Connect with:
Sunday / April 27.
logo
mobile-logo
HomeStandard Blog Whole Post (Page 148)
Lifestyle

The Zambian financial services industry that includes banks and micro financiers has been challenged to deepen their offering to enable sectors such as the film industry to fully take off.

The film industry in Zambia has for a long time been trying to get on its feet and make its foray into international Cinema’s. But there has been many challenges for film makers in terms of financing and limited sponsorship.

In the past few years, the country has seen an improvement in production and uptake of its film industry due to a few film makers who have been pushing hard using their own resources as well as utilizing a few sponsors in order to produce quality movies that can sell internationally.

On the 14 of November 2020, a movie called “BLACK DOLLAR” was premiered at the government complex and saw prominent citizens, government officials and leading artists in attendance. The movie was produced by David Kazadi, a Zambian film maker.

In an exclusive interview with the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, David Kazadi stated that the movie was a success in that a lot of people from the both political, entertainment and business sector including various artists attended the premiere.

Kazadi said that the idea was to show the invited guests especially those from the corporate sector that the creative sector does not have to be so far from the them and that the two can work hand in hand to complement each other.

He stated that there were more than 500 people who attended the premier and that the response was good because people were reacting to the laughter in the movie and also shade tears to emotional parts.

Kazadi disclosed that all the 50 tickets which were meant for the general public and where going for K1,000 each were all sold out within 24 hours and there was even demand for more.

Kazadi explained that when it comes to the movie industry, Zambia has always been talented and that the only missing link to produce movies is luck of an established financing model. He said that luck of infrastructure like film schools and drama schools at university level also contributes in the production of low quality movies.

He added that many who wish to be film makers usually go through some form of “soft training” such that, if one has had no basic training, they end up learning the wrong things and producing poor quality movies.

Kazadi said that in order for the world and Africa to recognize Zambia as a country that is able to produce good and quality movies, film makers need financial support from government, local companies and local businessmen.

Furthermore, he said that stakeholders need to trust the film industry just like other countries trust theirs. Kazadi explained that people have a positive picture about European and North American countries because of how they are portrayed in the movies.

Kazadi stated that western countries mostly portray their countries as full of glitz and glamour, thus attracting a lot of tourists from across the world to tour the countries. He said that not all places in Europe or the US are attractive and that some of the slums from the western world are worse than some in Zambia.

He added that financing and sponsoring the film industry would result in a lot of tourists to be interested in visiting the country, there by delivering foreign exchange for the economy.

Kazadi disclosed that they are currently developing part two of ‘Black Dollar’ with production expected to commence in 2022 and is more likely to be released between 2023 and 2024. He also added that the movie will go up to part five.

However, Kazadi dismissed the claim that the movie was sold for US$10 million. He said that he could unfortunately not reveal the exact amount it was sold for because of the confidential contract agreement he signed with a British distribution company.

He also said that Kazadi movies is currently working on a TV series called ‘The Secret Life of a slay queen (Diva)’ which involves local stories and that it shall be released soon.

Kazadi said that he is looking forward to the government through the National Arts council, Bank of Zambia – BOZ and the financial services industry to come up with policies that will enable tailored financing solutions to be developed.

There is need to step up the provision of financing Solutions that will provide a more conducive environment for the film industry in order for the country to make quality movies that can be recognized internationally.

Analysts say the Zambian public consumes more imported content or movies at the expense of local content which eventually is causing the currency to continue depreciating. Its in the long term interest of the country that policies are adopted that will lead to developing a robust local film industry.

0 Comments
0 likes

The Zambian financial services industry that includes

Markets

The Bank of Zambia – BOZ plans to buy up about 600 kilograms of Gold from the Zambia Gold Company in 2021 alone. The central bank has so far bought 47 kilograms of gold from ZCCM IH subsidiary – Zambia Gold company.

The US$36 million gold reserves value excludes gold that will be purchased via its second gold buying agreement with First Quantum Minerals – FQMs Kanshanshi Mine of Solwezi.

