By OLIVER SAMBOKO
BANKS and other lending institutions should phase out collateral requirements for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in order to grow the economy, the 3RD Liberation movement has suggested.
Party president Enock Tonga said there was need for the country to come up with deliberate policies aimed at ensuring that SMEs were placed as integral part of economic growth.
He said there was also need to review all Investment and lending policies and regulations for both home grown large and small medium sized enterprises and foreign investments to ascertain their purpose, design, effectiveness, efficiency and implementation.
“Government policies should ensure that regulations on investment and lending are broadly focused and should be developed holistically to encompass all components of economic factors unlike seeking to cherry-pick areas of special interest for political aggrandizement,” he said.
Mr Tonga said for any nation to attain economic freedom, the competitive global market entrepreneurial spirit should be promoted and encouraged.
“Under the third-broader economic, political and social ills liberation struggle that we have been assigned to accomplish, job creation through the promotion of fair business competition, entrepreneurship and innovations, should be accorded high priority,” he said.
He said it was only through phasing out of onerous collateral requirements in relation to SMEs, would the county start growing its economy after the negative effects of COVID 19.
“This will ensure that that both informal and formal lending information is transparent to all business institutions for comparability purposes in order to make informed decisions,” he said.
