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Green Party President Peter Sinkamba has advised government to make sure that license fees for local citizens who would want to engage in cannabis and hemp production affordable in order to encourage more local people to venture into the production once it is legalised.

Sinkamba said fees for local citizens should be different from those for foreign investors so that locals are not disadvantaged. He stated that unlike foreign investors who can be charged relatively high fees as government can use this as a revenue generating venture, historical imbalances should be avoided so that local Zambians can be active participants in this sector.

In an exclusive interview with the Zambian Business Times-ZBT, Sinkamba said he is aware of the fees that other countries are charging, therefore government should come up with fees similar to that to prevent chasing away foreign investors.

“We know what Zimbabwe, South Africa, Malawi and Lesotho are charging, so we should not come up with fees that are going to chase away investors to go to destinations where it is affordable to get a license, we must be competitive and be within the range that these other countries in close proximity are”, he said.

He noted that government has not yet decided the cost of licenses for the two proposed bills but stakeholders have suggested that the cannabis bill and the industrial hemp bill should have a duo system of licensing fees.

Sinkamba explained that cannabis or marijuana has two types, which are indica and sativa adding that the cannabis bill is talking about medical cannabis, which is cannabis indica, and the industrial hemp bill is meant for cannabis sativa, which is for industrial use only.

He said once the two bills are enacted into law, people can start applying for licenses, those that want to manufacture industrial products can apply for licenses to do with cannabis sativa and those that want to apply for licenses to do with production of medical marijuana can get licenses for cannabis indica.

He further said that cannabis indica has very high levels of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) which is a substance that makes people high when they smoke and is used for production of medicine-medical marijuana

He added that cannabis sativa has low THC which is below 0.3% adding that this is what is called industrial hemp because its main use is to manufacture industrial products such as clothes, CBD oil, hair cream, body cream bio diesel, paper, bricks for construction using what is called hempcrete and dashboards for cars like Mercedes Benz and BMW.

Cabinet has approved the introduction of the Cannabis and Hemp Bills 2021 in parliament which once enacted into law, would allow the cultivation of marijuana for medical purposes.

It has also approved the introduction of the Industrial Hemp Bill 2021 which aims to provide for the licensing of storage, processing, importation, exportation, cultivation, production and distribution of marijuana.

Chief Government Spokesperson Dora Siliya said cabinet expects that the country will benefit both medically and economically through the enactment of the law on cannabis.Sinkamba expressed happiness over the introduction of the two bills in parliament and now remains an issue that the law makers should prioritize so that Zambia can realize full economic and industrial benefits.

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Green Party President Peter Sinkamba has advised

Sport

The National Sports Council of Zambia – NSCZ has refuted claims that it wants to declare the recently held Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) elective annual general meeting null and void, effectively conceding that the elections hold.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, NSCZ General Secretary Raphael Mulenga said the council has no plans of declaring the recently held elections invalid.

The Football Association of Zambia – FAZ recently held its elective annual general meeting in the tourist town of Livingstone that saw incumbent Andrew Kamanga retain his position as the association president for the second term of office.

It is no secret that Kamanga and his administration have struggled to gunner wide public and government support after the electoral process under his administration barred Zambia’s celebrated soccer Icon and Africa cup winning ex-FAZ president, Kalusha Bwalya from re-contesting.

Members were meeting to elect only the president, vice president and a female representative while the other 10 executive committee members were elected from the provincial assemblies. All the 10 provinces of Zambia are now represented in the 13-member national executive committee and FAZ says this model will help the decentralisation exercise that is taking football to all the communities in all the regions.

Andrew Kamanga defeated the only contender and former footballer Emmanuel Munaile while Justin Mumba scooped the Vice President with Colonel Priscilla Katoba taking the slot for the female representative role..

Kamanga’s administration has struggled to deliver the national team to two consecutive Africa Cup of Nations tournament and pundits have projected a third miss will be confirmed in the coming matches. This is perhaps one of the biggest Challenges Kamanga and his administration face to convince the passionate Chipolopolo fans.

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The National Sports Council of Zambia -

Tech

Topstar Communications Company Limited has confirmed that they will maintain the current prices for both hardware and TV bouquets, which has seen their main competitor DSTV hike prices by an average of 13%.

Topstar Public Relations Officer Kunda Chisunga said the company is focused on providing customers with the best for less and will continue to remain the most affordable on the market in terms of their decoders and bouquet prices.

In an interview with the Zambian Business Times-ZBT, Chisunga said more local content will be coming through as it recently added three local TV stations to its platform. He said the company’s main goal remains the same, which is to have all the local TV stations on its platform.

