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Companies

The Zambia Revenue Authority -Z RA has welcomed the initiative by government to empower clearing companies owned and run by Zambians. ZRA corporate communications manager Topsy Sikalinda told the Zambian Business Times – ZBT that the agency has since presented a proposal to the ministry of Finance on legally available options to empower Zambians in the industry.

He said the proposed measures include compelling government institutions to clear goods using indigenous Zambian owned companies. ZRA Commissioner General Kingsley Chanda revealed that currently, there are 821 registered and licensed clearing companies in Zambia with over 80% of the business being done by foreign multinational clearing companies through Zambian proxies.

The Commissioner General has urged local clearing agents to desist from smuggling activities so that they consolidate the support, trust and confidence of the Authority. He has also encouraged local clearing companies to form one association so that they have a strong voice and work together.

‘‘Currently, local clearing companies belong to three different clearing associations. Such fragmentation is not good and may negate government effort to them,’’ said the ZRA commissioner General.

The Authority is optimistic that these measures will not only empower the indigenous clearing companies but also create jobs and boost the economy of the country. President Edgar Lungu last week said that skewed business activities towards a few customs clearing agents needed to be addressed and that the anomaly where 80 percent of the customs clearance was done by a few clearing firms while 800 locally owned clearing firms were fighting for a paltry 20 percent should be corrected immediately.

This measure follows reports that foreign owned and controlled firms have hijacked the customs clearing business at the expense of local firms. Foreign businesses simply externalize their profits but local businesses are globally known to ensure that the money remains within the economy.

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The Zambia Revenue Authority -Z RA has

Markets

Stanbic Bank Zambia has launched the first ever digital loan platform which enables its customers access online personal loans for those with existing approved facilities, scoring a first on the Zambian market.

This new initiative is the first of its kind on the Zambian market and will allow Stanbic Bank customers access instant pre-approved unsecured personal loans online without having to visit a bank branch.

Speaking at a press briefing in Lusaka on November 20, 2019 attended by the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, Stanbic Head of Personal Business Banking Mwansa Mutati explained that extra funds will be credited or paid into the customer’s account within a minute of making the online application as the bank dials up its digital financial offering.

She further disclosed that the bank has in the last five years invested over K730 Million in technology, providing customers with a superior customer service through its continuous digital innovations.
“Banking on the go is a must for today’s clients. This product allows customers to access loan facility at their convenience and Stanbic’s aim is to make the process much simpler with a quicker online alternative that will see funds credited directly to the customer’s account within a short time of a successful application,” She said.

Mwansa has since rated the bank high in comparison to other banks on the Zambian market saying it has proved its continued commitment in digital innovation which is the easiest way of doing business for customers.

At the same event, Stanbic bank Head of Digital Channels Mbinga Kafunya has stated that the bank has continued to be pioneer of a multitude of market-leading innovations in the financial sector as it shifts from traditional brick-and-mortar banking facilities to a digital marketplace.

He said this has further allowed the bank to focus on improved service delivery that is customer – centric and relationship driven adding that it will remain relevant to its customers through various life stages and the business journey. Kafunya has further revealed that the bank looks forwards to introducing international payments which will enable its customers make payments across the region in the near future.

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Stanbic Bank Zambia has launched the first

Markets

Interest rates in banks and other regulated financial institutions are expected to raise by 1.25% following the announced raise in that benchmark policy rate. The Monetary Policy Committee at it’s November 18 – 19 meeting decided to raise the benchmark interest rate – the policy Rate by 125 basis points (1.25%) to 11.5% and inflation is now projected to remain above the upper bound of the targeted 6-8%.

Addressing the media in Lusaka on November 20, 2019, Bank of Zambia governor Dr. Denny Kalyalya has announced that the decision to raise the Policy Rate is intended to counter inflationary pressures that include exchange rate pass-through effects and bring inflation back to the target range in the medium term as well as to support overall macro-economic stability.

Dr. Kalyalya added that the decision arrived at was difficult as the committee was mindful of the impact it would bring to the economy hence went through a lot of information review from all economic sectors to ensure the decision best suits the interest of the people of Zambia.

He added that the rise in the Monetary Policy Rate raises un-intended consequences on the growth of the economy and financial stability, but the committee needed to rise to the occasion to avoid making decisions that may be a hazard to the economy by the committee.

The governor has furter indicated that the Policy Rate is not the major tool of addressing all issues sorrounding the economy as it also requires complements by the implementation of corrective measures by fiscal authorities and other key public policy makers.

“The committee recognises that to address the prevailing economic challenges, Monetary Policy actions alone are not sufficient hence the need to implement corrective measures. Moreover, Implemention of measures that address high fiscal deficit, debt levels and debt service as well as liquidity constraints and dismantling domestic arrears remain critical to maintaining overall macroeconomic stability and attaining sustainable economic growth,” he said.

