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Markets

Economist Yusuf Dodia has lamented at the lack of attention towards the enhancement of the private sector environment to stimulate more growth so as to be able to meet the demand of higher taxes as demands the 2024 National Budget.

Dodia said there are a lot of areas in the budget where government is expecting to collect more taxes such as income tax, PAYE, VAT among others, but noted that there is no area where the private sector is being stimulated in order to grow and be able to pay the higher taxes.

“If we are expecting for example to raise an extra four billion kwacha in PAYE, it suggests that we have to employ another possibly five hundred thousand people in employment. We need to see half a million people newly employed between now and December this year to be able to meet that revenue collection” said Dodia. He said these are challenges in the budget that need to be looked at critically.

He said it is the same with the 2 billion increase in custom duty collections, and 2 billion in exercise duty collection which suggest that the country has that much more exports and imports. He said looking at the income tax and extra 4 billion to be collected, it means companies need to be able to perform much better in 2024 in order to deliver this kind of taxes”.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, Dodia however mentioned that there are no indications in the budget that will stimulate this kind of growth, noting that electricity tariffs are going up this year, next year, and the year after, and that fuel prices are going up in relation to the high oil prices noting that the war in Ukraine and Russia has pushed up the price of oil, fertilizer, wheat, and soya beans.

He said collecting more revenues from increased business performance does not seem to be very apparent with regards to next year’s budget.

He said perhaps the magic bullet would be what government announced through the secretary to the cabinet, that government was implementing the Export Proceeds Tracking Framework. He said the mechanism suggests that whatever exports are being done by any company in Zambia, be it in mining agriculture, tourism, or manufacturing, export earnings must come into a bank based in Zambia. “Now if that will be implemented, this will give us an opportunity to recapitalize our economy, and through that mechanism, we can begin to see our economy grow, and we can be able to see ourselves addressing the challenge of servicing debt, and also growing our private sector through cheaper access to capital” said Dodia.        

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Economist Yusuf Dodia has lamented at the

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Annual inflation for October 2023 increased to 12.6 percent from 12.0 percent recorded in
September, 2023. This development has been attributed to the increase in prices of food and non-food items.

The continued acceleration of Zambia’s inflation rate to have had several negative effects on the already struggling economy. This will likely lead to a decrease in purchasing power as prices of goods and services increase which would in turn lead to a decrease in consumer spending and a slowdown in economic activity. This will be particularly challenging for especially low-income households who are already struggling to afford basic necessities.

The 12.6 percent is against the central banks 6 – 8 percent target for this year.

According to the official statistics obtained by the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, of the overall 12.6 percent annual inflation, Lusaka province contributed the highest at 4.2
percentage points followed by Copperbelt and Central provinces which contributed 2.3 and1.3
percentage points respectively.

Southern contributed 1.1 percentage points while North-western
province had the lowest contribution of 0.4 percentage points.
details to follow….

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Annual inflation for October 2023 increased to

Lifestyle

The Lusaka City Council (LCC) has been accused of shielding and deliberately preventing accountability by withholding the names of the council police who confiscated the wheelchair of Mr. Daniel Mwamba, a physically challenged street vendor, an action that has caused great concern to members of the public.

According to media reports, LCC confiscated a wheelchair that Mr. Mwamba was using for his mobility and to trade in plastic bags, an ction

But LCC dispelled social media reports and defended the act by saying that council police only confiscated a wheelchair that Mr. Mwamba was using for displaying his merchandise and not the one he was using for mobility.

The authority also revealed that the wheelchair and his merchandise were returned to him the same day when the incident happened and that the confiscation was only meant to caution him that street vending is prohibited.

In an exclusive interview with the Zambian business times – ZBT, LCC public relations manager Chola Mwamba said she was not in the best position to reveal the names of the council police who confiscated Mr. Mwambas wheel chair.

Mwamba said LCC is going to secure Mr. Mwamba a trading place within the central business district.

