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Petroleum Transporters Association of Zambia – PTAZ has challenged the Zambian embassies and the respective Zambian diplomats to Tanzania and Mozambique to take interest and play their expected role to facilitate the smooth transit of fuel imports into Zambia.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, PTAZ Secretary General Benson Tembo stated that since Indeni Refinery is currently not producing and contributing its 40% to the total national consumption as it is not operational, it means 100% finished petroleum products are been imported.

He called on Zambia’s ambassadors and high commissioners to Tanzania and Mozambique, the countries where most of the imported fuel is transited through, to take keen interest to ensure smooth and timely delivery of fuel and other petroleum products.

“These officers were sent to represent the Zambian government and the people of Zambia need the petroleum products to be delivered timely for economic activities to continue, so these officers must do their job and take an active role to help in the smooth movement of the much needed commodity and not just sit in their offices.

“We are not seeing any of these people [ambassadors or high commissioners] participating to smoothen the supply of petroleum products, they can play a pivotal role by engaging their counterparts and reducing the challenges that the oil marketing companies are facing in Tanzania and Mozambique. If they sit back, I don’t know who they are going to blame tomorrow if we continue to have fuel shortages in the country”, he said.

He added that most of the challenges that the drivers and oil marketing companies are facing can be addressed by the offices of high commissioners and ambassadors. Tembo told ZBT that the country representatives should engage say the Tanzanian Revenue Authority especially when delays occur, they must participate to make sure that there is constant flow of petroleum products to Zambia especially now that 100% of finished fuel is being imported directly.

On the current delays in the normalization of fuel supply, PTAZ further challenged government [Energy Regulation Board – ERB] to ensure they monitor the oil marketing companies. “These oil marketing companies must send people to these countries and borders instead of relying on virtual meetings now that there is 100% reliance on imports of finished products” he said.

Tembo said some of the delays are as a result of the oil marketing companies doing business online instead of physically following up these transactions at the border port to ensure what has been purchased is loaded and quickly delivered to Zambia. So, there are some delays because of using the online system.

He said most oil marketing companies, due to Covid restrictions are relying on clearing agents and companies or people based at the ports of entry, some of whom are inexperienced, which is delaying the process of loading, clearing and delivering the product in Zambia. This is ultimately affecting the flow of petroleum into the country.

The PTAZ General Secretary told ZBT that business for their sub-sector [Petroleum Transportation] has been slow. He said even the business from importing activities has also been slow as transporters are making fewer trips due to clearing delays.

“For instance, transporters are supposed to be making an average of two trips per month per truck on the Dar es Salaam corridor and three trips from the Beira corridor, but our members are currently making an average of one trip in a month, which is not productive”, Tembo stated.

If you look at the situation at Indeni Refinery for local business, there is no movement there. Even when you look at the importing business, transporters are experiencing delays with loading and clearing the trucks at the border. Efforts by ZBT to get a comment from Zambia’s ambassodor to Tanzania and Mozambique was futile by press time.

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Petroleum Transporters Association of Zambia - PTAZ

Companies

Livingstone Tourism Association – LTA has welcomed the move by the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) to restrict the use of commercial cargo by road through the Victoria Falls border.

Association Chairperson Rodney Sikumba said the restriction will help to preserve the life span of the bridge as well as safeguard it for tourism activities.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, Sikumba said there is very little infrastructure development that has happened on the bridge over the years and it has been slowly weakening owing to the increased load and age of the bridge.

He said the bridge was built a long time ago and is currently not in a very good state because of the high traffic, adding that ZRA did make mention of the facilities at the border post, which can only take in so much so restricting the tonnage, is a good move.

“We want the bridge to exist and be preserved; we share it with Zimbabwe, so we need people to access the bridge. Imagine a time where that bridge collapses or becomes too dilapidated and we can’t use it anymore, what will happen is that we will be unable to go to the Victoria Falls using the bridge and we may need to use water taxis”, he said.

He said the bridge also has some semblance of history attached to it and tour operators use it when showing tourists around therefore its importance.

He further said the tonnage that would have passed through will now be routed to the multi-million dollar bridge in Kazungula, which needs traffic in order to generate revenue, so it is important to look at it in such a way, adding that since the border is not closed and only a certain tonnage will be restricted, business will be as usual.

