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Lifestyle

Tourism and Arts Minister Ronald Chitotela, has said that he wants the ministry to work with tourism operators to go onto big international media marketing platforms to attract more tourist arrivals into the country.

In a statement to the Zambian Business Times – ZBT by ministry of Tourism public relations officer Sakabilo Kalembwe, Chitotela who was speaking during a tour of Anambezi located in the Lower Zambezi National Park on November 11, 2019, where he is expected to have meetings with tour operators.

The tourism minister said showing Zambian tourism on channels like BBC, CNN and Electronic platforms would sell into a good share of the more than 700 million viewers that watch CNN and more than 6 billion people that access e-platforms. He added that there is need to also target the younger generation that now influence their parent’s decision on where to go for holiday making.

The Minister has since urged his Permanent Secretary, Amos Malupenga to engage the local tourism operators to seek support on meeting the advertising budget.

And a representative of the tour operators, Grant Cummings said private sector would be willing to come on board if the ministry came up with a good tourism-marketing plan. The Lower Zambezi is one of the four national parks that are highly visited by international tourists and major contributors to the Zambia’s tourism revenues.

The Lower Zambezi tourism offering has not been actively offering local Zambians attractive tourism packages which should be one of the agenda items so that the offering can be well appreciated across the country.

Some sections of society have welcomed the proposed copper mining in the Lower Zambezi National Park on the promise of better paying jobs for the locals when compared with the current jobs for lodge workers and tour guides.

The Lodge operators have been accused of making the offering exclusive and beyond the price points of local Zambians thereby making the tourism offering being barely unknown to a cross section of Zambians relative to other tourism hotspots like Livingstone and Siavonga.

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Tourism and Arts Minister Ronald Chitotela, has

Agribusiness, Markets

The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission – CCPC has noted with concern that the Poultry Association of Zambia – PAZ and Millers Association of Zambia – MAZ have continued to exhibit behavior of agreeing and subsequently announcing the prices of day old chicks and mealie-meal.

This development comes after PAZ and MAZ were cited of having issued media statements in which they announced the possible hike in the prices of day old chicks and mealie-meal on 28th and 29th October 2019 through the media which has been construed as price signaling.

In a statement availed to the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, CCPC Director, Restrictive Business Practices, Naomi Fulaza said the commission has found the conduct to be likely a violation of sections 8 and 9 of the Competition and Consumer Protection (CCPC) Act No. 24 of 2010, which clearly prohibits concerted practices and cartelistic conduct by players and members of the Associations.

She added that the commission also noted that the conduct by the two Associations signals price direction and creates anticipation on the market which is unnecessary and may distort independent decision making on pricing of day old chicks and mealie-meal by individual market players.

Fulaza further stated that both PAZ and MAZ have cases before the CCPC tribunal relating to similar conduct. She said the commission has since warned PAZ and MAZ not to engage in conduct that is likely to prevent, distort or restrict competition such as price fixing.

‘‘It is very sad and unfortunate that Associations such as PAZ and MAZ can continue to make pronouncements related to price increment when the commission has engaged them on the ills of such conduct. We would expect that such Associations should be in the forefront of ensuring that their members abide by the laws of the land,’’ she said.

CCPC is mandated by law to enhance competition and promote consumer welfare for the growth of the economy and benefit of the people of Zambia. This is according to the statement on November 5 made available to Zambian Business Times – ZBT, by CCPC Public Relations Officer, Namukoko Kasumpa.

some members of the public have accused CCPC of being toothless as the commission has been more of a warning commission than taking actual fines and punitive measures to prevent market price manipulation.

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The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission -

Lifestyle

The University of Zambia fourth-year student pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Pharmacy has developed a prototype of a body spray which can be used to prevent attacks on asthmatic and hypertensive patients.

20-year-old Florence Mulenga said the concept behind the project was based on the fact that most asthmatic patients were allergic to most perfumes and body spray, hence the need to develop a tailor-made body spray which would also act as medicinal agent to the patients. She said during her research, she also discovered that the ingredients used to make the spray had properties which can help to lower blood pressure, hence extending the study to hypertension.