Meanwhile, BOZ had at November 14, 2019 raised the Overnight Lending Facility – OLF rate to 28 percent from 17 percent and the increase in the OLF was aimed at instilling stability in the market and reining in inflationary pressures.

However, with the 125 basis points increase in the Policy Rate to 11.5 percent, BOZ has stated that the OLF rate will be 16.5 percentage points above and the Policy Rate remains at 28 percent.

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Interest rates in banks and other regulated

Companies

The Zambia Institute of Purchasing and Supply – ZIPS President Chibwe Mwelwa has called for immediate implementation of the Sub-Contracting Policy in Zambia which advocates for compelling foreign owned companies to subcontract at least 20% of the contract value.

Mwewa has explained the subcontracting policy that government is pushing for is a welcome move but that it should be backed by legal instruments to enable local contractors participate in the industry. The institute has challenged law makers to rather come up with regulation that can stand the test of time.

Speaking on the sidelines of a consultative meeting on the implementation of the 20% Sub-Contracting Policy organized by ZIPS on November 15, 2019, Mwewa told the Zambian Business Times – ZBT in a separate exclusive interview that if properly undertaken, the policy will return monies in the country through the locals, increase the aggregate demand and GDP of the country.

He added that the role of Small and Medium Enterprises – SME sector in economic development cannot be over emphasized as SME’s form a launchpad for developing countries to fully realize their potential.

“SME’s remain the driving force in entrepreneurial resources and in easing one of Africa’s greatest challenges which is youth unemployment. SME’s further have potential to massively contribute to growing the country’s economy hence the need to back this policy with a law, a law that will ensure that 20% of all contracts at backed by a legal framework which support local businesses.

And speaking during a discussion panel at the same event, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Housing and Infrastructure Development Charles Mushota said the 20% Sub-Contracting policy has been instituted in the spirit of promoting inclusive growth to avoid placing Zambians on the sidelines of development.

He has revealed that government has invested heavily in public infrastructure projects country wide which is aimed at addressing the huge infrastructure deficit as well as to spur rapid social and economic transformation of the country.

Mushota added that with the current and future government spending on infrastructure and other services, there is no better time to grow the local construction capacity than now. He has since urged other stakeholders in the industry to support the implementation of this policy which is aimed at strengthening the local construction capacities for sustainable projects implementation.

Parliamentarians have been slow at pushing for this legislation due to their political inclination were politically charged legislation is given more prominence relative to progressive local content law that would cut across all sectors and industries.

 

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The Zambia Institute of Purchasing and Supply

Agribusiness

The Centre for Trade Policy and Development – CTPD has expressed concerned with the slow pace of distributing farming inputs for the 2019/2020 farming season and questioned the claim that 90% of inputs have been distributed.

As of August 2019, Agriculture Minister Michael Katambo informed the nation that the Government had distributed about 90 percent of the farming inputs countrywide, for the 2019/2020 farming season but reality on the ground seems to suggest that a number of Small-scale farmers have not yet received their farming inputs for the 2019/2020 farming season even after depositing their K400 contribution.

CTPD Head of Research Brian Mwiinga has observed that Farmers in places near to Lusaka such as parts of Chongwe have not received any inputs for this farming season.

“We are left to wonder how the situation is in other far flung places of Zambia. What is even more worrying is the fact that almost all provinces in Zambia have received the first rains and in an ideal situation, the farmers should have planted their various crops, but this is not the case due to the non-delivery of the required farming inputs’’, said Mwiinga.

According to information availed to the Zambian Business Times – ZBT by CTPD Information and Communications Specialist Mwaka Nyimbili, Mwiinga stated that as the rains intensify, some places with poor road networks in Zambia will become hard to reach, a situation which will further affect the effective delivery of inputs.

CTPD however expects government to have learnt some lessons from the past farming seasons when inputs were delivered very late stating that the current high mealie meal prices are a function of a combination of factors such as poor planning and in a small part natural causes such as poor rainfall in some parts of the country.

He has since urged Government to act swiftly in addressing the situation to avoid the mistakes that have been made in the past farming seasons and has also advised farmers countrywide to be strategic when choosing the types of crops to plant.

‘’With the help of the Agricultural Extension Officers in their various locations, let them consult them on the expected rainfall for the year so that they can choose seed varieties that will be in tandem with the expected rainfall as well as well as the quality of their soils. We wish to see our Agricultural sector going back to the glory days of recording bumper harvests in order to ensure National Food security’’, He said.

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The Centre for Trade Policy and Development

Mining

Mimbula Minerals Limited, a subsidiary of a British firm; Moxico Resources plc is set to break ground next January and has projected to create about 800 permanent jobs for local Zambians over the course of next year.

