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Agribusiness

The Seed Control and Certification Institute-SCCI-says it is working towards meeting the requirements set by the European Union (EU) for the acquisition of the European Union Seed Compliance certification, which will enable Agro companies in Zambia to export maize seed to the EU.

SCCI Chief Seeds Officer Dr. Nathan Phiri said the export of maize seed to Europe is expected to meaningfully contribute to bringing a lot of forex into the country and result in employment creation, as companies would have to increase seed production, noting that this would also result in more revenue for the government, as Agro companies would have to pay more tax.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with the Zambian Business Times-ZBT, Dr. Phiri said this is an opportunity to diversify and move away from traditional exports such as copper adding that Zambia is specialized in maize seed production and is the largest maize seed exporter in Africa.

He explained that there is a huge market for maize seed in Europe, which Zambia should take advantage of as it has plenty of productive land, a good climate and a Non-Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) status, adding that many seed companies in Zambia have expressed interest in exporting maize seed to Europe.

“For now the interest is maize seed, we are exporting a lot of seed within the SADC region; we are also exporting a lot of seed into COMESA – East Africa. If need be, we will get into other crops like soya beans and groundnuts as those are crops that we can easily use to trade with these other countries”, he said.

Dr. Phiri noted that how long it takes to get the European Union Seed Compliance depends on how fast the institute puts in place all the set conditions adding that various issues including finances are determining factors. But we are confident of getting the certification.

He stated that the organisation sent an inquiry to the EU in June 2021 and only got a response in January 2022 adding that the institute is working towards meeting the conditions that have been set.

“We have inquired and the EU has guided us on what we need to do, we have been guided on the requirements and once that is done, we will make an application, so if there are any conditions the institute is not meeting, we are working towards that.”, he said.

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The Seed Control and Certification Institute-SCCI-says it

Lifestyle

The Zambian National Union of Teachers-ZNUT General Secretary Newman Bubala has condemned the protest by Teachers who attempted to march to State House (the official residence and office for the President of Zambia), escalating their complaints of not being put on the government payroll for over two years.

Bubala said that it is important for the affected teachers to go to the right offices when airing their grievances. He added that the both the Teacher Union and Ministry of Education are aware of the issue and they are working to resolve it.

He said that those who were geniunely employed are going to be put on pay roll and. The unionist further added that teachers have Union leaders and the best way is to report to the labour movement that can speak on their behalf.

The ZNUT General Secretary stated that going forward, Government should be making sure that vacant positions are declared before issuing appointment letters.

Over 2,000 teachers who have duly signed and dated appointment letters have complained that they have been working but not been put on payroll. The affected teachers attempted a protest march to State House to seek an audience with President Hakainde Hichilema after the earlier protest at the ministry failed to yield positive results. Police blocked their protest.

Accusations of corruption in the issuing of appointment letters were reported. Some of the teachers were accused of carrying fake appointment letters, with some investigations at the teaching service commission reported, but no tangible results of the investigations have been made public.

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The Zambian National Union of Teachers-ZNUT General

Tech

The Zambian Medical Association – ZMA Secretary General Dr. Roy Tolopu has disclosed that administrative challenges and the lack of timely financing are the key contributors to the narrative of drug shortages being created in some hospitals and clinics.

Dr. Tolopu explained that in Zambia, there is a list of essential drugs based on the consumption pattern, the more certain drugs are being prescribed, the higher the demand for that particular drug and so these group of drugs are prioritized and included on the list of essential drugs.

He stated that sometimes patients are prescribed drugs that are not in the hospital at that particular time, hence the narrative of drug shortage is created. The ZMA Secretary General explained that people need to appreciate that drugs, just like any other held stock are supplied, consumed and finish.

In an exclusive interview with the Zambian Business Times-ZBT Dr. Tolopu stated that the challenge has been having an adequate budget on paper which does not translate to what is on the ground, money allocated but not being disbursed to what is in the budget.

He however stated that the current government has pledged to disburse what is budgeted which is the right step towards the procurement of adequate drugs and avoiding shortages.

Dr. Tolopu explained that the other challenge with availability of drugs is administration. We have heard of cases were you have drugs expiring at storage centers while clinics and hospitals in some districts have drug shortages, He re-iterated that it is the duty of the administration to make sure that the medicines are distributed on time to the right intended end user.

