Congolese government’s priority is to ensure that the One Stop Shop created for business registrations and investment facilitation has resources to fulfil its mandate for the country
South Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo have committed to removing hurdles that hinder business interactions between business people of the two countries. The agreement and commitment emanated from discussions that were held during the Investment and Trade Initiative (ITI) seminar, organised by the Department of Trade and Industry (the dti) hosted in Lubumbashi, DRC.
Addressing delegates at the seminar the South African Consul General in Lubumbashi, Mr. Andrew Maswanganye said it is important for both countries to work towards harmonising the climate of doing business and coming up with ideas on how to implement agreements that are already in place.
“It is important to identify opportunities that will work for our businesspeople in order to increase trade and investment between us. We also need to zoom in on the critical sectors where skill transfer and technology transfer must be fast-tracked. We also encourage businesspeople to work with governments to address factors hindering their ability to do work in these countries.’’ he said.
He added that over the years the Consulate has observed that several companies that have participated in the ITI have also improved their commercial presence beyond the borders of South Africa, and have also expanded their brand footprint beyond what had originally been envisaged.
The Minister of State Economy in the DRC, Mr. Joseph Kapika said that the Congolese government’s priority is to ensure that the One Stop Shop created for business registrations and investment facilitation has resources to fulfil its mandate for the country. He appealed to South Africa to share its expertise, technological advancement and skills transfer in order to assist the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The Lubumbashi leg of the ITI was also attended by nine National Ministers from the departments of National Planning, Economic Development, Transport, Agriculture, Planning, Energy, Trade and industry, Tourism and Public Work. These Ministers led the panel discussions and shared project specific information and long term programmes with the South African business delegation.
Consul General Maswanganye also accompanied South African businesspeople to the province of Lualaba, where they were hosted by Governor Mr. Richard Muyez Mangeze Mans and engaged further on opportunities in these sectors and visit some productive sites.
