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The Railway Workers Union of Zambia-RWUZ has appealed to government to clearly state what method it intends to use to recapitalize and improve the operations of Zambia Railways Limited (ZRL).

Union President Nathan Zulu said Zambia Railways needs urgent recapitalisation in order to contribute effectively to government’s quest to prioritise the implementation of socio-economic interventions which are aimed at stabilising, repairing and reviving the Zambian economy.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with the Zambian Business Times-ZBT, Zulu said the Zambian Railways needs an investment of over $1 billion if the company is to be revamped and be able to meet the needs of the growing economy.

Zulu explained that the subsector is supposed to offer competitive rates and move goods in bulk and remove pressure from the roads in terms of damages and safety adding that the cost of goods and services has soared because the rail subsector that is supposed to mitigate the transport cost has been neglected over the years.

He noted that the recapitalisation of Zambia Railways, a company that traverses five provinces, from Mulobezi to Chililabobwe will bring forth economic activities that will trigger employment opportunities from rehabilitation to full operations.

The Union President said this will further bring about the actualisation of the Road to Rail policy and spare the country the colossal millions of Kwacha that go towards maintenance of roads, which government can channel to needy social programs like health and education.

The 12th of September is marked as the day for commemorating the tenth anniversary of the bold decision that was taken to cancel the concession that was given to the Railway Systems of Zambia-RSZ to operate the rail systems in Zambia.

Zulu said the day always brings emotions and trepidation of how the rail sector has lost nine years of rail and personal development as the Zambia Railways is at crossroads in terms of the deterioration of rail infrastructure that was precipitated by the RSZ concession while the company is struggling with obsolete locomotives and wagons due to lack of investment.

 

 

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The Railway Workers Union of Zambia-RWUZ has

Lifestyle

The Basic Education Teachers Union of Zambia-BETUZ has disclosed that government is owing over K3 million in allowances to teachers on the Copperbelt.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with the Zambian Business Times-ZBT, BETUZ Copperbelt Provincial Chairperson Aaron Kunka has since asked government to pay teachers who are owed money such as settling in allowances and leave allowances among other allowances.

Kunka said government does not only owe teachers on the Copperbelt but also owes teachers around the country adding that the over K3 million being owed to teachers dates as far back as 2010 hence the need for government to begin paying off this debt.

“We can equally talk about those who have retired, there are some who are still being owed in leave days so we urge government to ensure that they clear this backlog”, he said.

He explained that the role of the union is to rehearse with government and remind the administration to meet its obligations as well as advocate for better conditions for its teachers.

The Provincial Chairperson noted that previously, government told the union that it did not have money to pay the teachers for allowances and promised that it will pay at an appropriate time.

Kunka said he hopes that with the new government, things will change and the teachers will be given what is due to them.

“We are appealing to government, just like they have paid the pensionaries let them equally settle all the teachers in various allowances because the longer it takes the more the money loses value so by the time they will be paid it will no longer be the same value as the time they started work”, he said.

 

 

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The Basic Education Teachers Union of Zambia-BETUZ

Companies

Some companies in Zambia have been engaged in the lucrative and multi million dollars “carbon credits trading” business under the guise of environmental, forest and wildlife conservation , raking in millions of dollars without paying any notable fees, charges or revenue share with the Zambian government or Zambian communities.

The Zambian Government currently does not have any real mechanism or controls in place to make sure that these revenues are legally declared and appropriately shared. With the country have over 30% of its land reserved for game parks, game management areas and forests, the country is losing out on millions of dollar of revenue from farm credits trading.

The Ministry of Tourism and its department of wildlife has a great opportunity to turn themselves from a cost center of government, into a notable revenue generating centre if it urgently takes advantage of the fast growing carbon credits trading business.

But one company that is aware of this and is fully engaged to contribute to increased revenue generation for the Zambian government and its communities resident in the affect areas is African Parks. It’s Country Director James Milanzi has disclosed that the organisation intends to start trading in carbon credits in the medium to long term.

Speaking in an interview with the Zambian Business Times-ZBT, Milanzi said African Parks would engage the Ministry of Green Economy and Environment in order to start trading in carbon credits especially within the game management areas.

Milanzi added that even though the organisation does not manage game management areas, African Parks would like to help organisations that need help adding that this would be a good source of revenue for the communities.