Meanwhile DSTV has increased prices for all its packages effective 1 April 2021 and efforts to get a comment on why they have adjusted their prices upwards proved futile by press time. The notice of the impending increment has been widely circulated with the high end bouquet increased by an average of 13%.

Calls have heightened for a change of leadership and top management at the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission – CCPC for their reactive and slow pace of investigations to inform the nation on whether the current sharp price hikes in Zambia are justified.

CCPC has for instance been investigating the cement industry for over two years with no tangible report on what their findings are. Cement prices have now doubled within the same period, but consumers have not been availed a report to confirm if the increament is justified.

President Edgar Lungu recently called on CCPC to hasten their pace investigations and make public their reports to either confirm or dispel suspicions of unriddled business practices by some company’s. Some items which have limited link to the US dollar have also been hiked even way above the devaluation rate, raising suspicion of profiteering.

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Topstar Communications Company Limited has confirmed that

Lifestyle

The Road Transport and Safety Agency – RTSA together with local councils have been accused of lamentably failing to regulate and ensure smooth and safe operation of the taxicab sub-sector in Zambia. A check in major cities and towns across Zambia shows that unauthorized [pirate] taxis are the order of the day.

This failure by RTSA and respective city and town councils is not only compromising the safety of passengers in Zambia, but losing the government million of Kwacha in revenue. The failure to regulate the sub-sector has further led to registered taxi operators and law abiding taxi businesses abandoning to have their vehicles registered as their is no benefit in doing so due to lack of regulatory endorsements.

The Roads and Road traffic act clearly states that taxis should also be metered to ensure transparency in charges for members of the public but this is not followed up, leading to an opaque pricing structure and exploitation of unsuspecting members of the public.

And the Bus and Taxi Owners Association of Zambia has expressed concern over the overwhelming number of pirate taxis that are operating in the country and has asked RTSA, the local government ministry and various local authorities such as city and town councils to ensure the existing laws are enforced.

Association Spokesperson Amis Daudi said there is a law that prevents the pirating of taxis but the regulators have been reluctant in doing their job thereby leading to the increase of the vice. The laws are there and it’s the reluctance to enforce the regulations.

In an exclusive interview with the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, Daudi said the authorities are aware of what the law says about this act and what should be done when it is violated but have chosen not to take any action.

Daudi said there are measures including fines that can be used to regulate and end this vice and what is needed is for the authorities to enforce the law adding that government also loses income.

“If you are caught pirating three times, there is a provision that your vehicle will be forfeited by the state, all those rules are there, so it is just the will to enforce the law”, he said.

He said that it is unfortunate that the authorities know who the drivers operating pirate taxis are and where to find them but have decided to pay a blind eye to the situation. Some pirate taxis have even created their own taxi ranks which are disadvantaging the registered ones.

“As taxi operators, we have tried to team up with authorities so we can manage the scourge but it has grown to such a level where the local authorities, the police and RTSA have failed because it is overwhelming”, he said.

He also said the association has been talking to the authorities who are supposed to regulate these taxis for over ten years but nothing has been done about it adding that the authorities do take action for a while, but stop after a short time.

“The unfortunate part is that they run to politicians and give reasons to justify what they are doing which is not supposed to be the case, we have a situation where some members of parliament have bought vehicles and given to people who are operating without following the regulations”, he said.

He stressed that all businesses are supposed to be regulated and what is been experienced in the taxi business is lawlessness which will affect lawful governance, adding that it brings anarchy as people think they can do whatever they want, therefore laws must be applied equally and consistently.

He said the pirate taxis have not registered their vehicles because they are running from tax obligations, adding that this takes away the business of legitimate taxi owners and distorts their market.

“When you don’t register, ZRA won’t come after you because you won’t be requiring a license to run on the road the following day, so you are running freely, no obligations to the government or the local authority and unfortunately to the passengers too”, he said.

He added that legitimate operators are operating under strict rules where the vehicle has to be tested every three months and ensure that they pay for all the necessary documents required for one to run this business.

“This takes away the motivation for people to be compliant with the law because if my neighbour can just get into the vehicle, pick passengers and operate, why should I be registering my vehicle and begin to have all these tax obligations”, he said.

He also said that the laws and regulations are in place to impound and stop pirate taxis from operating illegally therefore the authorities must come in and do their job.

Some of the crimes have been conducted from these unregistered vehicles operating as pirate taxis, which would have been avoided if this sector was properly regulated. Registered taxis contribute to the revenue base for the country and its high time the country starts to put this sector in order.

