Government has reaffirmed its commitment to reducing the cost of doing business, improving border efficiency and strengthening Zambia’s position as a regional trade hub, as the Zambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ZACCI) launches an online platform to help businesses report trade barriers.
The platform, known as the Trade Obstacles Alert Mechanism (TOM), will enable businesses to report challenges affecting trade, with an initial focus on transport and logistics.
Speaking during the launch in Lusaka on Wednesday, Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry Permanent Secretary for Investment and Industrialisation, Crusivia Hichikumba, said improving trade facilitation remained central to the New Dawn administration’s economic transformation agenda.
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Hichikumba said Government was prioritising the streamlining of trade procedures and investment in transport infrastructure to support growth in agriculture, agro-processing, manufacturing and mineral value addition.
He said Zambia’s ambitious production targets would only translate into meaningful economic gains if goods could move efficiently from production centres to regional and international markets.
“Central to our economic development agenda is trade facilitation, which directly drives investment, employment opportunities, wealth creation and revenue generation for the national treasury,” Hichikumba said.
He noted that, as a land-linked country, Zambia’s competitiveness depended on efficient transit systems and reliable transport networks.
Hichikumba said transport and logistics costs accounted for more than 40 per cent of the final price of goods in some regional supply chains, making it imperative for Government to lower these costs.
He said Government was implementing measures to improve key regional transport corridors and leverage Zambia’s strategic location to enhance trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and other regional economic communities.
Earlier, ZACCI vice-president, Andrew Sinyangwe, said the mechanism, developed by the International Trade Centre (ITC), would help identify, monitor and address obstacles affecting the country’s trading environment.
Sinyangwe said the platform would provide businesses with an accessible channel to report trade-related challenges, generating evidence to support policy dialogue and practical interventions.
He said high transport costs, border delays and cumbersome transit procedures continued to undermine the competitiveness of Zambian businesses by increasing production costs and reducing exporters’ profit margins.
Sinyangwe said the initial focus on transport and logistics would help identify recurring bottlenecks affecting the movement of goods and bring them to the attention of institutions responsible for resolving them.
He urged Government, businesses and transport operators to work together to ensure the mechanism delivered practical solutions that improved the country’s trading environment.
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