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An established economist has disclosed that Zambia will this year  2022 be surviving mostly on international reserves as the economy is facing serious difficulties.

Zambia’s reserves in July 2021 crossed the standard three months import cover threshold after getting a $1.3 billion special drawing rights – SDR allocation from the International Monetary Fund – IMF following the global Covid 19 pandemic.

An alternative source to grow international reserves through gold through a state owned Zambia gold company also suffered a set back after the rich Kasenseli gold mine of Mwinilunga was closed by the new dawn administration with no road map shared on its re-opening.

Yusuf Dodia told the Zambian Business Times – ZBT that  Zambia is running a deficit budget, as more than 50% of the national budget is meant to be funded from foreign sources such as grants and loans which will makes it very difficult to build on the balance of foreign reserves held.

Dodia stated that the other factor that is making it difficult for the nation to build foreign reserves is the rising debt which has now increased from US$14.1 to over US$ 17 billion which is really causing problems in terms of the nation’s ability to finance it’d development programs.

“Building foreign or international reserves is not currently easy for the country because its fighting a difficult battle of trying to raise resources in order to manage the current situation of financing the national budget and also the servicing of external and local debt”, Dodia stated.

He added that a look at the 2022 national budget, it shows that the debt servicing allocation for this year is K78 billion as opposed to K46 billion last year, hence building or even maintaining the the balance held on international reserves becomes a very difficult action to focus on.

“If the country can tighten its belts and focus on developing the domestic private sector, make the cost of doing business in Zambia affordable as much as possible, reflect on the policy of energy management by adjusting the policy to ensure that industry and commerce get the cheapest fuel and electricity in the region, these can help to make the local industry competitive. I think that if we do that, we will be able to achieve economic growth and we will be able to begin to contribute and grow our international reserves”, he said.

The renowned economist told ZBT that situation the country finds itself in makes it difficult to address the issue of sustaining or even growing its international reserves. He added that it is pointless to start assessing whether the country has contributed towards growing its international reserves because one can see that the country is not adequately dealing with its day to day requirements, then how does it even start to deal with the issue of growing its international reserves? Dodia asked.

He said that the country is dealing with what gives people their basic needs and that’s to make sure that the people are productive, people are employed and making sure that people are managing in these difficult times of the covid pandemic, the increased oil prices and where the economy is not competitive as far as the regional economy is concerned.

He added that he does not expect the Zambian economy to pick up this year, because this is the year that the Ukraine – Russia conflict is going to have a big and negative impact on the economy, thus the year 2022 is the year were country will try to simply survive.

Analysts say Zambia can build serious gold reserves as an alternative or complimentary to forex reserves but lethargy and lack of drive from successive authorities at both the ministry of finance and Bank of Zambia remains a challenge.

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An established economist has disclosed that Zambia

Lifestyle

The Zambia Medical Association-ZMA has attributed the current shortage of drugs and medical supplies in health facilities to the shifting of procurement functions of medical supplies from the Ministry of Health (MOH) to the Zambia Medicines and Medical Supplies Agency (ZAMMSA).

Association President Dr. Crispin Moyo said there was no transitional plan to ensure that there is continuity of supply of medicines during the period that the procurement was been transitioned to ZAMMSA.

Speaking during a press conference attended by the Zambian Business Times-ZBT , Moyo however noted that enough time has passed since the signing off and implementation of the ZAMMSA Act therefore there should already be a robust interim procurement mechanism to allow for continuity of service delivery.

“The reason why we have a shortage of drugs right now is that the Ministry of Health stopped procuring medicines in September and the procurement team at the Ministry of Health was also suspended”, he said.

“There were contracts that were signed that were cancelled because they were found to have not followed the due process, that created the gap in the supply of medicines, at the same time the procurement function was immediately moved to ZAMMSA without a transitional arrangement. The contracts were cancelled meaning ZAMMSA should have quickly moved in and procured the drugs but ZAMMSA was not a procurement agency, they were focusing on storage and distribution”, Moyo said.

Moyo said while the ministry is thinking of a transitional plan to make sure that there is continuity in the supply of medicines, the budget earmarked for procurement of drugs should be proportionately apportioned to health facilities to procure directly with a clear mechanism of accountability put in place.