He stated that it should be made clear that there is a constant release of finances which are meant to buy essential medicines for the country and to make sure that there is no deformity in Administrative process so that the end user does not to suffer.

Dr. Tolopu further added that they should be proper control processes to ensure that the right amount of medicine goes to an intended user in the right proportion to cater for that particular institution.

He said that there is need for whatever government comes in to power to consider the Abuja declaration that the Zambian doctors are part of which states that ” every national budget should set aside 15% of the national budget to go the ministry of health”.

He said that health services are quite expensive and a wealthy nation status can not be attained when economic drivers – the people – are not healthy. ZMA has appreciated the amount of money allocated to the ministry of health in the current 2022 budget though is short of the recommendation as per declaration that was made in Abuja, Nigeria.

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The Zambian Medical Association - ZMA Secretary

Agribusiness

Lusaka Avocado Multipurpose Cooperative (LAMC) says the finalisation of the deal which will see the cooperative supply hass avocados to Algeo SRL, an Italian company has been delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic because the company representatives  could not travel to Zambia due to the Omicron variant which badly hit Italy.

LAMC Secretary John Chowa said the two parties are likely to finalise the deal before the end of the first quarter, including the price at which the company will be buying the avocados adding that the price will be better than what local buyers are offering.

Speaking in an interview with the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, Chowa said local buyers are paying between K5 and K7 per fruit. He explained that the cooperative projects a production of about 300 tonnes in 2022, 600 tonnes in 2023, 2,000 tonnes in 2024, 7,000 tonnes in 2025, 18,000 tonnes in 2026 and 26,000 tonnes in 2027.

Chowa told ZBT that the cooperative might be able to produce almost double the projected production going by the overwhelming response that has been received from the farmers. He said the cooperative was supposed to supply the trial shipment in March 2022 but that has been delayed by the failure to conclude the negotiations as well as farmers not having enough avocados which are ready for consumption.

“The avocados will only be ready end of March and going forward which has given us enough time to finalise the pricing.We are asking a lot of farmers to join us because there is a huge market for avocados. We hope to exceed this projected production and start selling to other buyers”,he said.

He said the cooperative will engage government to see if it can provide aggregation centres adding that most of the farmers who are ready to supply the avocados are in Lusaka. Chowa added that the cooperative will soon revisit and confirm with the farmers to ensure every farmer will produce the agreed quantity and quality of avocados.

The cooperative signed an export deal in 2021 to start supplying hass avocados to the Italian Company worth about US$29 million and the company expressed interest in acquiring 960 tonnes of avocados every month at a cost of US$2.4 million dollars, which translates to about US$29 million per annum.

The cooperative received a letter of intent from Algeo SRL of Italy on 26 July 2021 in which the company expressed its desire to procure 960 tonnes of hass avocados monthly from LAMC.

Algeo SRL wanted to acquire a trial shipment of 20 – 40 tons of avocados last year but the cooperative was unable to provide that quantity, as it was not the avocado season for the country.

Chowa noted that there are many avocado plantations coming up with some maturing this year and others in 2023, therefore the cooperative will be able to supply the avocados this year, adding that the company has allowed the cooperative to supply the quantities that they are able to supply until a time when they can meet the 960 tonnes demand.

He has urged more avocado growers to come on board, as there are more buyers interested in buying avocados and the market is unlimited. The cooperative is recruiting interested farmers and there has beenoverwhelming response in not only Lusaka but also other provinces too adding that there are provincial cooperatives who affiliate to the national cooperative.

“The various individuals will be taking their avocados to their various provincial cooperatives then we will aggregate as Lusaka”, he said. He mentioned that the price of avocados is dependent on the quality and where the avocado is coming from and countries known to produce high quality fruits have prices as high as US$5 per kg.

He said Kenya has prices as low as US$1.7 with other countries’ prices ranging between US$3 and US$5. Chowa explained that due to the high demand for avocados in Kenya, farmers have been harvesting premature fruits before the dry matter content reaches the required 21% and this leads to price reduction, as buyers are not certain about the quality of avocados they are buying.

This development is one of the key milestones that was arrived at during the business-to-business meeting facilitated by the Zambia Development Agency (ZDA) that was held on 23 July 2021 between the LAMC and Algeo SRL of Italy to discuss areas of collaboration in the production and marketing of hass avocados.

