Maravi

55 Zambians attend Chinese trade fair

55 Zambians attend Chinese trade fair
Written by Likezo Kayongo in Guangzhou, China
Sunday, October 18, 2009 3:13:16 AM

All the talk about poverty reduction amounts to nothing unless Zambia can develop business and industry that will create wealth for the people, Zambia China Business Association (ZCBA) chairman Sebastian Kopulande has said during his visit to China.

ZCBA sent a delegation of 55 business people, mostly from the private sector, to attend the 106th China Import and Export Fair in Guangzhou. The event, also known as the Canton Fair, is among the world's biggest fairs and will run up to the end of this month. It opened its doors to the public last Thursday with over 55,927 exhibitors.

Kopulande noted that despite a big public campaign in the media on the fair in China, only National Housing Authority (NHA) from the public sector was in attendance.

“This initiative by [ZCBA] is intended to bring the Zambian people for exposure and a lot of publicity was done [on] ZNBC, Times of Zambia, Daily Mail and in The Post but we only have National Housing Authority as the only institution from the public sector,” said Kopulande.

He said there was no other institutional arrangement that could develop the country other than a strong business private sector.

And ZCBA vice-chairman Elias Mpondela said the initiative by the association to organise Zambian businesspeople from the private sector to attend the annual fair started as far back as 2004, after the Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry showed no interest to participate.

''As individuals we set up Zambia-China Business Association and tried to engage ministry of commerce but they were not coming forthcoming,” he said.

Mpondela was happy that this year's Zambian delegation to the fair was the highest from the time the association started participating in the event.

“I am very excited that as an association, we managed to get a number of 55 businessmen from the private sector. This in itself is testimony that Zambians are moving into a right business path,” said Mpondela.

Jophael Chikoli, the director of Polite Car Hire Limited, said most of the countries were there to see what China could offer and it was an upcoming market as well as a member of the Group of 20 (G20) countries.

“As a Zambian businessman I have a privilege to come and see what China has put up as a country in a right path economically. We should tap from them and start production than coming here to buy finished products,” he said.

Chikoli's wish is to see the Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry take up the challenge and come up with deliberate policies to stimulate economic growth.

Labels: CHINESE, TRADE FAIRS, ZCBA

posted by MrK @ 2:13 AM