Times of Zambia, 23rd April 03
The Consumer Unity and Trust Society, Africa Resource Centre (CUTS-ARC) says Zambia lacks a clearly defined investment policy with elaborate social and economic objectives.
According to CUTS research findings from its ‘Investment Policy, Performance and Perception in Zambia’, what existed as an investment policy was a set of fiscal measures for new investors.
The draft country report paper says an investment policy should have a clear focus on technology development and transfer, human resource development and the creation of jobs.
The reports further says investment incentives for new investors in the existing policy was silent on development clauses yet these should have been tied to employment creation or measures related to sound production.
The report underscores the inadequacy of the current investment policy, which should be formulated to ensure it addressed pertinent issues in investment.
The report says it was worth finding out how far the investment policies in Zambia had helped increase the inflow of Foreign Direct investment (FDI) and how these policies had in the past helped to attract FDI to priority areas of the economy.