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Companies

The Zambia National Commercial Bank – ZANACO acting Chief Executive Officer Lishala Situmbeko  has confirmed that the Bank’s clients has started tapping into the K10 billion facility and is giving relief packages to its customers that have been negatively hit by the Covid – 19 outbreak.

Situmbeko has told the Zambian Business Times – ZBT in an exclusive interview that ZANACO is availing funds on its normal credit process and conditions, given that the whole lending environment is regulated and following the guidance given.

“Right now, we are focusing on helping our customers by giving them cash flows especially those hit negatively, however we are making sure that funds are available but I cannot mention how many have so far applied or to what percentage is this process being done,” he added.

Situmbeko has also noted the need to strengthen Zambian businesses by gaining extra support from customers to enable the business community deal with the current problems arising from the Covid – 19 pandemic.

He said it is important to not only concentrate on the lending side but also ensure that the behavior of customers meet satisfactions of commercial banks.

BOZ introduced a K10 billion Medium- Term Refinancing Facility (stimulus package) to enable Financial Service Providers (FSPs) support businesses and households that are being impacted by COVID-19.

The ministry of finance further indicated that the facility is only available to individuals and businesses through their respective FSPs, however priority is to support sectors that will propel economic recovery and stimulate private sector led growth.

BOZ has explained that sectors identified in the 7NDP such as the agriculture, manufacturing, energy and tourism are priority and will receive 60% of the facility while the rest of the sectors shall access the remaining 40%. BOZ Governor Denny Kalyalya however stated that there has been no disbursements yet, though about 30% of the applications from the various FSPs have been approved.

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The Zambia National Commercial Bank - ZANACO

Agribusiness

Millers Association of Zambia (MAZ) President, Andrew Chintala, during an exclusive interview with the Zambian Business Times – ZBT has confirmed that “Millers are ready and have started buying maize”.

Chintala stated that “we can only appeal to the small scale farmers to encourage them to take advantage of the market which the millers are offering as long as they reach the 12.5% moisture content in their grain, they are more than welcome to approach any miller because we have already started buying the grain and they are assured to get a fair price as we are offering quite competitive prices.”

On 27 May,2020. Minister of Agriculture Michael Katambo held a media briefing on the Crop Forecast Survey and Food Security Status for 2020/2021 Marketing Season where he announced that Zambia is expected to harvest 3.4 million tonnes of maize this year. This price is thought of more as a floor price but delays by FRA to pay cash on delivery lowers the actual market price on the ground.

MAZ however stated that it will respect the principles of free market economy, which is supply and demand to come at play because only that will determine the actual value of the commodity and at what price it will be trading at on the open market.

Chintala added that , the association doesn’t encourage anyone to make any interventions that will influence  the market as it starts, because any interventions that can be made at any level may bring about distortion in the market.

Chintala further said in terms of price stability, looking at the stock figures that the minister announced, it is clear that, millers are assured of the stable  supply of the commodity and if there’s price stability in the input supply of the maize to millers they will definitely be stability in the output price of mealie meal.

And prices will remain relatively stable due to the fact that the supply will meet the demand. “Prediction is that the prices will remain stable because of the high production yields that have been recorded.” He added.

In relation to ensuring that smuggling of the commodity is taken care of, MAZ needs to formalize trade, to monitor everything that goes out of the country and be able to account for it.

In conclusion Chintala said, “It is imperative that government quickly engages the appropriate players as Minister of Agriculture stated, to meet to look at how we can formalize the trade between Zambia and neighboring countries where we could have the market for the surplus crop because that’s the only way to take care of smuggling. If boarders are kept closed for trade, people will look for alternative ways to export the surplus of the commodity.”

Analyst say the price of mealie meal has had some stability mainly due to the enforcing of the tripartite agreement but it remains to be seen if a revised one will be signed off to ensure that prices are stabilized.

