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Mining

Mines minister Richard Musukwa has called for prioritization of local content strategies in the mining sector to achieve economic diversification and propel growth of other Sectors such as manufacturing, trade and agriculture. This was after data showed that only 10% of the US$4 billion procurement  budget is awarded to local companies.

Musukwa said it is important for investors in the mining sector to ensure that benefits from the mining industry to locals is attained through implementation of the local content strategy, as they would be able to replace expensive imports with cheaper local products once local supply chains are fully developed.

Speaking during a stakeholder consultative meeting on local content in Lusaka on July 4th 2019 attended by the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, the Mines Minister said governemt’s focus is not only to improve the mining regimes by payment of appropriate taxes but on intergrating mining into the local economy.

He added that the country should however negotiate contracts with mining companies and stipulate local inputs for operations. The Mines Minister expressed concern that only 10% of the US$4 billion spent on procuring goods and services annually by mining firms goes to Zambian companies adding that the miss-match will not be allowed as Zambian businesses need to benefit from the country’s mineral wealth.

He said government will review policies to help improve the welfare of Zambians despite concerns by some investors that it is inconsistent with policies. Musukwa commended the African Development Bank – AfDB for supporting the ministry’s efforts to develop a local content strategy for the mining sector.

At the same event, AfDB Country Manager Mary Monyau also expressed concern that most goods and services imported in the country are given to foreign companies which affects local firms. She said many African countries are not able to utilize mineral resources to enhance the country’s development adding that some minerals are exported without any form of value added which hinders job creation and industrial growth in the countries were the mining take place.

The copper mining industry which accounts for over 70% of Zambia’s export earnings is mostly foreign owned after the privatization of the sector post 1991. The new investors have however opted to source their supplies through mostly foreign owned entities leaving locally owned companies disadvantaged due to poorly negotiated mine development agreements.

This has led to the country’s failure to attract copper processing and finished goods manufacturers into Zambia due to the current mine owners preference to export raw materials, in the process exporting jobs and denying the country further diversification within the copper value chain.
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Mines minister Richard Musukwa has called for

Lifestyle

Chief Government spokesperson Dora Siliya has disputed claims by some members of the public and the some opposition parties stating that government is only distributing relief foods to the ruling Patriotic Front – PF candidates and strong holds.

Siliya explained that it is not true that government is not distributing relief foods to places where the PF has no support as its concentration is centered to areas affected with hunger.

Addressing the media in Lusaka on July 4th, 2019 attended by the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, the information Minister said the Disaster Management ad Mitigation Unity – DMMU is distributing foods to areas that were affected with hunger due to the dry spells and floods experienced in the 2018/2019 farming season.

She said Kazungula, which is an opposition strong hold, recently received relief foods hence statements arising from the public domain are misleading as government is committed to distributing foods to all needy Zambians after the DMMU makes assessments.

Siliya further said, the office of the Vice president is on the course of responding to disasters faced by Zambians national wide and has since called on the public to support government’s effort to better people’s livelihoods.

“It is unfortunate that members of the public especially the opposition want to politic and continue claiming that this relief is only going to areas where they are PF strong holds, this is not and I hope that we put this matter to bed” she said.

Responding to a question from a ZBT analyst on the government position on the proposal to conduct a lifestyle audit for senior government officials, Siliya said claims of conducting lifestyle audits by some sectors of society are not worth to go for as government directly conducts audits through the Zambia Revenue Authority- ZRA, Anti-Corruption Commission – ACC, Drug Enforcement Commission – DEC and other agencies hence clearly gives a review of people’s lifestyle.

She said government is aware that there are a few citizens abusing their privileges and involving themselves in corruption but that the majority of Zambians are fairly decent people, saying corruption is not only in government but in the private sectors too and that the country will remain committed to the fight against Corruption.

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Chief Government spokesperson Dora Siliya has disputed

Agribusiness

The Democratic of Congo – DRC has requested the Zambian government to facilitate the supply of maize to DRC as the country is currently facing a deficit in maize production.

