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Sport

The Zambia National Soccer team fondly known as the Chipolopolo has missed out on an opportunity to compete and possibly grab the winner prize for the second time that has now been pegged at US$5m. The Chipolopolo boys have now missed out on three consecutive appearances.

Yotham Mwanza, a soccer analyst has stated that the Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) and Zambia as a nation has also missed out on Prize money which the association could have used to boost its finances if the team had qualified and won the African Cup of Nations – AFCON.

Speaking in an interview with the Zambian Business Times-ZBT, Mwanza said the Football Association would have benefitted from the winnings if Zambia had won the AFCON, as some of the money would have gone into their coffers.

“When you qualify there is an opportunity to market your nation and its soccer talent and the prize money’s start to increase at every stage, as you get into the quarter finals there’s money that comes in. Assuming we were to win like we did in 2012, the USD 5 million could have helped to settle a lot of issues”, he said.

According to the statement seen by ZBT, The Confederation of African Football (CAF) Executive Committee has resolved to increase the prize money of the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations Cameroon 2021.

The increase, which was announced on 7 January 2022, and effected in the edition that kicked-off at Olembe Stadium, Yaoundé on 9 January 2022 is in line with CAF’s commitment to reward merit performance and enhance the status of the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations.

According to a statement on CAF’s website the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations Prize monies are USD 5 million (an increase of USD 500, 000) for the winner, USD 2.75 million (an increase of USD 250, 000) for the runner up, USD 2.2 million (an increase of USD 200, 000) for the semi-finalists and USD 1.175 million (an increase of USD 175 000) for quarter finalists.

This represents a total increase at the Africa Cup of Nations prize money of about USD 1.9 million. And the Andrew Kamanga led FAZ has announced that they will be unveiling the new Chipolopolo coach.

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The Zambia National Soccer team fondly known

Lifestyle

The Zambia Medical Association (ZMA) has revealed that the Doctor to patient ration in Zambia is way below the World Health Organization – WHO standards, meaning that Zambia has to scale up its training and deployment of medical doctors.

Medical Association of Zambia Secretary General Dr. Kaumba Tolopu in a statement availed to the Zambian Business Times – ZBT noted that according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the desirable doctor-patient ratio is 1 doctor for every 1,000 patients but Zambia currently reports a ratio of 1 doctor for every 12, 000 patients.

He added that this is way below the WHO recommendation for a country working towards attainment of universal health coverage and access to quality health care for all by 2030, a goal in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) agenda and Zambia’s own national strategic health plans.

And the Association has opposed government’s rhetoric that appears to ask trained medical doctors to volunteer their hard earned skills in government facilities without salaries and with no clear road map to fair and reasonable employment.

Dr. Tolopu expressed dismay to hear government’s proposal to engage the punitive approach of prioritizing for employment, those who agree to volunteer in government facilities, even over those who have been waiting for much longer.

The Medical Association views this move functionally strong-arms doctors into offering their services for free and is potentially paving way for a system in which government is not obliged to pay doctors for their work.

He noted that Zambia currently has close to 700 medical doctors and dental surgeons who have been awaiting employment for almost two years now adding that these are fully qualified professionals who have already spent over seven years in medical school and who in past years have immediately absorbed into the civil service at managerial level.

ZMA therefore finds the expectations that these professionals should now be expected to work and risk their lives without the reasonable protection and privileges granted to members of the civil services to be egregious and unreasonable and the association does not accept the notion of subjecting its members to free labour.

Dr. Tolopu mentioned that doctors are a precious and useful resource and government must immediately recognize them as such noting that the labour of medical doctors is not free and should not be treated as such.

The Association has called upon the Ministry of Health and President Hakainde Hichilema to absorb all doctors into the civil service with immediate effect and with remuneration at the appropriate level noting that the crisis must not be used as an opportunity to exploit those working at the front lines.

He explained that doctors like all hardworking Zambians have obligations, needs and family responsibilities and they are not exempt from the high cost of living but nonetheless, they have made huge sacrifices in order to serve the nation and they continue to do so in the line of duty.

Dr. Tolopu further said many doctors have indeed already been volunteering through the various Covid-19 waves at great personal cost and with no promise of compensation for that contribution adding that they serve for the nation’s gratitude, which they cannot use to feed themselves and take care of their families.

He noted that the association would continue to hold consultative deliberations that promote fairness and has also urged all stakeholders to take advantage of ZMA’s open door policy to advance deliberations.

The association has urged its members to desist from bowing to exploitation attempts as it continues to engage government and has appealed to the leadership of the country to expedite the process of promotions and recruitment of healthcare professionals to address the huge human resource deficit in healthcare delivery.