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Millers Association of Zambia (MAZ) President, Andrew

Agribusiness

The Food Reserve Agency – FRA has announced that it will maintain the purchase price in the 2019/2020 crop marking season and purchase a K50Kg bag of white Maize at K110 and has fixed the price of a 50Kg bag of Soya beans at K150 and Paddy rice at K70 for a 40Kg bag.

Ministry of Agriculture had two weeks ago directed FRA to outline its plans for the 2020 crop marketing season and avail to the public its buying price for maize and other designated commodities.

And FRA Executive Director Chola Kafwabulula has explained that in arriving at determined prices for 2020, the Agency acknowledged that this year is unique in nature and notes the urgent need to replenish the strategic grain reserves from a dynamic grain market obtaining locally and in the region.

The Agency is also expected to purchase 1 million metric tonnes of maize for the national reserves, indicating a surplus increase of more than 710,000 metric tonnes, from the usual purchase annual purchase of 500,000 metric tonnes.

Speaking at a media briefing in Lusaka on May 29, 2020, Kafwabulula said it is anticipated that the FRA prices shall not disadvantage the private sector who are expected to purchase the larger share of the 3.4 million metric tons produced in the case of maize.

He said FRA undertook a process of crop price scenario analysis that includes a survey of the prevailing farm gate and open market prices, indicative crop gross margin budgets taking care of input costs in relation to commercial pricing and the subsidy beneficiaries of the government farmer input support programme (FISP).

The agency since wishes to remind and urge farmers to adhere to the general practice of ensuring they clean the maize at their farmsteads to avoid congestion at the FRA depots.

“I wish to also implore all FRA personnel and other stakeholders to uphold rationality, prudence, transparency and accountability for public resources that have been entrusted in our charge,” He added

Agriculture Minister Michael Katambo had last week announced that this year’s maize production is forecast to increase to about 3.4 million, up from about 2 million metric tonnes produced last season presenting an increase of 69%.

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The Food Reserve Agency – FRA has

Companies

The Zambia Railways Limited – ZRL passenger train operations remain suspended until further notice. ZRL public relations head, Caristo Chitamfya in an exclusive interview with the Zambian Business Times – ZBT confirmed that “the passenger service operations remain suspended till further notice as the railway company is monitoring the Corona virus situation.

Chitamfya however stated that freight services and the cargo train is still running. He stated that for the passenger services to resume operations, the company will have to get guidance and clearance from from the Ministry of Health.

The Zambia Railways passenger train suspended all services on 6 April 2020 in consultation with the Ministry of Transport and Communication as well as the Ministry of Health.

Zambia Railways Limited, apart from Tazara is the only company that provides the lowest cost mode of transport in Zambia and its suspended passenger services has affected many people who especially in rural and Peru-urban areas who solely rely on travelling with the railway company on cost consideration.

ZRL operates ordinary trains, namely the Zambezi and Kafue trains, which run between Livingstone and Kitwe. The travel classes offered on the ordinary trains are business, sleeper, standard and economy classes.

It also has what is referred to as mixed trains, such as the Mulobezi mixed train which operates between Livingstone and Mulobezi. The train moves both passengers and livestock. The other is the parcels service, where the railway company Zambia provides a service for conveyancing of parcels or unaccompanied luggage.

ZRL was privately held from 2003 to 2012 and was repossessed by government in September 2012 with the aim of making the rail firm the main carrier of bulk cargo and passengers. There has been some progress on bulk cargo service but revamping of the passenger service has little to write home about as the service remains erratic with speed remaining one of the challenges.

In May 2019, ZRL confirmed that it had invested about US$15 in million to procure state of the art signal and communication equipment as derailment of locomotives was the biggest challenge that the company faced in the past, it remains to be seen if this company will be able to revamp its operations and become profitable.

The company has of late concentrated its efforts on its estate business segment, calling on removal and demolition of buildings along the railway line when its core mandate is to revamp the passenger and freight train services.