DCR Katanga province governor of Haut Jacques Katwe has disclosed that out of the 7,000, 000 metric tonnes of maize to be produced every year, producers in the country are only reaching 2,000,000 metric tonnes of production indicating a deficit of about 5,000,000 tonnes of maize.

Katwe added that DRC is however counting on Zambia to provide it with food supplies through the export of maize and mealie meal to reduce the food deficit situation that the mineral rich country is grappling with.

In a statement made available to the Zambia Business Times – ZBT by Trade ministry Public Relations Officer, Katwe was speaking when he met the Acting Trade Minister Moses Mawere at the just ended Trade Fair in Ndola last week.

Mawere said government is capable of supplying 1.3 million metric tonnes of maize to DRC to help cut the maize deficit in the DRC adding that the Zambian government has begun facilitating for the sign off of a bilateral trade deal between the two countries.

He said the two countries are set to sign a Memorandum of Understanding – MOU which will facilitate for trade of agriculture products like Maize and Mealie meal and that the draft document of the MOU will be ready and shared with the DRC counterparts by July this 2019.

He revealed that the two countries signed an MOU in 2016 with an approved list of products to trade between the two countries, Zambia and Congo DR, hence it is the country’s desire to operationalize the trade agreement.

“We proposed to have an MOU to facilitate trade in certain products such as mealie meal as it is a sign that both governments attach great importance to the issues of export and import of maize and mealie meal. We however urge the officials from Congo to conclude the initial process for the bilateral agreement, which has a good number of products for trade,” Mawere said.

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The Democratic of Congo – DRC has

Tech

Former Secretary to Cabinet and current Zambia Atomic Agency Director Dr. Roland Msiska has challenged Engineers in the country to advance their profession, generate ideas through research and development and provide practical solutions to enhance  their ability to translate ideas into hardware or software products if Zambia is to develop and industrialize.

Speaking when he officially launched the Engineering Institute of Zambia – EIZ 2019 – 2023 Strategic Plan and Mentorship Programme at Lusaka’s Mulungushi International Conference Center on June 28th 2019, Dr. Msiska said Zambia is blessed with a huge endowment of materials and components needed to boost the industrial development and has since called for critical and practical training for local engineers to take part in the country’s development.

He also urged the Engineering Institute of Zambia – EIZ to advance its operations and reach as he is convinced that it is currently operating at only about 5% out of what is expected, hence the need to reflect on its agenda as it plays a critical role in the country’s development ambition.

Msiska further said Government’s plan to develop a nuclear power plant for diversified energy mix requires a fundamental shift in training of Zambian engineers and that EIZ must be at the center of nuclear energy development at either soft or hardware side.

“This is the time for EIZ to start setting standards for supporting good and services such as cement, steel and others that will be required during construction and operation of the two nuclear installations”.

“Zambia is 55 years old now and we have all the raw materials and components that we need to make a computer but we need to interrogate ourselves why are we not producing our own computers? Why we have no big local contractors in the industry to construct our own road? The only answer is advancing our abilities and translate our ideas into practical hardware or software solutions “he said.

At the same event EIZ President Sydney Matamwandi said the goal of the 2019-2023 Strategic Plan and Mentorship Programme is to prepare young engineering professionals for the industry through mentorship by experienced professionals so that they are more focused and purposeful in their studies.

He said the institution will endeavor to ensure that the objectives of the strategic plan and the mentorship programme are implemented and achieved within the stipulated period. Matamwandi is however hopeful that the programme will bring sanity to the profession and improve the standards and status of the profession in society.

Some analysts have noted that most Zambian engineering graduates have an employee mindset as opposed to a problem solving one. Most graduates from engineering and technical schools concentrate their efforts on securing jobs at institutions such as Zesco and the Copper mines forgetting that they are the ones that the nation expects to come up with practical solutions to solve Zambia’s industrialization puzzle.

