Formulate policy to improve investment, EAZ urges govt

Formulate policy to improve investment, EAZ urges govt
By Staffer
Thursday May 24, 2007 [04:01]

THE Economics Association of Zambia (EAZ) has urged government to come up with a policy that will help improve investment in Zambia. On Tuesday, the Zambia Business Forum (ZBF) revealed that the country only received one per cent of foreign direct investment compared to the other countries found in the Eastern and Southern African Region.

EAZ chairperson Dr Mwilola Imakando said, Zambia was still a less attractive destination than Tanzania, Mozambique, Botswana and Namibia despite the record high mining prices.

“Indications from Zambia Business Forum (ZBF) presentation show that there are no grounds for complacency about investment in Zambia,” Dr Imakando said.

He said foreign direct investment was still predominantly in mining and investment was still not enough to produce the growth Zambia needed.

“The main task of the investment policy is to change this scenario and fast,” Dr Imakando noted.

He explained that it was important for government to realise that encouraging investment did not mean letting investors have huge profits, pay poor wages to workers and damage the environment.

“Investment means assuring a decent return on investment, a reasonably stable and predictable regulatory environment, minimal corruption, sensible sectoral policies and a government reasonably friendly to business,” Dr Imakando said.

He added that government should help to de-politicise investment and business policy by concentrating on the big picture.

“Let the system deal with the crooks and loonies, policy makers should concentrate on making sure the basic system is operating well,” Dr Imakando said.

He said the government should discourage negotiating incentives with individual companies every time a pledge was made.

“What is needed are incentives that can be accessed by any one company that meets the criteria and performance benchmarks,” said Imakando.