He explained that the organisation is lining up discussions with government and has already constituted a board adding that carbon credit is a government policy and government is doing everything possible to actuate it.

“Definitely they would need our input because it is a long process, you have to prove that you are respecting the environment and all the indicators that denigrate the environment are now pushed down. So it’s a long process and requires a lot of discussions with those that provide funding for carbon credit”, he said.

“As you know African Parks manages these parks by creating a special purpose vehicle where all stakeholders are represented and it is this board that is engaging with government to ensure that the needs of Kafue National Park and areas around it are met, especially where government requires to deliver policy”, he said.

Some Private Companies have incorporated in Zambia and illegally making huge sums of money dealing in carbon credits taking advance of scanty regulation. Authorities have told ZBT that high level investigations are underway and that the affected companies risk facing appropriate sanctions and penalties for non declaration of historical revenues.

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Some companies in Zambia have been engaged

Markets

The shortage of Kerosene popularly called paraffin at local filling stations in Zambia has been attributed to the closure of Indeni which was the main supplier of the commodity. Paraffin is mainly used as a lighting agent by a huge population of Zambians who live in high density areas called compounds.

Following some complaints from consumers, a random spot check by the Zambian Business Times – ZBT revealed that indeed, paraffin is not being stocked at most filling stations despite having storage facilities and pumps installed as part of the regulatory requirement.

When contacted to confirm the reasons behind the shortage, Energy Regulation Board (ERB) disclosed that the erratic supply of kerosene being experienced at some filling stations in some parts of the country is due to the reduction in demand for kerosene.

In response to ZBT, ERB Public Relations Manager Namukolo Kasumpa said the intermittent supply is due to the overall national demand for kerosene which has been on the decline from an average daily consumption of 66,072 litres in 2011 to 25,790 litres in 2020 and subsequently 8,688 litres in 2021.

Kasumpa told ZBT that driving this decrease in demand has been the increased availability of close substitutes such as solar lamps, the rise in the number of households connecting to the ZESCO grid and the switch to more efficient sources of energy.

She explained that with the decline in demand for kerosene, most Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) have opted not to stock the product and this may be contributing to the reported shortage of the product.

ERB however confirmed that Indeni closure had also affected the supply. “Further, as you may be aware, Indeni which was the main supplier of kerosene on the Zambian market has been placed under care and maintenance. Therefore, all kerosene products are now being imported by selected Oil Marketing Companies which make business decisions whether or not to import the product and what quantities”, ERB told ZBT.

Kasumpa mentioned that the importation of kerosene products by Oil Marketing Companies is not against the license conditions. She however mentioned that government has put in place tax waivers in order to encourage the continued security of supply of kerosene into the country and ERB will continue to monitor the situation and advise government regarding additional incentives that would promote the supply of kerosene in the country.

Users of paraffin have complained of being neglected with most OMCs discontinuing to Supply the commodity despite the demand from low income households.

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The shortage of Kerosene popularly called paraffin

Uncategorized

Former Resident Doctors Association of Zambia – RDAZ President Dr. Brian Chota Sampa has revealed that he is embarking on am march past which he has themed “#BanNdevupaNdevu” (Ban Beards on Beards) from Lusaka’s Civic center to State house (the official residence and office of Zambian President) to protest the increase in gay and lesbian activities in Zambia.

Dr. Sampa, a medical doctor by profession is undertaking the march to the State House to advocate for stricter rules and to challenge government to go beyond just condemning but taking action.  The law is not being enforced and its governments responsibility to enforce the law and not merely condemn.

We have seen a lot of Lesbians, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer Pride (LGBTQ) community members making videos, circulating them and the Vice is rapidly growing in Zambia. What we want is to advocate for action. There are even organizations which have even openly stated that they are promoting gay and lesbian rights and yet government is not doing anything.

The medical doctor said it is illegal to practice homosexuality in Zambia but a lot of people are currently practicing it because the law is not being enforced on them. The government can condemn but they are not doing anything about it.

In an exclusive interview with the Zambian Business Times-ZBT, the Dr. Sampa said something can be condemned and still acted upon adding that its governments mandate to act and enforce the law as stipulated by law.

“Someone who is not in government can condemn and say all sorts of bad things about a vice but the government is the only one that is responsible to enforce the law”, he said. Dr. Sampa said the march past is way of trying to reaffirm the point that the government needs to do more than what it’s doing now to curb the vice before it gets out of hand.