Import substitution for instance calls for reverse engineering of currently imported products and services with the aim of producing locally at a reduced cost, but this area of innovation is still lagging behind. Zambia currently imports simple products such as tooth picks and sewing needles due to some dysfunction related to the practice of local innovation and engineering.

There is need to enhance the teaching of maths and science in schools in Zambia so that universities and colleges can focus on producing technically competent and problem solving graduates as opposed to the current trend we’re most tertiary institutions are producing more students in arts and business courses.

Some advanced countries education systems and strategic plans are even more elaborate to an extent of even setting quotas to meet in producing engineers, technicians and scientists in the aim of producing an adult population that is equipped with practical productive skills.

 

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Former Secretary to Cabinet and current Zambia

Lifestyle

Kitwe City Mayor Christopher Kang’ombe has disclosed that only 15 kilometers out of the 56 kilometers of road works under the Zambia Township Roads Project – ZTRP in Kitwe has been covered, a project which was earmarked for local economic development.

Barely a month after Avic International abandoned the works on the Kitwe road works due to lack of funding, the mayor has confirmed to the Zambian Business Times – ZBT in an exclusive interview that works on the site have resumed despite moving at a slower pace as the ministry of Finance has not yet finalized the financing of the project.

He added that the city has through China Hainan Construction in partnership with Nkana Water also identified a phase 2 project of supply of water and sanitation services whose idea is to present the capacity of local contractors and increase the capacity of Zambian Suppliers.

Kang’ombe stated that the council has since started building toilets in Mindolo Township and has supplied critical repairs of the sewer network in Chamboli but that the project is still lagging behind due finances. The mayor  stated that he has since appealed to the ministry of Water and Sanitation to finalize the financing of the remaining US$200 million for the project to move at a faster pace.

“We have had challenges with financing for both projects and we are hoping that by next month government will soon conclude with the agreements made on the financing of the projects and by December this year we should be able to see a lot of progress,” he said.

The Kitwe mayor further stated that the road project being implemented by Avic International has attracted over 20% of local participation in sub-contracting a move which he said is aimed at identifying the local people to benefit in business opportunities presented.

“We have as a city made sure that the level of engagement with the business community and the informal sector and various stakeholders in any business opportunities to be identified in the city is extended to the local people and that local businesses are considered for every development that comes in the city for the well-being of citizens in the country,” he said.

Kitwe is Zambia’s second largest city by population and provides an alternative business and residential option for Zambians. The city lies at the central position to most Copperbelt towns and is currently home to Zambia’s largest mixed use shopping mall and office park, the ECL mall and business park.

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Kitwe City Mayor Christopher Kang’ombe has disclosed

Agribusiness

The Aquaculture Seed Fund has through the Citizens Economic Empowerment Commission –CEEC received 23, 284 applications from citizens for business loans.

Speaking at a press briefing held in Lusaka on June 27, 2019, Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock Minister, Kampamba Mulenga-Chewe, revealed that citizens were being supported to implement aquaculture projects that will increase fish production and eliminate the deficit in national fish production over the next four years.

She said the investments citizens will be empowered to embark on will also include fish processing and marketing, which will greatly contribute to rural industrialization, economic diversification and job creation in all the ten provinces of the country.

Mulenga-Chewe disclosed that the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock has established the Aquaculture Seed Fund with support from the African Development Bank and K440 million (Four Hundred and Forty Million Kwacha) has been set aside for business loans to benefit about 2,900 micro, small and medium size enterprises.

The Fisheries minister added that at least 50% of the supported projects will go to women, while 30% will go to youths and more than 12,000 jobs are expected to be created in the rural areas.

“This is in line with the Seventh National Development Plan were it is an objective that the annual deficit of 85,000 metric tonnes in fish production should be urgently reversed and that Zambia should instead be transformed into a net exporter of fish and fish products”, the Minister said.