In an exclusive response to the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, BOZ stated that that they target to buy 600kgs of gold from Zambia Gold Company in 2021. The value of gold like most commodities varies with fluctuating market conditions.

To ensure that reserves reflect international best practice values, the value of gold purchased and held is reflected by the prevailing gold prices at the London Bullion Market Association – LBMA.

And research done by ZBT revealed that the current gold prices at LBMA are at about US$60 per gram, which translates the 600kg target to about US$36 million. This is a good start especially that it does not include the Kanshanshi gold, which should be able to at least double the values.

To ensure that there is no further leakage of forex, BOZ Assistant Director for Communication Besnat Mwanza told ZBT that “BOZ will be buying the gold in Kwacha which takes away the need to source dollars or forex to buy the gold”.

“Purchasing gold using local currency provides a sustainable avenue of international reserves accumulation and enhances investor confidence”, stated Mwanza.

Zambia is poised to become a notable gold producer after the discovery of size-able deposits at Kasenseli in Mwinilunga’s North Western province. Other provinces such as Central, Lusaka and Eastern are also producing gold at small scale level, with prospects for large scale mining under various feasibility study stages.

The building up of gold reserves is expected to provide a buffer that can support the local currency – the Kwacha which has perpetually been shading value against international convertible currencies such as the US dollar.

But there is need for a more aggressive gold buying program from BOZ that can secure at least three months import cover of gold reserve value over in the medium term (in about 3 years).

Holding of say three months import cover of gold reserves in addition to US dollar cash reserves currently held is likely to scare away foreign currency market speculators as well as smooth out local currency depreciation pressure.

0 Comments
0 likes

The Bank of Zambia - BOZ plans

Agribusiness

Large chain stores in Zambia, especially the those supplied by Freshmark have been accused of shunning locally produced avocados, preferring to import from their home country when locally produced ones are even much more superior.

In an interview with Zambian Business Times- ZBT Chairman of Avocado Association of Zambia Goodson Kalolo said that “Zambia has good quality avocados and what we are producing is far much better than what is currently being imported from South Africa.

Kalolo added that,” Even the second grade being produced in Zambia is far much better than the second grade from South Africa. He disclosed that Zambian farmers has adopted a special type of avocados which are called ‘hass avocados’ which is recognized by the whole world. Kalolo said that, it is hard to sell avocados to super markets because they import from South Africa.

Kalolo explained that, there is a company called ‘FreshMark’ that imports fruits and avocados from South Africa on behalf on super markets and that the company is behind the locking of the market for Zambian produce. He said that, Freshmark occasionally buy some avocados from local farmers but they only buy first grade.

He disclosed that, the Zambian second grade is far much better than the South African second grade that is being imported. Kalolo said that,” the government must put its foot down and stop importing avocados from South Africa and start buying from us local farmers instead.”

He explained that, there is no crop that can beat avocado in Zambia but it has little recognition since only few farmers are venturing into it and that the rest shun it because of lack of access to the middle and high end market in chain stores across the country. Efforts to get a comment from Freshmark proved futile by press time.

Furthermore, he disclosed that, the whole world is interested in avocado and that Mexico is a leading country which produces 2 million tons of avocado which they intern sell to America and that it is still not enough because America’s demand for avocado is very high.

Avocado is a fruit that is a fruit which is on high demand especially in European and US countries. This is because it contains a lot of nutrients like Potassium, fiber but to mention a few.

According to research, people who eat avocados tend to be healthier than people who don’t and apart from that, it also contains Antioxidants that protects the eyes.

Over the years, some Zambian farmers gained interest in growing avocado after realizing that it is on high demand, but unfortunately, there is little or no market for Zambian avocado farmers because super markets in Zambia prefer to import avocados from South Africa.

Kalolo disclosed that,” three years ago, word went around that Zambia is producing the best avocados and people from all over the word started coming to see what we were producing.

He added that,” people were impressed when they saw that indeed Zambia produces good quality avocados but were again disappointed because they were producing in small quantities and that’s when we were just starting.”

Kalolo said that, the people who came to confirm that has indeed good quality avocados said that Zambia has great potential to export but that it could only be done if they started producing in high quantity.

