DPP CALLS FOR URGENT MEASURES TO REDUCE COST OF DOING BUSINESS AND PROTECT SMEs
Opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) president Antonio Mourinho Mwanza has called on government to urgently address the high cost of doing business in Zambia, warning that the growing burden on small and medium enterprises (SMEs) threatens economic stability and job creation.
In a statement, Mwanza said SMEs, which form the backbone of the country’s economy, were facing mounting operational pressure due to a combination of statutory obligations and broader economic challenges.
He explained that the difficulty for many businesses was not merely the tax rate itself, but the cumulative burden of multiple statutory requirements, including turnover tax or VAT, PAYE, NAPSA contributions, workers’ compensation, council levies, property rates and various compliance procedures.
Mr. Mwanza added that when these obligations were combined with high energy costs, limited access to affordable financing, delayed payments on government contracts, currency volatility and policy unpredictability, businesses were effectively squeezed from every direction.
While acknowledging that domestic revenue mobilisation remained essential for national development, the DPP leader cautioned that the sustainability of the country’s tax base depended on the survival and growth of businesses.
He warned that a system that overburdened compliant enterprises risked undermining economic recovery, discouraging investment and slowing job creation.
According to Mwanza, government had a responsibility to collect revenue, but stressed that if businesses collapsed, there would ultimately be no revenue to collect.
He further stated that compliance should not feel like punishment and enforcement should not resemble harassment, emphasising that honest and struggling enterprises must not be treated as offenders.
Mr. Mwanza therefore proposed a series of urgent and practical reforms aimed at easing pressure on SMEs.
He called for the simplification of compliance procedures through the establishment of a unified and harmonised system that would reduce duplication of licences, certificates and inspections, and eliminate the need for businesses to move from office to office.
On taxation, he urged government to review the turnover tax and VAT frameworks to ensure they were fair and did not disproportionately affect small businesses operating on thin margins.
He cautioned against tax structures that triggered sudden and punitive compliance shocks when businesses began to grow.
The DPP president also appealed for improved access to affordable finance through expanded credit guarantee schemes and incentives for lower-interest lending, stating that SMEs should be empowered to invest and expand rather than borrow merely to survive.
He further called for the stabilisation of energy costs through predictable electricity tariff frameworks and incentives for SMEs to invest in alternative and renewable energy solutions.
On government obligations, Mwanza urged the implementation and strict enforcement of a 30-day payment rule for suppliers, noting that delayed payments severely constrained business cash flow and increased indebtedness.
Additionally, he advocated for promoting formalisation through incentives by making business registration simple, affordable and beneficial, rather than intimidating or excessively costly.
Mr. Mwanza emphasized that SMEs were not adversaries of the state but strategic partners in national development, employment creation and economic resilience.
He maintained that reducing the cost of doing business should not be viewed as a concession, but as a long-term investment in Zambia’s economic growth and fiscal sustainability.