“Let them buy locally for now, until ZAMMSA has picked up and their procurement system has been put in place. If that were possible, the minister of health and technocrats at ministry of health should start working on that mechanism so that those monies are disbursed to the facilities or atleast at provincial level. This will ensure that the procurement of drugs continues because not having drugs in a facility today may mean death to some of our people who are vulnerable”, Moyo said.

 

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The Zambia Medical Association-ZMA has attributed the

Politics

Justice Minister Mulambo Haimbe has denied allegations that President Hakainde Hichilema and Vice President Mutale Nalumango as well as state house senior staff and other government officials met with former Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) Provisional Liquidator Milingo Lungu to enter into an immunity in return for him resigning as KCM Provisional Liquidator.

Responding to a question from the Zambian Business Times-ZBT, during a press briefing held at the Ministry of Justice, Haimbe reiterated that its not the policy of the President and government to meet with persons who are in conflict with the law and undertake any sort of negotiation with them for purposes of undermining the course of justice.

“We wish to end all public speculation which suggests that the presidency has interfered in the DPP’s functions in any way including by issuing instructions to grant immunity to any persons facing criminal proceedings in Zambia. No such instructions have ever been issued as doing so would be abhorrent to the principal of the new dawn government to protect institutions of governance and the rule of law”, he said.

Haimbe said contrary to speculations that the president can direct the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in the exercise of her functions, the opposite is true. He added that the only caution to the exercise of the DPP’S functions is that she must do so within the law, failure to which she must be held to account as no one is above the law.

He emphasized that it is not the policy of government for the president to meet and negotiate with any person that is in conflict with the law for purposes of subverting the course of justice.

The Minister also noted that any action taken by the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) in the exercise of her office has been done unilaterally by her, in her sole discretion and in the purported exercise of her constitutional mandate.

Haimbe however said the ministry’s assessment is that there have been significant lapses in the way the DPP has exercised her functions concerning the confines of the law and in the public interest adding that, these lapses require thorough, independent and fair investigation by relevant bodies.

He added that the ministry is aware that various citizens have approached the Judicial Complaints Commission (JCC) with complaints against the DPP and the JCC’s mandate among other things is to independently investigate and consider such complaints with a view ultimately to regressing them in accordance with the law.

The minister urged the JCC to expedite its consideration of the complaints before it so as, not only to afford the DPP a platform on which to explain her actions but also to put an end to public speculation over these important issues.

 

 

 

 

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Justice Minister Mulambo Haimbe has denied allegations

Mining

Emeralds and Semi-Precious Stones Mining Association of Zambia-ESMAZ has disclosed that the mining sector is expected to attract low investment this year due to the high cost of fuel.

Association President Victor Kalesha said the increase in fuel prices would reduce the number of investors willing to invest in the mining sector because mining is a high cost venture and an increase in fuel prices will result in the high cost of production.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with the Zambian Business Times-ZBT, Kalesha said artisanal small-scale miners and other small-scale miners were hoping that the mining sector would receive a number of investors this year due to the change of government as they assumed that investors would want to work with the new government but that is not the case.

Kalesha also noted that the production levels of big mining companies like Grizzly Mining and Kagem Mining will be affected as the cost of fuel is too high for production adding that large-scale mines like Grizzly Mining and Kagem Mining spend not less than US$3 million dollars per month on operation costs.

He added that mining depends on the use of fuel equipment and there is no other alternative that mining firms can adopt to maintain high production levels in the midst of high fuel prices.

Kalesha explained that the fuel price increase might also result in the reduction of labour as most companies might feel they are incurring too many costs and might want to cut on the labour in order to cut out some costs.

“The increase in fuel prices might also affect the salary increment of mine workers as there will be too many costs going into the operations while having less production. It will also affect social responsibilities because it will be very difficult for companies that are in operation and production to settle for certain social responsibility ventures”, he said.

He hopes that the war in Ukraine and Russia would be resolved soon so that things can go back to normal and mining firms can operate on normal levels.

