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The Zambia Consumer Association (ZACA) has challenged the Zambia National Commercial Bank-ZANACO to plough back the reported K1 billion profit after tax, which it posted in its 2021 financial year into improving customer service as well as to support local businesses that need capital for growth.

ZACA Executive Secretary Juba Sakala said the bank posting K1 billion profit is an indication that it is performing well, therefore it should come up with ways of distributing what it is making to local industries such as the manufacturing as well as other industries that are struggling.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, Sakala said the bank should not just end at showcasing its super normal profits but reinvest the money by giving soft loans to small and medium size businesses so they can do better than they performed in 2021.

He explained that most businesses in the country are struggling and do not have the financial capacity to expand their businesses, therefore ZANACO investing back that money into the Zambian economy will boost the operations of such businesses and industries.

Sakala added that most local businesses are shunning getting financing from big financial institutions due to the high interest rates as well as unrealistic requirements, therefore if ZANACO would come up with soft loans with competitive interest rates, it would attract many customers and many people would benefit from those profits.

“When we have more industries, we will have more jobs, when we have more jobs people have income and when people have income they are able to live a better life and even bank with the same institution. Whatever they have, let them plough it back into the local industries so that they create more jobs as more jobs mean more money in the pockets of people and people will live better lives”, he said.

He mentioned that ZANACO should also reinvest in improving their infrastructure and services because most of the time, it is either their ATMs are not working or the online banking system is not accessible, therefore the bank should use its huge profits to work on resolving such issues.

Sakala has encouraged members of the public to register their complaints against ZANACO to the Bankers Association of Zambia (BAZ) or the Bank of Zambia (BOZ) so they can liaise with the bank or take action against ZANACO and see how they can improve their services.

When you look at civil servants forums, you can appreciate that the bank has some work to do. There are a lot of unresolved complaints. ZACA has since urged ZANACO account holders to report their complaints to the regulators, regulators would sit with the bank and see how they can sort out the problems and improve the services to satisfy the customers.

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The Zambia Consumer Association (ZACA) has challenged

Markets

Lusaka based Economist Lubinda Habazoka noted that the reducing of prices of fuel is a move in a positive direction. This follows the change in cycle from three months to now monthly fuel price reviews by the new board at the Energy Regulation Board – ERB

Habazoka told the Zambian Business Times – ZBT that Zambians should not however expect a reduction in transportation and cost of daily commodities following this decrease in fuel pump prices.

The former Economic Association of Zambia President stated that the business community at the moment may not be certain if the prices of fuel will continue to go down and that there is always a general hesitancy in reducing prices by markets. The cost of goods and transportation may not reduce until there is some level of certainty on the direction.

There has been debate on whether the fuel price cut announced by the Energy Regulation Board on 31 January 2022 of about 6% for both diesel and petrol after the same prices were raised a month ago by between 20% to 30% was done based on economic fundamentals.

The debate is that fuel which is an imported commodity in Zambia has been adversely affected following the Kwacha depreciation. The Kwacha is now trading at about K18.2 per dollar while it was trading at K17.1 per dollar a month ago.

The government was accused of making political decisions as there was a by-election in Kabwata, an important Lusaka constituency that the ruling party badly needed to win to consolidate their claim of political support of the capital Lusaka.

And Chief Government spokesperson Chushi Kasanda refuted allegations that the reduction in fuel pricing was a political move targeted at winning the kabwata by elections.

In an exclusive interview with ZBT, Kasanda said government has put in place a system that is reflective of what is obtaining at the international oil market and follow the pricing of the international markets

Kasanda challenged those that think the fuel reduction had anything to do with politics to move on and support the government of the day than to just criticize even what she termed is right and positive decisions.

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Lusaka based Economist Lubinda Habazoka noted that

Lifestyle

By Staff reporter

The increase in reported cases of suicide following the announcement of grade twelve (G12) results has been blamed on the increased number of broken families.

Lubanda Luyando a Psychiatrist at Lusaka’s Chainama Hospital has disclosed to the Zambian Business Times – ZBT in an exclusive interview that growing up in brocken families is one of the major contributing factors to the increase in the number of suicidal cases.

Luyando revealed that about 90% of people with mental disorders, depression, alcohol & drug abuse or low blood pressure have been found to be at a higher risk of suicidal behaviour.

“I have seen practices that a lot of people who have problems with depression, drug addiction and alcohol abuse are the ones who in most cases commits suicide because when you go the the root of their problems, you find that they were once abused or come from brocken families”, Luyando added.