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The Zambia Medical Association (ZMA) has revealed

Tech

Zubeda Bobat, the executor to the estate of late Monica Garg Rupesinghe has dragged Chiduruppa Satya Chandrika to the high court for US$16, 000 (about K270,000) unpaid debt to the deceased owner of Monique Pre & Primary  private School of Lusaka.

The details of the matter are that on a date unknown but within the peculiar knowledge of the defendant, the plaintiff (late Monica Rupesinghe) and defendant (Chiduruppa Chandrika) entered into an agreement whereas, it was agreed wherein that the deceased would lend the defendant USD20,000, which amount was to be paid back on the 31st December 2020.

According to a statement of claim seen by the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, “The said debt was not paid until the untimely demise of the deceased and as a result the executor stepped in the shoes of the deceased to send reminders when the debt became due”.

Despite numerous reminders by the plaintiff to the defendant, the said defendant did not discharge his obligation and made promises of discharging the debt at a later date.

In the spirit of good faith the plaintiff indulged the defendant with his promises hoping the said debt would be discharged as promised but to no avail.

On 6 February 2021, through the plantiff’s advocates, the plaintiff demanded for the said debt. The defendant only managed to pay USD4,000 of the USD20,000 debt owed to and an outstanding balance of USD16,000 was not paid to date.

A follow up letter was written to the defendant on 20th April 2021 reminding the defendant of the outstanding debt. The defendant has continued giving baseless promises and no action has followed such promises. Subsequently, the defendant has failed to pay the plaintiff the outstanding debt owed to the plaintiff.

The plaintiff now claims for an order that the defendant pays the plaintiff the sum of USD16,000 being money owed to the plaintiff as executor of the estate of the late Monica Garg Rupesinghe, interest on all sums found due at the current Bank of Zambia commercial lending rate, any other relief that the court may deem fit and costs.

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Zubeda Bobat, the executor to the estate

Lifestyle

Former Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) President and prominent Lusaka Lawyer Eddie Mwitwa says according to his knowledge, the constitution does not say whether or not a Member of Parliament (MP) can still sit in parliament when an appeal is pending.

Mwitwa however noted that the constitution specifically states that when there is a petition in relation to an election of a Member of Parliament, the MP can continue sitting in parliament. It is this provision that has been at the Centre of debate.

Speaking in an interview with the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, Mwitwa said when the high court renders a decision on an election petition, the petitioner or respondent, whichever is not pleased with the decision has the right to appeal to the constitutional court, which is the final court for such matters.

He stated that he could not state whether it was in order for the speaker of the National Assembly Nelly Mutti to send away MPs whose election results have been nullified as the matter is in court.

“That’s a matter that is in court now, so I can’t say whether it was correct or not. The constitutional court has been petitioned by the Law Association of Zambia, so I think until the court pronounces itself on that matter it’s sub judice for me to say whether it’s right or wrong”, he said.

And a prominent Lusaka lawyer who has asked for their details to be withheld has stated that the affected PF members of Parliament should simply apply for a stay of execution pending appeal to be allowed back into the house. Asking the constitutional court to make a call is a risky route as the outcome is may be adverse.

Speaker Nelly Mutti ruled that the nine PF members of parliament be barred from the house after the high court ruling which had been appealed on, a decision that has raised questions as to whether she as speaker has the powers and authority to deny the affected constituencies representation in Parliament especially considering instances were the appeal cases take time to get dispose off at the constitutional court.

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Former Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) President

Companies

The Zambia Association of Manufacturers (ZAM) says the looming price hikes for fuel and electricity will result in the increase of the cost of production, cost of transportation and price of locally manufactured products.

Association President Ashu Sagar said with the removal of subsidies on fuel and electricity, the anticipation is that looming price hikes for fuel and electricity await Zambians in 2022 and the Zambia Association of Manufacturers foresees these price hikes as a hindrance to meeting the inflation targets in 2022.

According to information made available to the Zambian Business Times-ZBT, Sagar said fuel and electricity are key raw materials in the manufacturing sector and account for large costs in many production processes and supply chains.

He said electricity in Zambia is already marred with erratic supply, therefore increasing the price of electricity coupled with downtime from load management increases the operating costs of manufacturers significantly.

Sagar added that the increase in the cost would inevitably be passed on to the consumer in order to ensure the manufacturers remain profitable, contribute to government revenue and survive noting that the increase in the price of manufactured products would be exacerbated by the increase in the transportation costs, which will be induced by the fuel price hike.

