Connect with:
Thursday / June 12.
logo
mobile-logo
HomeStandard Blog Whole Post (Page 144)
Tech

Zambia is among African Countries that has applied to receive their allocated quota of the Covax vaccine, but the country was assessed to have not been ready to receive the vaccine through the “Country Readiness and Delivery (CRD)” system.

A source at the African regional level has disclosed that Zambia has indeed applied for the Covid-19 Vaccine through the Covax facility and was among the first countries to do so. The vaccine is given based on preparedness and not time of application,

The source who is based at the regional Centre for Disease Control – CDC who asked for their identity to be withheld as they are not officially authorised to speak to the media revealed said there is no stipulated time that a country waits to receive the vaccine after it applies for it.

The allocation of the vaccine is dependent on whether the country is ready to receive the vaccine or not among other things. So, it’s more of being prepared being the key requirement before a country can start receiving its allocation.

Newly appointed health Minister Dr. Jonas Chanda when asked by the media why Zambia has not yet received the Covid 19 vaccine as has been the case for other African countries, stated that the country was still making assessments. He however did not mention that the country has already applied for the vaccine under COVAX.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with the Zambian Business Times-ZBT, the source at The regional CDC said the Zambian government has applied for the vaccine but only they know when they will receive it because a country may apply for the vaccine and still be preparing themselves to receive it.

“Some countries received the vaccine two weeks after applying for it, others who applied before that have not yet gotten the vaccines, so I don’t think it has to do with when you submit, there are so many other things that the applicant have to go through. There are so many questions, is the country even ready”, the source told ZBT.

The source said COVAX supplies for Africa have now started coming in and early this month, about 10 African countries got their Covid-19 vaccines and many more should be able to get the vaccines soon.

The source said almost all African countries have applied for the vaccine and some have received them, adding that in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region has seen Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) get their vaccines early this month through COVAX.

The source further revealed that most African countries also applied simultaneously through the African Union – AU, but those vaccines have not started coming in yet. The source also noted that the Covax facility makes sure that vulnerable countries have access to the vaccine.

COVAX is the vaccines pillar of the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator,co-led by Gavi, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and the World Health Organization – WHO. Its aim is to accelerate the development and manufacture of COVID-19 vaccines, and to guarantee fair and equitable access for every country in the world, bridging the income gap.

According to the COVAX facility document made available to ZBT, only four (4) countries in Africa were allocated the vaccines in the first batch. These countries include Cabo Verde, Rwanda, Tunisia and South Africa. However, more African countries have now started receiving vaccines with Zambia’s vaccines allocated still not confirmed.

0 Comments
0 likes

Zambia is among African Countries that has

Companies

The Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) has assured the nation that appropriate action is being taken against those who intentionally registered more than once in an attempt to vote multiple times, as this constitutes electoral malpractice.

ECZ found more than 18,000 duplicate records that have since been isolated following the de-duplication and cleanup process. This list is now being interrogated and appropriate action will be taken.

The commission recorded a provisional total of 7, 020, 749 registered voters which now stands at 7, 002, 393 after isolating the duplicates therefore representing 0.2% marginal reduction from the initial 83.4% to 83.2% of eligible voters arising from duplicate records.

ECZ says it will look into the nature of the duplicates and take appropriate action against erring individuals, adding that some duplicates may be due to ignorance on the part of the person registering as a voter.

According to information made available to the Zambian Business Times-ZBT, ECZ Corporate Affairs Manager Patricia Luhanga said some duplicates might be errors during registration whilst others may be due to electoral malpractice in an attempt to vote more than once.

Luhanga said using the biometric voter registration made it possible for the accurate identification of a voter and ensure that nobody votes more than once. She said the system ensures that people who attempt to register more than once whether intentionally or unintentionally are detected and records are corrected accordingly.

She said this results in a clean register which is a major factor in rendering an election to be credible adding that the system that ECZ is using is able to detect identical twins because it is able to distinguish people by fingerprints.

Luhanga also mentioned that this is possible because no two individuals would have the same fingerprints. Like physical appearance and personality, fingerprints are largely shaped by a persons DNA and by a variety of environmental forces such that not even identical twins have the same fingerprints.

0 Comments
0 likes

The Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) has

Agribusiness

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.

0 Comments
0 likes

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.

0 Comments
0 likes

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.

0 Comments
0 likes

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.

0 Comments
0 likes

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.

0 Comments
0 likes

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.

0 Comments
0 likes

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.

0 Comments
0 likes

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.

0 Comments
0 likes

The Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) has