Sikumba mentioned that business in the tourist capital is still very slow because the numbers of covid-19 cases keep increasing and the average occupancy rates at hotel and accommodation facilities remains between 0-5 percent every month.

“Business is very slow and we have our staff who also want to be paid so we have continued to engage the government to see how we can proceed”, he said.

In line with SI No. 115 of 2020 that came into effect on 1st January 2021, the Zambia Revenue Authority informed all importers and exporters and the general public that importation and exportation of commercial cargo through the Victoria Falls border will only be allowed on rail transport.

The authority explained that all commercial cargo intended for import and export using the road will have to use alternative entry or exit points such as Kazungula or Chirundu.

ZRA noted that non-commercial cargo or vehicles below 16 tonnes will still be allowed to use the border post adding that the border remains available for use to all hawkers, individual traders, and tourists.

The authority said the measure is meant to preserve the Victoria Falls Bridge and bring sanity to Livingstone town which is Zambia’s main tourist capital, adding that the measure is also meant to reduce human-animal conflict around the border area where truck accidents have been recorded.

ZRA further noted that the limited facilities at Victoria Falls Border Post were not designed to handle commercial cargo and that over the years, trade volumes have increased in the region, hence creating challenges for border officials who are unable to conduct detailed physical inspections due to limited space and other requisite handling facilities at the border post.

According to information made available to ZBT, ZRA also mentioned that due to the location of the border post in the national park area, there has been an increase in animal and human conflict of late.

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Livingstone Tourism Association - LTA has welcomed

Lifestyle

President Edgar Lungu has officially recognized and acknowledged the Zambia National Service – ZNS for its unprecedented efforts which will eventually culminate into the end of “street kids” in Zambia.

Speaking during the State Of the Nation Address – SONA today 12 February 2021, President Lungu stated that his government is addressing the plight of children living on the streets.

The head of state singled out efforts by the Zambia National Service – ZNS for providing camps for skills training for adolescents removed from the streets. He stated further that the ZNS program empowers former street and vulnerable youths through character transformation and skills training.

President Lungu stated that “ since 2018, about 2,000 street children have been removed from the streets and reintegrated into society. The training received include carpentry, General Agriculture, metal fabrication, bricklaying, tailoring and designing”.

ZNS which was once a youth National Service has been charged with the responsibility to use its vast infrastructure and agricultural land to utilize the nation’s demographic dividend.

ZNS in 2020 alone targeted 1,100 adolescents out of which 350 boys commenced their training at Chiwoko ZNS camp in Katete, eastern province while the 500 boys and 250 girls will this year commence their training at Chishimba and Kitwe ZNS training camps.

President Lungu stated that “ this exercise of ending streetism among children from disadvantaged families in our society using ZNS is a glowing success and unprecedented”. See also See other ZBT articles on street kids plight

Others Another article on street kids plight

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President Edgar Lungu has officially recognized and

Lifestyle

The banking sector in Zambia is mostly foreign owned. This has made these very important institutions less willing to tailor and offer solutions suitable to local needs. Most major banks in Zambia remain serving niche or select types of segments of the market.

One local solution to this need for locally tailored financing solutions has seen the Bank of Zambia – BOZ taking a bold step to support a concept and practice of village banking. Village banks today are seen as a future for building locally owned and controlled banks of the future.

Some of the key benefits of village banking is that it enables flexible and tailored lending at lower interest rates. Individuals and businesses which before were being turned away by commercial banks have a source of financing.

A group called Zambia’s Trusted Village Banking (Zatvib) has come together to help each other tackle some of the financial challenges that individuals are facing by saving money as a group which members can borrow and pay back with interest to keep the fund growing.

In order to ensure that members of the group that borrow money do not default or simply refuse to pay back the money, the group ensures that they have proof of residence, proof of source of income, next of kin details and find out from social contacts or close friends if an individual applicant can be trusted before they can access the money.

Moses Nonde, a finance consultant and founder of the group says the group, which has an interest rate of 10%, allows members to borrow up to K20,000 in order to help them invest in their various projects or business ventures.

Nonde says members of the group can borrow any amount though large amounts entail that they provide collateral which the group will not hold on to, adding that if one wants to borrow above a certain amount, such an individual will have to provide collateral which the group can hold on to until the money is paid back.

He said this is in order to prevent people from neglecting to pay back the borrowed money or simply failing to pay back. Other benefits for members is that they can borrow twice the amount of money they have saved. So, the more you save, the more you earn via interest and the more you can borrow.