And speaking at the same event, CEEC director general, Likando Mukumbuta stated that CEEC would, following the extraordinary response from citizens, evaluate the applications and undertake necessary site visits as expeditiously as possible so that disbursement of business loans could start by September 2019.

The Aquaculture Seed Fund is a component of the Zambia Aquaculture Enterprise Development Project being implemented by the Ministry of fisheries and Livestock in partnership with CEEC as Fund Manager.

There is an appeal from cross sections of society that the award of the loans should be made on merit if this project is to realize any tangible benefits for the country. Zambia today is self sufficient in poultry production not because of establishing a poultry fund, but because of a combination of suitable market conditions, import controls and a regulatory regime that allow for citizens to engage in profitable poultry farming.

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The Aquaculture Seed Fund has through the

Lifestyle

Zambia has been ranked among the least child-friendly countries in Africa (48 out of 52 African countries surveyed) according to the 2018 African Report on Child Well-being entitled “How Child–Friendly are African Governments”. This report highlighted some of the failures the country as the plight of street children remains unattended to.

A review of the report showed that the top five most child friendly African governments ranked from the best had the number one country being the island of Mauritius, in second and third position was North Africans Algeria, Tunisia, while the fourth and fifth were South Africa and Cabo de Verde.

Zambia was however ranked among the list five government included countries such as Cameroon , Chad, Central African Republic and South Sudan. Other countries afflicted with sanctions and civil strife such as Zimbabwe and Congo DR were all far ahead of Zambia.

Commenting on the report in an interview with the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, National Child Rights Forum (NCRF) Board member Judith Mulenga said failure by the Zambian government to enact the Children Code Bill may be responsible for such a low ranking.

She told ZBT that failure to enact the Children Code Bill into Law May be construed as a sign that the Zambian parliamentarian and government does not prioritise the rights of children in the country and has since urge government to present the Children Code Bill at the current National Assembly session that opened on 18th June 2019.

She said that government has put more priority on dealing with issues that will help them win election neglecting the wellbeing of children simply because they do not vote and influence policy decision making, which should not be the case.

Mulenga added that a total of 51 bills have so far been enacted by parliament since 2017 but that the process of the children code bill started as early as 2006 and nothing has been done even up todate.

“The inertia that has characterised the inaction by Government to enact the Children Code Bill keenly exemplifies Zambia’s ranking among the least child-friendly Governments in Africa. It is our collective conviction that since childhood is a short period which children pass through to adulthood, the delayed enactment of the Children Code Bill has denied many Zambian children who would have benefited from the progressive provisions of the Children Code Bill in the last 13 years since the comprehensive review of all child related legislations begun?” she said.

The further analysis of the report by ZBT analysts suggested that national income is not necessarily the primary factor in determining a government’s child friendliness. The report stated that “there are several African countries at the bottom of the economic ladder in term of Gross Domestic Product – GDP which nevertheless performed relatively well in the Child Friendly Index – CFI”.

”Lesotho and Togo, for example, have relatively low GDP per capita but enjoy higher scores and rankings in the 2018 CFI, demonstrating that child-friendliness is not necessarily linked to national income”.

Conversely, a country like Equatorial Guinea performs poorly in the CFI despite its very high GDP per capita, reinforcing the argument that child-friendliness is not just about resources but about putting in legal provisions, directing and using national available resources effectively for the benefit of children.

The report further acknowledged that Africa in general had recorded significant advance. It stated that despite these advances, two areas of concern remain. Firstly, some countries have dropped significantly down the CFI over the last ten years – Zambia, for example, has fallen to 48th out of 52 African countries surveyed place due to its reduced commitment to children’s basic needs, services and wellbeing,” the report indicated.

Mulenga said government must seriously allocate more resources to things that benefit children such as allocating not less than 20 percent of the nation budget to the education sector as well as 15 percent to the health sector while social security should also be given a fair budget allocation so that children’s wellbeing can be safeguarded.

