Make some new districts tax free zones, says NAPSA chief

Tue, 06 Feb 2018 08:20:19 +0000

By BUUMBA CHIMBULU

THE National Pensions Scheme Authority (NAPSA) has called on Government to declare some of the newly created districts tax free zones as a way of attracting investments in the areas.

NAPSA Director-General, Yoland Kachinda, said providing tax incentives for the newly created districts to institutions with planned investments would attract investments in the areas.

Mr. Kachinda observed that the areas were not attracting investments due to their locations which made putting up investment difficult and expensive.

“Government should also consider exemption of paying withholding tax in rentals for pensions fund such as NAPSA. It should start providing tax incentives to institutions with planned infrastructure investments in the newly created districts. The government could possibly consider declaring some of these districts as tax free zones,” he said

Mr. Kachinda was speaking in Lusaka recently when he appeared before a Parliamentary Committee on Transport, Works and Supply focussing on infrastructure development in the newly created districts.

Mr. Kachinda also observed the news for putting in place an infrastructure fund for the districts to reduce complexity and cost of financial structuring.

He said investors such as NAPSA were struggling to put up investments in the districts due to lack of funds. “Government could consider seeking international fund managers to construct and manage dedicated infrastructure funds to increase the supply of equity and debt funds. Such managers bring a range of benefits: “They have extensive and diverse investment experience, they can be large equity and debt investors and this can reduce complexity and cost of financial structuring and closure. They may be acceptable to local promoters because they should not be seeking majority control through board representation,” Mr Kachinda said.

Mr. Kachinda also proposed to Government to introduce a securitisation bill which would allow financial institutions to originate long-term infrastructure loans to investors such as NAPSA.

“Typically, this could be by way of packaging and securitising pool a of infrastructure loans for placement in debt markets,” he said.