The revamping of Nitrogen Chemicals of Zambia – NCZ which could cut the continued import of bulk fertilizers into the country and stem further Forex bleeding continues to hang as the ministry of Agriculture says its no longer in their hands.
When Zambian Business Times – ZBT contacted Agriculture Minister Micheal Katambo on 14 August 2020, he stated that the revamping of NCZ is no longer under his ministry and that the responsible ministry is now Commerce, Trade and Industry, under his counterpart Christopher Yaluma and the Industrial Development Corporation.
But when checked with the Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry on what steps have been taken to revamp NCZ, an impeachable source who asked that his name be withheld told ZBT that the ministry is not aware of the transfer of responsibility for revamping NCZ. IDC was yet to comment by press time.
Zambia continues to spend colossal amounts of its meager locally available foreign exchange importing fertilizers and other products which have previously been successfully manufactured locally.
The country has locally available inputs and the bulk ingredients needed to manufacture the fertilizers such as basal dressing and top dressing. Other components such as lime and gypsum are also locally available.
Analysts have indicated that its the mentality of importing even products that can be locally made, at times even at lower costs of production that has led to the local currency, the Kwacha, experiencing perpetual depreciation.
NCZ was set up in September 1967 as a limited company. It is wholly owned by the Government of Zambia through the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC).
The Company was established to provide basal and top-dressing Ammonium Nitrate fertilizers to farmers and provide prilled porous Ammonium Nitrate for Kafironda for their manufacture of explosives for the mines and other industrial chemicals.
In the early eighties, the NCZ plant at Kafue was expanded to include production of ammonia, nitric acid, ammonium sulphate, sulphuric acid and compound fertilizers, some of which constituted key copper processing chemicals.
As revealed by the Auditor Generals report, the company needs urgent revamping. During the period from May 2015 to March 2019, the Company operated without a Board until April 2019 when an INTERIM Board was appointed.
Auditor General Dr. Dick Chembe reported that “consequently, there has was lack of effective strategic direction and oversight of NCZ as evidenced by the lack of strategic plan and failure to hold Annual General Meetings.
Today, the bulk of fertilizers used across the country by farmers are all imported with local manufacturing efforts being left with limited policy and capital backing. Same applies to the local production of sulphuric and other acids used in the copper mining industry which are now mostly imported.
