Friday, August 19, 2011

Zambia - Chamber of Commerce has welcomed the suspension of import duty on telecommunications equipment as a spur to growth

[Times of Zambia] THE Zambia Association of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (ZACCI) has hailed Government for suspending duty on telecommunication equipment as this will stimulate growth in the industry.

ZACCI president Geoffrey Sakulanda said in a statement in Lusaka yesterday the measure would accelerate tele-connectivity across the country.

Mr Sakulanda said the development would result in reduction of capital expenditure and in turn accelerate network spread for service operators Airtel, MTN and Zamtel.

Other Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector players constructing and installing communication equipment would also benefit from the development.

Recently, the ministry of Finance and National Planning passed Statutory Instrument No. 23 of 2011 under the Customs and Excise Act which waives all taxes for telecommunications site equipment.

“We applaud the Government who through the Ministry of Finance and National Planning recently passed a Statutory Instrument, which suspends duty on taxes related to all Active and Passive GSM telecommunications equipment.

“As we all know, telecommunications is a catalyst to development. People are able to access communications services. It is most likely that development will follow”,” Mr Sakulanda said.

He expressed happiness at the accelerated mobile network rollout particularly in the rural areas.

The ZACCI president called on service providers to share their infrastructure so that speed is enhanced and competition is extended in all areas.


ZACCI hails State over telecommunications duty stance

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