Zambia’s High Commissioner to South Africa Leslie Mbula has challenged the South African business community to take advantage of Zambia’s conducive environment and invest in the country.
Mr. Mbula said the recent creation of the Zambia Development Agency (ZDA) was testimony that the Zambian government attached great importance to the issue of foreign investment, especially where foreign investors partnered with Zambians to develop the country.
He was speaking when he addressed a Cape Regional Chamber of Commerce (CRCC) business forum at Cape Chamber Conference Hall in Cape Town under the theme ‘Business and Investment Opportunities in Zambia’.
Mr. Mbula said that as part of its effort to lure investors, the Zambian government had put in place many incentives in the various sectors of the economy notably agriculture, mining, tourism, manufacturing and energy.
“Your investment in Zambia will be protected by Law. We are looking forward to a situation where South African investors will partner with Zambians for the benefit of the two friendly countries,” Mr Mbula noted.
And speaking at the same function, Cape Regional Chamber of Commerce President, Dr Gerald Wolman said his organisation had a lot of confidence in the Zambian economy.
Mr Wolman said the fact that Zambia had managed to bring down the exchange rate to about K3, 500 to a US Dollar and reduce inflation rate to a single digit was a testimony to the fact that the government was determined to strengthen its economy.
Dr Wolman has since urged other countries in the SADC region to learn from Zambia’s experience.
Meanwhile, Mr Mbula has appealed to financial institutions and other stakeholders in Zambia to help retirees’ access funds to enable them engage in serious agriculture so that they do not become destitutes after retirement.
Speaking when a nine member Zambian delegation paid a courtesy call on him at his office in Pretoria, Mr Mbula said there were many retirees’ he knew who had acquired pieces of land in various parts of the country who were just dozing at their houses because they did not have any source of income to develop the land.
He said such retirees included former senior civil servants, military officers an parastatal executives who had been able to manage human resource with distinction during their working lives.
The delegation consisted senior personnel from the Zambia Development Agency (ZDA), Zambia National Farmers Union (ZNFU), Madison Investment Company Limited, the Netherlands Embassy and Zambia Chamber of Small and Medium Business Association (ZCMBA).
This is contained in a statement released to ZANIS by Second Secretary for Press Philip Chirwa at the Zambian Embassy in South Africa.