The Zambia Revenue Authority -Z RA has welcomed the initiative by government to empower clearing companies owned and run by Zambians. ZRA corporate communications manager Topsy Sikalinda told the Zambian Business Times – ZBT that the agency has since presented a proposal to the ministry of Finance on legally available options to empower Zambians in the industry.
He said the proposed measures include compelling government institutions to clear goods using indigenous Zambian owned companies. ZRA Commissioner General Kingsley Chanda revealed that currently, there are 821 registered and licensed clearing companies in Zambia with over 80% of the business being done by foreign multinational clearing companies through Zambian proxies.
The Commissioner General has urged local clearing agents to desist from smuggling activities so that they consolidate the support, trust and confidence of the Authority. He has also encouraged local clearing companies to form one association so that they have a strong voice and work together.
‘‘Currently, local clearing companies belong to three different clearing associations. Such fragmentation is not good and may negate government effort to them,’’ said the ZRA commissioner General.
The Authority is optimistic that these measures will not only empower the indigenous clearing companies but also create jobs and boost the economy of the country. President Edgar Lungu last week said that skewed business activities towards a few customs clearing agents needed to be addressed and that the anomaly where 80 percent of the customs clearance was done by a few clearing firms while 800 locally owned clearing firms were fighting for a paltry 20 percent should be corrected immediately.
This measure follows reports that foreign owned and controlled firms have hijacked the customs clearing business at the expense of local firms. Foreign businesses simply externalize their profits but local businesses are globally known to ensure that the money remains within the economy.
