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How CEEC Empowers You

Background

The Citizens Economic Empowerment Commission (CEEC) is a body corporate established through the enactment of the Citizens Economic Empowerment Act No. 9 of 2006 to foster broad-based economic empowerment to targeted citizens, citizen influenced companies, citizen empowered companies and citizen owned companies through several integrated socio-economic strategies.

CEEC’s Empowerment Approaches

  • Value Chain Development – as the lead implementing agency for the development of rural industries, CEEC pursues a value chain development approach by which citizens are being empowered to develop industries. These industries are adding value to the most competitive products/commodities at district level e.g. beef, goat, cassava, cotton, dairy, fish, honey, palm oil, poultry etc.
  • Special Initiatives – these are investment activities that may fall outside prescribed value chains but represent a significant opportunity to avoid loss of jobs or to empower Zambians through emerging partnerships, seizing innovative ideas and other market developments.
  • Preferential Procurement (PP) Certification – satisfies the requirements of Statutory Instrument No. 36 of 2011 and the Public Procurement Act No. 12 of 2008. PP certification enhances the meaningful participation of citizen influenced, citizen empowered and citizen owned companies in public procurement.

How to benefit from Empowerment

The processes of accessing the various empowerment approaches offered by CEEC are as follows:

  1. Value Chain Approach

Under this empowerment approach, applicants are guided to ensure that their proposals are in line with value chains that CEEC is supporting in respective districts.

CEEC issues a Call for Applications, once a year, which is open to the public until a notified date and time, through various media at the beginning of a funding cycle. Application forms can be collected from designated points as advertised. Application forms are available for FREE. Receipts are issued for every application submitted and a shortlist is made public of all applications on the closing date.

  1. Solicited Special Initiative Application Process

CEEC will issue a Call for Applications at any time of the year in the media and other appropriate channels. The identified special initiatives will have specially drafted application forms to be collected from designated points as advertised. Application forms are available for FREE. Receipts are issued for every application submitted and a shortlist is made public of all applications on the closing date.

  1. Unsolicited Special Initiatives Application Process

The Commission will receive and process unsolicited applications that adhere to the following:

  1. Applications shall be addressed to and submitted to the Director General
  2. Application referred to Business Development Officer (BDO) responsible for Special Initiatives
  • BDO creates a summary of applications and forwards them to the Business Development Manager
  1. BDM submits applications to Executive Committee, through Director MSME Business Development
  2. Preferential Procurement Certification

CEEC receives applications from targeted businesses and companies for PP treatment in public tenders in the following categories:

  • Citizen Owned Company – where at least 50.1% of company equity is owned by citizens
  • Citizen Empowered Company – where at 25-50% of company equity is owned by citizens
  • Citizen Influenced Company – where at least 5-25% of company equity is owned by citizens

Application process

  1. Access application form from CEEC HQ, Provincial Offices or website
  2. Submit completed application form, with all necessary attachments (as outlined in the form), to Customer Service at CEEC HQ or Provincial Offices
  • Fill in submission log book
  1. Customer Service communicates to successful applicants whose PP letters (certification) is ready for collection

NOTE: Applications forms are available for FREE and a time frame for processing applications is 10 working days

  1. Reservation Schemes

Section 21 (1) of the CEE Act no. 9 of 2006 states as follows; “Notwithstanding any other law, after the commencement of this Act, the Ministry responsible for commerce, trade and industry shall reserve, as prescribed by the President, specific areas of commerce, trade and industry for targeted citizens, citizen empowered companies, citizen influenced companies and citizen owned companies”.

In line with this mandate, CEEC undertakes stakeholder consultations and later submits roadmaps and input to MCTI for Statutory Instruments for the Reservation Schemes for quarry, poultry, block making, cleaning, uniforms and domestic haulage.

  1. Sector Codes

These are voluntarily developed and legally binding codes of conduct prepared by businesses operating in an economic sector and govern their conduct in relation to empowerment of citizens. Key areas that the economic sector players will be obliged to significantly empower citizens include:

  • Equity, ownership, management and control
  • Preferential procurement
  • Skills development
  • Employment equity
  • Access to finance
  • Enterprise development
  • Corporate social investment
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