In a statement made available to the Zambian Business Times – ZBT by UNZA Communications Officer Habeenzu Mulunda, Mulenga said the prototype which has been developed so far was specifically for asthmatic patients, therefore, more research and expertise would be required to help develop the solution more on how the spray can be useful on hypertensive patients.e

“The ingredients being used in developing the spray were also found to be muscle dilator meaning the product can dilate the blood vessels, hence, lowering the blood pressure,” she said. She revealed that a lot of people were already requesting for the product, however, she added that the product still needed a lot of research to make it safe for customer use before it can be commercialized and put on the market.

During her research Mulenga was supported by WECREATE I ZAMBIA, SOUTHERN AFRICAN NETWORK FOR BIOSCIENCES (SANBio), HIVOS and many other companies. She has appealed to the research institutions, donors and well-wisher to come on board and support the project in order to make the product a complete package that is safe and effective for public use.

Recently, Mulenga participated in a national wide biosciences competition called “FemBioBiz Acceleration Program” and her project emerged as the best-student start-up, which earned her sponsorship to represent Zambia in South Africa at the African Women Innovation and Empowerment Forum (AWIEF).

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The University of Zambia fourth-year student pursuing

Tech

Media owners in Lusaka have petitioned the Independent Broadcasting Authority – IBA over Topstar for what they have termed as ‘unfair treatment’ from the signal carrier.

Speaking during a meeting with the Independent Broadcasting Authority-IBA and Topstar, Media Owners Association of Zambia chairman Gerald Shawa said it is sad that Topstar has continued to disregard the contract terms with media owners by switching off the channels with impunity.

He said a number of TV stations have been switched off from the Topstar decoder without consulting IBA which is Zambia’s only regulator. Shawa questioned were Topstar gets its powers to the extent of disregarding the authority of IBA.

But IBA Director General Josephine Mapoma said Topstar has no power to switch off any channel without the authorization from IBA. She said Topstar is just a signal carrier who should work in consultation with IBA which is the Licensing authority.

And Topstar Technical Director John  said the black out of some stations on its bouquet was as a result of technical issues with some TV stations. He said, in some cases, some TV stations have absolete machinery and were failing to send the signal to their servers. He also explained that some channels were dropped because the satellite service provider has reduced their bundle.

Meanwhile, Shawa who is also Prime TV owner said the revenue sharing model implementation with Topstar has been pending for sometime. Shawa added that the proposed carriage fees imposed on TV stations is not sustainable. He said that Topstar is paying for foreign content but imposes carriage fees on local content, this is all at the expense of local content.

But, Topstar vice president Cliff Sichone explained that the issue of carriage fees is determined by ZICTA and will continue to engage media owners on the issue of revenue sharing. ZICTA is yet to confirm on this matter.

However, in an exclusive interview with Zambian Business Times – ZBT, Revelation TV owner, Stanford Chifita advised Topstar to respect local content service providers, saying once they pull off, the whole digital migration process will be a white elephant.

TBN owner Dr. Dan Pule said Topstar should respect all the license provisions while his CBC counterpart Pastor Jerome Chiluba urged Topstar not to fight local content providers but instead embrace and partner with them.

The Zambian government has pledged to implement local content laws and regulation but seem not sure on just how to go about this. However, a check across frontier African countries such as Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa show that these nations have moved at a much faster rate than Zambia.

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Media owners in Lusaka have petitioned the

Tech

The first ever Zambian Electronic Waste Recycling Company called TCH E – Waste Zambia in collaboration with the European Union Commission – EUC has been launched. The electronic waste system will focus on collecting, sorting, exporting parts of e-waste and shipping for final disposal in an environmental friendly manner.

The company is set to begin its works in the next few weeks as it is in the process of finalizing its license from the Zambia Environmental Management Agency – ZEMA.

Speaking at the launch event of the e-waste system in Lusaka on November, 7 2019, TCH E-Waste Zambia representative Malcolm Whitehouse said most individuals are bound to store e-waste due to lack of solutions hence the newly launched system will address e-waste challenges in the country.

He added that the company is further in the process of developing campaigns with government to create awareness in various parts of the country and educate individuals in communities and schools on the importance of recycling waste.

And Zambia Information and Communications Technology Authority – ZICTA Director General Patrick Mutimushi said it is timely to have new partners such as TCH E-Waste on board as failure to close the loop on e-waste such as computers and other ICT equipments could lead to significant adverse environmental impact.