He said that, avocados can help boost Zambia’s economy just like in Kenya. Kalolo added that, Kenya at the moment is Africa’s leading avocado producing country and that the Kenyan government buys avocados from small scale farmers which is then exported.

Kalolo said that,” many farmers in Kenya have chosen to uproot coffee and tea trees in order to accommodate avocado trees because they have good market. Zambia can also take a leaf and support its locally grown avocados.

0 Comments
0 likes

Large chain stores in Zambia, especially the

Lifestyle

Carnival Furnishers has confirmed that it has lined up a big promotion that customers should take advantage of for this year’s Black Friday event.

Black Friday is a day that most people get to buy goods and products at lower prices and that’s because a lot of shop owners sell their products and goods at deep discounted prices which could range mostly from 25 to 50%.

The year 2020 brought about a lot of economic challenges due to covid-19. Zambia’s economy has been negatively affected, starting from the over 60% Kwacha depreciation within one year with many retail outlets having been shut for a period of over three months.

A lot of business have been negatively affected and with growing sentiment among business owners that business will only pick up next year because they made huge losses this year. And it is for this reason that many people have been wondering if business owners will participate in this year’s black Friday.

In an exclusive interview with Zambian Business Time-ZBT, Carnival Furnishers Regional Manager Josei Kabir said that Carnival Furnishers has experienced challenges this year due to covid-19 and that they are doing everything possible to make up for the losses.

Kabir said that,” Carnival will be holding black Friday sells and that will help us to make up for the losses and running the promotions will also give us more exposer with the Zambian audience.”

In another exclusive interview with ZBT, Economic Association of Zambia – EAZ President Lubinda Habaazoka said that, it will be wise for business owners to hold black Friday sells because in that way, they will be able to get rid of old stock, and also make profit based on their economic scale because no business makes losses on black Friday.

Black Friday, which is an international retail sales promotion day has gained prominence even in Zambia over the years. Most local businesses have also joined to offer promotional prices, making the day special for retail businesses.

0 Comments
0 likes

Carnival Furnishers has confirmed that it has

Tech

The expansion of the road network and construction of additional fly over bridges or traffic circles has led to decongestion of traffic on many key transit routes in Lusaka which has been appreciated by many.

But one exception had been the Alick Nkhata road bridge. This bridge is on record to have been referred to as a “death trap” by the government’s own Local Government Permanent Secretary – Ed Chomba who was almost fired to calling the bluff. A majority of road users had earlier expressed concern which led to the PS visit then.

And after many pleas from the general public, the Public Service Pension Fund – PSPF who are the contractors of the adjacent mixed use complex have decided to remodel and reconstruct the controversial bridge. This was after initially denying and defending the structure as being fit and proper.

But the Engineering Institution of Zambia – EIZ which acted as the whistle blower using their professional standing have expressed concern that the remodeling and reconstruction has not been done in consultation with relevant and key stakeholders.

In an exclusive interview with Zambian Business Times – ZBT, new EIZ President Abel Ng’andu said that the reconstruction of the Alick Nkhata bridge has nothing to do with EIZ and that the institute is not aware of what is currently taking place at the bridge.

Ng’andu said that “the geometrical design of the bridge is not correct and it is for this reason that we have written letters to meet up with the contractors at the bridge on 30 December 2020 in order for us to let them know our position concerning the bridge.”

He added that there is no way that such a decision of reconstruction the bridge should be made without engaging relevant authorities of the decision. The EIZ President stressed that they will only disclose their position concerning the bridge next week Monday after their meeting.

The EIZ had also raised alarm on the ZNBS building on Cairo road which also attracted a rebuttal from the contractor and consulting engineers on the project. The concern was that the structure has developed cracks in the columns which needed urgent attention.

Members of the public have raised concern that some of the contractors and consulting engineers seem to be “too connected” to an extent that they are basically using such projects to syphon money from the treasury.

The government has been urged to ensure that the government officers that issued these tenders, the construction companies responsible for these two projects and the approving engineers that certified these works are made accountable.

