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Minister of Finance and National Planning Dr. Situmbeko Musokotwane has disclosed that the construction of the dual carriage route from Lusaka to the Copperbelt will commence in the next four to five weeks.

Musokotwane said government will soon conclude a deal with the private sector to construct the Lusaka-Ndola dual carriageway adding that the private sector and not government will fund the construction.

Speaking during a media briefing at Mulungushi International Conference Centre today, attended by the Zambian Business Times-ZBT, Musokotwane said the Lusaka-Ndola road is in very bad shape hence the need to fix it but government will not borrow large sums of money to do so and will instead engage the private sector.

“The process is in a very advanced stage, in the next four to five weeks we should be able to put a contractor and say do this road, pay for it and you collect fees or whatever arrangement we will work together as a government”, he said.

He noted that government is focusing on Public Private Partnerships and the private sector has shown a lot of interest therefore government will continue to pursue such initiatives.

The Minister explained that government is putting in place measures to deal with the debt crisis in order to encourage more investments in the country and work with the private sector on both roads and power.

“We are also trying to come up with a similar arrangement and work on the Lusaka-Livingstone road, Sesheke to Kazungula, there are also other roads that the private sector is pursuing like linking DRC through the Northwestern Province to Solwezi, Kasempa and Kaoma. Soon we should see the benefits to the Zambian economy in terms of more money and also more business opportunities and more jobs”, Musokotwane said.

 

 

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Minister of Finance and National Planning Dr.

Markets

Minister of Finance and National Planning Dr. Situmbeko Musokotwane says government has no alternative plan to resuscitate the economy and get the country out of debt besides obtaining the US$1.4 billion bailout package from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Speaking during a media briefing at Mulungushi International Conference Centre today, attended by the Zambian Business Times-ZBT, Musokotwane said getting the IMF bailout package is the practical thing to do in order to resuscitate the economy adding that this is a plan that Zambia has used before to get out of a debt crisis.

When asked by a journalist if the Ministry of Finance has a plan B in the event that Zambia does not secure the IMF deal, Musokotwane said this is a plan that has worked for many other countries therefore there is no reason why it will not work for Zambia.

“There is no plan B because this plan A is going to work. Please do remember that from 2016 to 2021, there was an attempt to go it alone, that plan did not deliver anything that is why we are still talking about the debt crisis today. You can see that with the process that we have already engaged in, the benefits are already visible even before we have concluded the process”, he said.

The Minister explained that the country must remain consistent on the reforms, continuative discipline in implementing the budget and avoid commercial borrowing to ensure that Zambia accesses the IMF loan.

He mentioned that the IMF is providing support to Zambia and its efforts to restructure the debt adding that Zambia expects to finalize the $1.4 billion bailout from the IMF by June this year.

 

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Minister of Finance and National Planning Dr.

Mining

A mining expert and Copperbelt University – CBU don professor Peter Chileshe has called for the reverting back and holding of  emerald auctions to Zambia as this move is  a great idea of increasing price transparency in the sector.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with the Zambian Business Times –ZBT, Prof. Chileshe said emerald auctions should return back to Zambia in order to allow buyers and sellers to reach a negotiation point locally to improve price transparency and national accountability.

Professor Chileshe said locally held emerald auctions  will also help the Zambia Revenue Authority – ZRA – to establish actual income generated by the emerald mining companies, which would help improve revenue collection.

The mining expert told ZBT that locally held Emerald auctions create a competitive environment in Zambia in order to maximise the bargaining power, and ultimately achieve a higher prices. He said they are an important part of selling as they have a rapid and effective means of positioning of goods.

He however said the only disadvantage that comes with emeralds auctions is that buyers may secretly gang up or form a cartel to under bid or to force prices down. This is complicated to deal with even if we hold the auctions locally.

Other benefits of holding Emeral auctions in Zambia is the increased visibility of the country, boosting of business tourism as the bidder have to travel to Zambia as well as affording the small scale miners  a ready and lucrative market to sell their emeralds.

Zambia boosts of having the largest emerald mines in the world but realizing true value from these precious stones remains a challenge. Some mining experts contend that when the auctions were held locally, revenue declarations and tax collections from this sector improved. But their is limited publicly available data to prove this.

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A mining expert and Copperbelt University -

Tech

Minister of Infrastructure, Housing and Urban Development Charles Milupi says the newly constructed Kenneth Kaunda International Conference Centre in Lusaka is 99.9% complete.

Speaking when he inspected the ultra-modern conference centre, Milupi said the Kenneth Kaunda International Conference Centre has been constructed at a cost of US$ 60 million and is a gift from the Chinese government.

Milupi said all has gone well with the construction and the contractor is expected to hand over the facility to government on 16th May, 2022 noting that the construction of the facility started in 2020 and the main conference room has a holding capacity of about 4,000.