Mutimushi said measuring e-waste is an important step towards addressing the e-waste challenges as statistics help to evaluate developments over time, set and assess targets and identify best practices in policies.

“It is my sincere hope that TCH E-Waste will hit the ground running by putting in place a working business model that will not only clean the environment but also create employment by creating a well-defined value chain for e-waste recycling, incorporating all stakeholders,” he said.

At the same event Zambia Environmental Managements Agency – ZEMA Inspector Chrispine Simwanza said the company has fulfilled its regulatory procedures hence suitable to acquire a license adding that a lot of research was done by the Agency before the company could be allowed to handle e-wastes.

Simwanzi has since called for support from various stakeholders and players in the ICT sector towards this initiative to ensure the chain is properly managed stating that mostly waste starts from importation hence the need to regulate the gadgets before entry.

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The first ever Zambian Electronic Waste Recycling

Tech

The Zambain President Edgar Lungu has announced that government will next week pay US$14 million to add up on the already paid US$ 10 Million towards the importation of power from Eskom of South Africa.

This is after a decision by government to import 300 Mega Watts of power from South Africa of which it is expected to pay US$44 million for the importation.

Speaking when addressing journalists in Lusaka at State House on November 8 2019 attended by the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, President Lungu stated that he is aware of the current power deficit in the country and that the lasting solution is to invest more in renewable energy such as Solar.

He has since directed the power utility company ZESCO to conclude the solar project by mid-next year. “The 120MW solar PV project under the Get-Fit programme has six 20MW projects and they will reach commercial operation date in the third quarter of 2020,” he said.

The president further said that the imports of power are a stop-gap measure as the country waits for the coming on board of the 750 MW of power from Kafue Gorge Lower in early March next year adding that the project is at 80 percent completion stage.

The Zambian leader further stated that progress has been made in the energy sector including electricity and petroleum and that governments intention is to enable 100 percent Private Sector importation of fuel and get tariffs for electricity to cost reflective levels.

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The Zambain President Edgar Lungu has announced

Tech

ZESCO Director of Transmission Webster Musonda told the gathering at the public hearing held on 5th November 2019 in Lusaka attended by the Zambian Business Times – ZBT that the proposed tariff adjustment is expected to generate revenue of upto K16.056 billion in the first full year of its implementation.

Musonda who is the acting CEO stated that the proposed upward tariff adjustment is intended to meet future obligations and that it was supposed to be applied at the beginning of the year to cover 2019 costs.

He added that having no tariff adjustment will result in under-investment in the electricity sector, insufficient capacity to support accelerated growth in the economy, Unreliable quality of supply of electricity, perpetual load-shedding, unsustainable electricity supply industry and Higher energy cost among other consequences.

Stakeholders made submissions to the application to adjust the tariff upwards but the general observation was that the majority of the submissions were in opposition to ZESCO’s application to adjust Tariffs. Among the notable organizations which made submissions included Zambia Sugar, Zambia National Farmers Union- ZNFU, Lafarge, ZIPAR and  CUTS among. The event was also simultaneously taking place in two other major Zambian cities of Livingstone and Kitwe.

On 26 February 2019, ZESCO Limited applied to the Energy Regulation Board- ERB to vary electricity tariffs across all customer categories, except Mining and other customers whose supply is governed by Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs). In its application, ZESCO proposed to increase electricity tariffs by a total weighted average of 113% in 2019 for Residential, Large Power, Small Power, Commercial and Services Customers.

The ERB invited members of the public to make written submissions in line with the Electricity Act, Cap 433 of the Laws of Zambia. During the review of ZESCO’s Tariff application, ERB Board Chairman Raymond Mpundu said the review comes at a time when the country is experiencing what is perhaps the worst power deficit ever, which is affecting the sub-region as a whole. He added that Climate Change has impacted the sub-region’s power generation capacity, severely because most of the power generation facilities are Hydro-based.

‘‘In line with our tariff determination process, we are taking into account the public submissions on the applications which we have received in writing from consumers and members of the public. This is a particularly fundamental aspect of the tariff review process, as our decision would affect all ZESCO customers whose views must be head before an appropriate tariff is determined,’’ said Mpundu.

The ERB chairman further emphasized that at the public hearing that the board is mindful of the concerns raised by the public regarding the performance of the Utility, especially in light of the upward revised relatively higher tariffs following the 2015 and 2017 Tariff Adjustments which had indicated that the tarrifs would then be cost reflective.