Proper investigations should be initiated to unearth why some top government officials have been defending clearly “wrong things” when even members of the public have been calling for corrective action.

0 Comments
0 likes

The expansion of the road network and

Lifestyle

The wanton adoption of western or some refer to it as ‘American fast food’ diets is one of the major contributors to the increase in cancer cases in Zambia.

According to research, Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body and there over a 100 types of cancers.

Many people over the past few years have been diagnosed with cancer in Zambia and also across the world. The numbers have become alarming and the cause for some of the cancers are still not known.

In an exclusive Interview with Zambian Business Times – ZBT, University Teaching Hospital (UTH) Cancer Senior Superintendent Doctor Lewis Banda said that, some of the cancers that Zambians have is caused by bad living habits.

Dr. Banda disclosed that most Zambians now follow the Western diet which has a lot of fat and possess a lot of health risks. He added that, people should instead stick to the African or Zambian diet which is good and has less fats and more vegetables in it.

He explained people don’t exercise enough neither do they eat healthy, thus they end up having cancer. However, he disclosed that the cause for most cancers like breast and prostate are yet not known, but that for cancers like cervical cancer, the reason behind it is known.

Banda said that cervical cancer can be prevented especially in young girls by them staying away from sex as well as staying away from having multiple sexual partners. He urged women to go for screening so as to start early treatment if found with cancer, and that so far, all cancer treatments at UTH are free.

Furthermore, Dr. Banda disclosed that genetically modified organism(GMO) have not been directly proved to cause cancer like most people think, and that no one has ever proved that allegation. He added that, a lot of food in Zambia do not have GMO’S and thus people just have to mind what they eat and should try and avoid eating too much junk food.

0 Comments
0 likes

The wanton adoption of western or some

Markets

The Bank of Zambia (BOZ) has dispelled allegations suggesting that the central bank and the Ministry of Finance are working on a Statutory Instrument (SI) to ban the holding of foreign currency accounts in commercial banks by individual and private corporates in Zambia.

But the institution has not taken any technical or legal action against the originators and perpetrators of the allegations, a move that may suggest that this matter may have been a subject under discussion. If this matter was serious enough to warrant the Central banks response as they did, they should ideally have asked for a retraction of the report, failure to which, taken legal action.

And BOZ Head of Corporate Communications Besnart Mwanza said the bank’s utmost priority is to play its role and help restore macroeconomic stability and revive economic growth in the midst of a challenging economic environment that has been significantly impacted by the COVID 19 Pandemic.

According to information made available to Zambian Business Times-ZBT, Mwanza explained that the exchange rate policy in Zambia will continue to be founded on a market-determined exchange rate as this is the most appropriate way in which economic imbalances are resolved.

She said such unsubstantiated reports mislead the public and if left unchallenged, have the potential to cause panic and destabilize the financial sector and the economy as a whole.

She added that reports of this nature also have the potential to tarnish the image of the country, both locally and abroad therefore members of the public are urged to treat such reports as false and unfounded. The Bank of Zambia has also urged members of the public to use social media responsibly and desist from circulating false news.

Another option available to BOZ is to work with ZICTA, a government agency which had announced in 2019 that they now have a way of tracing the perpetrators of miss-information on social media.

The Zambian government had introduced mandatory SIM card registration of mobile phones and acquired security and high tech equipment and resources capable of tracing the originators of any abuse that may be deemed detrimental to the overall economy of the country.

0 Comments
0 likes

The Bank of Zambia (BOZ) has dispelled

Companies

The Zambian Breweries (ZB) has confirmed that there is a shortage of alcoholic beverages on the Zambian market due to the disruption in the supply chain that was caused by the outbreak of the corona virus pandemic.

ZB Director of Corporate Affairs Ezekiel Sekele said this is as a result of some of the alcoholic beverages that come into Zambia from South Africa not being imported due to South Africa closing its borders during the Covid 19 pandemic.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with Zambian Business Times-ZBT, Sekele said some finished products and raw materials are beginning to come into the country but not to the extent that the company would like and this is because South Africa has to fill up its market place and attend to its challenges before fully concentrating on exporting.