She noted that allowing all the people who are physically challenged to vend in the CBD will mean that the authority’s aim of ensuring that street vendors do not return will be all in vain.

She reiterated that the local authority has great respect for human rights and the social inclusion of differently-abled people in society.

Meanwhile, the Human Rights Commission has condemned the Lusaka city council for confiscating a wheelchair from a person with a disability as punishment for engaging in street vending.

According to a statement made available to the Zambian business times – ZBT, Human Rights Commission spokesperson Mwelwa Muleya described the act by the council police as cruel, inhuman, and degrading punishment.

Mr. Muleya said the commission received the report of the confiscation with utmost shock.

He therefore called for the immediate restoration of Mr. Mwamba’s rights and dignity and empowering him with a trading place within the central business district as an act of humanity and minimizing the trauma caused on him.  

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The Lusaka City Council (LCC) has been

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Zambia’s one of the largest cement producers Mpande Limestone Ltd – Sinoma – is set to increase cement prices by K4 claiming high cost of doing business as the reason behind.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, Mpande Limestone Ltd – Sinoma Officials confirmed that effective Monday 30th October 2023 all prices are to increase by K4 due to high cost of doing business.

Cement prices are now an economically sensitive matter as the country is undertaking massive infrastructure projects of which cement is a key overall cost determinant.

Although other major cement producers are yet to confirm the percentage increase, the revelation from the two cement producers (Chilanga Cement who earlier confirmed a 10% increase) and now Mpande Limestone Ltd – Sinoma increase of K4, has great potential to negatively affect the construction sector.

The officials argued that, “we are increasing because when bringing in most of the products that we use, the cost of fuel has gone up and then everything that we purchase be it locally we do it in dollar and then we resell cement in Kwacha.”

“So after calculations it was discovered that the company is running at a loss so we are just trying to recover from that.”

The officials who asked for their names to be withheld said the biggest contributor to this is fuel, “because all transporters that we use to bring in the raw product have actually also hiked their prices for us.”

Increasing the prices of cement can have various impacts which may also lead to high inflation and have an overall impact on the economy.

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Zambia’s one of the largest cement producers

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The Road Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA), has revealed that it has summoned a number of social media influencers in the last few days for going live on their social media platforms while driving.

according to reports cases of Road traffic accidents are on the rise due to in most case scenario driver negligence.

Speaking in an an exclusive interview with the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, RTSA public relations officer Mukela Mangolwa said offenders are not going to be fined but will be taken through a fast-track court of which it will be up to the magistrate to decide what fine will be paid by the offenders.

Mangolwa has warned that RTSA is summoning everyone abrogating road traffic laws regardless of their status in society and that in the next few days, information will be availed to the public on what actions will be taken on influencers who have been summoned.

“I wouldn’t want to share the names but a number of them have been summoned in the last few days. One of them was supposed to have reported on Monday to answer to charges. These are not going to be fined but will be taken through fast-track court and it will be up to the magistrate to decide what fine will be paid by the offenders. So we are summoning everyone regardless of what status they hold in society. In the next few days, I’m sure we will have information on what actions will be taken on some of these people who have been summoned,” he said.

Mangolwa reiterated that it is an offense for someone to use a phone while driving and that the dangers extend to live streaming while driving a motor vehicle on a public road as the end results are dire.

“In recent times we’ve seen a common trend, especially among public figures or influencers in the country and we are treating every case the same. For us, we don’t look at the status of an individual in the community. The law is very clear on that one. It is an offense for someone to use a phone while driving. The dangers also extend to live streaming while someone is driving a motor vehicle on a public road,” said Mangolwa.

Meanwhile asked to reveal the names of the social media influencers summoned, Mangolwa withheld the names and assured that the names would be availed to the public as soon as the offenders answer to their charges.

He said the agency expects people to use their status in the community to help disseminate road safety information instead of using their status to abrogate the law.

He added that the agency wants to work with everyone to promote road safety because a lot of lives are being lost as a result of road traffic accidents.