Zambia has struggled to deal with the issue of street children which is one of the biggest indictment for the society, parliament and government leaders. Some of the key cities and towns in Zambia has children that can be sited begging on the streets, with no clear policy or regulation to safeguard these innocent children.

There had been suggestions of engaging the national service, expanding public support to orphanages and coming up with national solutions that would insure that no child in Zambia fails to find an alternative home but all these have not been fully implemented. Analyst have warned that the issue of street kids is a ticking time bomb as the country have already recorded the emergence of youth gangs in both Lusaka and Kitwe, Zambia two largest cities by population.

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Zambia has been ranked among the least

Tech

A privately held University of Lusaka – UNILUS is currently construction a brand new campus at Chongwe in Lusaka Province. Works at the Chongwe campus have advanced and attracted the tour of ministry of commerce and trade Kayula Siame and the Zambia Development Agency – ZDA team.

During the tour of the construction site, the Zambia Development Agency (ZDA) says that with Agriculture been considered one of the 5-priority sector in the country, it lacks the local relevant skills required to establish a vibrant Agro-processing sector.

ZDA Acting Director General Matongo Matamwandi has disclosed that most investors in Agribusiness do not find Local skills in Biotechnology and has since urged The University of Lusaka (UNILUS) to pioneer programmes in the field of Bio- Technology. Matamwandi explained that most investors have had to request for work permit for Bio-Technologists to support the agro processing sector, which in 2018 recorded a projected investment value of US$24 million.

The ZDA director was speaking when he, Ministry of Commerce PS and UNILUS Vice Chancellor professor Pinalo Chifwanakeni toured the construction of University of Lusaka Chongwe Campus, which will cater for over five thousand medical students in the first phase.

Meanwhile Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry Kayula Siame stated that UNILUS is a good case study of Domestic Direct Investment displaying how a whole Zambian Company, financially supported by the Citizen Economic Empowerment Commission (CEEC) can grow into a regional Business and very soon an international business.

She noted that UNILUS project is a clear testimony that even Zambia investors can succeed and perform competitively across sector including education. “Most Zambians want to be where UNILUS is when they just start their investment forgetting that there is a process to building a successful business. We are looking forward to the completion of phase one of the construction process and hopefully the start of phase two”.

The permanent secretory noted that the University is also providing many business opportunities for Zambia SMEs and that the ministry is looking at how other Zambians can be linked to these opportunities.

She has since called on ZDA to see to it that other Zambian businesses get linked to these business opportunities at various levels.

In addition, UNILUS Vice Chancellor and founder prof Pinalo Chinfwankeni revealed that the new campus is sitting on 40 acres of land and is worth US$19.5 million would focus on providing excellent education standards to stand as a center of excellence in the region.

The professor also requested for extended incentives saying, “Currently it looks like the law does not provide incentive for any re-investment. We got attractive incentives on the first project and we are grateful, but now we even need more help because the project is much bigger and we need to import a lot of equipment and accessories,” he said.

Chifwankeni thanked the permanent Secretory and ZDA for the visit to the construction site of the new Chongwe Campus.

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A privately held University of Lusaka -

Companies

Cavmont Bank has publicly announced that the bank will be restructuring its operations in Zambia that will lead to some branch mergers while other will be closed to streamline its operations. A review of the branches approved by the Bank of Zambia – BOZ for closure is that 3 out of 4 are based in rural areas of Zambia.

The banks Head of Communication and Customer Services Chilunga Puta says the restructuring of the Bank and its centralizing of processes to meet international standards will result in some roles to be cut while some jobs will be moved into the central processing center.

Puta has told the Zambian Business Times (ZBT) in an exclusive interview that the exact number of job losses is not yet known as the Bank is still in consultations with various stakeholders but that the loses are less than what is being projected on some media platforms.

She told ZBT that once the process is finalized, the number will be shared with relevant stakeholders while workers likely to be affected will be compensated accordingly.