Sekele said the company is doing its best to meet the required production levels, working beyond its capacity at the moment trying to ensure that the whole market is stable and consumers are able to choose from a variety of products and is also trying to ensure that the gaps in the market place are managed and reduced.

“We are producing more than we were producing in the previous months and we are working 24/7, we are producing at full capacity. Because of the supply chain disruption experienced in the last six months and with the percentage of imports not coming in, instead of people getting the different choices of local and imported products available, they are only getting mosi, castle, eagle so the demand on the ZB locally produced products has increased, he said.”

He also said that another challenge is the fact that Zambia does not produce glass and the company had put in procurement plans for the whole year but some of the suppliers from the countries where glass is imported from were not operating, so ZB couldn’t get enough glass coming into the country.

“We have been engaging the government to have Kapiri Glass Product to start operating, if there can be an investor who can invest in this company and produce the necessary equipment that will allow us to tap into the market, we will create a market for glass and stop importing, he said.”

He also noted that when there are issues of demand and supply variances in business, some people may engage in unfair business practices such as increasing prices and that is called price abuse.

Sekele said he was aware that some retailers have increased the price which is not right and they should be reported to the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) which is the relevant authority.

He also explained that ZB sells at the Recommended Retail Price (RRP) and can only recommend prices to resellers but if they decide to increase prices, they should be able to pay the incremental tax to Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) but most of them are not doing that.

Sekele mentioned that this year around April, May, June and July, in line with the Ministry of Health guidelines, the company was encouraging it’s consumers to drink from home, therefore a lot of stock of containers are sitted in people’s homes and now that demand has gone up, ZB is running a campaign called Chinja Bottle.

Members of the public who have empty crates and bottles are being encouraged to have them exchanged for money in a bid for Zambian Breweries to collect some of its containers. He commended government for allowing the company to operate even though it was not producing optimally; the company was not completely shut down.

0 Comments
0 likes

The Zambian Breweries (ZB) has confirmed that

Markets

The Bank of Zambia – BOZ Governor Chris Mvunga has stated that the central bank is working on finding a lasting solution the Kwacha, which has in the last few weeks shed value.

Mvunga who replaced Denny Kalyalya stated during the presentation of the monetary committee (MPC), that the committee at its November 16-17, 2020, meeting, decided to maintain the monetary policy rate at 8% to moderate risks to financial stability and growth.

He stated that the decision to hold the rate at 8% also allows monetary policy measure taken earlier in the year to take full effect. This is despite projections indicating that inflation will persist above the 6-8% target range throughout the forecast horizon.

Mvunga said that the economic global activity is showing signs of recovery as economies partially reopen and policy stimulus measures begin to take effect. He said that, in less contraction of 4.4% is projected in 2020 than earlier projection of 4.95%.

He explained that, a strong rebound in global growth is projected in 2021, supported largely by policy stimulus measures. Mvunga said that, the recovery is still expected to be protracted and highly uncertain over the medium-term due to the impact of income losses on aggregate demand, rising sovereign debt and subdued commodity prices.

The Governor explained that the risks to global growth remain tilted to the downside due to high degree of uncertainty surrounding the evolution of the pandemic as well as the speed of delivering a vaccine.

He disclosed that, after rising steadily for six successive months’ quarters, annual overall inflation decelerated to an average of 15.7% in the third quarter from 16.1% in the preceding quarter. Mvunga said that this was due to improved supply of maize grain and related products and that on account of food, inflation declined to 15.2% from 16.9%.

However, he said that non-food inflation rose to 16.2% from 15.1% largely due to depreciation of the kwacha. He also added that, the recent readings of inflation points to a resurgence in inflationary pressure and that in October, inflation rose to 16% from15.7% in September largely reflecting the weakening of the kwacha.

Mvunga explained that the kwacha depreciation against other major trading partner country currencies, albeit at a slower pace mainly on account of increased foreign exchange market interventions by Bank of Zambia. He added that, against the US dollar, the kwacha weakened by 3.3% to an average of K18.94 per US$ in the third quarter and closed the quarter at K20.02 per 1US$.

