By VITA BANDA
THE Zambia Association of Manufacturers (ZAM) says there is need for the Bank of Zambia (BoZ) to reduce the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) as the cost of borrowing is becoming unbearable to SMEs.
ZAM board member Sajeev Nair says as much as the MPR helps address inflation, it has increased the cost of borrowing for businesses which already do not access finance with ease despite its critical need.
He adds that one of the key challenges with high interest rates is linked to large domestic borrowing or domestic debt.
Mr Nair says there is need to address the high cost of borrowing for the SMEs and the manufacturing sector in general.
He adds that the manufacturing sector will only contribute positively to the GDP if they have cheap and easy access to finance.
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