He noted that having been subjected to a turbulent period during the Covid-19 pandemic coupled with an unstable economic environment, ZAM is of the view that a phased removal of subsidies will allow manufacturers and consumers to have a smoother transition into higher costs than an outright full removal of subsidies, which will not factor in consumer welfare.

ZAM has a goal to grow the manufacturing sector in Zambia to start contributing about 20% of the gross domestic products – GDP. Zambia’s potential in manufacturing remains largely untapped even in the copper value chain were the country currently exports semi-processed copper when it can export finished copper cables and other finished copper products which can double or even quadruple the current GDP.

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The Zambia Association of Manufacturers (ZAM) says

Markets

ZANACO – one of the leading commercial banks in Zambia says the recent appreciation of the kwacha  can be attributed of the positive sentiments that surround government’s announcement of a US$1.4 billion deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as it has improved sentiments among offshore investors who would want to invest in Zambia.

The Bank’s Head of Economic Research Dr. Patrick Chileshe said the positive sentiment has attracted investors try to invest in Zambia, they convert their foreign currency into local currency and that increases the supply of the US dollar on the market thereby largely strengthening the kwacha.

When asked by the Zambian Business Times – ZBT to extrapolate where the Kwacha may settle, Dr. Chileshe noted that it is difficult to speculate where the currency will settle, especially when it is sentiment driven because what might happen is that it may exceed where it is supposed to be because of the behavior of market players.

Chileshe added that the estimates indicate that the kwacha is undervalued and the fundamentally correct value is at about K15 a dollar, so it is expected to reach K15 a dollar but because of the behavior of financial market players, it may overshoot and go below K15.

“That does happen overtime but usually it will re-correct so that is what I can say but for you to pin point that it is going to settle at this level in a particular period of time is usually difficult when it is largely driven by sentiments of investors”, he said.

Speaking in an interview with the Zambian Business Times-ZBT, Chileshe said the investors are broadly offshore (foreign) investors, including pension houses and fund managers who manage money for other people and are looking to invest in government securities, which are relatively yielding good returns.

When asked to give specifics on which offshore investors flooded into Zambia and whether the funds or US dollars inflows are expected to continue into the medium term, Chileshe stated that “It’s a huge number of investors, I cannot pinpoint one particular investor”, he told ZBT.

A check by ZBT on Wednesday 15 December 2021 reveals that some of the gains initially enjoyed by the local unit – the Kwacha has started to wane off. The trading pair had reached the K15 per dollar rate but the Kwacha has again started shedding some of its initial gains and is currently trading between K16.3 to K16.5 per US dollar.

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ZANACO - one of the leading commercial

Sport

Soccer player Derrick Mwansa has sued Lusaka Dynamos Football Club in the Lusaka High Court for unlawful termination of his contract and is now demanding for K364, 000.

Details of the matter are that Mwansa was engaged by the Football Club under the employment which commenced on 1 September 2020 and was to continue to 30 August 2022 (the “First Contract”) which was for a duration of two years.

According to a statement of claim obtained by the Zambian Business Times-ZBT, “on the 6th day of August 2021, the defendant through the chairman Hanif Adams informed the plaintiff verbally that his services were no longer needed thus he should find another team without giving any reasons as to why his services were no longer needed”.

“On the 10th day of August the plaintiff wrote a demand letter requesting the defendant to pay and letter to him a letter of termination of contract but to no aveil. That by virtue of the defendant’s failure to pay the claimed sums, it has breached the contract entered into by the parties to the detriment of the plaintiff. Despite numerous and/or several demands, reminders and requests by the plaintiff the defendant has failed,refused and/or neglected to settle its indebtedness to the plaintiff”.

Several attempts have been made to have the club settle the said matter but to no avail and as a result of the aforesaid dismissal, the plaintiff has suffered a loss of income, humiliation, mental distress and damages.

Mwansa is now claiming for the payment of K364, 000 being salary arrears and future earnings due to him under the contract of employment dated 1st September 2020 made between the two parties, a declaration that the termination of his contract by the football club was unlawful and payment of salaries in full until the contract ends.

The plaintiff is also claiming for damages for breach of contract, damages for loss of opportunity to use and invest the said sum, interest, costs and interest at the bank lending rate on all monies found due as well as any other relief the court deems fit.

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Soccer player Derrick Mwansa has sued Lusaka

Agribusiness

The Food Reserve Agency – FRA has confirmed that the exercise of speeding up the collection of maize by engagementment of the Zambia Army initiated by the Southern Province Minister has now been extended to all the ten (10) provinces of Zambia.