The receipt of the letter of intent by LAMC from Algeo SRL mandates LAMC to commence the process of fulfilling key conditions that will ultimately lead to the eventual signing of the contract between LAMC and Algeo SRL.

 

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Lusaka Avocado Multipurpose Cooperative (LAMC) says the

Markets

Economist Trevor Hambayi says the kwacha’s instability has resulted in the prices of goods and commodities remaining the same despite the downward trend in annual inflation, which currently sits at 14.2% for the month of February 2022.

Hambayi said the prices of goods and commodities should have been going down with the decline in inflation but that has not happened because of failing to achieve currency stability, which makes it difficult to project where the exchange rate will sit in the coming six months.

Speaking in an interview with the Zambian Business Times-ZBT, Hambayi said the uncertainty surrounding the country’s debt repayment has also contributed to the kwacha’s instability and until there is certainty in terms of how the country will address the debt repayment, prices of commodities will remain the same.

He said, “Unfortunately, we don’t know how we are going to deal with the debt repayment. Until we get the board approval from the IMF for the staff level agreement that we had and we have got stability as to how we are going to be repaying our debt, that is when we expect to see a drop in the prices of goods”.

Hambayi added that knowing where the resources to use for debt repayment are going to be coming from would create a stability in terms of where the exchange rate will sit and that in turn will result in the decline of prices of commodities.

The Financial Analyst however explained that one of the factors driving the downward trend of inflation has been the stability in the exchange rate, which has been experienced the past few months adding that the kwacha has appreciated against the dollar and this has continued to be able to maintain the prices of goods and commodities.

“The kwacha has appreciated from where it was at K22 to a dollar, it has fluctuated between K22 and K15 but overall it has appreciated and secondly, we had an increase in the price of fuel but it was also reduced again and this has contributed to the fact that prices have been maintained”, he said.

Hambayi said the pressure on the exchange rate has been low because the country is not servicing its loan obligations and this has helped to maintain a degree of stability in terms of the kwacha appreciating.

“One of the key aspects we need to be able to get past is having to sort out our debt support with IMF which is going to help us be able to have a stability in the micro economic indicators around the exchange rate and this will help to continue to drop the inflation rate going forward”, he said.

 

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Economist Trevor Hambayi says the kwacha’s instability

Agribusiness

A survey carried out by the Zambian Business Times-ZBT has revealed that most suppliers of day old chicks are still struggling to sell their products since the beginning of the year 2022 due to reduced demand for day old chicks on the local market.

Francis Mwila, a sales coordinator at Ross Breeders has revealed to ZBT that business is currently very slow and this could be attributed to the fact that people do not have disposable income, adding that a number of activities such as farming and paying of school fees has contributed to the reduced trade in broiler chickens.

Speaking in an interview with ZBT, Mwila said despite the dampened demand, hatcheries have opted not to cut production of day old chicks due to the uncertainty in the market.

“We cannot reduce production because the poultry industry keeps evolving, you cut production today because there is reduced demand, tomorrow you get surprised that there are more people that want to buy day old chicks, so what do you do, there is just so much uncertainty in the market”, he said.

Mwila disclosed that some traders have reduced the prices of live chickens on the market and are not making as much profit as they used to because of the low demand, adding that this is despite the cost of growing chickens to the required size remaining high.

He said the consumer’s buying power is currently low and traders have opted to sell their products at reduced prices but before full maturity, as it is more viable than keeping the chickens for a longer period, which will only result in more costs for the traders in terms of more feed for the chickens.

“Prices are going down, those who were selling at K85, K90 and K95 are no longer selling at that price and they are now selling between K65 and K75. The price has come down as a result of low demand, people just can not afford to buy and since they are trying to save, you sell it at a low price so that’s the case at the moment”, he said.

He noted that although the demand for day old chicks has remained low, most suppliers are hopeful that the situation will improve by mid-March to April adding that the producers who have reduced their prices are not realising as much profit as before, which is negatively affecting the business considering the high cost of raw materials.

“The situation has not improved, this is our off-peak season which is coupled with a number of challenges in the industry like people paying school fees in January and February, one thing we have noticed is that people don’t seem to have disposable income, money is a problem now”, he said.