In another separate interview, Clinical Neural Psychologist Khaluso Masuwa told ZBT that suicidal cases have been on the rise because of lack of support systems in families, churches, communities and the nation at large.

Masuwa said this makes people feel vulnerable and end up thinking suicide is the only solution. He noted that the country currently only have a few hospitals offering dedicated mental facilities. There is need for the ministry of health and government in general to add mental health and the respective mental health facilities to the overall public health priorities for the benefit of the nation.

With increased social and economic pressures to do well on young people today, families and households have been advised to exercise restraint as they handle the performance of their family members reflected in their grade 12 results. Families need to realize that they are the last line of support system for their members.

According to the World Health organization – WHO, globally every year, almost 800 000 people die from suicide, and four in five of them are from low and middle-income countries with Zambia not being exception.

While suicide is believed to be the second leading cause of death mostly in youths, a number of cases have been recorded in the country especially after the recent announcement of the grade 12 results by Minister of education Douglas Siakalima.

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By Staff reporter The increase in reported

Lifestyle

The Seventh Day Adventist – SDA Church has refuted allegations that some of its youth camp meetings, which the church regularly holds, are characterized by illicit and at times sexual activities especially by young people, which are now manifesting through the recent tragedy.

An evangelist from the church who was part of the group that attended the five day Youth Alive Camp Meeting in tourism resort town of Siavonga in January this year, which claimed the lives of six young people, said it was not true that the camp meeting attendance by youths is motivated by illicit and sexual activities.

Speaking in an interview with the Zambian Business Times-ZBT, an SDA evangelist said it is evident from the loss of the six lives that the youths behaved badly but nothing evil happens at camp meetings unless people escape the camp, which the church has no control over, as they cannot immediately tell that people have sneaked out.

The SDA evangelist confirmed however that on the fateful day “on Saturday people sneaked out and I heard people say those who were playing in the water were kissing but how do we stop people from kissing if they have sneaked out of camp. Their friends were having bible study, they sneaked out, and when people are in church they cannot control what is happening outside”.

He further said all camp gatherings have a purpose; this particular one was a behavior change programme, and some of the topics taught at the meeting included suicide, drug addiction, alcohol abuse, masturbation and entrepreneurship, which is all, based on behavior change.

“There are topics to do with alcohol abuse because we cannot run away from the fact that people are abusing alcohol, there are people in churches who take alcohol and smoke so that’s the type of camp meeting where they help them rehabilitate, the programme of the camp meeting was based of behavior change”, he said.

The preacher noted that the church could not run away from the fact that a few individuals who may have their own personal agendas as they go to camp meetings might be denting the reputation of the gatherings but the majority attend because of the various educative programmes.

He explained that the team had two days to go to Lake Kariba, which was Wednesday and Friday, and Saturday was purely dedicated to worship but on Saturday, some people sneaked out to go to the Lake, a situation that made it difficult for the youths to be controlled as they had left the campsite.

“On Saturday people sneaked out and I heard people say those who were playing in the water were kissing but how do we stop people from kissing if they have sneaked out of camp. Their friends were having bible study, they sneaked out, and when people are in church they cannot control what is happening outside. They were at the lake while others were in camp and no one knows how they sneaked out, as people were busy with bible study. There is no control over someone who has sneaked out because you may think they are sleeping in the dormitory”, he said.

The six youths who died decided to get on a fishing rig that was parked on the banks of the lake and when the coxswain decided to move the rig onto the lake, the youths jumped off the rig and attempted to swim back to the shore but six of them drowned in the process.

In a separate interview with Jonathan Haajaya, the coxswain of the fishing rig that the six youths who died got on before he decided to move the rig on to the lake said the youths were playing in the water with some boys and girls holding each other.

Speaking to ZBT, Haajaya said, “they were swimming, they were holding each other as though they wanted to kiss each other, the other one standing on one side and the other on another side holding hands as though they are kissing”.

There have been calls for both parents and church leaders to put in place measures that would ensure that youth camps are not used for illicit activities by a few, denting the image for these important functions when correctly held. The SDA church has not issued any revised rules to govern its camp meetings activities. The revised rules are expected to ensure that youths that sign up are adequately parented or monitored to avoid the recurring of such tragedy’s.

The families that allow and make financial contributions for their children to go to these camp meeting expected that their children would be monitored, protected and parented by measures and adults that are charged with the responsibility.

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The Seventh Day Adventist - SDA Church

Agribusiness

Various stakeholders in Zambia have condemned the practice of drowning or gassing day old chicks, instead proposing that the excess chicks should be donated or sold at lower prices to vulnerable societies of communities.

