By SHERRY CHABALA
DEVELOPMENT activist Barnabas Zulu has warned that the increased Monetary Policy Rate reentl;y announced by the Bank of Zambia (BoZ) has the potential to killing emerging businesses.
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Mr. Zulu told Millennium TV yesterday that the interest rate of borrowing from banks for SMEs has been high for some time and the increased monetary policy rate would only worsen the situation for the SME sector.
Mr Zulu says with fluctuating prices of fuel and Kwacha depreciation, the current business environment was already not conducive for growth of SMEs which were stressed with the ever rising exchange rates.
He has proposed that Government should consider a reduction in the monetary policy rate to about 6.5 percent from the current 10 percent.
Mr Zulu advised that if Government was committed to supporting the growth of the SME sector, it should ensure that key economic fundamentals supported the cause.
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