He added that he was happy with the way the facility has been constructed and he is confident that the conference is ready to host its first international meeting in July this year adding that government will put up a very effective maintenance programme to ensure that the facility is kept in good condition.

Meanwhile, Infrastructure, Housing and Urban Development Permanent Secretary Eng. Danny Mfune said the handover would undergo testing to ensure that everything is working.

Eng. Mfune mentioned that the conference has been constructed by China Jiangsu International Economic and Technical Corporation Group and supervised by the ministry.

 

 

 

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Minister of Infrastructure, Housing and Urban Development

Lifestyle

The Civil Society for Poverty Reduction (CSPR) says a low inflation rate plays a key role in the fight against poverty but the country’s current economic trend shows that economic policies are not aligned using the inflation rate.

According to the Zambia Statistics Agency (ZAMSTATS), the annual inflation for April 2022 decreased to 11.5 percent from 13.1 percent recorded in March 2022, which means that on average, prices of goods and services increased by 11.5 percent between April 2021 and April 2022.

CSPR Executive Director Faides Tembatemba said government reduced the price of fuel for the month of May and the inflation rate has maintained a downward trend but the prices of goods and commodities have remained high.

Speaking in an interview with the Zambian Business Times-ZBT, Tembatemba explained that the low inflation rate is not impacting positively on the fight against poverty as the poverty levels are getting higer due to lack of a system that monitors price regulation.

Tembatemba said government should put in place a system that will monitor or track whether suppliers or wholesalers are ensuring that each time there is a reduction in fuel prices, or when the inflation rate is lower, prices of goods and commodities also reduce.

“We are appealing to government to be able to regulate or put in place a system that will monitor and ensure there is compliance because at the moment, nothing is moving. Poverty levels are still the same, poor people are still experiencing high food prices and government is not doing anything about it so as long as the food prices and essential commodities remain high the poverty levels will remain high”, she said.

She said citizens are not experiencing the positive effects of a low inflation rate, reduced fuel prices and a stable exchange rate because there is no system in place that ensures prices of commodities reflect these factors.

Tembatemba noted that Zambia has a liberalized economy therefore anyone can determine the pricing of any goods and services and whenever there is an increase in pricing factors, businesses are quick to adjust prices upwards but are reluctant to reduce prices of commodities when there is a reduction.

 

 

 

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The Civil Society for Poverty Reduction (CSPR)

Companies

12k Energy Group says the cooperating agreement that Zambia signed with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for the manufacturing of electric car batteries has challenged the private sector to provide products and services that should move consumers away from fossil fuels to clean energy.

Company Chief Information Officer Kellys Kaunda said such a move would involve a lot of capital injection because being able to reengineer the Zambian economy from fossil fuels to clean energy will require a lot of money.

Speaking in an interview with the Zambian Business Times-ZBT, Kaunda explained that the revolution from fossil fuels to clean energy such as electricity requires government clearing the policy framework that should be able to facilitate business interactions and the kind of legal framework that the new companies will be working in.

Kaunda added that this agreement has signaled that there is going to be a policy framework that will facilitate these collaborations among companies in different countries adding that government does not create jobs but only provides a legal framework and institutional framework as the actual work is done by the private sector.

He noted that the company is trying to identify financial institutions that could buy into its project proposal adding that it has been talking to development institutions such as the European Union, which has funds going into projects intended to move away from fossil fuel to clean energy.

Kaunda added that the company would also be talking to the African Development Bank, which also has resources to this effect among other development institutions adding that he hopes government will capitalize the Development Bank of Zambia and the Industrial Development Corporation so that it also plays a part in providing resources and working with the private sector.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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12k Energy Group says the cooperating agreement

Markets

Economist Noel Nkoma says investment in human capital and infrastructure development is important in an economy such as Zambia as the two complement each other and it is not possible to employ successfully human capital without infrastructure.

Speaking in an interview with the Zambian Business Times-ZBT, Nkoma said there is sufficient investment in human capital as far as skills development and education is concerned, among others therefore human capital must be deployed efficiently as the right infrastructure is in place.

Nkoma said the issue around investment in infrastructure development is not debatable but what many people have been questioning is at what cost a particular infrastructure was put up.

“Are we able to maximize the benefits from the resource that went into putting up that infrastructure without necessarily having to suffocate the economy, that is the issue and not that infrastructure was wrong. Infrastructure is very important but at what cost was it procured”, he said.

Nkoma however noted that it is not possible to absorb all the human capital on the market noting that the economy has not been growing as there has been negative growth, which is minus 4% GDP.

He added that Zambia can only absorb a number beyond the over 40,000 teachers and health workers government is yet to recruit when the economy begins to grow, and this means that the economy should be growing at 8% GDP and above to be able to have an impact for returns on the job market.

Nkoma said there is need for Zambia to invest more in high impact sectors such as agriculture, energy and other sub sectors of the economy such as value addition.

