By ROGERS KALERO
THE Ministry of Small and Medium Entrepreneurs (SMEs) should take keen interest in the SMEs which are doing business with the mining companies so that it can understand the chal- lenges they were facing and then find a way of resolving them,” a Kitwe-based business executive has said.
Mr Augustine Mubanga said the Ministry of SMEs should not only concentrate
on other sectors, but should also take keen interest to ap- preciate why local mine sup- pliers and contractors were struggling in their businesses.
In an interview in Kitwe, Mr Mubanga, who is former Association of Mine Suppliers and Contractors (AMSC) president , said the formation of the Ministry of SMEs was aimed at supporting small and medium businesses to grow regardless of which sector the businesses were operating from.
Mr Mubanga said it was for this reason that the he was appealing to the Ministry of SMEs to take keen interest in SMEs which they were oper- ating in the mining sector.
“As a supplier in the min- ing sector, I think we have been facing a number of challenges which need to be addressed or resolved effec- tively. So we think the minis- try of SMEs should also take keen interest in the way mine suppliers and contractors are treated.