He further said emergency loans which for smaller amounts as agreed by the members can be approved immediately without providing any collateral, but these should be paid back within one month, adding that anything above that should be paid back within a period of 90 days.

Nonde told ZBT that one of the trends observed so far is that most of the members of the group are females or women, as they are known to be more visionary and focused on the future as compared to men, adding that women are naturally good economists as compared to men.

This trend is a challenge to men to start saving more and avoid the notion that men mostly think of the now while women usually look at the future and plan for it, Nonde stated. The village banking funds have potential to grow to huge amounts provided controls are put in place.

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The banking sector in Zambia is mostly

Companies

The much talked about revival of Mwinilunga Fruit Processing Company by the industrial Developments Corporation – IDC which was planned for commissioning by the end of 2020 has been derailed and is yet to be commissioned.

Sources from Mwinilunga told ZBT that the Mwinilunga’s Kalene fruit processing plant completion had been delayed and the commissioning is still outstanding as the plant construction has not been completed due to lack of equipment which is not yet in the country.

And a check with the project management company confirmed that the factory is not yet completed. Project Manager Charles Chifunda said the Covid-19 pandemic has affected the progress of setting up the plant because productivity has been very low in the industry that is manufacturing the equipment in India.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, Chifunda said local productivity has also been affected by Covid-19 as the work has been very slow including in India where the equipment is coming from.

He said he is hopeful that the plant that was set for commissioning last year in October will be commissioned in June this year.

“The equipment is coming from India and as you know India has been hit badly with Covid-19 and the productivity is very low because there was a lockdown, so the manufacturing of the equipment could not be completed”, he said.

Chifunda also noted that works on the Katete fruit processing plant have also slowed down as the equipment, which is coming from the same manufacturers in India is yet to be received.

Workers’ Compensation Fund Control Board (WCFCB), National Pension Scheme Authority (NAPSA) and Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) jointly invested in the revamping of the Mwinilunga fruit processing plant in 2020.

The fruit processing plant will not be restricted to processing pineapples, which is the major crop from Mwinilunga, but will also be processing other fruits such as oranges, mangoes and several other fruits that are grown in Zambia. The plant will have seven production lines including mineral water processing.

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The much talked about revival of Mwinilunga

Agribusiness

The Zambia Crocodile Farmers Association (ZaCFA) has revealed that plans are advanced for a new crocodile farm to open in over 20 years. This is despite the negative effect on the luxury leather market by Covid.

The Association told the Zambian Business Times – ZBT that they are confident that the industry will turn around following the removal of the 10% export duty in the 2021 Budget. Export duties we’re previously imposed on export raw crocodile skins

Association Spokesperson and Kalimba Farms Chairman Bill Thomas said the benefit of the duty removal is that there is an advanced plan for a new [and commercial] crocodile farm to be open in Zambia adding that this will be the first new farm in Zambia for over 20 years.

Thomas said the start-up costs are large with little anticipated return for first three years. He stated that plans to open a tanning operation are at an advanced stage and trials have been already been undertaken.

“We are now confident that this operation will be fully functioning by the end of 2021 which will give value addition to the raw materials prior to export”, he said.

Thomas told ZBT in response to the query that the employment numbers in the industry have also increased by about 28 percent, with the addition of an extra 176 jobs since the removal of the duty at the start of this year.

He said the main reason for growing a crocodile is for the skin but there are by-products such as meat and oil and sales of these have continued to grow within the local market.

Thomas however noted that the overall number of skins exported in 2020 declined slightly compared with the 2019 numbers due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the luxury leather market.

He added that exports were also negatively affected because international inspectors were not able to travel to grade the skins due to travel restrictions. The Zambia crocodile farmers association members rear Nile crocodiles, with skins sold internationally for luxury footwear, handbags and garments while the meat and other by-products are sold locally.

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The Zambia Crocodile Farmers Association (ZaCFA) has

Lifestyle

The University of Zambia (UNZA) has disclosed that student who have completed Advanced levels (A-levels) will be able to complete medicine in 5 years. UNZA has discovered that students studying medicine and nursing sciences can adequately be trained within six years and four years respectively.

