The Zambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry – ZACCI has advised that there is need to support entities involved in value addition such as Zambia Metal Fabricators – ZAMEFA PLC. Speaking during a panel discussion at the Economics Association of Zambia debut summit themed The Future of Economic Diplomacy – Achieving Inclusive Growth and Sustainable Development, Dr. Francis Ndilila bemoaned the lack of assistance rendered to value addition entities such as ZAMEFA.
There is need to help these entities to grow through various incentives such as taxation and above all Zambian entities should buy from local producers, Dr. Ndilila said. One of the key challenges ZAMEFA faces include amounts owed by state owned entities whose dismantling should be prioritized if the company is to be assisted to grow.
In line with Vision 2030, the ZACCI representative urged policy makers to think of how Zambia will position itself for the electric car era which translate to increased demand for Zambias copper, cobalt and manganese which are components into lithium battery manufacture. There is need for Zambias vision 2030 to reflect where the world will be then.
NABII Zambia Ltd Coordinator Dr. E.D. Walala challenged the Zambian Ambassador to Germany to navigate ways of saving to speaking to Germany car manufacturers to position Zambia as a raw material haven for battery manufacturing.
“We need to agree what percentage of Zambian copper, cobalt or manganese will be required for lithium battery manufacture,” he said.