“We want to allow the concerned parties to answer the charges before we publicize their names. As an agency we expect people to use their status in the community to help disseminate road safety information instead of using their status wrongly by breaking the law. As an agency, we want to work with everyone when it comes to issues with road safety because we are losing a lot of people as a result of road traffic accidents. The statistics are so alarming so everyone has to come on board and make their contributions, people should use whatever power, platform, or following on social media to work with us to save lives,” he said.

He therefore revealed that just a few days ago, a pedestrian was hit by a train because they were listening to music using headsets while walking along a rail line.

“I was talking about losing lives, just a few days we lost a pedestrian who was hit by a train because they were listening to music on headsets and walking along a rail line. That just highlights the importance of people adhering to the law because this is something we have been talking about,” said Mangolwa.

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The Road Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA),

Tech

Airtel Africa’s Group Chief Executive Officer – CEO, Segun Ogunsanya has challenged the telecommunications industry in Africa to leverage emerging technologies to enable all people in the continent to connect, engage, and transact with the rest of the world.

Speaking at the just concluded Mobile World Congress in Kigali, Dr Ogunsanya noted that through these technologies, telecom players have an opportunity to step up efforts to bridge the digital divide, drive financial inclusion, and deepen the availability of affordable smart devices.

He cited Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) as a powerful tool for predicting customer behavior and deepening insights about customer needs and preferences. “Opportunity also exists in intelligent connectivity, a concept that foresees the combination of 5G, the Internet of Things, and Artificial Intelligence to accelerate technological development and enable new disruptive digital services.”

Dr Ogunsanya said, “The telecom industry is in a unique position to make it easier for people to enter the digital world by deploying these technologies. This is through significant investments in building digital highways across the continent while creating a vibrant mobile money ecosystem. Through collaborations with equipment manufacturers and other key stakeholders, we can put smart devices in the hands of every African.”

The Airtel Africa Group argued that a significant proportion of Africa’s young population still remains unreached with 59% smartphone penetration and only two out of ten Africans have a mobile money wallet.

In a statement made available to the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, Emerging technologies can also be used in AI-aided e-learning to design the best curriculum based on students’ learning abilities; e-health to improve patient monitoring and more efficient health facilities; Agritech that uses AI and connectivity in crop disease detection tools; and financial inclusion, by triangulating the digital highway, unified payment system, and intelligent mobile wallets.

The technologies can be used in smart cities for safe communities and efficient public utilities; development planning to predict population movements and help governments in designing urban and rural development; and smart metering for accurate measurement of usage, enhanced sustainability, and improved customer experience. Biometric technology can be used for authentication, privacy, access control, and non-repudiation.

Airtel Africa is currently rolling out a 5G network across its 14 markets in Africa Zambia included with the aim of facilitating a digitally connected world and unlocking a broad range of opportunities.

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Airtel Africa’s Group Chief Executive Officer -

Markets

Official statistics have revealed that the annual inflation for Western Province has jumped from 11.9 percent in August 2023 to 15.2 percent a month-on-month average price or inflation jump of about 30 percent.

A month-on-month increase of 30% in average annual prices of commodities and non-food items in the national basket is tantamount to an economic shock for most local businesses and households, a situation that needs urgent attention as incomes or salaries of the residents of this region have not risen by that quantum within subsequent months.

According to the report, the western province contributed the highest percentage of 15.2 percent provincial inflation for the period of September 2023. In the last report, Western province was the third highest contributing 11.9 percent only behind Eastern province which contributed 12.2 percent, and Lusaka which led with 12.5 percent.

Reacting to the report by the government’s own statistics, The Western Province Chamber of Commerce has attributed this to the poor economic indicators in the province.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, the Chamber, Vice Secretary Samuel Litebele said the poverty levels in the province stand at 78.6 percent.