FRA has since assured the nation that no maize will go to waste this year. FRA disclosed that the exercise of moving maize from the satellite depots to main holding depots is still in progress in all the ten provinces of Zambia.

FRA Public Relations Officer John Chipandwe said the exercise is being carried out countrywide to make sure the maize is moved from the satellite depots in the bush to the main holding depots for long-term storage.

Speaking in an interview with the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, Chipandwe said the Army is simply moving maize from the furthest remote part into the main holding depots, which is, crop securing maize from being soaked countrywide.

Last month Southern Province Minister Cornelius Mweetwa initiated and flagged off maize transportation supported by the Zambia Army from satellite depots to main holding depots in Choma,mand explained that collection and transportation of maize from satellite depots was to be done by the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU), Defence Forces, Food Reserve Agency (FRA) and Southern Province Administration.

Mweetwa said this was in response to Vice President Mutale Nalumango’s directive to the provincial administration to quicken collection of the maize grain from depots in the province in order to secure the grain and prevent it from being damaged by rains.

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The Food Reserve Agency - FRA has

Lifestyle

The incomplete high-rise building at the junction of Katondo Street and Freedom Way in Lusaka is not just a hide out for criminal activities, it is now a subject of public safety concerns.

The surroundings to the eyesore of Lusaka are filthy despite the Council now claiming to have taken over collection of levies after party cadres were said to have been eliminated. Maybe the levies being collected now are going to pay and clear salary arrears?

The 11- storey incomplete building described by many as an eyesore of Lusaka Central business district has now choked up over 30 years without a firm decision being made on it.

Successive governments in power from the MMD, to PF and now UPND all seem to pretend like they don’t mind its shabby and grotesque presence. Others have said its a testimony of Zambia’s failed legal system that takes years to deliver justice, while others simply say that no one cares for the look and feel of the capital city.

But that Engineering Institution of Zambia – EIZ has weighed in and stated that the abandoned building at the corner of Freedom Way and Katondo Street is a big concern as there has been no notable construction activity for over 30 years.

EIZ President Engineer Able Ng’andu explained that what is even more worrying is the construction crane standing adjacent to the building, whose metallic members have started falling off because of corrosion and that this crane may actually collapse and fall on people or public property should concern all responsible members of the public.

Ng’andu noted that the crane adjacent to the building at the junction of Freedom Way and Katondo Street must be brought down as a matter of urgency, in order to avert any possible accidents in city centre.

A check by Zambian Business Times – ZBT reveals that the building has been changing many hands over time. The multi-storey building seems to involve parties that are much more powerful than the Lusaka city council officials who have been on record to have issued all sorts of directives which have simply been ignored.

Even successive local government ministers and top ministry officials seem to be helpless when it gets to finding the way forward for this “eyesore” of Lusaka. Will it ever get completed or perhaps razed down?

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The incomplete high-rise building at the junction

Tech

The Engineering Institution of Zambia (EIZ) has expressed concern over the collapsing of billboards around the country in the recent past and called for the pulling down of all over-sized billboards beyond nine (9) square meters to address public safety concerns.

EIZ President Eng. Abel Ng’andu said although the institution has not instituted an independent investigations in any of the reported incidences, it has taken note of some of the mitigating measures instituted by civic leaders in Lusaka city, which include suspension of issuance of permits for cantilevers, as contained in the Lusaka City Council media statement dated 20 November 2021.

Speaking during a press briefing held at EIZ Secretariat attended by the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, Ng’andu said the institution has therefore recommended the suspension of the mounting of any billboard beyond the size of 9m2 until a thorough consultative process is carried out and concluded to address public safety.

The EIZ President further said all billboards with a display area beyond nine square meters (9m2) should be pulled down and that it should be ensured that all LED/Digital-lit billboards meet the luminance standards and values or be pulled down too.

Ng’andu also recommended that only engineering professionals with valid practicing licenses are engaged to design and construct billboards, as this will ensure high level of engineering integrity in the installations across the country.

In early November 2021, two people sustained serious injuries after a giant billboard collapsed on them along the Great East Road, Munali flyover bridge and round about in the capital city of Lusaka. The incident happened after a heavy downpour of rains. The  two injured people were rushed to Levy Mwanawasa Teaching Hospital.

Another incident in Zambia’s second largest city Kitwe involved the collapse of a giant billboard. Seven mobile money agents in Kitwe on the Copperbelt escaped unhurt after a giant billboard collapsed on their booths following strong winds.

No comprehensive inspection has yet been done across the country, meaning that this risk remains largely unmitigated for the giant billboards that are already constructed and standing.

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The Engineering Institution of Zambia (EIZ) has