Analyst argue that if the Railways lines were busy, do you think that people can even start constructing near the lines? Trains have strong vibrations when traveling at the right speeds which in itself can deter people from building near them. There is need to see the passenger and freight services become more competitive and offer a low cost option for freighting.

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The Zambia Railways Limited - ZRL passenger

Lifestyle

The Zambia Chambers of Commerce and Industry – ZACCI immediate past president Micheal Nyirenda has passed away. In a notice to members made available to the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, ZACCI stated that its saddened by the death of its past president.

Michael Nyirenda served as ZACCI President from 2017 to 2019 while representating the Association of Building and Civil Engineering Contractors ( ABCEC) within the apex body of the private sector.

He sat on the ZACCI board from 2015 – 2017 before taking on the leadership role in 2017. The Zambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry – ZACCI is the umbrella organization representing businesses across the country and across all sectors of the country.

Nyirenda showed commitment and contributed heavily to industry advocacy, was as prominent participant in the private sector and the business community. He will be greatly missed. MHSRIP stated Nyirenda.

ZACCI was established in 1993 and registered on 11 October 1990 with the mandate of advocating an environment that promotes business growth. The chamber promotes cooperation between the public sector and business as the foundation for building an economy which creates employments and equitable wealth and the back-bone of such an economy is a diverse and resilient Small and Medium Enterprise Sector.

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The Zambia Chambers of Commerce and Industry

Markets

Zambia has for the second consecutive month recorded a trade surplus valued at K2.2 billion in April 2020, up from K359 million recorded in March 2020, indicating a 521% increase. The trade surplus means that Zambia exported more than it imported in the months of March and April 2020.

Indications from the statistics shows that the covid 19 effect of chocking consumer goods imports from South Africa may have had a bigger effect trade balance and enabling Zambia to record these consecutive trade surpluses.

Zambia Statistics Agency – ZamStats has announced that exports which mainly comprise domestically produced goods increased by 4.7% from K8.5 billion in March 2020 to K8.9 billion in April 2020.

Speaking a media briefing monitored by the Zambian Business Times – ZBT on May 28, 2020, ZamStats Interim Statistician General Mulenga Musepa explained that the increase in exports is mainly due to a 7.6% increase in intermediate goods (mainly copper and copper related products) exports earnings to K7.7 billion, up from K7.3 billion in March 2020.

He said imports decreased by 18% from about K8.2 billion in March 2020 to K6.7 billion in April 2020 and that the decrease in imports was mainly as a result of a 45% and 20% decrease in imports of Consumer goods. Zambia’s biggest consumer goods trading partner is South Africa.

He added that the total goods traded from January 2020 to April 2020 increased by about 6% to K63 billion, up from about K59 billion in the same period of 2019.

Meanwhile, Traditional Exports (mainly copper) earnings increased by about 10% from K6.4 billion in March 2020 to about K7 billion in April 2020, and in terms of share in total exports, Copper accounted for 79% of total export revenue earnings in April 2020.

Musepa also disclosed that share in total Non-Traditional Exports- NTEs (non copper exports) decreased by 12% from K2.1 billion in March 2020 to K1.9 billion in April 2020 and that in terms of share in exports, NTEs recorded a 21% in April 2020.

“Refined copper exports earnings during April 2020 rose by 8.4% to K6.7 billion in April 2020 from K6.2 billion in March 2020. And Refined Copper export volumes during April 2020 rose by 2.6% to about 74,000 tons.

And on the international commodity prices, the London Metal Exchange – LME copper prices also decreased by 2.5% to US$5,048 per ton in April 2020 from US$ 5,178 per ton in March 2020,” He added.

President Lungu has directed the finance and trade ministers to engage the major chain stores in Zambia that include Pick n Pay, Choppies, Shoprite, Spur etc with the view of increasing the proportion of locally manufactured goods with the aim of import substituting some product lines to save on forex outflow.

