Africa-Press – Zambia. Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry, Chipoka Mulenga has said government is committed to running a private sector driven economy. Mr. Mulenga said government has put in place a stable policy legislation that allows private sector investment and growth.
He said this after touring a number of industries in Luanda in Angola yesterday in an effort to enhance trade and economic relations between Zambia and that country.
Mr. Mulenga said Zambia is endowed with abundant natural resources such as copper, hence the need to ensure the mineral is processed into finished products that are ready for exportation. He said in future, Zambia will not export raw copper as government is committed to ensuring that the mineral is processed into a finished product.
“We are not only talking about maintaining a green economy by collecting waste and putting value addition to it but we are also focusing on mineral beneficiation from the raw materials that we have,” he said. He said it is very unfortunate and uncalled for to continue complaining that Zambia exports copper in its raw form as concentrates.
“As the new dawn government, we are focused on making sure we have access to copper, to the raw materials and develop the industries into value-added products which we can export to Europe and other countries,” he added.
Mr. Mulenga stated that the country’s copper should benefit the local people as the country begins to process copper into wires and nails among other products.
He said government and the private sector will set up industries which will process copper into finished products. Mr. Mulenga said government is strategically positioning the country as one of the copper giants in Africa.
He said to this effect, government has set a target of attaining three million tonnes of copper per annum. He said the price of copper will not go down anytime soon, hence the need to work together with the private sector to invest in the mining industry.
“As government, we are positioning ourselves as leaders in the manufacturing of electric car cables and car batteries,” he said.
The Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry has since called on investors to take advantage of the good policies that the government has put in place and invest in various sectors of the country.
He stated that Zambia is the best investment destination in the region with a youthful and energetic human capital that is focused on production. He said the youths are result oriented and are backed by the leadership of President Hakainde Hichilema who supports the growth of the private sector.
Among the industries which Mr. Mulenga toured is Karam Investment Limited. And Karam Investment Limited, Chief Executive Officer, Satish Mishra, expressed interest to invest in Zambia. Mr. Mishra said his company is looking to broaden its investments and stated that Zambia offers a conducive environment.
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