Furthermore, he said that, currently, subdued foreign exchange supply amidst increased demand has continued to underlie the market. He added that, the reduction in the supply of foreign exchange market is partly due to a slowdown in global economic activity, which has adversely affected capital flows. Mvunga heightened demand for foreign exchange is mainly for the importation of agriculture inputs and petroleum products.

Mvunga said that with the increased net foreign exchange sales for market support coupled with debt service, gross international reserves declined by US$111.8 million to US$1,321.2 million (equivalent to 2.3 million of import cover) at End-September form US$, 433.0 million at End-June (equivalent to 2.3 months). He explained that despite the decline, on the level of reserves, the month cover unchanged due to the drop in imports of goods and services attributed to the subdued economic activity and the depreciation of the kwacha.

He disclosed that, it is noted that imbalances in the economy remain and that inflationary pressures have persisted, growth is anaemic and fragilities in the financial sector have abated. He added that due to what’s on ground, the MPC considered three options which are: raising, reducing or maintaining the policy rate. Mvunga said that with the inflation on the rise, conventionally, raising the policy rate in an effort to control inflation would have been expected.

However, Mvunga explained that, doing so, in an already depressed economic situation, would result in further contraction in economic activity and threaten the stability of the financial sector and on the other hand, reducing the policy rate in an attempt to give further support to the economy may put additional pressure on the exchange rate in a supply-constrained environment.

He disclosed that considering all the factors, including the significant reduction in the policy rate by 350 basis points in 2020, and allow monetary policy measures to take full effect, the MPC decided to maintain the policy rate unchanged at 8.05.

Mvunga said that, the policy will be guided by inflation forecasts, outcomes, and identified risks, including those associated with financial stability and the COVID-19 pandemic.

0 Comments
0 likes

The Bank of Zambia - BOZ Governor

Companies

It is said that PEOPLE are the greatest resource that a nation can have, and its the business activities and innovations of especially the local people that eventually lead to a country’s attaining the much desired development.

The trend and number of Zambians forming and registering companies has continued to show considerable improvement. It is the locals innovativeness and business vehicles such as number of registered companies and their success rate that will eventually lead to improved exports earnings as well as industrialization.

According to information obtained by the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, the Patents and Companies Registration Agency (PACRA) says it has registered over 25,000 businesses which include 15,435 business names, 67 foreign companies as well as 9,893 local companies from January this year to the 17 of November, 2020.

PACRA Public Relations Officer Vaida Njovu said the agency is hopeful that it will be able to register at least 28,000 businesses before the end of the year in order to beat last year’s total number of registered businesses which is 28,000.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with Zambian Business Times-ZBT, Njovu said over 68,900 businesses have complied with the legal requirement of filing annul returns which is almost double the number of businesses that filed annual returns in 2019.

Njovu said this increase can be attributed to the availability of the online system which makes it easy for businesses to file their annual returns as it has made services easily accessible even for individuals in remote parts of the country.

She added that the agency has continued to send reminders to businesses whose annual returns are due and is also very interactive through its various media platforms in an effort to increase compliance levels from its clients.

She also said that no businesses were de-registered by PACRA unless voluntarily, this is on request from the owners who applied to have their businesses deregistered for various reasons.

Njovu explained that the agency does not thrive on de-registering businesses but rather on seeing more being opened up, growing and contributing to the economic development therefore it focuses more on measures that will help keep the businesses running.

She added that the filing of annual returns is very critical for a business because other than it being a legal requirement, it shows the status of a business at that particular time of filing and the public also relies on the information that is on PACRA’s system.

“For example Zambia Development Agency (ZDA) wants to know how many businesses are registered in the aqua culture, they might ask for our data base so we will give it to them as is sitting on our registry, so if a business has changed their address and did not inform PACRA, they may end up losing out on certain incentives or critical communication that may be offered by government or other industry players, she said.”

0 Comments
0 likes

It is said that PEOPLE are the