A committee was constituted, headed by Assistant Secretary to the treasury – Christopher Mvunga that includes the Zambia Association of Manufacturers – ZAM, the Zambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry – ZACCI, Zambia National Farmers Union – ZNFU among others but its results are yet to be made public.

The Zambian Business Times – ZBT has been informed that the process is more complex than meets the eye as some companies which are heavily marketed as local manufacturers have products which are low on local content to levels of even below 20%. More on this to follow…

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Zambia has for the second consecutive month

Markets

Inflation pressures have persisted in the second quarter of 2020, with the year- on-year (annual) inflation rate for May 2020 increasing to 16.6%, up from 15.7% recorded in April 2020.

Zambia has for the past months continued to record an increase in inflation rate mostly driven by the lagged effects of the increase in retail fuel pump price and electricity tariffs, as well as the pass-through from the notable depreciation of the Kwacha against the US dollar resulting in imported products price hikes.

Meanwhile, the Bank of Zambia – BoZ has maintained that although the projected path for inflation is higher than the February 2020 MPC forecast horizon, it is expected to trend towards the upper bound of the 6-8% medium-term target range at the end of the forecast horizon.

And speaking at a briefing monitored by the Zambian Business Times – ZBT on May 28, 2020, Zambia Statistics Agency – ZamStats Interim Statistician General Mulenga Musepa has explained that the increase in the May 2020 annual inflation rate means that on average, prices of goods and services increased by 16.6% between May 2019 and May 2020.

He has disclosed that the increase in the annual inflation rate was attributed to price increase in both food and non-food items. Musepa said the food inflation increased to 17.5% from 17.0% of last month and the increase was mainly attributed to increase in prices of food items such as Fish Fillet steak, Mixed cut, Beef, Sausage, Dried bream, Frozen fish, Bukabuka and oils such as Cooking oil, Margarine and Butter. Other foods like table salt and Soups also recorded increased prices.

He added that the non-food inflation increased to 15.5% from 14.2% and the increase in the annual non-food inflation was mainly attributed to price increases in items such as Charcoal, Household Textiles, Soaps, and Pharmaceutical products.

And on provincial level, Northern Province recorded the highest annual inflation at 12.0% followed by Lusaka Province at 18.5%. North-Western province has the lowest contribution of 0.5% percentage points.

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Inflation pressures have persisted in the second

Agribusiness

Agriculture Minister Micheal Katambo has announced this year’s maize production is forecast to increase to 3,387,469 from 2,004,389 metric tonnes produced last season presenting an increase of 69 percent.

The minister has also disclosed that the country has a maize carry-over stock amounting to 179,247 metric tonnes as at May 1, 2020 therefore the total supply of maize available for the 2020/2021 marketing season is 3,566,716 metric tonnes.

Speaking at media briefing in Lusaka on March 27, 2020 attended by the Zambian Business Times- ZBT, Katambo said the increase in maize production is largely attributed to favorable weather, the early delivery of inputs under the Farmer Input Support Programme and the renewable confidence in growing maize.

He added that the ministry has this year factored in a purchase target of 1,000,000 metric tonnes for the Food Reserve Agency’s buying target with a surplus of more than 710,000 metric tonnes from the usual purchase of 500,000 metric tonnes.

He said despite factoring in the higher FRA maize purchase target, the country has still managed to record a maize surplus of over 210,000 metric tonnes in 2020 implying that the country is food secure and will remain as such for the next year to come provided smuggling is controlled.

“With a projected population of over 17 million people, the total maize required is 3,356,617 metric tonnes and these are broken down as 1,603,383 metric tonnes for human consumption, 1,000,000 metric tonnes for strategic food reserves and 409,018 metric tonnes for industrial requirements. Taking into account all the requirements and post harvest losses, the country is expected to have a surplus of 210,099 metric tonnes, “ He said

Katambo also mentioned that small and medium scale farmers are expected to contribute up to 93 percent or 3,160,185 metric tonnes of the total maize production while the large scale farmers are expected to produce 227,284 metric tonnes of maize or 7 percent of the total maize production.