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The Road Transport and Safety Agency -

Tech

Most imported drugs into Zambia are sub-standard and not certified and this is one of the areas the new board at Zambia Medicine Regulatory Authority (ZAMRA) should look at to bring sanity and safeguard public health.

The World Health Organization – WHO does certify medicines but you find that most of the drugs landing in Zambia don’t have this certification. This has opened up the Zambian public to counterfeit drugs as the local process of certification has been porous.

Pharmaceutical expert Jerome Kanyika says the rate of recalling of medicines that has been happening lately is an indication that ZAMRA is not doing its job in ensuring that the quality and standard of medicine is certified before being circulated to the public.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with Zambian Business Times-ZBT, Kanyika said there has been reports of a lot of political interference with some of the people who bring medicines into the country who work with some top government officials and end up intimidating the regulator who fails to follow the correct procedure.

He said most of the drugs that go into government circulation do not go through the process of certification because they come in like an emergency and end up been used while they are being certified.

Kanyika noted that it is normal to recall medicines once every two years and this should normally be initiated by the manufacturer themselves and not the regulator so the current happenings are very alarming.

“Under normal circumstances, the rate of recalling medicines from circulation should not be as much as it has been lately, the way we are recalling drugs speaks volumes because within a short period of time we have done it many times. You cannot recall so many medicines in two years as has been the case since 2019”, he said.

Kanyika also mentioned that the World Health Organisation (WHO) does not certify most of the drugs that are manufactured from the pharmaceutical companies that the country gets its medicines from adding that Zambia buys substandard medicines at a low price points.

“The other problem is that we also go for cheap products instead of buying quality products, we go for sub-standard medical products without considering the consequences of such actions because they are cheaper”, he said.

“Provided someone is selling it at a cheaper price, we don’t question ourselves to say why is this medicine selling at a lower price than this one, we don’t even check to see if a pharmaceutical company is certified by the WHO or not”, he said.

Kanyika added that countries like Zimbabwe ensure that the regulatory body travels to inspect the pharmaceutical company that manufactures drugs before registering it on their market. But this is not the case in Zambia.

“In Zambia, as long as you have written good English and put up a big profile about your company then it will be certified and you will be given market authorisation”, he said.

“When registering a drug, I can buy medicine from a well-known pharmaceutical company, put it in a pack, claim that I manufactured it and submit it to the regulator to say this is the medicine I will be bringing in this country but when the regulator goes and inspects the pharmaceutical company, such issues will not be there”, he said.

Kanyika noted that studies that were conducted showed that 80-85% of the medicine in Zambia is substandard adding that the United States of America (USA) wrote a letter to tell its citizens  not to buy medication coming to Zambia because it was substandard.

“I don’t know if it’s the regulation of the law or the people regulating who are very week but I suspect it’s the people who are failing to execute their duties well”, he said.

When contacted for their side of the story, then Ministry of Health Spokesperson Dr. Abel Kabalo said he did not have full details on the matter but stated that whatever product is not fit for human consumption is recalled from circulation.

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Most imported drugs into Zambia are sub-standard

Companies

The Zambia Citizen Entrepreneurs Development Programme is not dead and the Economics Association of Zambia (EAZ) has appealed to stakeholders to come on board and invest in the Programme, which has currently been static due to lack of resources.

EAZ President Lubinda Haabazoka said the programme, which was launched last year, has benefited over 500 people in Lusaka and Luapula Provinces but has been slow because of lack of funds.

Speaking in an interview with Zambian Business Times-ZBT, Haabazoka said the programme depends on the private sector pumping in resources and Covid-19 has been a huge hindrance to enticing investors to invest alongside ordinary Zambian citizens using an outgrower scheme.

Lubinda said because of Covid-19, many private sector parties are unable to take the risk adding that the association will continue engaging various partners.

He has called upon all well-meaning investors to join the cause so that they can be part of the project, which aims at providing jobs for Zambian citizens and creating wealth through outgrower schemes countrywide.

“As EAZ, who are major players in this programme, we are tirelessly looking for partners; funders that can pump in resources to ensure that this project is implemented country wide. The idea is not dead, the company is there and we have some beneficiaries that we are working with, there are some taxis that are operating, we are just looking for funders because unfortunately as EAZ we are not millionaires or billionaires so we depend on the private sector”, he said.

Lubinda said the programme aims at developing entrepreneurs countrywide and has a target of empowering one million people adding that a huge cash inflow is needed for that therefore he has called upon funders to come on board and participate in wealth creation for the nation.

He added that apart from programmes that were rolled out last year and the over 500 that were empowered, the project has been slow and no new people have been empowered this year due to funding. “We have empowered people with taxis, some are into farming and rearing of goats, he said.”