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A survey carried out by the Zambian

Markets

Atlas Mara Bank has pledged to continue supporting the Zambian government’s agenda through the provision of banking services under the Farmer Input Support Program (FISP) noting that currently the bank supports more than 200,000 farmers across the country annually.

The Bank’s Board Member Jacob Sikazwe said during the just ended farming season, the bank paid out more than K400 million to farmers through the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) noting that Atlas Mara is one of the first banks to participate in FISP from its inception in 2002/3 and pioneered the FISP e-voucher payment modality in 2013.

Speaking during the N’cwala ceremony at Mtenguleni Village, Sikazwe said the bank continues to maintain one of the biggest branch and ATM networks in Zambia with fifty branches in all the ten provinces adding that in Eastern province, the bank has the biggest branch and ATM network with branches in Katete, Chipata and Lundazi.

In a statement availed to the Zambian Business Times-ZBT, Sikazwe noted that Atlas Mara is further expanding its reach into the underbanked areas through its Tenga mobile money wallet and Tenga express agency network, which currently has over one million registered customers and over one thousand agencies across the country.

Sikazwe commended government for providing an enabling environment through a diversified economy adding that the measures being taken to revamp the economy have been well received and he assured the President that as a major player in the financial sector, the bank will support the efforts of the ‘new dawn’ administration to revive the economy.

He noted that Atlas Mara is one of the pioneering banks to participate and integrate with the Ministry of Community Development and Social Service through the Zambia Integrated Social Protection Information System (ZISPIS).

The Board Member added that through this program, Atlas Mara supports the disbursement of social welfare grants to the beneficiaries across the country including Eastern province who are more than 170,000 beneficiaries.

Sikazwe has applauded the new dawn government for implementing the decentralization agenda and enhancing the Constituency Development Funds (CDF) allocation to local authorities to twenty- five point seven million kwacha (k25.7M).

He said this important policy direction would spur economic development, infrastructure development and employment creation as well as bring about capacity building for the local community and subsequently help alleviate poverty.

Sikazwe explained that Atlas Mara has a long and rich history of supporting arts and culture and in particular, the N’cwala ceremony where the bank has been a platinum sponsor for the past three years adding that corporate social responsibility is one of the bank’s most important tenants in giving back to the communities in which it does business.

He said the bank values the importance of traditional ceremonies, which play an important role in preserving the country’s unique culture at a time when the world is becoming smaller thereby diluting traditional culture.

“This is a great example of how a cultural heritage should be preserved, the N’cwala ceremony has proved to be resilient having been stopped due to the global covid pandemic in 2021. In 2022 the ceremony has grown exponentially due to the resilience and innovation of the organising committees and for this they must be commended”, he said.

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Atlas Mara Bank has pledged to continue

Companies

The Bus and Taxi Owners Association of Zambia had called on  the new dawn government to revert to a quarterly system for the adjustment of fuel prices, which the association can use to come up with more predictable bus and taxi fares.

Association National Chairman Sydney Chewe said government through the Energy Regulation Board – ERB adjusting fuel prices on a monthly basis makes it difficult to plan their operations and set fares because it brings about uncertainty and an unstable environment for the Association and it’s customers.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, Chewe noted that the association appreciates the reduction in recent fuel prices which have since been reversed but there is need for government to find a model, which allows the association to make adjustments on a quarterly basis in order to provide stability.

He explained that the association would not adjust the fares following the Energy Regulation Board (ERB)’s downward adjustment of fuel prices, as it was too early to reduce prices noting that other factors besides fuel prices, which affect the running of the business, need to be put into consideration too.

Chewe added that the price of fuel is not the only cost in doing business as there are other factors such as the dollar-kwacha relationship which need to be considered and since the kwacha has continued to depreciate, it means prices for vehicle spare parts will also increase therefore making it difficult to adjust the fares.

He mentioned that adjusting bus and taxi fares is not only inconveniencing for the association but also the passengers who have to look out for new fares almost every time an adjustment in fuel prices is made.

“Imagine if we have to adjust every month, we need a model that can speak on a quarterly basis, every three months we calculate the average costs and do a reduction or increment based on fuel prices and other things that affect or constitute the business”, he said.

The Energy Regulation Board reduced the pump price of petroleum products by K1.32/litre for petrol and K1.22/litre for diesel, which will now be sold as low sulphur gasoil/diesel, while the price of kerosene remained unchanged effective 31 January 2022. The fuel prices have since been increased by about 14% barely a month after reducing.