UNZA Public Relations Manager Damaseke Chibale said there was a review of the curriculum by experts and it has been found that the number of years of the two science programmes can be reduced and will be sufficient for someone to graduate with a degree.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, Chibale said the students will be given the needed quality training adding that the institution has over the years realised that there are certain things that are not very important in the study of medicine.

He also said the trend in most countries is five and six years because the important thing is how the training is packaged adding that medicine training is a hands on programme and the first two-three years are spent in classrooms while the next three to four years involve practicals.

“Following the modern trends in medicine training and after strategically reviewing the curriculum, we have found that six years is adequate to train a medical doctor, so is four years to train someone in nursing sciences”, he said.

Chibale said the university keeps innovating and adopting the ICT technology so there was an exercise to review the curriculum and it was found that the medicine degree programme can be streamlined by one year by revising the curriculum.

He said the reason students used to take seven years was because they were doing A levels in the first year in the School of Natural Sciences because most secondary schools have no A levels.

He added that A levels require one to do the pure sciences so students who do A levels in secondary school start from second year when they enroll into the university.

“In a situation where a student has done A levels and they got maybe a B-general grade in all the science courses, this student will start in second year”, he said. He said with the reduction in the number of years for the programme, the student will only take five years to complete the programme.

He noted that for most European countries, students spend two-three years in class learning about deep sciences and after that they get into hospitals to get practical and learn about the applied medical practice which is the critical part in training.

“If you look at the US or UK universities training medicine, the entry will require that you must do A levels so that they don’t spend one year doing the A levels because they have already been done, so the degree in medicine varies between 5-6 years depending on the method of teaching”, he said.

The University of Zambia has reduced the years of study for medicine from seven years to six years whereas the nursing science programme will now run for four years instead of five years. This change is expected to flow through all the other public higher learning institutions such as the Copperbelt University – CBU and Mulungushi University which offer medicine.

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The University of Zambia (UNZA) has disclosed

Agribusiness

The Grain Traders Association of Zambia – GTAZ has revealed that there is a likely to be an increase in the prices of bread and other wheat products if the government does not issue a tax waiver for the import of wheat to cover the deficit.

GTAZ President Chambuleni Simwinga said consumers of the wheat products will have to bear the cost if the government does not issue a waiver on the export. The cost will be passed on to the final consumers.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, Simwinga said imported wheat tends to be more expensive compared to locally grown wheat due to import taxes and duties, therefore the association has continued to lobby to government and is hopeful that there will be a positive response.

Simwinga said the government has allowed the importation of 100,000 metric tonnes of wheat  and people are importing from South Africa in small quantities, adding that it is still in the pipeline as people are still putting in place all the logistics that are needed.

“If am going to import wheat at a higher cost, I cannot suck in the cost, I also have to pass that cost to someone and that someone is a consumer, so bread and other wheat products will cost more”, he said.

GTAZ has in the past advised that there is always a deficit in wheat production in the country, which is normally supplemented by imports. The local participation in wheat cultivation has been improving but more needs be done.

The association disclosed that there is a reasonable number of commercial farmers that grow wheat but the biggest challenge is the cost of inputs adding that most of the inputs that are used are imported into Zambia.

Simwinga has noted that wheat farming is not like growing maize as it is capital intensive or requires higher investment to some extent, and this is because wheat is not entirely rain fed, it is irrigated and irrigation of a large farm is not a cheap exercise therefore there is always a deficit of wheat every year.

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The Grain Traders Association of Zambia -

Agribusiness

The Sub-Sahara African Farmers Organisation (SSAFO) says it has increased its birds production which is now between 3.5 million and 4 million birds and currently exports over 10,000 birds to the Democratic Republic of Congo – DRC on a weekly basis.

SSAFO Founder and President Munyaradzi Mulonda said the organisation does not only keep chickens but now has its own brand, noting that besides processing the chickens for export, it also supplies to the local market and has its own food outlets.

Speaking in an interview with Zambian Business Times-ZBT, Mulonda said the organisation has its own shops, butcheries, a meat processing centre in Kabwe and has employed a good number of people, adding that this is one way it has helped creat employment.

He said the organisation has grown exponentially from the time it started due to its in-house growth of chicken and outgrower scheme, which it has launched and has a number of farmers supporting it through the scheme.

He added that the organisation has continued to target the export market in order to earn the country as much foreign currency as it can through farming activities through export of chickens.