He said the ministry is currently facilitating the export of 83,000MT of early maize which is both expensive and is not required on the local market, however, the early maize and humanitarian related exports will have no bearing on national food security.

The ministry has since pledged to focus on enhancement of productivity particularly for small scale farmers adding that the ministry’s major thrust is to ensure production increases to a minimum of 4 tonnes per hectare through the promotion of good agriculture practices.

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Agriculture Minister Micheal Katambo has announced this

Mining

The Zambian Government has confirmed that Gold producing companies such as Kansanshi Mines Plc and Lumwana Mines are not currently compelled to sell their gold to Bank of Zambia – BOZ.

Mine permanent secretary Barnaby Mulenga stated that the though the current policy tasks ZCCM-IH Plc to be involved in the opening of new gold mines at small and large scale levels, this has not been fully realized.

He confirmed that the new policy was approved by the Government in October 2019. After the Policy, the legislative changes are required to implement the policy in full because before that, there is no legal basis to compel a mine licence holder to sell the Gold to ZCCM-IH Plc.

In line with the Policy, Cabinet on Wednesday 20th May 2020 approved a proposal from the Minister of Mines and Minerals Development, Richard Musukwa, for the Mines and Minerals Development Act to be amended.

The reason for that decision of Cabinet is because there is an acknowledgment that a Policy on Gold alone will not work without the laws and regulations being aligned with the Policy, the amendment to the Act will enable full and legally backed policy implementation and also look at other gaps in the laws including improving monitoring and evaluation, licencing and other lucunas identified by stakeholders.

Public concerns have been building following now confirmed position that the country has sizeable gold deposits. No official report has been shared on the estimated total reserves held but calls for proper handling of gold deposits to pay off national debt and use the excess proceeds to fill the large infrastructure gap are growing louder.

It is also known that to pass laws in Zambia, the process is so gradual as there has to be various sittings, committee stages to follow and other bureaucratic procedures which may render this whole exercise to futility and leave the gold open to exploitation at the expense of the collective interests of the country.

Below is the full statement from the ministry of mines:

STATEMENT BY THE MINISTRY OF MINES AND MINERALS DEVELOPMENT OVER GOLD EXPLOITATION IN ZAMBIA AND THE ZCCM-IH PLC PARTNERSHIPS.

The following is the explanation on the various aspects raised as concerns by the public and the Ministry position on the matters.

1. Government Policy on Gold and the steps taken

Zambia is endowed with gold resources and the government remains committed to ensuring that gold deposits benefits the people of Zambia. Government has declared gold as a Strategic Mineral meant to allow all citizens benefit from its exploitation.

This means that gold must be differently handled compared to other Minerals in the country. In that vein, ZCCM-IH Plc has been mandated to coordinate efforts to purchase the gold from Artisanal miners and to also coordinate the gold trading business in Zambia.

ZCCM-IH Plc has also been tasked to partner with players in the sector (Small and Large Scale mining licence holders) to promote more gold mining. So far ZCCM-IH Plc has been establishing gold trading centres, which would afford the Artisanal Gold Miners an opportunity to sale their gold and the Ministry is involved in the fomalisation of the small scale and artisanal sector, to empower Citizens.

The Government Policy and the law i.e. the Mines and Minerals Development Act No. 11 of 2015, is that licences can be given to both Zambians and non-Zambians except for Artisanal Licences that are reserved exclusively for Zambian Citizens.

This policy has consistently been followed from the time that the Mine Privatization Policy was adopted in 1991. This means some licences are owned by foreigners, others jointly owned by Zambians and Foreigners while others are owned by Zambians only.

