with the much needed capital to empower them economically.

Meanwhile, ZANAMACA National Treasurer, Agness Ndhlovu, appealed to all women marketeers to join the association and benefit from the XAPIT loan facility.

Ms Ndhlovu explained that the funds were sourced from the government through the Citizenship Economic Empowerement Fund (CEEF) and that the payment period was from three to six months which only attracted a 15 per cent interest.

And in an interview with ZANIS, some marketeers expressed happiness over the XAPIT loan facility, saying that the initiative would help them in many ways because other lending institutions were exploiting them on the loan interest.

Ms Iness Nyanga and Ms Veronica Mbewe both of Kapata Market said that the named companies were charging more than 50 per cent interest while others were grabbing traders’ property if they failed to pay back the loans.

ZANIS/ENDS/DB/CMM/EB.