“We are trying to promote farming as a business and show that agribusiness makes sense, this project is aimed at empowering people with skills. Broiler chickens come as a day old chick, weighing 35 grams, takes over a six week period to grow and there is so much  that happens in this six weeks, all these things are being taught to our members. We are now talking about introducing poultry farming at a very large scale”, he said.

Mulonda mentioned that Covid 19 really affected the organisation and things have not fully gone back to  normal as some of the clients that it was working with have not recovered from the economic effects of the virus and this has also negatively affected the organisation.

He added that the organisation owns a printing press and had printed exercise books which were supposed to be sold in the first term of 2020 but unfortunately as the books were been marketed, schools were closed and all the expenses went down the drain.

He also said that some members of staff were laid off because there was not much to do and demand for our products was low during the lockdown, but later, we hired more staff as the organisation started to expand beginning of august 2020 and is now working in full scale.

Mulonda said the organisation is open to partnerships from individuals, clubs, organisations, associations, cooperatives, corporate and public entities who want to join the programme which focuses on empowering the youth.

He also noted that 2020 was an exciting year for the organisation as it managed to grow as sub-Sahara farmer’s organisation.

“We started with one programme which is the consolidated young entrepreneurs’ programme which is a youth empowerment programme for poultry farming, we have now gone into crop production”, he said.

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The Sub-Sahara African Farmers Organisation (SSAFO) says

Markets

Zambia should backs its local cross border traders to expand export or risks remaining a net importer and dumping ground for foreign goods. Local traders growth will directly translate into increased forex earnings and local benefits.

Speaking in an an exclusive interview with the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, Cross Boarders Traders Association – CBTA of Zambia Secretary General Jacob Makambwe said there is need to forcus on value addition and agro processing activities if the country is to expand its exports.

“There is need implement the industrial development policy that will support local value addition and the agro process activities. This includes developing the packaging and export standards certification, so that Zambian products are accepted in especially neighboring countries”, Makambwe stated.

He warned that if Zambia does not have value addition, it will continue being the dumping ground for foreign products and all our goods are going to come from outside the country. The country needs urgently implement its industrial development policy and re-develop its local manufacturing sector.

He added that Zambia is now part and parcel of the African Continental Free Trade Area – AfCFTA which is an agreement to open up to almost all African countries products and service, which will introduce other market forces.

Makambwe stated that his association which has over 500 registered members need to be supported if Zambia is to meaningfully grow its exports and earn the much needed foreign exchange.

He told ZBT that currently, the association members Business is about 70% imports and 30% exports. But when you look at the exports, the numbers could be more as most local traders rather take their goods to the Zambia border side and these are then bought off by traders from neighboring countries who then cross over to their countries. So the export numbers are much more than the official statistics.

The cross boarder traders association has called on the ministry of foreign affairs to sign off more bilateral trade deals that can have agreed quotas and could be utilized to drive more trade especially by local traders.

And Mambwe said most of the goods that Zambia imports through small scale and local traders includes motor vehicles, motor vehicle spare parts, clothes and groceries. So these are some of the areas were Zambia can deliberately look at setting up local manufacturing facilities.

In terms of exports, goods originating from Zambia are mostly Agro products and Livestock. This is an area we’re the country needs to develop its Agro processing industry to get better value from exports.

He told ZBT that the most active borders for local traders include Nakonde, border with Tanzania, Kasumbalesa border with the Democratic Republic of Congo, Chirundu border with Zimbabwe, Kazungula border with Botswana and Mwami border with Malawi.

He stated that “Nakonde is one of the busiest borders as its used as the entry point of most imports not just from Tanzania, but as a transit border for goods from as far as China and the Middle East. It’s also a transit point for goods destined for DRC Katanga region.

Chirundu is also the other land border which is very busy as it is a transit point for goods from South Africa to Zambia as well as transit goods to DRC. So the cargo that comes through Chirundu or even Kasugula also includes goods destined for DRC.

Zambia currently exports about 800,000 tons of copper annually mainly through multinational companies, but the export proceeds in dollars are not entirely remitted back to Zambia making the Kwacha Weaker and in perpetual depreciation fight.

It’s it is projected that if local traders were involved, the externalizations of export proceeds could be minimized as its generally a known principle that people invest in their home countries. It’s now known that there is no country that has been sustainably developed by another country.

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Zambia should backs its local cross border