Zambia army calls for low interest rates to assist personnel cope with projects development

The Zambia Army has urged financial institutions to lower their interest rates to allow its personnel access to cheaper money and enable them to complete their various developmental projects.

Zambia Army Commander, Lieutenant General, Sitali Dennis Alibuzwi, expressed concern that some financial institutions had gone beyond the 40 percent take home pay for the personnel.

He said this during a courtesy call paid on him by Bayport at Zambia Army Headquarters in Lusaka on Friday.

“Our concern is the 40 percent take-home pay. Some banks and other financial institutions have continued giving loans beyond this threshold, which has negatively affected the welfare of our personnel,” Alibuzwi said.

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Meanwhile, the army renewed its Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Bayport to continue facilitating easy recovery of loans obtained by its personnel

The MoU will allow financial institution to recover the loans through payroll, whereas the Army will charge a minimal administration fee of 2.5 percent on the total recoveries for the services rendered.

Commenting on the agreement, Alibuzwi said the defence wing was committed to supporting homegrown financial institutions and continued to offer platforms required in marketing products offered by the institutions.

He also invited the institution to make a request that would allow it to market its products to army personnel on dates convenient to both parties.

He further extended an invitation to the Institution to consider sponsoring some of the various Army’s sporting activities as one of the ways of advertising its products.

In response, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Priscilla Shimwambwa, commended the Army for looking into the financial plight of its employees and mentioned that the bank’s current products are intended to encourage its clients to be financially independent.

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