Mpundu therefore, reiterated the board’s commitment to implementing the key performance indicators in tariff determination with a view to equating utility performance to the award of tariff increases. President Edgar Lungu’s press aid has also announced a raft of energy policy amendment approvals by his government which are then expected to be implemented to support power generator diversification to thermal, solar, wind and nuclear.

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ZESCO Director of Transmission Webster Musonda told

Markets

The Zambia Association  Manufactures – ZAM has called that the Energy Regulations Board – ERB release a cost of service study around the proposed revision of electricity tariffs to know the actual cost of generating hydro power and how much it will cost Zambian consumers and manufactures to utilize it.

ZAM representative Chipego Zulu has stated that there is need to provide evidence and statistics if discussions around power supply and pricing are to be transparent and ensure accountability, adding that there is further need to ensure alternative and off grid sources of energy are being promoted to reduce the pressure on the main national grid.

The power utility company ZESCO had in February this year applied to ERB for the revision of electricity tariffs which did not go through but last week, the board announced to the public in a statement that it will hold discussions regarding the proposed increment of about 113%. The decision is however yet to be communicated as mixed feelings have risen from the discussion of the increment.

Speaking at a joint media briefing with the Consumer Unity for Trust Society – CUTS, Chipego reiterated that a steady supply of power is always necessary for the growth of the economy and manufacturing sector in particular as it contributes to productivity hence the extended load shedding hours create challenges in the sector as it leads to an increase in the cost of production for local manufactures.

She said an increase in electricity tariffs has to be accompanied by the necessary evidence as the proposed average of over 100 % increment affects the sector’s cost of energy, adding that the increasing tariffs will not necessarily solve the problem of power deficit hence the need to come up with a sustainable approach to addressing the national issue of power deficit.

At the same event CUTS Center Coordinator Chenai Mukumba explained that an increment in electricity will badly affect both consumers and manufactures as it will indirectly increase the cost of doing business and on goods and services.

She added that apart from affecting players in the sector, many local Zambian households will also be affected as the cost of living will go high making it difficult for the fight towards reducing poverty levels in the country hence to reduce the tariffs downwards.

“Whatever affects the manufacturing sector, automatically affects consumers. ZESCO’s failure to adhere to the schedule is also affecting consumers because they are failing to plan for their daily services hence negatively impacting the growth of the sector,” She said.

ZAM and CUTS have also parnered to deliver Zambia’s second Annual Consumer Gold Star Awards schedued to take place on 15th of November 2019. The awards are in line with the proudly Zambian Compaign which encourages consumers to think local in their purchasing decisions and further encourages manufacturers to aim at producing high quality products and services.

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The Zambia Association  Manufactures – ZAM has

Highlights

The Higher Education Loans and Scholarship Board – HELSB has supported over 45, 000 beneficiaries through the student loan scheme at the University of Zambia – UNZA, Copperbelt University – CBU and Kapasa Makasa University from 2004 to date.

The board has also from January to September 2019 recovered K40, 467,492, 24 from individuals that benefited from student loans from Public Universities.

Speaking at a media breakfast meeting in Lusaka on 25th, October 2019 attended by the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, Board Chief Executive Officer Ireen Chirwa further disclosed that 24, 000 of these students were no longer on the loan scheme as at December 2018.

She said during the months of September 2018, the board targeted to recover from 19,000 of these beneficiaries and managed to trace 4, 870 to the government payroll system and 11,876 through the National Pension Scheme Authority – NAPSA.

Ireen said the board has since 2004 been providing financial support to public universities but that this year it extended its support to 4 new Public Universities namely, Mukuba with 182 students, Mulungushi – 300 students, Kwame Nkrumah – 250 students and Chalimbana University with 114 students all from first years.

“Currently we have about 426 beneficiaries employed by government and for this year only we have recovered K4467 from our beneficiaries. And for the 2019/2019 academic season we were allocated K557 million by government to be disbursed to students through our services,” She said.

She added that government has for the 2019/2020 academic season allocated the same amount as of last year stating that the allocated amount is less than amount budgeted for by the board which was K817 million but that it will be managed accordingly.

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The Higher Education Loans and Scholarship Board