The Economics Association of Zambia (EAZ) last year July launched a programme called ‘Zambia Citizen Entrepreneurs Development Programme’, which is aimed at enhancing wealth creation through the promotion of entrepreneurship.

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The Zambia Citizen Entrepreneurs Development Programme is

Companies

African Parks have revealed that they intend to work on the roads, airstrip and revamp infrastructure in the Kafue National Park that should then be able to attract investors to set up lodges which will in turn lead to increased tourist inflows.

It’s Country Director James Milanzi says the organisation is carrying out an extensive review and investigation in order to see how it can make the Kafue National Park more attractive so it can draw in investors.

Milanzi said the national park currently has run down road infrastructure which is key to tourism growth as it becomes difficult for the National park to prosper and attract more tourists if tourists and park managers cannot drive around smoothly.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with the Zambian Business Times-ZBT, Milanzi said once it works on the airstrip and the roads in the park, investors would be able to come in and put up lodges, adding that this will promote tourism.

Milanzi said the other key area is law enforcement. Poaching is an issue and African Parks plans to ensure that poaching is prevented in order to maintain the number of animals in the park as they are a major tourist attraction.

“We will conduct an aerial census so that we know what Kafue National Park has and what it lacks. If in the future, we sign a long term agreement and there’s need for us to bring in other animals, we will but we don’t need to do that in this case, we need to protect the area and the numbers that are there will grow on their own”, he said.

Milanzi said African Parks strives to ensure that the rates are affordable even for the local people because if there is no local tourism in the country, the tourism sector becomes difficult to grow and unsustainable.

“In an event where there is Covid-19 like the current situation, international tourists will not come into the country, so we try to build products that local tourists can enjoy, it’s not just about the pricing but the product too, we can have a good pricing but if the product is poor, no tourists will visit the place”, he said.

He said the organisation is focusing on improving the park and ensuring that it is accessible and affordable for everyone, adding that African Parks does not come up with rates on their own, but involves the government and these rates are dependent on how good the area is.

Milanzi said the plan is to ensure that the park is well protected, delivers the conservational outcomes and attracts investors who can help transform it in order to ensure that tourists get the best experience.

“We as African Parks run parks with government to support the management of the National parks so that every challenge that the park faces is looked at critically and then investments are done to work on such weaknesses”, he said.

Milanzi said the country should expect the best from this collaboration as African Parks has done their best wherever they have been to ensure that the parks offer the best products and the plan is to make the area attract more investment.

African Parks is a non-profit conservation organization that takes on direct responsibility for the rehabilitation and long-term management of protected areas in partnership with governments and local communities.

This is the third conservation area in Zambia that has been awarded to African Parks with the first two being Bangweulu wetlands and Liuwa plains. The lodges that are attracted and have been set up in these two areas are considered expensive or unaffordable by local Zambians, with efforts to get lower local rates yet to yield visible results.

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African Parks have revealed that they intend

Lifestyle

The Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) has confirmed that about 18,000 duplicate or double registrations have been removed from the register. Intentional duplicate registrations investigations are expected to proceed.

Chief Electoral Officer Patrick Nshindano told a Media Briefing on 25th February, 2021 at Elections House in Lusaka where he presented the Statistics of the Provisional Register of Voters.

Nshindano said that After de-duplication, the provisional register now stands at 7,002, 393 registered voters representing 0.2% marginal reduction from the initial 83.4% to 83.2% of eligible voters arising from duplicate records. Out of the provisional total of 7,002, 393, 3,739,971 are female representing 53.4% while 3,262,422 are male representing 46.6%.

“At provincial level, Western Province accounts for the highest number of female registered voters which stands at 59% of the provincial provisional registered voters Lusaka Province accounts for the highest number of registered voters representing 17.7% whilst North-Western is lowest at 5.5% of the total provisional register of voter” he added.

ECZ further confirmed that the current register details are provisional and may change due to updates following the Inspection of the Provisional Register of Voters which is currently underway electronically on USSD *214# free on all networks and the ECZ Website at www.eczovr.org.

The Electronic Inspection which provides for Voters to check and verify their details for correctness is from 7th February, 2021 to 7th May, 2021 while the Physical Inspection of the Provisional Register of Voters is from 29th March, 2021 to 2nd April, 2021.

During the Physical Inspection of the Provisional Register of Voters available services will include Valid objections, Valid appeals, Notification of death, Transfers and Delimitation among others.

The updates as a result of the services undertaken during the Physical Inspection can lead to an adjustment in the Voter Registration Statistics.