 

 

 

 

 

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Emeralds and Semi-Precious Stones Mining Association of

Lifestyle

The Pharmaceutical Association of Zambia President Kennedy Saini has dispelled as a myth the narrative that contraceptives  are causing prolonged menstruation and excessive weight gain in most women. This follows some members of the public blaming the wide use of contraceptives to be behind excessive weight gain in women.

In an exclusive interview with the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, Saini stated that contraceptives behave just like normal natural hormones that a woman produces and they change the function of the hormonal balance in the body and side effects are different from person to person.

The Pharmaceutical Association President told ZBT that the narrative that contraceptives cause prolonged menstruation and weight gain is not entirely true because people react differently. If side effects are observed in patients, is not a shock because these effects are individualized.

He added that side effects have been reported for mostly those on injectable contraceptives. They are the ones that may go through prolonged periods or menses and even at that, it is not everyone. So it’s not true to generalize and say contraceptive are causing women to gain weight or have prolonged menses.

Saini further alluded to the fact that they are new formulations that are being made to suppress some side effects of some of the contraceptives, but not a reduction in the effectiveness. He added that there are a lot of such being formulated or coming on board in order to make these drugs safe and user friendly for every woman out there.

The association president added that women should normalize visiting health centers without fail to obtain their drugs or injection at any time, there is no time limit or days on when to get these injections and drugs.

He said that women should avoid taking contraceptives based on their own knowledge because there is a triage that is followed to make sure that what is administered to a patient is a type that will work effectively for them, this will prevent certain drugs to interact in one that has conditions like hypertension for example. Were proper treatment is not followed or is over looked, someone may conceive even on contraceptives.

The Pharmaceutical expert added that the myths that contraception for non-mothers causes infertility is not true, he said that what happens is secondary infertility that is reversible. He alluded that it only causes delays in” taking in”.

Kennedy added that secondary infertility is individualized from person to person depending on the lifestyle, in some it can take up to a year to conceive and some immediately they miss a pill/dosage or two, they “take in”.

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The Pharmaceutical Association of Zambia President Kennedy

Lifestyle

Even as nurses and other health workers scramble for the about 11,000 local jobs in government, the opportunities to work in the diaspora remains a viable option for the about 110,000 applicants that will most definitely be left out.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council of Zambia – NMCZ has disclosed that the process for a Zambian nurse’s to work in the diaspora is a straight forward one and that most nurses or midwives may not be aware of this available option.

NMCZ  Legal counsel and spokesperson Bvulani Etambuyu-Mulele told the Zambian Business Times – ZBT that most of the health institutions where the Zambian nurses apply to in the diaspora write directly to the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Zambia- NMCZ for verification of candidates.

Mulele added that once the Nursing council receives applications of a particular nurse they respond and if they qualify they proceed with the rest of the necessary requirements. She said that the medical health center in there respective country report to their nursing council or equivalent body to get validation to work and it’s these regulatory bodies that write direct to NMCZ.

She disclosed that NMCZ writes back only after they are sent these applications to confirm that the individual is in good standing with NMCZ, if their practicing license is valid, if they have pending disciplinary cases and any cases of professional misconduct and they respond after checking the professional standing of that particular candidate.

In an interview with ZBT, the spokesperson for NMCZ who also doubles as the legal counsel said that they receive applications on daily basis from all over the world and they try to respond to them on time because the candidates have deadlines. The council could however not reveal the statistics as of how many nurses relocate yearly and to which respective countries.

Working in the diaspora is an option that most unemployed youths may not be looking at, but remains a viable option for even better earning and international exposure.

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Even as nurses and other health workers

Lifestyle

The Ministry of Youth, Sports and Arts has disclosed that plans of holding youth indabas in each of the ten provinces or regions of Zambia are in motion. Zambia’s population is youthful and the need to leverage the demographic dividend is a big possibility.

Ministry of Youth Permanent Secretary Chileshe Kangwa told the Zambian Business Times – ZBT that his Ministry is in the planning phase and is likely to make an announcement of the dates for the various regions by the end of April, 2022.