“What people do not understand is that Zambia is becoming more digitalized and we are going to witness a lot of back office function becoming more centralized. Cavmont Bank is a Zambian bank that strives to meet international standards, but in order to do that, we have decided to centralize our processes so that things begin to happen a lot faster, make the bank more agile and smoother for our customers,” she said.

The Bank said that it sought approval from the Bank of Zambia to ensure full compliance with statutory regulations and approval was granted for this restructure. The Bank also met with the representative trade unions such as the Zambia Union of Financial Institution and Allied Workers (ZUFIAW) and the Ministry of Labor and Social Security to inform them of the intended restructure and the regrettable impact the process on jobs.

Meanwhile, Bankers’ Association of Zambia has defended the decision by Cavmont Bank to restructure and reposition itself which the association says should not cause panic among people.

BAZ Executive Director Leonard Mwanza says every business needs to restructure itself in order to stay relevant in its business sector despite the negative outcomes that may arise from the process.

The Bank’s move to restructure has seen the closure of 4 of its branches that include Lusaka’s industrial area branch, Mpulungu, Mwense and Mufumbwe branches which will result in job cuts.

Earlier this year, the Board of Directors of Cavmont Capital Holdings Zambia issued a profit warning to the market stating that that the Earnings Per Share – EPS for the six-month period to 31 December 2018 was expected to be about 5,655% lower as compared to that for the six-month period to 31 December 2017.

In a profit warning note availed to the Zambian Business Times – ZBT signed by company secretary, Rita Mapara-Ndhlovu, Cavmont stated that the decrease in profitability was attributed to increased impairment charges and operating expenses. Impairment charges for the period were higher mainly on account of the implementation of IFRS 9 on 1 July 2018, which increased impairment provisions across the entire in- dustry.

Mapara-Ndhlovu further stated that operating expenses increased by K19.5m (about US$1.6 million) year-on-year on the back of increased investment in infrastructure and in hiring of staff in order to upskill the group’s workforce which included the on-boarding of key new human capital resources as a performance enhancement strategy and to remain relevant within the industry.

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Cavmont Bank has publicly announced that the

Sport

The Association of Sport Performance Centres (ASPC) a Spanish based association has recognised the Olympic Youth Development Centre (OYDC) as a high performance center and has since accepted OYDC’s membership to the association.

Subsequently, OYDC has been invited to attend the XI ASPC International Forum on Elite Sport 2019 to take place in Barcelona on the 10th and 11th of October 2019. The forum is expected to be attended by many African countries and will see countries being united and strengthened in the development of sport in the region.

“I would like to extend our profound gratitude to the Board of ASPC for recognizing OYDC as one of the “High Performance Centres” in the region. This truly demonstrates our commitment to exemplary service delivery and commitment to creating a true centre of excellence in OYDC,” said OYDC Chief Executive Officer Dr. Fredrick M. Chitangala.

ASPC is composed of high performance centres which have voluntarily joined the ASPC Governing Bodies that support high performance Sport and Individuals who support High Performance Sport/Centres.

The association only accepts membership from any Sport Performance Centre that is recognized by a National Olympic Committee, Paralympic Committee and/or government of that nation or recognized by an International Sports Federation (ISF) or National Sport Federation of a country where the centre is located.

However, the centre must carry out activities focused on elite sport; be able to provide operational, technical and scientific support services to high performance athletes and coaches and be willing to exchange staff personnel with other high performance sport centres to interact and share ideas and work methods. This is exactly what the Board of OYDC has dedicated itself to do in its current strategic plan.

“Since inception, OYDC has been recording success stories ranging from contributing athletes to national teams and various clubs. You may be aware that in 2016, the government launched the National Centre of Excellence for Sport at the OYDC aimed at promoting talent identification and training of high performance athletes, capacity building for coaches and sports administrators in the Country.

Our hope is to see more people coming on board to partner with OYDC if they want to see our facilities remain a pride of Africa which nurtures and inspires young talented sports persons that reign supreme and bring glory to our nation and the continent,” he said

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The Association of Sport Performance Centres (ASPC)