Load shedding cuts national productivity by 50%

Economist Yusuf Dodia has warned that the recently announced 8-hour load shedding is hurting the growth of domestic product – GDP as the national productivity has dropped by about 50 percent.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, Dodia highlighted that load shedding is preventing the country from being productive, and if this is done during the day, the national productivity will drop by about 50% adding that this impacts everything related to trade, commerce, and manufacturing as the entire economy is affected.

He noted that apart from the economic impact, there are also concerns about security due to the increased crime rates adding that with no lighting in homes, offices, or factories, thieves are likely to break in and steal from commercial premises.

“There are also concerns about security that if you don’t have lighting at your home or your office or your factory, you are likely to have thieves breaking in and getting your things from your commercial premises so the increased crime is likely to be seen quite clearly.”

“The other thing is, of course, the workers are being paid even though there’s no electricity they are earning a salary so on the one hand companies continue to pay its operating costs but on the other hand, the productivity is reduced.”

Dodia said the load-shedding exercise, which has been implemented due to low water levels in the country, is a wake-up call for Zambia in terms of building additional power stations for the future. The country needs to reflect on its policy in terms of access to energy, and it might be something they might want to rewrite their policy, similar to how they have developed the policy on education where education in Zambia has been made free to ensure that they have good human development for people.

He said the country needs to invest in new power stations to avoid such crises in the future. “The Batoka gauge power station, earmarked a long time ago, is a 2400-megawatt power station that would have been built between Zambia and Zimbabwe. Both countries would benefit from the huge amount of electricity which can be generated by this power station.”

“So definitely we are going to experience a downturn in the economy and we hope that the load-shedding will end as soon as later but also I think it’s a good wake-up call for us because this is not the first time this is happening and we are always reminded that the more hydroelectric stations we build, the better it is for this economy because we have seven of the major Rivers region 3 or 4 so we have enough water to develop more hydroelectric stations, even though we may have poor rainfall but we would still be able to generate enough power to continue supplying and adequately for our own and excess electricity we can sell to the region.”

He said It’s high time that the country takes stock of their activities and finds solutions that can mitigate against load-shedding exercise, which is affecting the economy very negatively. Otherwise, it will lead to inflation, prices of goods and services will go up, and there will be some areas of shortages of products.

“So I think the sooner we start investing in new power stations the good it is for the economy in the long run. so clearly it affects the economy very negatively and it’s very important that companies begin to look for alternatives to these activities in order to continue earning some revenue to be able to pay their workers and feed their families. Quite clearly this is a challenge that every company in Zambia will face and every company needs to take stock of their activities how they are doing it and try to find solutions that can mitigate against load-shedding exercise which has to be implemented due to low water levels in the country.”

“This is very much a wakeup call for Zambia in terms of building additional power stations for the future, I think it’s a wake-up call for Zambia in terms of seeing what the impacts of energy are on developing and growing our economy and for us to start reflecting on our policy in terms of access to energy it might be something we might want to rewrite our policy in the way we have developed the policy on education where education in Zambia has been made free to ensure that we have a good human development go for people the way that education impacts the lives of people in terms of being able to earn a living is the same way that energy impacts on economy in terms of productivity.” He said.  

Dodia expressed concern that the country continues to look at energy as a commercial product that can be sold for profits rather than looking at it as a catalyst for development which should be made available to the economy for the purposes of economic development and Growth for the entire nation.

“So I think we have a lot of decisions to make in as far as how we treat energy going into the future.”

He said, Zambia needs to generate a strong and effective energy policy that will help the country overcome these challenges and ensure sustainable economic growth in the long run. The sooner the country starts investing in new power stations, the better it will be for the economy.

Economist Yusuf Dodia has warned that the

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FNB announces plans to build Head office in Lusaka

The First National Bank (FNB) Zambia has announced that the Bank has acquired land and will commence construction of a new Head Office Premises in Lusaka, Zambia.

FNB which started operating in Zambia on 1 April 2009 has over the years enjoyed significant growth and now has presence across all 10 provinces of Zambia through a network of ATMs and Advanced Deposit Terminals (ADTs), Branches and CashPlus agency banking solutions.