Zambian Business Times – ZBT received various concerned citizens who sent in their notes and emails stating that it’s a disturbing and wasteful practice, which has its roots in the warped economics of chicken production. They have called on the Zambian Government to do something to end the wastefulness and disturbing practice.

Following an outcry from members of public on that practice, a check carried out by ZBT with animal welfare organisations in Zambia revealed that these organisations only focus on the welfare of cats and dogs. They could not even comment on this practice referring this matter to the ministry of Livestock.

The Poultry Association of Zambia – PAZ revealed that the cumulative number of day old chicks that the hatcheries have drowned in Zambia because of the reduced demand for the birds on the market is now over 1.1 million.

Drowning in the poultry industry means killing the chicks by drowning or gassing them to avoid spending on feed and running out of space. Some animal rights activists have attributed this practice to hard core capitalism.

For every new egg-laying hen born into today’s farming system, a male chick is killed or culled. This is a practice happening all over the world, as many as 300 million chicks are killed in the United States every year and more than 6 billion total are killed around the world. It is a disturbing and wasteful practice, which has its roots in the warped economics of chicken production.

At a global level, Animal welfare activists have been lobbying against male chick culling for instance in the United States for decades, chronicling cute and fuzzy day-old chicks who are gassed or macerated. In January 2020, the BBC reported that France had pledged to outlaw the practice of culling unwanted male chicks by the end of 2021, as part of animal welfare reforms.

The French government said new methods were emerging that would make it possible to test the sex of embryos inside the egg. While activists in the United States and other parts of the world have been lobbying against the practice of killing chicks and trying to find a solution to this problem, there seem to be no institution or non governmental organization that has taken up this role in Zambia.

Hatcheries in Zambia may not be drowning chicks for the same reasons as other countries but the act is something that should not be acceptable and scores of Zambians have condemned this act. It is further disappointing to learn that there are no known organizations in Zambia looking at the animal welfare societies have restricted their concerns to only cats and dogs.

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Various stakeholders in Zambia have condemned the

Tech

Energy industry players have called on the negotiating teams of the announced resumption of negotiations between national power giant -ZESCO and Copperbelt Energy Corporation – CEC to be conducted in a transparent and open manner.

Energy Expert Johnstone Chikwanda says the Bulk Supply Agreement-BSA negotiations between ZESCO and CEC should be fair and equitable to both parties and in line with the Energy Regulation Act of 2019, the final draft of the agreement must be submitted to the Energy Regulation Board (ERB) for oversight validation to ensure that it is fair.

Chikwanda said the two parties should resolve the contentious issues, which led to a collapse of the talks as the current negotiations present a chance to correct the abnormalities in the document that led to failed renewal of the agreement, which expired in March 2020.

In an interview with the Zambian Business Times-ZBT, Chikwanda explained that the negotiations should be done to ensure Zesco, which is currently faces financial challenges, remains sustainable amid reforms of the power utility that will see the declaration of some of the assets as “common carrier” returned as enshrined in the electricity Act.

He said previously, Zesco alarmed the nation that it did not want to renew the BSA because it was suffering colossal losses in millions of dollars due to this BSA and that it was not a fair contract. The contract was reported to have favored CEC at the expense of ZESCO.

“As experts we called for the public disclosure of the BSA in order to make informed comments but it was not done other than saying CEC was getting cheap electricity from Zesco and putting markups and generate a lot of profits at the expense of ZESCO”, he said.

Chikwanda noted that repeated statements from the previous regime about how the BSA disadvantaged ZESCO and only benefited CEC must compel the parties to review all the contentious clauses and arrive at a win-win point especially now that Energy regulation Act empowers the energy regulations board – ERB to validate any power supply agreements ZESCO enters into.

The Zambia Energy Forum Chairperson told ZBT that there is need to rethink the CEC business model, as it cannot continue to be depending on ZESCO for supply of electricity because ZESCO is a also a competitor when you look at it from an overall industry perspective.

He said CEC needs to invest more in building its own power plants as the future of the energy sector is that the common carrier concept is here to stay and both Zesco and CEC need to brace themselves for the common carrier status which allows other suppliers of electricity and traders to use their facilities at a fair tariff whose ceiling is set up by the regulator in line with Electricity and Energy Regulation Acts of 2019.

Chikwanda said the declaration of power transmission lines as common carrier, remains the viable option to unlock the future of the country’s energy sector to avoid uncompetitive behaviour by those who own the infrastructure if private investors are to enter the market.

He adds that common carrier option for both ZESCO and CEC lines will ensure investments into the energy sector at competitive prices with oversight from the ERB done in good faith to allow for a favorable outcome.