He stated that there are a lot of existing organizations in Zambia that support homosexuality and they are being allowed to flourish in the country and nothing is being done. The government should take a strong stance on the LGBTQ community the same way it is condemning corruption by investigating and arresting people and taking actions against them.

LQBTQ communities continue to face a hurdle against cultural beliefs with most traditions in Zambia not having clear ways to handle it.

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Former Resident Doctors Association of Zambia -

Lifestyle

The Human Rights Commission-HRC, an independent commission of the Zambian government has finally spoken out and condemned the continued prolonged detention of suspects without trial, a practice that successive governments in Zambia have used at the expense of upholding the suspects rights of innocence until proven guilty.

Two prominent cases were the former ruling party and now main opposition Patriotic Front – PF Deputy Secretary General Mumbi Phiri and Patriots for Economic Progress – PEP President Sean Tembo have been held beyond expected and reasonable timelines of 48hrs continue to attract local and international human rights groups attention.

Just last week, opposition PEP leader  Sean Tembo was detained by Zambia Police and spent six (6) days at Woodlands police station before he was availed a police bond. Mumbi Phiri, a woman politician remains detained for over half a year (8 months) without being presented to court. The Chief Justice Mumba Malila when asked is reported to have not yet briefed or received her file.

HRC has since reiterated the need for the country to timely institute justice system reforms and retire archaic laws. The human rights body has stated that the prolonged detention of suspects steps on their right of innocence until proven or entering pleas of guilty by the competent courts.

Mwelwa Muleya, HRC spokeperson said the courts of law should be able to make their own independent decisions at their own legally guided discretion based on the merits of each case so as to be able to grant bail.

In an exclusive interview with the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, Muleya said by refusing to grant bail, the rights of the suspects are violated. And where there is a law that bans any possibility of bill, that law violates the right to presumption of innocence as provided by the constitution which guarantees the rights to every suspect to be presumed innocent until proven or pleaded guilty.

“In the event that someone cannot be granted bail or bond, it pre-supposes that they are guilty and results into prolonged pre-trail detention of suspects, which in itself propagates the chain of human rights violations [in the event that they are later proven innocent], so we need to resolve those”

HRC further advised Zambians to avoid looking at individual cases of people, but instead be able to look at a broader picture and the root cause of such problems. There are people who are not visible but have been detained longer than the visible people that are being talked about.

Muleya told ZBT that there also slow movements of dockets between the law enforces [police] and National Prosecution Authority – NPA, hence the need to make the system efficient enough so as to ensure that police don’t arrest people when they have not completed investigations.

The HRC spokeperson further said when someone is detained or arrested, it should take reasonable time in taking the matter to the courts of law and not prolonged timelines. The new Chief Justice has pledged to introduce reforms to make the Justice System efficient but no definite timelines or action plans have been made public.

Effort by ZBT to get a full list of people that are currently detained by Police for over 48 hours (2 days) before being presented to court, or not availed police bond option or without trial could not be obtained by press time as records are said to be manual with no computerized system in place. Sources  say this is one area that need urgent attention if Zambia is to realistically entrench its democratic credentials.

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The Human Rights Commission-HRC, an independent commission

Agribusiness

The Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection (JCTR) says shortages and price increments in fertilizer on the global market threaten the agriculture sector in Zambia.

JCTR Representative Ntusuwila Nachilono said government needs to put in place safety nets to protect the country from the adverse effects of the fertilizer shortages and price increments.

In an interview with the Zambian Business Times-ZBT, Nachilono said agriculture plays an important role in the Zambian economy as it contributes significantly to economic growth, export earnings and employs approximately more than half of the labour force.

She further added that the sector has great potential to enhance economic growth but has remained not fully exploited despite government’s efforts.

Nachilono stated that for the 2022/2023 farming season, fertilizer prices and shortages are threatening the agricultural sector in the country adding that weather irregularities also threaten the agriculture sector as Zambia’s climate has been highly variable over the last few years.

She mentioned that in the 2018/2019 farming season, the country experienced drought, in the 2020/2021 season, Zambia experienced floods in certain parts of the country and in the 2021/2022 season the country experienced delayed rainfall.

The JCTR Representative noted that fertilizer prices have continued to rise on the global market as they have risen by nearly 30% since the start of 2022.