Litebele disclosed that unemployment levels in the province are high stating that the province is one of the provinces with a high unemployment rate of 13.9 percent, with a population of about 1.2 million. He said most of the people are involved in very scant economic activities or small-scale business businesses selling items such as. Vegetables, Rice, Timber, Fish, and Trading, while the other group of people are Civil Servants. “We do not have industries that are employing a good number of people, and this is related to unemployment,” said Litebele.

Litebele also mentioned that most of the goods come from either Lusaka or Mumbwa, including food, and that the road network is in a very deplorable state.

He said some of the causes include the depreciation of the kwacha, as well as the rise in fuel leading to an increase in transport cost, energy, and electricity, which have an influence on inflation.

Litebele further noted that there is a deficit of maize, which is causing high mealie meal prices, ranging at about K290 which is on the higher side, especially for most people who are not employed.

Litebele further mentioned that an increase in money supply though debatable can fuel inflation. “We have seen a lot of money coming from CDF, a lot of money coming from FISP, a lot of money coming from social cash transfer in the community, so that could fuel inflation because if you have more money, but you do not have the goods and services, then the prices go up,” said Litebele. He added that low agricultural produce is one of the key contributing factors, noting that food items such as cabbage, tomato, beans, and kapenta, are imported into the province. Litebele said there is also a shortage of drugs in the hospitals, causing people to purchase from the private sector which is expensive.

Litebele said with such issues, the money loses purchasing power, hence people buy less. He said some of the interventions that can be done, is to reduce the cost of capital, and that people should be able to access the –CDF- loans which are cheaper, as well as from the Citizens Economic Empowerment Commission –CEEC- , and the Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprise –SMEs-. “We have not seen much coming into the community, especially from CDF, and CEEC” said Litebele. He said government should be able to control the inflation rate through the Monetary Policy rate to discourage borrowing, noting that interest rates at the bank are high. “This is what they should be doing to discourage people from borrowing, even though that could have a rippling effect again on production, but people should be kind of discouraged from borrowing expensive money, and borrow cheap money from CDF and CEEC” said Litebele. He said the government should put in more money in CDF, and CEEC.

Litebele mentioned that from the consumer’s side, there is need to grow more of the foods being imported, and eat more from what is produced locally. He said there is also need to increase household incomes by engaging in activities such as poultry, sewing, gardening, and perhaps village banking, which can be some of the things that can be helpful to the people.

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Official statistics have revealed that the annual

Tech

The Oil Marketing Companies Association of Zambia – OMCAZ has questioned the Energy Regulation Board on why diesel transportation cost is still the same as petrol despite the use of the pipeline to transport diesel which is believed to be much cheaper than the road.

According to the ERB Price build-up for September 2023, obtained by the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, revealed that diesel transportation cost is still the same as petrol despite use of the pipeline.   

The UNIFORM PUMP PRICE BUILD-UP for SEPTEMBER 2023 PRICE ADJUSTMENT obtained from the ERB indicated that the Transportation cost for both petrol and diesel is still ZMW/M3 520.

OMCAZ President Dr. Kafula Mubanga has however questioned why the status quo has not changed when the essence of transporting the commodity via the pipeline was to reduce the transportation cost which could in turn further reduce the oil pump price.

“Those are some of the issues that must be raised as far as proper price range structures are concerned. We do not expect to have the same price as petrol because we now have the pipeline whose costs must be lower than the road transportation.” Remarked Mubanga.

Mubanga noted that the essence of the convention of the pipeline was to reduce the cost of transport which should in turn push the cost of pump price product to much more lowly.

“ERB must clearly explain why the position is still as such so we are appealing to ERB to explain to the nation why the status quo has not changed when we have the reflective costs on their costings has not changed when there is the pipeline which more cheaper.”

“We did mention that it would be very important that there is an SI to compel all importers that use the pipeline to avoid leeway of such costings aspects where others would say we still bring in the product using the road. So when you increase competition on the pipeline, everybody will migrate to the pipeline but also it should be political way and this can come out through an SI to compel all OMCs to use the pipeline to bring in the product as a way in which the government intends to reduce the cost of pump prices.”

