ZAMBEEF says Government’s move to increase import duty on livestock products will unlock local capacity, which has for a long time been hampered by the influx of imports. On Friday, Minister of Finance Bwalya Ng’andu, in his 2021 national budget presentation, announced that Government will increase import duty to 40 percent from 25 percent on agro-products such as beef and pork, and chicken and their processed chicken products. Others are fish imported from outside the Southern African Development Community.
State suspends import duty on biological control agents
IN an effort to promote non-traditional exports, Government has suspended import duty on biological control agents and removed import duty on greenhouse plastics to revamp the horticulture and floriculture subsectors. Zambia’s horticultural production has dwindled by over two-fold from about 220 hectares, with a number of export farms ceasing operations due to inadequate capital injection in greenhouses. With Zambia’s population increasing, the demand for horticulture commodities and products has increased drastically in urban towns such as Lusaka, Ndola, Kitwe, Chingola and Livingstone, among others.
Skilled Workers Seek Jobs on the Streets of South Africa
South Africa is forecast to set an unwelcome world record this week when its statistics agency is predicted to report unemployment rose to a record 34.8% in the second quarter, which would be the highest of 83 countries tracked by Bloomberg. Ayanda Mbatha was among the unlucky ones who joined the ranks of the unemployed in the period. Dressed in a shirt and tie, the 26-year old mechanical-engineering graduate spent four weeks at intersections in the affluent Johannesburg suburbs of Hyde Park and Sandton advertising his skills on a placard around his neck and with copies of his CV in his hand, in the hope a passing motorist could help with a job offer.
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