Speaking on the new head office plans, FNB Zambia Chief Executive Officer, Kapumpe Chola disclosed that the Bank has acquired a piece of land on Tito Road in Rhodes Park – Lusaka, where it intends to commence construction of the FNB Zambia new Head Office premises within the next months.

According to a statement made available to the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, the Bank will endeavor to carry everyone along on this growth journey as the construction projects require elaborate planning and extensive stakeholder engagement.

“This is an exciting milestone in our journey as a leading digital and innovative bank adding to our continued commitment of operating in Zambia, particularly that this year we celebrate 15 years in the country. It also aligns with our optimization focus where we are refurbishing some of our branches across the country to enhance our customer touchpoints. We would like to most sincerely thank our customers for the continued support which has led to our success in Zambia”, Chola added.

The award-winning FNB Zambia which was named “2023 Digital Banking Brand of the year, Zambia” by the Zambia Institute of Banking & Financial Services, and Global Brands Magazine respectively, continues to focus on providing Helpful, Easy and Safe banking solutions across its different touchpoints.

The Bank has recently unveiled the refurbished Kabwe and Chipata branches which have been modernized to better serve customers.

FNB Zambia remains committed to operating in Zambia and providing innovative products to support its diverse customers and stakeholders.

The First National Bank (FNB) Zambia has

Airtel Networks Zambia reports 28.4% income growth

Airtel Networks Zambia Plc has released its full-year results for the year ended 31 December 2023 and disclosed income growth by 28.4% from ZMW 4,451 million (as at 31 December 2022) to ZMW 5,716 million as of 31 December 2023.

The above performance is largely attributed to the increase in the customer base by 11.2% from 9.195 million on 31 December 2022 to 10.227 million on 31 December 2023.

Airtel Board Chairperson Katebe Monica Musonda announced the results in Lusaka at the Company’s Annual General meeting and told the shareholders that there had been an increase in the operating profit at ZMW 2.2 billion for the period under review, which was an increase of 26.9% compared to the same period last year.

She said this was mainly as a result of the strong performance on revenue, and management’s consistent optimization of operating expenses in view of the harsh economic environment.

“The Zambian economy like many other global economies faced a number of challenges in 2023 from hikes in commodity prices, leading to tightening of the monetary policy, climate change and geopolitical tensions in most parts of the world which has had major impact on world trade and investments,” Ms. Musonda said.

“As of 31st December 2023, the Kwacha had depreciated compared to 31 December 2022, trading at K25.72/$1 compared to K18.11/$1 in the prior year. Inflation increased to 13.1%% in December 2023 from 9.9% in December 2022. The depreciation of the Kwacha against the US dollar, higher maize grain and mealie-meal prices, upward adjustment in electricity tariffs and increase in transportation costs were major drivers of inflation in 2023.” She said.

The Chairperson also announced that the company performed extremely well throughout the year. This is evidenced by the record-breaking declaration of three interim dividends for the period 1st January 2023 up to 30th September 2023 and a final dividend declaration of K3.50 per share for the period ending 31st December 2023.

And Airtel Managing Director, Hussam Baday informed the shareholders that Airtel had continued to make investments in the country’s 100% 4G Network and 5G deployed in major towns as a response to customers’ continued demand for high-quality Data and Voice Services as well as fulfilling the regulatory Quality of Service (QoS) guidelines issued by the Zambia Information Communication Technology Authority (ZICTA).

“We have invested a total of K1.3 billion in our network infrastructure in the year under review and have expanded our distribution exclusive channels by 39% YoY. This underpins Airtel’s long-term commitment to invest in the country and continue to improve the quality and coverage of our network and make our distribution points closer to customers,” Baday said.

The Profit after tax increased to ZM1,139 million compared to ZMW  921 million for the same period last year. This was mainly a result of strong revenue performance, operating efficiencies, and a robust War on Waste agenda despite inflationary pressures and the devaluation of the local currency movement against the US dollar.

“Our staff exhibit a high-performance culture as they continue on an ambitious innovation agenda with a strong customer focus mindset in order to provide an excellent customer experience for our exhibits customers,” Baday said.

In the picture is Company Secretary, Mrs. Sonia Chinganya (in blue) and Board Chairperson Ms Monica Katebe Musonda listening to a shareholders’ question at the Airtel AGM

Airtel Networks Zambia Plc has released its