South African investors urged to employ local labour

South African investors urged to employ local labour

Ndola, May 27, 2013, ZANIS —— South African Deputy Minister for Commerce, Trade and Industry Elizabeth Thabethe has urged South African Investors who are coming to invest in Zambia to employ Zambians instead of coming with their own people to work in those industries.

Ms Thabethe said that it was not right for investors from South Africa to come with employees from that country instead of engaging the local labour force.

She also said that Zambia and South Africa should consider visiting the trade exhibitions between the two countries in order to deal with the trade imbalance that was there between the two countries.

Ms Thabethe noted that South Africa and Zambia had always enjoyed a special political cordial relationship adding that the same relationship should also be enjoyed economically.

The South African Commerce Deputy Minister said this when she, and her delegation paid a courtesy call on the Copperbelt Minister Mwenya Musenge yesterday.

Ms Thabethe is leading 21 man delegation who are taking part in the Copperbelt Mining, Agriculture and Commercial show in Kitwe.

And Copperbelt Minister Mwenya Musenge noted that it would be good if the investors coming into Zambia from South Africa would employ more of the Zambian workforce as this would help sort out the problem of unemployment that Zambia was grappling with.

Mr Musenge described the South African minister’s visit to the province as a blessing adding that most of the equipment which was being used in the mines was being manufactured from South Africa.

The Minster however, said it was regrettable that all the equipment that was being used in the mines was being manufactured in South Africa.

Mr Musenge further urged Ms Thabethe to talk to the investors in her country to consider setting up manufacturing industries in Zambia instead of importing already manufactured goods from South Africa all the time.