Nachilono attributed the soaring prices of fertilizer to a number of factors which include the rising input costs and supply disruptions caused by sanctions adding that concerns around fertilizer affordability and availability have been amplified by the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

 

 

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The Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection (JCTR)

Markets

Consumer Unity Trust Society-CUTS says there is need for government to make the environment more enabling for businesses to thrive in order for the country to increase its Gross National Income (GNI) per capita and reclaim its lower middle-income status.

In July this year, the World Bank reclassified Zambia to low income status from lower middle income for the 2023 financial year because of the deterioration of Gross National Income per capita estimates recorded in 2021.

CUTS Assistant Programmes Officer Jane Zulu explained that the reclassification is because the GNI per capita has been reducing which means incomes of the citizens have been low and according to the World Bank, that is below approximately K15000 per person in a country.

Speaking in an interview with the Zambian Business Times-ZBT, Zulu noted that there is also need to encourage entrepreneurship but that is also largely dependent on the environment that people are trading in adding that an enabling environment encourages people to venture into entrepreneurship, which increases people’s incomes, and businesses come up.

Zulu mentioned that the Covid-19 pandemic that hit the country in 2020 led to the closure of many businesses because of the restrictions that came with the pandemic noting that Zambia being landlocked, there were no interactions with other countries, which led to many businesses shutting down hence reducing the country’s GNI per capita.

She added that other challenges that led to the country’s GNI per capita deteriorating is the debt burden that the country has which has not enabled or created a conducive environment for investors to invest in the country.

“The Ministry has noted that covid measures are now flexible, people can walk around with no masks. We are slowly picking up and the confidence that has come with the new dawn government, restructuring of debt and the IMF package agreed with for the next three years is a positive sign”, she said.

She mentioned that Finance and National Planning Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane said government is working to reverse the situation and they are taking steps in the right direction.

 

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Consumer Unity Trust Society-CUTS says there is

Agribusiness

Ministry of Agriculture Permanent Secretary Green Mbozi has disclosed that government has awarded Nitrogen Chemicals of Zambia-NCZ a contract to supply 47, 338 metric tonnes of D Compound fertilizer in the 2022/2023 agricultural season.

Speaking in an interview with the Zambian Business Times-ZBT, Mbozi said Nitrogen Chemicals of Zambia will supply fertilizer to Copperbelt, Central and Lusaka provinces in the upcoming season.

Mbozi mentioned that because Nitrogen Chemicals of Zambia is a parastatal, the Company does not bid for a tender to supply fertilizer and government just gives the company an invitation to supply a quantity of fertilizer that it thinks the Company can produce.

He explained that after the Company carried out an assessment, it established how much D Compound fertilizer it is capable of supplying in the 2022/2023 agricultural season which is 47, 338 metric tonnes.

“For reasons which I don’t understand, in the past they were being given to supply small quantities and over time the state of the plant deteriorated so this year they are still trying to rehabilitate the plant. We asked management and it was their own assessment that this year they would just produce about 50, 000 metric tonnes and that’s why we went to look at what was to be distributed in terms of D Compound for Central, Lusaka and Copperbelt and this came to 47, 338 metric tonnes”, he said.

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Ministry of Agriculture Permanent Secretary Green Mbozi

Mining

President Hakainde Hichilema says Government remains committed to addressing the challenges affecting the operations at Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) and Mopani Copper Mines (MCM).

Calls for urgent attention have continued for both the court cases at Konkola Copper Mines and unprofitability of the Glenore deal at Mopani Copper Mines as they have left local businesses limping and paralyzed the Copperbelt economy.

Earlier, Mines and Minerals Development Minister Paul Kabuswe admitted to ZBT that government does not have immediate solutions to revamp both Mopani and KCM which will in turn support businesses on the Copperbelt.

However, Speaking during the official opening of the second session of the thirteenth national assembly, monitored by the Zambian Business Times-ZBT, President Hichilema said measures are being taken to safeguard jobs for the people and significantly turn around production around the two assets.

The Head of State added that this is in an effort to provide a favourable environment for increased investment in mining and downstream activities.

President Hichilema said government shall review the mineral resources development policy, while positioning the sector to contribute towards the country’s economic transformation agenda.

He said government prioritized the reorganization of artisanal and small-scale mining in an endeavor to increase the participation of citizens in the mining sector.

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President Hakainde Hichilema says Government remains committed