Moxico Resources was founded by Melvin Brice, a successful mining, transport and fisheries entrepreneur in Zambia with his daughter Stephanie McAllister.

Moxico Resource plc Chief Executive, Alan Davies has revealed that the Mining Company will also seek to integrate agriculture into its mining projects with an emphasis on fresh produce as a working alongside local communities to realize their agricultural potential.

This is contained in a statement made available to the Zambian Business Times – ZBT by First Secretary for Press and Public Relations at the Zambia High Commission in the United Kingdom, Abigail Chaponda.

Davies conveyed these insights when he paid a courtesy call on Muyeba Chikonde, Zambia’s outgoing High Commissioner to the United Kingdom. Davies said Moxico Resource Plans to invest over $70 million in two mining projects, in Mimbula and Kalengwa areas in Chingola and Mufumbwe on the Copperbelt and North-Western provinces respectively.

He said copper production at Mimbula Minerals Limited in Chingola is expected to start early next year. Adding that the company will start construction for its Mimbula project next month following final environmental approvals with Kelengwa being on course for next year.

Davies said the mining firm will inject between US$ 30 million and US$ 70 million in the open pit mine and the mine is expected to produce 30,000 to 40,000 tonnes of copper annually. He added that the mining company has so far created about 200 jobs for local Zambians and was aiming at working and creating partnerships with the local community.

‘‘We are fully committed to Zambia and want to develop skilled employees across all of our operations and in doing so make sure that the benefits involve local people, contractors and suppliers,’’ he said.
Meanwhile, High Commissioner Chikonde said there was a good working relationship between the Zambian Government and the Mining sector adding that the industry has continued to record positive growth and there was an increased mineral production, expansion of existing mines and opening of new mines like Mimbula Minerals.

‘‘Zambia is  an attractive investment destination that is working to diversify into various alternative  investment areas which included tourism, agriculture, manufacturing and energy and but the mining sector has, and will continue to play a critical role in the economic development of Zambia,’’ he said.

 

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Mimbula Minerals Limited, a subsidiary of a

Companies

The Millers Association of Zambia – MAZ president Andrew Chintala has announced that the milling industry is not ready for the African Continental Free Trade Area – AfCFTA as it is lacking proper infrastructure to enable Zambian based millers trade on the regional and continental markets.

Speaking during a presentation on the sidelines of the AfCFTA Consultative meeting organized by the Center for Trade Policy and Development – CTPD, Chintala told ZBT that the cost of production for farmers in the country is too high hence allowing competition of products on the continental market will spell trouble for the local industry.

He added that despite the move being beneficial to traders, there is a lot more to be done by government in areas of infrastructure development and the cost of production stating that the biggest challenge is when the industry tries to control the price of finished products from the producer’s end.

“We welcome the move of Zambia signing on the AfCFTA because it is a good tool for traders but it is not a good tool for producers and from our-end, we are not ready, not until the cost of production for farmers in the country is reduced and government address the need of infrastructure,” he said.

Chintala further said that there is need to establish a robust local manufacturing industry first if traders from Zambia are to favorably compete on the continental market adding that the raw materials for primary production are relatively more expensive in Zambia, hence has urged government to address the constraints the industry is facing before promoting and fully implementing AfCFTA.

And Trade Kings Group Chief Engineer Ernest Mande told the Zambian Business Times – ZBT in separate exclusive interview that the manufacturing sector is equally not ready for the treaty despite the opportunities that it will offer Zambia.

He said that there is need to network and coordinate with the private sector if the country’s productivity is to be realized adding that despite the manufacturing sector being one of Zambia’s large sectors and employers, it is currently grabbling with power supply constraints, hence has urged ZESCO to coordinate the activities of the manufactures in line with its load shedding hours.

CTPD Executive Director Isaac Mwaipopo has also noted the need to do more if the country is to participate on the AfCFTA to ensure the interests of local and the capability of local traders are enhance and are ready by the time it will be operationalized.

 

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The Millers Association of Zambia - MAZ

Markets

Zambia Manufactures of Association – ZAM president Ezekiel Sekele said the association is ready to work with its members to realize the dream of producing local products that are fit for purpose and are complaint to the obtaining standards.

He added that the need to attract and incentivize the existing investors is critical and urgent through enhancing the level of participation of local investors. Sekele has since urged all local manufacturers to actively promote the domestic enterprise and reshape the mindsets towards “Thinking Local First” and “buy quality guaranteed local products”.

And Minister of Trade and Industry Christopher Yaluma has disclosed that the contribution of the manufacturing sector towards the country’s growth has for the past few years remained stagnant at about 8% hence the need for building the manufacturing sector in order to achieve economic sustainable development.

The minister has explained that the low contribution from the manufacturing sector is due to factors such as currency volatility, intermittent power supply and increasing commodity costs.