ZESCO is a state owned jewel that continues to attract speculation of being a target for privatization for successive governments in Zambia. The power utility has potential to become a Pan African energy giants but political interference in its operations and strategic moves continues to derail its potential.

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Energy industry players have called on the

Lifestyle

The Electoral Commission of Zambia – ECZ says it has an initial budget of K13 million for the conduct of the by-elections in Kabwata Parliamentary, and Sokontwe and Liangati Ward by-elections.

ECZ Corporate Affairs Manager Patricia Luhanga said the funding covers activities from nominations to polls and the commission would consolidate the requirements for Kabwata by-election after the nominations taking place on Wednesday 19 January 2022.

In an interview with the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, Luhanga said ECZ always budgets for by-elections and the commission has an approved budget of K85 million for 2022 adding that this is in view of the many election petitions that have been recorded after the 2021 general election.

She further said the figure might go up or down depending on the outcome of the petitions, election type (i.e. national assembly and local government) and/or area where the election is taking place among other factors.

The Electoral Commission of Zambia received a letter dated 7 January 2022 from the United Progressive Party (UPP) Kabwata Parliamentary by-election candidate, Libanda Francis indicating his withdrawal from the forthcoming by-election and another letter dated 10 January 2022 clarifying his decision whilst invoking the provision of Article 52 of the Republican constitution.

According to the Electoral Process Act under section 31 (2) provides that a nomination submitted under subsection (1) may be withdrawn at any time, before the expiry of the period appointed for lodging nomination papers in respect of the constituency concerned, if the candidate delivers to the returning officer a written notice to that effect.

On the other hand, article 52(6) of the republican constitution provides that  where a candidate dies, resigns or becomes disqualified in accordance with article 70, 100 or 153 or a court disqualifies a candidate for corruption or malpractice, after the close of nominations and before the election date, the commission shall cancel the election and require the filing of fresh nominations by eligible candidates and elections shall be held within thirty days of the filing of the fresh nominations.

Based on the initial correspondence of 7 January 2022, the by-election would have proceeded as planned as provided for by the Electoral Process Act No.35 of 2016, Section 31 (2) which empowers the commission to reject a withdrawal and proceed with the election.

The commission states that a withdrawal is clearly only permitted before close of nominations as provided under section 31 (2) of the Electoral Process Act. However, where a candidate has sought to invoke the provisions of article 52 (6) of the republican constitution, the law requires the cancellation of elections and this calls for fresh nominations for eligible candidates. Libanda in his letter dated 10 January 2022 invoked the provisions of article 52 (6) of the constitution of Zambia.

 

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The Electoral Commission of Zambia - ECZ

Agribusiness

The Poultry Association of Zambia – PAZ has revealed that the cumulative number of day old chicks that the hatcheries have drowned because of the reduced demand for the birds on the market is now 1.1 million.

Drowning of chicks in the poultry industry means killing the chicks, by drowning or gassing them to avoid spending on feed and running out of space. The process is also applied to chicks with deformities and those deemed unfit for rearing.

PAZ  Executive Director Dominic Chanda said the hatcheries cannot reduce production, as there is no guarantee that the demand will remain low therefore if demand goes up while production has gone down, there would be a shortage chicks on the market.

Speaking in an interview with the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, Chanda said from the total number of day old chicks produced by the hatcheries, only 30% is guaranteed to be sold because commercial and large-scale businesses give hatcheries a plan for the whole year.

He said 70% of what is produced is meant for customers who simply walk in to buy the chicks without long-term prior arrangements, which is a challenge especially in instances where the demand is low.

“How do you reduce production when you don’t know the demand, the whole problem is this, out of everything that is produced by the hatcheries, only 30% is guaranteed to be sold because commercial and large scale poultry farmers give them the plan for the whole year”, he said.

The Poultry Association has appealed to government to consider allowing the export of day old chicks to the region in order to address the issue of hatcheries drowning day old chicks due to reduced local demand on the market.

 

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The Poultry Association of Zambia - PAZ

Agribusiness

The Millers Association of Zambia – MAZ has denied assertions by some industry players that the continued issuance of export permits for maize and mealie meal by the Agro Ministry is behind the market price hikes of mealie meal in Zambia.

Analyst say the recent hike in fuel prices by 20 to 30% has also contributed to the hike as both millers and traders are facing elevated costs of transport and distribution.

MAZ instead pointed out that the increase in prices of mealie meal on the market is because of the upward adjustment of maize prices on the open market. MAZ President Andrew Chintala said the traders increased the price of maize in November 2021 without giving a reason therefore they should be the ones to justify that decision.