According to information obtained by the Zambian Business Times, the price review was necessitated by the decision to migrate to a monthly pricing cycle which now entails that local price of fuel is more responsive to the market fundamentals such as the international oil prices and the kwacha/US dollar exchange rate prevailing in the month preceding the pricing decision.

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The Bus and Taxi Owners Association of

Mining

GoviEx Uranium, the developers of Mutanda Uranium mining project has indicated that they plan to start actual uranium mining in Zambia in the next five years.

In a statement seen by the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, the Canada listed company stated that “the mine-permitted Mutanga project in Zambia is forecast to start production in 2027 and could be the lowest capital intensive uranium project in Africa.”

In its annual statement to shareholders, GoviEx stated that “Uranium prices rose 39% in 2021. Higher demand from new market participants has contributed to increases in spot prices. Every year, more uranium is consumed than produced, and higher incentive prices are required to support new supply”.

And the investment into Mutanda Mine has received an impetus following the crisis in supply which is concentrated in Kazakhstan. GoviEx stated that “the recent crisis in Kazahkstan has highlighted the potential risk to output especially given the concentration of supply and this underlines the need for increased regional diversification that GoviEx’s projects can provide.”

The Africa focused Uranium developer further states that “Demand for uranium is forecast to increase as China looks to reduce its dependency on coal by pledging to build 150 new nuclear reactors by 2060. Nuclear power may be included in the EU’s Sustainable Taxonomy Regulation and this could impact the industry by bringing investment towards nuclear, which is already Europe’s largest single source of low carbon energy and forecast to grow.”

The Mutanga Uranium Project consists of five main deposits: Mutanga, Dibwe, Dibwe East, Njame, and Gwabe. These deposits make up the bulk of the Mineral Resources described herein. The Project area is situated in the Southern Province of Zambia about 200 km south of Lusaka, immediately north of Lake Kariba, approximately 31 km northwest of Siavonga.

GoviEx acquired 100% of the Mutanga Project in 2016 from Denison Mines. The project included the Mutanga, Dibwe, and Dibwe East deposits. In 2017, GoviEx acquired 100% of the Njame and Gwabe deposits from African Energy Resource.

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GoviEx Uranium, the developers of Mutanda Uranium

Politics

The lack of clear laws, regulations and governance charters for government ministries, agencies and their employees has been blamed for the current accusations and counter accusations of suspected conflict of interest and nepotism in the awarding of government jobs, appointments and contracts.

This follows questions that have been asked on whether senior government officials are required to declare interest when relatives and close personal relations are bidding for tenders or when appointments for employment are being made.

And Former Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) President and prominent Lusaka Lawyer Eddie Mwitwa has confirmed that there are no specific laws that guide on how to deal with conflict of interest as these are matters of corporate governance and such laws may only be found in individual corporate entities such as board charters.

Mwitwa said the Anti-Corruption Commission Act is the primary legislation when it comes to giving guidance on how to deal with close personal relations or nepotism. Therefore, the Anti Corruption Commission independence is key to executing of this mandate.

Most government ministries, agencies and parastatals do not conduct annual declarations for close personal relationships nor are there requirements to declare interest when sitting on tender or employment committees. This is leading to failure to take corrective actions when the jobs are not done to paid for standard or when workers fail to do their jobs due to senior staff being conflicted by personal relationships.

In an exclusive interview with the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, Mwitwa further disclosed that even the issue of political party funding has no laws in place . He told ZBT that “currently, there is only a provision in the constitution that says parliament should enact laws that should regulate political parties including issues of funding but that law has not been promulgated yet”.

A further review by ZBT of what needs to be done shows that there is need for both the ruling United Party for National Development – UPND and the main opposition Patriotic Front – PF to act above board and facilitate for the enactment of political party bill into law for Zambia’s posterity.

It is a well known outcome that “he who pays the piper calls the tune”. The continued financing of key political parties by mostly foreign interests reduces the chances of successive governments to act in the best of interest of the majority of Zambian citizens.

Enactment and Implementation of laws and regulations in government that promotes good governance practices like declarations of conflict of interest, declaration of close personal and family relations etc are what is needed to attaining a functional and productive government.

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The lack of clear laws, regulations and