Another milestone has been recorded for ZAM, as the Secretariat successfully hosted the 34th Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Thursday 24th September 2020 at Radisson Blu Hotel in Lusaka, Zambia, with 95 members attending. The AGM ran under the theme; “Exploring Smart Technologies for Value Addition.” and was graced by the Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry Mr. Mushuma Mulenga. Mr Mulenga stated that the Ministry was happy to be associated with the work of ZAM and recommended ZAM for the good job and the services it provides to the Ministry and its members. He also emphasised the need to see every manufacturer being a member of ZAM.
Mr. Ezekiel Sekele the ZAM president, highlighted that the theme of the AGM demonstrated the need for smart technologies in value addition processes, especially that the global economy has been affected by the outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which has since led to most industry players utilising technology to support continued production. He further stated that, the manufacturing sector was faced with numerous challenges, anchored in various issues such as the depreciation of the Zambian kwacha against other major currencies such as the United States Dollar, high interest rates, the escalating tax burden and the most notable being the uncertainty that had been created by the proposal for a total tax overhaul towards a sales tax from a value added tax system.
The meeting raised a number of issues amongst others with members looking for resolutions on: the unstable tax policy environment caused by a number of factors such as the depreciation of the Kwacha which leads to an increase in the cost of doing business in the manufacturing sector threatening sustainability and future investments. Members were facing challenges with costs of compliance with the Employment Code Act of 2019 especially with the tough times encountered with COVID-19 which are making business tougher as well as high cost of borrowing. The country was also faced liquidity challenges that subsequently affect payments toward VAT refunds and increased electricity tariffs.
Put together the challenges could lead to consequence that could subsequently decline productivity, competitiveness, and willingness to enhance investments in plant expansion and process upgrading. Mr Sekele reiterated the need for swift policy reforms by Government, to enable vigorous industrial growth. By addressing the constraints such as the unpredictable fiscal environment and abrupt and unpredictable changes that tend to have far reaching consequences on the operations of the manufacturing sector, the Government would aid growth in sector.
The Association president expressed happiness at the unrelenting support from the Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry and was anticipating commitment towards seeing the identified concerns resolved so that the Association could continue granting continued policy support to the members.