“In the mining sector for example, we are just producing copper but we are not investing in value addition so all those things should be looked at in total context”, he said.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Economist Noel Nkoma says investment in human

Lifestyle

The Africa wealth report has revealed that most wealthy people in South Africa, a projection that can be said to be the same for Zambia have either studied law or accounting.

These two careers or fields of study seems to offer the highest chances of joining the elite group of High Net-Worth Individuals – HNWI. The 2022 report availed to the Zambian Business Times – ZBT revealed that about 30% of HNWI have studied Law.

Accounting and Finance was the second most common area of study background among HNWI and it accounted for about 28%. The two (Law & Finance) are considered key in understanding how to both generate and accrue wealth.

Other notable areas of study that were areas of study and profession for wealthy people are ICT, Medicine, Engineering and Mathematic & Statistics. See chart for details.

Note from ZBT – any career path can land one into the elite league of HNWI, it’s the working knowledge of law and finance that is key. And that is why the Zambian Business Times – ZBT offers Business and Finance news that can help our readers improve and enhance their financial knowledge.

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The Africa wealth report has revealed that

Lifestyle

The Civil Servants and Allied Workers Union of Zambia says allowing workers to access part of their pension funds before they retire will enable them to plan ahead, invest and earn returns as they wait for their full package after retirement.

Union President Davy Chiyobe said it is worrisome to see people reaching 50 years and retiring without owning a house or having any investment to point at which can earn them an income while they wait for their retirement benefits.

Speaking in an interview with the Zambian Business Times-ZBT, Chiyobe noted that most workers shun getting loans because of the high interest rates by the lending institutions adding that the National Pension Scheme Authority (NAPSA) should consider giving loans to workers so that they can be able to invest in different venture whilst still in employment.

Chiyobe explained that it should be every individual’s responsibility to ensure putting their money to good use noting that no one has the right to dictate how someone should spend their hard-earned money.

“Let the money come and if a person wastes the money it’s their own fault, why should others start thinking for other people. You have been contributing to NAPSA but when you retire you become a beggar”, Chiyobe said.

“The labour movement has been pushing for those pension reforms. We have no problem with Public Service Pensions Fund (CSPF) but we had a challenge with NAPSA. NAPSA has been stealing from people, day light robbery, they have built a lot of infrastructure and have been getting a lot of tenders but look at the benefits they are giving to the person who’s contributing money”, he said.

 

 

 

 

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The Civil Servants and Allied Workers Union

Agribusiness

Agriculture Minister Mtolo Phiri has disclosed that the country currently has 1,509,455.03 metric tonnes of maize stock.

Speaking when he received a report on a special joint stock take exercise of the national strategic food reserves at FRA Mungwi Depot today, Phiri said this is the total national stock position held by the Food Reserve Agency, the Millers Association of Zambia, the Grain Traders Association of Zambia and the Zambia National Farmers Union.

According to information made available to the Zambian Business Times-ZBT, Phiri said with the current stock levels, the country remains food secure up to March 2023 and the ministry will continue doing its best in ensuring food security in the country by putting in place appropriate measures that promote a balance between business and national food security.

Phiri noted that government would endeavor to continue supporting farmers and other stakeholders by providing market access through the agency and timely release of funds for their delivered produce and provision of critical services.

The minister further said that the national strategic food reserves have proved to be very useful in many ways including stabilizing mealie meal prices caused by food supply imbalances in the country due to negative effects of climate change.

He added that national strategic food reserves are vital for the nation as they serve as a safeguard against national food insecurity, hence the need to stock adequately the reserves in good quality and countable manner at all times.

Speaking at the same event, Food Reserve Agency Board Chairperson Kelvin Hambwezya said the agency during the 2021 crop-marketing season purchased 947,776 metric tonnes of maize.

Hambwezya noted that this was in addition to a carry-over stock of 319,199 metric tonnes giving a total of 1,266,977 metric tonnes of maize held for national strategic food reserves as of 4th February 2022.

He said the stock-take confirmed through physical counting, the existence of 1,209,465 metric tonnes of maize in 390 FRA depots across the country representing 95 percent of the expected 1,266,977 metric tonnes as of 4th February 2022 and 0.016 percent overall stock loss.

The Board Chairperson mentioned that this exercise was conducted during the rainy season which made access to some roads impassable therefore, 25 satellite depots were not visited and had their stock-take deferred noting that the unvisited satellite depots, through verifiable records were holding a total of 57,225 metric tonnes representing 5 per cent.

He said the stock-take exercise was conducted from 4th February to 17th March 2022, by a combined team of officers from internal audit, Zambia Agriculture Research Institute (ZARI), Plant Quarantine and Phytosanitary Services (PQPS) under the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Reserve Agency and other key stakeholders.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Agriculture Minister Mtolo Phiri has disclosed that