He said that the recently held youth national indaba was held to give a platform to the youths to express themselves and air their views.  It was an opportunity for they ministry to explain to the young people what programmes government had for them in various ministries, such as the newly created Ministry of small medium enterprise, in the Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Information, Ministry of Science and Technology among other ministries. He added that it was also an opportunity for the youths to know what is available for them.

Chileshe said that among the resolutions that were made are to have youth involvement at the every level of national development, youth led enterprises, youth recognition in terms of appointment at every level and have a proper review of  the legal frame work in relation to youths involvement.

The Youth PS further disclosed that the recently held Lusaka Youth Indaba was just a road map of more of such programmes to come forth, he added that the ministry does not want to have youth programs that are dictated to the youths, he said that the idea is to have the views and opinions coming from the youths to inform the making of future programs.

He further added that it was important for the Youths ministry to highlight to the youths as of what various ministries have in store for them like in the ministry of Science and Technology, there is a fund called innovative fund but a lot of people do not know that they can access funding for their innovative and creative ideas, thus it was imperative for the ministry to highlight to the youths on such issues.

On the recently held national youth Indaba in Lusaka, the permanent secretary confirmed that all the 156 (hundred and fifty-six) Zambian constituencies were represented. He disclosed that the ministry has cooperating partners, the United Nations Development Programme – UNDP and various other United nations agencies, and the private sector that have invested in the same programme because they believe in the potential of young people.

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The Ministry of Youth, Sports and Arts

Companies

The Zambian Government should thrive to find ways to develop the economy even in the middle of global crises as no one can project when we will have a period were there is no overarching global crises. Even before the Covid 19 pandemic has been completely eliminated, the Russia – Ukraine conflict has taken Centre stage.

Government should instead look at how they can leverage about $25 million of Copper exports daily and how part of that revenue can come back to into local banks and the Zambian economy to help deal with the development needs of the country during times of crises.

A renowned economist has charged that every crisis comes with opportunities, and that crisis will never stop coming, thus what a government ought to do is continue looking at the nature of the crisis and putting in place mechanisms that can mitigate against that crisis and take advantage of some opportunities or silver linings which may arise as a result of the crisis.

Yusuf Dodia has advised that the economy of a nation or Zambia in particular cannot wait for its progress to be determined by external forces by waiting for a crisis to come to an end. There has to be some actions that are within our control.

“I believe that it is the responsibility of government to come up with mechanisms to address these global challenges and their local impact, because as a country there is need to be masters of our own country’s destiny, hence there is need to make decisions that take into account the changing economic situations and adjust programs accordingly”, Dodia stated.

In an exclusive interview with the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, Dodia said that the country cannot sit and wait, that things will get better when something else is resolved by others, that might not be in the best interest of the nation.

He further added that as a nation, the elephant in the room is that Zambia is exporting about $25 million (twenty five million dollars) of copper on a daily basis (8,500,000 tons @ $11k per ton/365 days) and very little of that copper earning is coming back into the economy.

Dodia challenged the government to put in place mechanisms to ensure that some of these copper export earnings come back into the nation’s banks and economy, it would take care of a lot of challenges that country has at the moment.

He said that the copper mining industry which is responsible for about $9 billion dollars’ worth of exports every year (850,000 tons annual production @$11k per ton) is contributing very little to the growth of the  Zambian economy apart from creating a few job opportunities, giving a few contracts to miners and mining contractors and paying mineral royalty taxes which they pay.

Dodia stated that “beyond that, they are not doing much compared to the volume of  and value of copper which leaves the country to the small contributions that is being made to the economy, it simply shows that there is very little to be appreciated”.

He said that the country is afraid to challenge the Copper mining industry in the way the country should benefit from the industry, hence the low earnings or funds remitted back into the economy from these exports.

The economist told ZBT that sometimes a lot of it is misguidance goes on, for instance if guidance is obtained from the IMF, the world bank and other supporting developing partners. It’s important to understand that their interests are different with our interests. They may not want the country to prosper, they may want it to remain in difficulties and in poverty.

Have you ever seen these institutions support the country or promote efforts by the country to get more retention of Copper export earnings?, he asked.