Almost 92% of all licences in Zambia are owned by Zambians. The government policy in mining is to encourage both Local and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the sector. Mining requires huge capital investment which prompts licence holders to borrow from Banks and other investors. Licence holders are free to use any lawful sources of capital available to them to achieve the licence conditions.

Government has not said that Gold will exclusively be mined, processed and handled by Zambians only or ZCCM-IH Plc only; instead the Policy is to ensure that all gold from Artisanal miners is bought through ZCCM-IH Plc to Bank of Zambia to build our strategic gold reserves as a nation.

The Policy also tasks ZCCM-IH Plc to be involved in the opening of new gold mines at small and large scale levels, hence the involvement in Kasenseli in Mwinilunga. The policy does not entail grabbing or expropriating existing gold licences from the holders in favour of ZCCM-IH Plc but rather encourage more gold mines to be established in the country whose gold production would end up with Bank of Zambia.

License holders are free to partner with ZCCM-IH Plc to exploit the gold resources. This Policy has not been fully realized because the law is yet to be amended to actualize the policy aspirations. This is why Gold producing companies such as Kansanshi Mines Plc are not currently compelled to sell the gold to Bank of Zambia.

This Policy was approved by the Government in October 2019. After the Policy, the legislative changes are required to implement the policy in full because before that, there is no legal basis to compel a mine licence holder to sell the Gold to ZCCM-IH Plc.

In line with the Policy, Cabinet on Wednesday 20th May 2020 approved a proposal from the Minister of Mines and Minerals Development, Hon. Richard Musukwa, MP for the Mines and Minerals Development Act to be amended.

The reason for that decision of Cabinet is because there is an acknowledgment that a Policy on Gold alone will not work without the laws and regulations being aligned with the Policy. The amendment to the Act will also look at other gaps in the laws including improving monitoring and evaluation, licencing and other lucunas identified by stakeholders.

As a Ministry, we welcome views from Zambians and Stakeholders on how the law can be enhanced to ensure we maximize our benefits as a people from the extractive sector.

As earlier alluded to, Government declared gold as a strategic mineral and that declaration will entail a specific law be prepared that will guide the ‘dos’ and the ‘donts’ tied to gold. The approval by Cabinet to amend the existing Mining law paves way for the completion of measures on this important topic so that the issues are further clarified through regulations.

The debate on gold is welcomed because it justifies why Government is moving the direction of amending the Mining laws to allow the policy on the declaration of gold as a strategic Mineral to be realised.

2. Status of Gold Exploration and Mining Licences in Zambia

There are a lot of gold occurrences in Zambia involving almost all Provinces. The gold occurrences and resources are more pronounced in Eastern Province, North-Western, Central and Lusaka Provinces.

Zambia is not fully mapped, meaning there are still areas of Zambia where we do not know what minerals are present at those locations. Gold exploration is even more difficult because in some areas the exploration may not yield promising results of sufficient gold mineralization to justify commercial exploitation.

What however sometimes happens is that people later discover substantial quantities of gold e.g. In Mwinilunga, Kasenseli area. Zambia currently has 3,666 Licences as at the end of the first quarter of 2020 broken down as follows:

Type of Licences and Number of Licences:

1. Artisanal Mining Rights 418
2. Small Scale Exploration Licence (SEL) 1,306
3. Large Scale Exploration Licence (LEL) 1,252
4. Small Scale Mining Licence (SML) 541
5. Large Scale Mining Licence (LML) 109
6. Mining Processing Licences (MPL) 40
TOTAL 3,666

3. Ministry’s position on the partnership of ZCCM-IH PLC with Karma Limited

ZCCM-IH Plc has partnered with Karma Limited, a company owned by Sudanese Nationals. Karma Limited set up a gold processing plant in Rufunsa at a cost of about USD$3.5Million. Later the company partnered with ZCCM-IH Plc.

That partnership has been actualised through a special purpose vehicle called the Consolidated Gold Company Zambia Limited (CGCZ). CGCZ has been granted a Mining Processing Licence in Rufunsa District where the company has approached two (2) Licence holders namely Chembe Gold Mine Limited and Sabi Gold Mine Limited.

