Bwalya K E Ng’andu: Improving the investment climate in Zambia Opening remarks by Dr Bwalya K E Ng’andu, Deputy Governor (Operations) of the Bank of Zambia, at the Foreign Private Investment & Investor Perception Survey 2011 Dissemination Workshop, Lusaka, 22 December 2011. *  *  *  Permanent Secretaries; Chief Executive Officers; Distinguished Participants; Ladies and Gentlemen. I would like to welcome you all, on behalf of the Bank of Zambia, the Zambia Development Agency and the Central Statistical Office, to this Foreign Private Investment and Investor Perceptions 2011 Survey Dissemination Workshop. I want also to take this opportunity to thank the companies that participated in the Survey which was conducted by the three institutions in the third quarter of 2011. The insights and the various valuable revelations on the investment climate in Zambia contained in the survey report were only made possible by their co-operation and support to the process. We want to thank them most sincerely. This dissemination workshop is built around two objectives. The first one is to give representatives of respondent companies the chance to comment on the contents of the report. In this sense, this can be considered as a validation workshop from which inputs into the final version of the report will be received. The second objective is to give the three institutions that commissioned the survey the opportunity to receive feedback on what the community of investors considers to be the main issues in investment.
These challenges include infrastructural deficiencies in transport, telecommunications and energy, the small market that Zambia presents, constraints to doing business, enduring perceptions of corruption, inadequate skills and talent management. Although the country has seen increase in investment in many sectors such as construction, agriculture and the financial sector, copper remains the major focus of foreign investment. But over-dependence on natural resource wealth and the related commodity prices is not a very sustainable route to growth. This consideration brings into focus one aspect that this workshop should address, that is the need to encourage private investment across many sectors. The country must diversify in such a way that it reduces its present dependence on copper and draws strength from other sectors. We all know the effects of over-reliance on the copper exports on our economy. It remains a source of vulnerability due to price fluctuations in the international market, making the country’s incomes highly volatile. Apart from private investment being a stimulus for job creation, development of local suppliers, skills transfer; it can be a critical source of long-term capital for driving economic diversification. I urge you to reflect on all these issues so that the final document that is produced from this effort will be comprehensive and point to viable strategies that will promote economic diversification through directed private investment. The end result of this workshop will be posted on the website of the Bank of Zambia and Zambia Development Agency.