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ZAMBIA DAILY MAIL 12th MARCH 2009
RB commissions mobile phone plant By ANGELA CHISHIMBA
PRESIDENT Banda yesterday launched Zambia’s first mobile phone manufacturing plant with an assurance that Government is working towards reducing the international gateway licencing fees to the regional average to reduce the cost of doing business in the communication sector.
And President Banda has called upon Zambians to invest in the country if they are to attract foreign investors.
Mr Banda was speaking in Lusaka yesterday during the launch of Mmobile Telecommunication (M-Tech).
He said he was happy to note that the US$10 million project, which was wholly-owned by Zambians, would employ over 200 locals in various capacities, which would include engineers, technicians and many others.
“I am happy to note that this investment is by Zambians, to benefit the people of Zambia, through employment creation, technology transfer and human resource development, among others. This is what Zambians should be doing to attract foreign investors. Zambians should themselves lead the way by investing in their country,” the President said.
Mr Banda said the country’s economy could only grow when a lot more Zambians invested in the domestic economy.
“Keeping Zambia competitive begins with keeping our economy growing. Zambia can now boast of home-grown corporations that have become among the largest in African.
“A case in point is Zambeef, one of the largest cropping operations in Africa, which has since penetrated the Nigerian and Ghanaian markets.
Now the task is to build on this success. We would, therefore, also like to see more investments by Zambians of such magnitude,” he said.
Mr Banda said just as Government expected citizens to work hard to drive the economy forward; it was also expected to create a conducive and competitive environment for the private sector to thrive.
“Government is cognisant of the fact that delivering on ‘soft aspects’ of reducing the cost of communication in Zambia is not enough.
It will, therefore, continue to facilitate the ‘hard aspects’ such as the actual production of mobile phones which will go a long way in further reducing the cost of communication in the country,” he said.
Mr Banda said the demand for mobile phones in Zambia in the last few years had grown more than most people expected.
He said the continued growth in demand was attributed to increased demand for mobile phone services, particularly amongst low-income customers.
Mr Banda said he hoped that the booming demand for Zambian-made mobile phones would be strong, given that the phone market was competitive.
He said locally manufactured mobile phones would not only have a ready domestic market, but also regional markets and that this would earn Zambia the much-needed foreign exchange.
Mr Banda said this investment had come at a time when the global financial meltdown had exerted massive pressure on most economies around the world and yet Zambia was still receiving major investments.
He said this was a clear demonstration of the company’s confidence in the Zambian economy and a sign that Government continued to attract investments despite the negative impact of the global economic downturn.
Mr Banda urged Zambians to take advantage of the opportunity to fully utilise the locally manufactured mobile phones as opposed to sourcing phones from foreign markets, especially in these difficult times.
The President said in the spirit of promoting the growth of manufacturing and supporting the business community, Government issued a suspension of duty on imports used in the manufacturing process.
He said any manufacturer who intended to obtain a suspension of duty on manufacturing inputs may apply to Government and import duty-free manufacturing inputs that were not available in Zambia.
And M-Tech group chairman, Mohammed Seedat, said M-Tech was a product of Government’s programme - the Triangle of Hope - initiated by the state and the Japanese International Cooperation Agency.
He said Government arranged a visit to Malaysia where he was introduced to the business.
And Japanese ambassador to Zambia, Hideto Mitamura, said the launch of M-Tech had a special meaning, as it was a product of the Triangle of Hope.
He said with such hard work, Zambians would be able to overcome the effects of the global financial crisis.
Minister of Communications and Transport, Dora Siliya, said her Ministry would ensure as many services as possible were delivered to the Zambian people in the communications industry.
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