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The Zambian Government should thrive to find

Lifestyle

An energy expert has cautioned ZESCO that the signing of a power supply agreement with NAMPOWER of Namibia should not result in domestic and commercial consumers being starved off power or load shedded in preference for export revenue.

Bornface Zulu, an energy expert said that if local supply is not prioritized, the power utility may end up committing to supplying the export market at the expense of supplying the domestic and commercial clients.

“This will continue negatively affecting the nation and down grading the country’s economy to further more calamities, thus the need for ZESCO to consider such actualities before engaging itself into giving power to neighboring countries like Nambia”, Zulu told ZBT.

He added that ZESCO has to come up with a strategic plan that will work for both the Zambian and Namibian sides so that both economies are not negatively affected at all cost. The country risks experiencing a shortfall in the long run and ZESCO should not come up with an excuse of load shedding due to insufficient water or power to supply to Zambian consumers and businesses.

These concerns of possible load shedding have come up following the agreement that ZESCO has signed with NAMPOWER of Namibia for the supply of an additional 80 megawatts to the Namibian power utility. This additional 80MW on the existing 100MW should only be satisfied on excess power and not at the expense of local consumers.

ZESCO Managing Director Victor Mapani said that the power giant will take advantage of being part of the Southern African Power Pool – SAPP , which creates great opportunities for ZESCO to play a major role in trading with the regional power blocks.

Risk of load shedding have returned after the revelation that China Exim Bank has suspended funding of the $2billion 750MW Kafue Gorge Lower Power project which was projected to make Zambia a net exporter of electricity. ZESCO has since indicated that they intend to finish off the plant from internal resources or funds.

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An energy expert has cautioned ZESCO that

Mining

A source at the Ministry of Mines has disclosed to the Zambian Business Times – ZBT that the elevated levels of Uranium which was extracted from ore at Lumwana mine could begin to be processed once the international price of the commodity improves.

Commenting in an exclusive interview with the Zambian Business Times – ZBT on the way forward on Uranium production at Lumwana Mine, the source said the mine has elevated levels of uranium which is now sitting on the special constructed tailing storage facility and has potential to begin to be processed once the international prices improve.

The source told ZBT that Uranium had once been mined at Lumwana and had been stockpiled, the ore containing both copper and Uranium belonging to Lumwana mine had been processed but the actual Uranium has not yet been recovered adding that the facility where it is stored is monitored and secured.

The source revealed that “at the time when Lumwana mine started constructions of the mine, the idea was that they will also build a separate processing facility or plant to recover the Uranium over and above the Copper, so at the time, it was intended that they could produce the Uranium cake,” the source said.

The source also attributed the putting on ice or delay in the ramping up of Uranium recovering at Lumwana to the Fukushima nuclear power plant incident that happened in Japan on March 11, 2011. The source explained that due that tragic incident, the price of Uranium dropped and as a result, Lumwana mine could not proceed to set up the Uranium processing plant but instead decided to recover only the contained copper.

“When the Uranium price improve, Lumwana mine should be able to make plans and start the procession of recovering the uranium.” The source told ZBT. The source however could not disclose the grade and quantity of uranium which Lumwana is sitting on adding that only the company in charge (Lumwana mine) can give a proper answer on that.

A further check by ZBT has revealed that indeed Reuters report in 2008 also stated that Lumwana mine at the time had projected to start producing about 1 million tons of high grade Uranium annually. A $6 million Uranium feasibility study at the Lumwana mine has been concluded and results showed the existence of high grade uranium, Reuters reported. The report further confirmed that Stockpiling of uranium ores has already started at the mine.

While the quantity and grade of Uranium stored at the unknown facility remains unconfirmed, a check by ZBT revealed that the current price of the nuclear metal stands at about US $130, 000 per ton. With a projected production level of 1 million tons per annum, Uranium mining could be a game changer for Zambia  in terms of the quantum of revenue and forex earnings.

Lumwana Mine has however officially told ZBT that the mine is currently not producing any Uranium. But some ex-employees and members of the public have accused the mine of engaging in the extraction of the nuclear metal and simply not declaring it. More to follow on Uranium mining in Zambia.

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A source at the Ministry of Mines