Speaking in an interview with the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, Chintala said the export of maize has nothing to do with the increase in prices of mealie meal as exports have been going on since May 2021 and the market was not disturbed until the month end of November 2021 when prices of maize started going up adding that traders canceled existing contracts for new ones as they wanted to increase the price of maize.

He noted that the demand for maize is low and the demand for mealie meal is not as huge as people thought it would be as traders are struggling to sell mealie meal in Congo DR as well as on the local market.

“So if we compare the prices on the local market and export market, the margins are very minimal, one would even wonder to say why are the millers exporting, the reason why we are exporting is to try and get the volumes, so when you look at the price differential, it’s not significant and we are trying to push the prices low on the local market so that we can try and maximize on the exports but it’s not happening so it has nothing to do with exports”he said.

Chintala also mentioned that the increase in fuel prices has also affected the maize price as transportation costs of moving maize may have gone up adding that there are a number of factors that have affected the increase in maize prices and fuel is just one of the components that goes in the costing structure but is not significant.

“We had contracts where we were getting maize at K2,700 then the trader just says we cannot continue selling at K2,700, the price is now K3,500 until it got to K3,800 per tonne which is about K190 per 50Kg bag and the month before that we were paying K135 so from K135,the price moved to K190 which is a huge increase”he said.

He explained that the increase is minimal in terms of margin but on the open market, traders and marketeers have taken advantage of the inflated prices circulating on social media but prices obtaining in most large supermarkets are ranging between K125-K136.

The MAZ President has appealed to consumers to buy mealie meal from designated selling places of milling companies in order to avoid being exploited by traders who want to take advantage of the situation and create distortion. He noted that the issue is receiving active attention from all the stakeholders.

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The Millers Association of Zambia - MAZ

Agribusiness

The price of cooking oil in Zambia have started going up initially by about 20 to 25% following the end of the tax waiver that had been put in place were edible oil sourced from outside Zambia had import taxes and Value Added Tax – VAT suspended upto 31 December 2021.

This initial 25% price surge is largely on account of VAT at 16% that is being applied as well as cost of transport which has shot up following increase in fuel pump prices by over 20%.

There is also an added risk that cooking oil and other edible oil prices may go up by a further 25% as government clarifies if the excise duty waiver has also dropped off at end of December 2021. If the waiver drops off, the price of cooking oil will go up by a further 25%, with the cummulative increase adding up to over 40%.

A check by the Zambian Business Times – ZBT revealed that Finance Minister Dr. Situmbeko Musokotwane has included the suspension of excise duty on edible oils in the same 2022 statutory instrument – SI which was issued under  suspension of excise duty on fuel. This however is not clear as no details were given but just a single sentence.

And edible oil industry contacts have told ZBT that there is need for clarity by Dr. Musokotwane as finance minister to confirm if the six months extended suspension of excise duty on fuel and the line reference to edible oils in the SI for fuel suffices. The minister needs to urgently clarify if the excise duty on edible oils has also been suspended for the next six months.

When contacted to share an industry perspective on the way forward, Crushers and Edible Oil Refiners Association – CEDORA Director Aubrey Chibumba told the Zambian Business Times – ZBT that prices of locally manufactured cooking oil are likely to go up by about 20% to 25%.

“If my cooking oil costs $100, am supposed to pay $25 dollars as (25%) duty, then VAT of 16%, this means that landed cost of cooking oil will go up between 16% plus 25% which adds up to 41%. For those that are importing packed refined cooking oil,  prices would go up by that 41% but for locally manufactured cooking and edible oil, it would only go up probably around 20%-25%”, he said.

Chibumba told ZBT that there was an initial extension of the SI that temporarily suspended import duty on edible oils when it expired at end of October last year to 31 December 2021. The CEDORA Director has disclosed that prices of cooking oil are likely to go up by between 16% to 41% if the temporal suspension on import duty is not extended.

Government has in October 2021 temporarily suspended import duty on edible oils, which is 25% of the value of imported edible oils. The SI exempted edible oil importers from paying customs duty as well as Value Added Tax (VAT), which stands at 16%. This SI has since expired effective 31 December 2021.

CEDORA has indicated that this SI which expired on 31 December 2021 if not extended, will lead to cooking oil prices increases and final consumers would have to bear the cost.

The Zambian public is currently experiencing cost of commodities escalation in prices following the increase in prices of fuel, a key cost component in the manufacturing as well as transport sector and distribution sector. There is also pressure for wage increments that companies and local enterprises are facing as employees try to uphold and retain their spending power.

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The price of cooking oil in Zambia