The Zambia Development Agency (ZDA) says Zambia has continued to be attractive to both foreign and local investors due to its potential for increased access to markets, raw materials and finished goods, among other factors.
Speaking at the virtual dissemination workshop of the 2021 Foreign Private Investment and Investor Perception Survey Report on 15th December 2021, ZDA Acting Director General Albert Halwampa said the survey revealed that the country has continued receiving investments in various sectors of the economy.
The Acting Director General said this in a speech read on his behalf by ZDA Director Policy and Planning Mr. Innocent Melu.
Mr. Halwampa said the survey also revealed that perceptions on service delivery of public institutions continued to remain low, thus contributing to an overall investor dissatisfaction of -21.6percent.
He noted that since it was the first time that the net promoter score metric was being applied to the survey, it would be more meaningful to compare overall performance on a year to year basis.
“I eagerly anticipate the next survey that will show if government’s new policies and structural changes improve investor perceptions,” stated Mr. Halwampa.
He added that it was however, important to be cognisant of prevailing issues that affected the business environment and to place the findings within the context of the factors.
“In this case, before and during data collection, the business environment was characterised by persistent macro-economic challenges, the adverse impact of the covid-19 pandemic, energy deficits, challenges in the mining sector that necessitated government intervention and political uncertainty during the run-up to the 2021 general elections and other factors may help to explain the investor dissatisfaction the survey reported,” he explained.
Mr. Halwampa urged all relevant government institutions to thoroughly review the 2021 Foreign Private Investment and Investor Perception Survey Report and make interventions that will improve investor perceptions, in line with government’s new strategic direction.
The 2021 Private Sector Foreign Investment and Investor Perception Survey was conducted by the Balance of Payments Technical Committee comprising the Zambia Development Agency, Bank of Zambia, Zambia Statistics Agency and other collaborating institutions.
