The Zambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry – ZACCI Business Confidence Index – BCI survey shows a decrease to 137.8 points in business activities for the first quarter of 2019 compared to 161.4 points in the fourth quarter in 2018.
The BCI measures the level of confidence of business executives in the business environment and predicts short term business trends. Addressing the media in Lusaka on May 17, 2019, ZACCI president Michael Nyirenda attributed the decrease in business activities to the depreciation of the Kwacha, low sales due to reduced demand and delayed payments by government.
Nyirenda said other factors are poor liquidity and increased competition from foreign goods, policy inconsistency with the most recent being the reversal of maize export, lost contracts to supply mines and unpredictable climatic conditions which have caused lower Agro yields.
He said the survey revealed that the performance of business has worsened in the first quarter of the year and that businesses experienced decreased demand for their products thereby contributing to the high cost of doing business.
He disclosed that businesses expect the overall performance of the economy to deteriorate in the short term. He however recommended that government should pay suppliers of goods and services to avoid shocking businesses in the economy and ensure consistency in policy to have a predictable business environment.
“Of the 6 study provinces, only 2 provinces, that is North western (105.9 points) and Southern (102 points) recorded positive sentiments in the business environment and this was mainly due to respondents’ expectations that their business performance would improve in the first quarter of 2019,” he said.
He further disclosed that in the 10 BCI study sectors, mining and quarrying recorded 102 points in the first quarter of 2019 while Transport and Communication recorded 103.3 and the rest recorded negative sentiments and expectations.
