The Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry says it will continue supporting the local entrepreneurs in the cleaning industry because of their contribution to economic growth.
Commerce, Trade and Industry Minister Christopher Yaluma says cleaning contracts should be left to Zambians and that no foreigners should be allowed to penetrate in this industry as Zambian companies are capable of delivering.
The Commerce, Trade and Industry Minister said this in Lusaka during the Cleaning Association of Zambia (CAZ) cocktail party in honor of the Statutory Instrument 22 of 2019 that makes the cleaning contracts a preserve of Zambian cleaning companies.
He says it is alarming that the sector has been dominated by foreign companies even when the local ones can do it.
Mr. Yaluma says there is need for the private sector to partner with government in growing the economy by way of creating jobs for the local people.
He has urged the local cleaning companies to take advantage of this SI in growing their business portfolios.
And Citizens Economic Empowerment Commission (CEEC) Board Chairperson Dr. Kasuka Mutukwa says the commission will continue supporting local entrepreneurs in participating in economic activities.
Dr. Mutukwa says Zambians should be thinking of becoming employers and not employees as this is key in growing the country’s economy.
He says it is important to support reservation schemes in helping the growth of the SME sector in Zambia.
He says it is not a secret that the participation of Zambians in growing the economy is narrow and hence the need to widen it.
Speaking at the same event, CAZ Secretary General Lawrence Makumbi as at 2012, over 90 percent of cleaning contracts were in the hands of foreign nationals.
Mr. Makumbi says the cleaning industry has potential to double the job opportunities in the industry from the current 18, 200 countrywide.
He has also appealed to the Citizens Economic Empowerment Commission (CEEC) to consider setting aside funds to empower local entrepreneurs in the cleaning industry.
He says PACRA should also play a role in ensuring that foreign investors are not allowed to register cleaning companies in Zambia.