Dr Mubanga also urged government to put up a compelling instruments so that only petrol should be transported via the road while diesel should strictly use the pipeline.

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The Oil Marketing Companies Association of Zambia

Markets

Zambia has posted a trade surplus in September 2023. This is a positive sign for the country’s economy and could potentially lead to growth and development in the future if this trend continues in the coming months and years.

According to recent reports, the country recorded a trade surplus of K2.31 billion in August 2023 compared to a surplus of K2.33 billion in July 2023.

Exports mainly comprising domestically produced goods, increased by 9.1 percent to K19.1 billion in August 2023 from K17.5 billion in July 2023.

This was mainly on account of 7.9, 17.2, 16.2, and 13.1 percent increases in export earnings from Intermediate goods, Raw materials, Capital goods, and Consumer goods, respectively.

Imports, on the other hand, increased by 10.7 percent to K16.8 billion in August 2023 from K15.1 billion in July 2023.

This was mainly as a result of 12.4, 19.8, 5.0, and 6.7 percent increases in import bills of Consumer goods Capital goods, Intermediate goods, and Raw materials, respectively.

Meanwhile, Traditional Exports (TE’s) earnings increased by 4.6 percent to K11.8 billion in August 2023 from K11.3 billion in July 2023. In terms of share in total exports, TEs accounted for 62.0 percent during the month under review.

Non-Traditional Exports (NTEs) earnings increased by 17.3 percent to K7.2 billion in August 2023 from K6.2 billion in July 2023. In terms of share in total exports, NTEs accounted for 38.0 percent in August 2023.

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Zambia has posted a trade surplus in

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Zambia’s gold reserve build-up has dragged following the Government’s indecision to reopen the Kasenseli gold mine and some Challenges to purchasing gold from the Kansanshi mines.

Zambia’s cumulative refined gold reserves in monetary form as of July 2023, stood at United States Dollars USD $114 million when it is expected to be above $200 by this time.

The Central Bank, the Bank of Zambia – BoZ which holds Zambia’s Gold reserves, disclosed to the Zambian Business Times – ZBT – that the bank has this year bought only about US$25 million up to July 2023.

Deputy Governor for Operations Dr. Francis Chipimo noted that regarding gold, there is a need to diversify sources of reserves. “The bank has been buying gold and has this year bought about US$25 million up to July and are around US$114 million in terms of the cost.

He said the gold prices have improved since then so the market value is a little higher. “This also I think has been recognized across governments, so I know that on the government side, they are looking at, how can we better organize critical minerals which are there, and how can we set up a system in which we can bring in the small scale producers in an organized way,” said Chipimo.

He re-emphasized that hat for the central bank to hold gold, it must be a bullion standard, and must demonstrate that it was mined in the right way.

He said this is important purely on the liquidity side because the gold bought now is stored in London and can be traded, and is a strong asset in the country’s reserve.

 “So how we mine it, the way that we can show that it has been mined properly will be important, but the government is certainly working on that, we are part of those efforts that have been going on, and hopefully we will be able to structure a way in which can purchase gold.” He remarked.

The Central Bank Deputy Governor was speaking when responding to a question by the Zambian Business Times on what the Central Bank is doing to revive the alternative gold reserve following the recent gold scandal at the KKIA Airport.

The Bank of Zambia BoZ act, BoZ is permitted to hold Gold as part of the country’s international services. In this regard, the Bank purchases Gold to help to build the level of international reserves.

Bank of Zambia Governor Dr. Denny Kalyalya had earlier been challenged to use the current opportunity of locally existing gold to stockpile gold reserves to a size-able value of over $1 billion to have an alternative lever to fall back on in the event of a steep drop in global commodity prices with Zambia still dependent on copper exports accounting for over 70% of total exports.

The Central Bank purchases gold from First Quantum Minerals – FQM’s Kansanshi Mine where the highest amount of gold is expected to be purchased as Kasenseli gold mine remains closed.

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Zambia’s gold reserve build-up has dragged following