Speaking at the launch of the “Buy Local” manufactures expo in Lusaka on November 13, 2019, Yaluma further said that the country’s dependence on the copper industry has also made the economy vulnerable to commodity price fluctuations hence encouraging the diversification of the economy to sectors such as transportation, Tourism and Agriculture.

Yaluma further said despite the fact that the manufacturing sector has experienced some period of stagnant contributions to GDP over the last few years, the sector has remained resilient and survived through very challenging periods.

He added that he is happy to note the improvement made in the marketing, packaging and the quality of products being produced in order to deliver finished goods that are competitive on the domestic and regional market.

“Government has created and is committed to creating even a more conducive business environment to support faster growth in the manufacturing sector. I am aware of challenges local manufactures face in enhancing the productivity and competiveness of their products, however we will remain vigilant in addressing such constraints,” he said.

 

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Zambia Manufactures of Association – ZAM president

Tech

Finance Minister Dr. Bwalya Ng’andu has said the country will soon start importing power from South Africa’s power utility company ESKOM in order to cushion load shedding. Eskom has a more diversified power generation mix that include thermal, solar and wind sources.

Briefing the media at State House on November 14 2019, after the International Monetary Fund(IMF) paid a courtesy call on president Edgar Lungu, Dr. Ng’andu said money for the importation of power has already been paid to ESKOM. He said Zambia will spend about US$27 million on a monthly basis in order to import 300 megawatts of power.

Dr. Ng’andu added that the country has sufficient funds to sustain the importation of power from South Africa. He disclosed that government has settled the money it owed Maamba Collieries and expects that maintenance works on the power plant will be completed soon.

Meanwhile, Dr. Ng’andu said a team of three officials from IMF is in the country to assess the microeconomic situation. He added that the IMF team which will be in the country for six days expressed confidences that the country will triumph over its economic challenges.

‘‘In view of the pending power import, government has partially made a payment to ESKOM of South Africa for importation of power, in total government will be spending about US$27 million monthly for importation of power”.

”I can safely say here that we have sufficient funds for this undertaking. On Maamba we have settled the bill and we hope that maintenance works at the power plant will be completed soon so that it can resume full electricity generation capacity,’’ said Dr. Ng’andu.

The Finance Minister did not however state which expenditure line has been suspended to pay for the current power imports or weather the sundries or supplementary expenditure lines are adequate to sustain the imports.

The rainy season has now commenced in most parts of Zambia which has brought hope that the hydro power sources would in the next two to three months be replenished to resume full power generation. However, the medium to long term solution remains in diversification into thermal, solar, wind and nuclear power as the country has adequate local capability.

As for the proposed tariff adjustment, stakeholders have called for a more scientific method of arriving at the retail and commercial rates based on the cost of service studies. The final tariff is expected to reflect the projected and blended rate that would allow continued investment into more green and sustainable energy sources.

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Finance Minister Dr. Bwalya Ng’andu has said

Tech

The World Bank in collaboration with Rural Electrification Authority – REA and national power utility ZESCO held an energy sector knowledge sharing workshop on November 12, 2019 were the world bank reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the Zambian government to continuously improve and the Institutionalizing of procurement capacity and development.

The workshop were the Zambian Business Times – ZBT was invited, was designed to impart knowledge on enhancing the capacity of local contractors in the procurement of energy sector projects under the Zambia Electricity Services Access Project (ZESAP).

World Bank Country Manager Dr. Sahr Kpundeh said that the world bank has been supporting procurement policy reform and strengthening capacity of the Zambia Public Procurement Authority – ZPPA, enhancement of the Capacity of the Zambia Institute of Purchasing and Supplies – ZIPS and its Educational programme, and roll out e-Government procurement system.

He added that the world bank has supported the Government through working with ZPPA to review the public procurement system using the OECD Methodology called the Maps 11. ‘‘You may wish to know that one of the objectives of procurement done under the world bank financed contracts is the development of the local private sector, the Bank is therefore keenly interested to learn from the various stakeholders in the energy sector and would like to see how the recommendations would be implemented,’’ he said.

The event attracted CEOs from various energy sector, government institutions, representatives of various private sector constructors and consultants in energy sector.

Meanwhile, in a separate exclusive interview with ZBT, President for Zambia Association of Women in Construction, Dorothy Mulwila called for the reconsideration of women in construction sector saying from the 20% sub contracts, 30% should go to the women.

‘‘We are able, we have been trained to undertake these works to the satisfaction of the employer or contractor, but what it is now is that we are failing because of the requirements put up. The bid securities, and the qualifications that are needed cannot be met by most woman or indeed a Zambian, so we are requesting that these things are reconsidered,’’ she said.

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The World Bank in collaboration with Rural