Following the Physical Inspection of the Provisional Register of Voters, the CEO will publish the notice in the Gazette Notice that the register for polling station has been certified. The register published in the Gazette Notice replaces all registers of voters that had previously been prepared for that polling station.

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The Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) has

Tech

Airtel Money has been awarded the World Customs Organisation – International Customs Day certificate of merit award and shield for rendering exceptional service to the international Customs community and for the ongoing support on domestic taxes during Covid-19 by the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA).

Airtel Head of Corporate Communications Yuyo Kambikambi said Airtel Money has been recognised as a key player in international trade matters due to its role in developing the ZRA e-payment platform during the Covid-19 pandemic that enables customers to seamlessly make online payments of domestic taxes amongst other services.

Kambikambi said on presenting the award to Airtel Money, ZRA Assistant Commissioner, Learning and Development, Customs Services Division Chikumbi Chama said ZRA was delighted to present the award as part of the January 26th International Customs Day celebrations.

Kambikambi said Chama congratulated Airtel Money and others for having been selected to receive the award of merit adding that these were unprecedented times and appreciated all that Airtel Money has done and continues to do especially in the promotion of the ZRA e-payments as the country battles with the Covid-19 pandemic.

The International Customs Day is a global event that is commemorated every year on 26 January and recognises the efforts of customs officials, public and private sector individuals, and agencies that play a pivotal role in facilitating trade and travel, in simplifying, standardising and harmonising border procedures and in securing borders.

And Airtel Money Director James Chona said he was delighted that Airtel Money has been recognised for its contributions in supporting its stakeholders in Zambia adding that the network provider was proud to be contributing to the local community by providing an easy solution to enable Zambian locals to pay duties on time during the difficult circumstances of the pandemic.

He thanked the Zambia Revenue Authority for the continued collaboration and for recognising the role that the Airtel Money platform and service plays.

According to information made available to Zambian Business Times-ZBT, Kambikambi said the certificate and shield, which was presented by ZRA’s Collector Steven Mukalula, was received by Airtel’s Tax Manager Chabinga Katumbi and Head of Corporate Communications and Government Relations Yuyo Kambikambi.

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Airtel Money has been awarded the World

Companies

Zambia Forestry and Forest Industries Corporation (ZAFFICO) has expanded its plantations footprint to four more provinces in Zambia to met the growing demand for timber and other wood products.

The Corporation which recently become a public company by listing on the Lusaka Securities Exchange (LuSE) says its listing has significantly improved the profile for the corporation and enhanced its ability to raise capital in future.

ZAFFICO Public Relations Manager Ireen Lungu said that the company had embarked on an expansion programme, adding that it has set up more plantations in four more provinces of Zambia.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, Lungu said the corporation has established plantations in Northern, Muchinga, North-Western and Luapula Provinces.

Lungu said expansion into new areas requires capital injection as it involves investing not just in human resource to manage the plantations, but also in procurement of equipment and all the auxiliary materials that go with the planting, seedling and managing of the young trees.

“Originally ZAFFICO was just on the Copperbelt, but we are now in five provinces of the country and we have established plantations in Kalumbila, Lupososhi, Shiwang’andu, Kawambwa and Nakonde among others”, she said.

Lungu also said that the company has been replanting exotic trees within it’s areas and plantations on the Copperbelt. She noted that the roundwood stocks on the Copperbelt plantation have not been able to keep up with the demand, which keeps increasing.

It is because of this increasing demand that the corporation is currently unable to meet, that is the main reason the company decided to expand. The quality of our wood products is very good, so demand keeps increasing, she told ZBT.

She added that when the trees are ready for harvest in the next few years, the corporation might be able to meet the national demand for roundwood. The ZAFFICO PR Manager further said the high demand for roundwood in the country is because of the economic activities happening in other sectors of the economy such as construction.

She also mentioned that the corporation’s long term plan of setting up plantations in all the ten provinces still stands adding that this involves many factors including the acquisition of land for planting and mobilizing additional financial resources.

Lungu said the growth of ZAFFICO as a public limited company is good for the country because wherever they set up, other than employing people to manage the plantations, they support and help with the growth of other sectors of the economy as well.

She said some of the company’s operations require recruiting seasonal workers, so the communities around plantations have also been benefiting from the company’s growth as they are employing more people than before.

She stressed that the significant benefit to be derived from being listed on LuSE is that the corporation has an additional option to raise funding which in turn would be used to make the expansion programme possible.

Zambia has good soils, normal to above normal rainfall patterns (especially in the Northern parts of the country) and vast amounts of arable land that could make the country an Agro-forestry powerhouse and net exporter of timber and wood products.

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Zambia Forestry and Forest Industries Corporation (ZAFFICO)