The partnership is to use the mineral ore material from these mining companies to process gold. That partnership entails that 65% of the gold will be for CGCZ and 35% for the Licence holders.

Currently CGCZ has applied for another Mineral Processing Licence for Mumbwa where the company has approached a licence holder called Array Limited to utilize their mineral ore material. In other words, both CGCZ or Karma Limited are not undertaking any mining of the gold ore material but partnering with existing licence holders.

All the gold recovered through this partnership shall all be sold to Bank of Zambia – BOZ, as per government policy. Even though the Law on the declaration of Gold as a Strategic Mineral has not yet been concluded, the guarantee of securing the gold from this partnership comes from the contractual obligations of the parties and the directive to ZCCM-IH Plc by Government.

The partnership in Mumbwa involves Array Limited supplying gold ore for processing to CGCZ in Mumbwa and Karma will invest USD$2.5 Million for the establishment of the processing Plant. This is a commercial transaction in which a private licence holder (Array Limited) elected to partner with CGCZ for the mineral ore material to be processed by CGCZ.

The concept of partnering in business, is done for different reasons including the fact that one would like to mitigate the risks of not having the technology to process. As can be seen from the explanation above, this ZCCM-IH Partnership with Karma is for the purpose of establishing Gold Processing facilities in two sites namely Rufunsa and Mumbwa.

The processing facilities have partnered with 3 existing licence holders out of a total of 3,666 Licences in Zambia. The Government encourages several companies to invest in the mining sector and some have specialised only in processing materials such as Karma Limited, the subject of the current debate.

There are 39 other companies that have mineral processing licences over Tailings Dumps and other mine tenements. The Ministry has no objections to partnerships that ensure we increase the gold production because ultimately ALL THE GOLD FROM THE PARTNERSHIPS MUST END UP WITH THE BANK OF ZAMBIA.

Government and ZCCM-IH Plc have been learning from other countries that have high gold production in Africa. For example Ghana is the largest producer of gold in Africa, followed by South Africa and Sudan is third.

In 2018 for example, Ghana produced about 150,000 Kilogrammes of gold, South Africa produced 117,000 Kilogrammes while Sudan Produced 93,000 Kilogrammes. In the same year Zambia, produced about 4,000 Kilogrammes of Gold.

Zambia has a long history of being a copper producing country and can teach a lot of countries lessons on the skill of producing copper. Zambia also needs to learn valuable lessons from other African countries that have perfected gold production and recorded higher gold production figures, therefore lessons can be learnt from Sudan, through the Karma partnership.

4. Way forward over Gold in Zambia

Gold presents many opportunities for Zambians. It is our firm belief that the discovery of the many gold occurrences and resources in Zambia is a game changer for the country. Government through Cabinet has given directives over matters involving gold and as soon as the law declaring gold as a strategic mineral is finalized, several benefits will alight.

This gold will benefit the country greatly and offers the following opportunities for Zambia:
a. The Majority of the Zambians who own the licences (Almost 92%) can rise to the challenge and begin to mine or process whichever the case might be. This includes the option of approaching ZCCM-IH Plc to partner;
b. More Jobs and social economic development is expected in mining towns where the gold will be commercially exploited;
c. Zambian citizens granted Artisanal licences can continue to partner with ZCCM-IH Plc who will buy the gold nuggets recovered through their gold panning activities and the Ministry will continue to formalize the sector;
d. The trading of gold presents more opportunities for various Citizens to further benefit that will be further clarified as soon as the law declaring gold as a strategic Mineral is finalized.

In other words, we have learned from Ghana and Tanzania, where the trading of gold has created many jobs for the private sector such as gold dealers, gold brokers and separate users or miners that will all be registered by the Government as a regulator of the gold sector.

