ZANAMACA CALLS FOR MORE FINANCIAL LITERACY PROGRAMMES

By Lumbiwe Mwanza

THE informal sector continues to play a vital role in transforming the economy hence the need for stakeholders to ensure effective collaborations going forward, Zambia National Marketers Credit Association (ZANAMACA) president Mupila Kameya has said.

Speaking to The Scoop, Mr. Kameya said that as the year 2023 was coming to an end, it was important that all factors that were identified as hindrances to the growth of the informal sector were considered for improvement.

He pointed out the issue of lack of engagement and collaborations among stakeholders as among factors limiting the expansion of the informal sector to enable it to adequately contribute to the national treasury.

“It is without doubt that the informal sector quite alright is growing in terms of people entering into the sector but what is important is to consider how many of the players in the sector are able to grow their businesses successfully and contribute to the growth of the economy.

“Stakeholders engagements and consultations are very important, I would give you this example, for the year 2023, the Citizens Economic Empowerment Commission (CEEC) had been working in isolation and not engaging relevant stakeholders in the management of marketeer booster loans. That in itself is not right as many of those that benefitted are not yet known and that means even repayment of these loans could be a challenge,” Mr. Kameya said.

He said that going into 2024, there was a need for tangible positive change with regard to engagements and consultations.

He said that there should be a clear picture of who and how many marketeers would benefit from the booster loans with a view to make repayments easier and guarantee that others also could benefit.

He said that the population of marketeers was growing by the day and that what was needed was transparency from institutions mandated to provide booster loans in a bid to ensure that many players in the sector benefited and that this could only be done if those that had benefitted repaid.

He further commended the Bank of Zambia for showing the commitment to partner with local organizations in facilitating and promoting financial literacy skills among the marketeers.

He noted that it was commendable that the Bank of Zambia and other key financial institutions had continued to promote financial literacy which was key to ensuring that all booster loans acquired among the marketeers were put to good use.