An Investigation of the Cause of Delay in the Operationalization of Industrial Clusters in Zambia

Abstract

The Zambian government, through the Citizens Economic Empowerment Commission (CEEC), sourced funding from the African Development Bank and constructed eight Industrial clusters in 2018, one in each of the following towns, Kafue, Chipata, Mongu, Ndola, Kitwe, Solwezi, Mansa and Kasama. These clusters were to be operational by 2019. However, as at June 2023, only three industrial clusters in Chipata, Kasama, and Mongu were operational. This paper reports the findings on the causes of the delay in operationalizing the constructed industrial clusters. A qualitative research design was used to identify the factors causing delay in the operationalization of the industrial clusters. The findings revealed that, inadequate funding by government was a major impediment on the operationalization of the industrial clusters accounting for about 42%, while management of CEEC, due to being politically inclined, accounted for 22.7%. The other factors are: change in government support strategy to small businesses, which necessitated remodelling of cluster buildings to accommodate cooperatives in the industrial clusters (19%), industrial clusters located in the outskirts of the central business districts (9.7%), and lack of engineering and information technology services (6.3%). This study recommends an industrial cluster implementation which is devoid of political influence, and independent management body.