The partnerships of ZCCM-IH Plc are steps meant to realize the goal of recovering as much gold as possible. The 3 licence holders in Rufunsa and Mumbwa respectively, who have chosen to partner with CGCZ to supply mineral ore, out of a total number of 3,666 licence holders in Zambia, cannot reasonably be condemned as frustrating Zambia’s ability to benefit from Gold.

On the contrary such partnerships compliment efforts to account for all the gold in Zambia. The steps are not in any way an attempt to disadvantage Zambian Citizens but rather a positive move to learn from those who have experience in gold mining so that ultimately Gold is sold to the Bank of Zambia for use as strategic reserves for the Country.

Zambia shall remain a country committed to the promotion of both local and foreign investment in the mining sector.

Barnaby Bwalya Mulenga
Permanent Secretary
Ministry of Mines and Mines Development

24th May 2020

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The Zambian Government has confirmed that Gold

Tech

The National Technology Business Centre – NTBC has issued a grant of K100,000 for the production of low cost ventilators to help in the COVID 19 fight. The grant would also enable UNZA develop its ventilator prototypes and proceed from design stage into tangible actual ventilators as final products.

The grant presentation event held at Unza Confucius Institute attended by the Zambian Business Times – ZBT on 26 March, 2020 was made from the Technology Business Development Fund – TBDF. The total amount of funds held in the TBDF was not however availed but institutions are free to apply to access the fund.

In the UK, a similar innovation was announced by Cranfield University on 6 April 2020. The UK university stated that its experts had rapidly developed a simple, low-cost Bag Valve Mask (BVM) ventilator to help critically-ill COVID-19 patients.

The BVM ventilators though developed in the UK was later physically built from Georgia Tech (USA) in a matter of days. According to Cranfield University, the developed makeshift ventilator can serve two patients simultaneously and due to its flat-pack design, can be quickly manufactured at scale, costing less than US$100 (K1,800) per unit.

Speaking during the signing event of the grant, NBTC Director Dr. Kasase Chitundu stated that NTBC is honored to manage the TBDF on behalf of government and the Ministry of Higher Education in particular, as the award will go a long way in fighting COVID 19.

“We are aware that that the world is currently facing a  global novel corona virus pandemic which has not spared the country, the main challenges it has come with include management and treatment. Countries have turned to home grown solutions to stop the spread of COVID 19 and also managing the people infected by the virus”.

“When NTBC received an application from UNZA to support the development of three prototypes of medical ventilators, we did not hesitate to approve the award of the TBDF grant of K100,000”, he said.

He also congratulated the UNZA management and the team of technical experts at UNZA for coming up with home grown innovative design of medical ventilators.

And Minister of Higher Education Dr. Brian Mushimba said that his Ministry of higher is responsible for promoting science and innovation in Zambia and to make this possible, the ministry implements this by using institutions such as NTBC through TBDF.

“NTBC is mandated to transfer appropriate technologies which address various challenges through its statutory mandate. It is contributing towards the development of medical ventilators by UNZA in an effort to compliment government’s efforts through Ministry of Health to treat and manage COVID 19 patients”, he said.

Mushimba also stressed that the proposed design is technically feasible and top notch. He believes that UNZA and people behind this concept have the necessary skills, facilities and expertise to developed and produce the ventilators locally.

“In view of this. the Ministry is hopeful that the grant of K100,000 will go a long way in facilitating the production of ventilators, improvement on the medical ventilators, explore more efficient and cleaner methods of producing the technology and, ensuring preparedness of the sector in combating COVID 19″, he said.

The ventilators will be unique. They will have a solar battery system and also use normal source of power (from ZESCO), making it efficient and not be affected by load shedding.

Zambian Universities have been accused of heavily concentrating on teaching at the expense of research and development. This initiative marks a step for UNZA to challenge that negative narrative and contribute to delivering solutions for challenges facing the country.

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The National Technology Business Centre - NTBC