The Zambia Consumer Association (ZACA) has challenged the Zambia National Commercial Bank-ZANACO to plough back the reported K1 billion profit after tax, which it posted in its 2021 financial year into improving customer service as well as to support local businesses that need capital for growth.
ZACA Executive Secretary Juba Sakala said the bank posting K1 billion profit is an indication that it is performing well, therefore it should come up with ways of distributing what it is making to local industries such as the manufacturing as well as other industries that are struggling.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, Sakala said the bank should not just end at showcasing its super normal profits but reinvest the money by giving soft loans to small and medium size businesses so they can do better than they performed in 2021.
He explained that most businesses in the country are struggling and do not have the financial capacity to expand their businesses, therefore ZANACO investing back that money into the Zambian economy will boost the operations of such businesses and industries.
Sakala added that most local businesses are shunning getting financing from big financial institutions due to the high interest rates as well as unrealistic requirements, therefore if ZANACO would come up with soft loans with competitive interest rates, it would attract many customers and many people would benefit from those profits.
“When we have more industries, we will have more jobs, when we have more jobs people have income and when people have income they are able to live a better life and even bank with the same institution. Whatever they have, let them plough it back into the local industries so that they create more jobs as more jobs mean more money in the pockets of people and people will live better lives”, he said.
He mentioned that ZANACO should also reinvest in improving their infrastructure and services because most of the time, it is either their ATMs are not working or the online banking system is not accessible, therefore the bank should use its huge profits to work on resolving such issues.
Sakala has encouraged members of the public to register their complaints against ZANACO to the Bankers Association of Zambia (BAZ) or the Bank of Zambia (BOZ) so they can liaise with the bank or take action against ZANACO and see how they can improve their services.
When you look at civil servants forums, you can appreciate that the bank has some work to do. There are a lot of unresolved complaints. ZACA has since urged ZANACO account holders to report their complaints to the regulators, regulators would sit with the bank and see how they can sort out the problems and improve the services to satisfy the customers.
