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ZACA questions ZICTA soft stance to get 4th mobile phone operator

The Zambia Consumer Association – ZACA has expressed concern over the continued delay and soft stance by state ICT regulator ZICTA to give Zambian consumers a 4^th mobile phone operator which has now by passed the expected timelines.

The Zambia Information and Communication Technology Authority – ZICTA – had in 2021 indicated that it had granted a local firm Beeline Telecom Limited a license to commence mobile phone operations in the country within the period of 6 months. This timeline was extended and a new deadline was given to Beeline to commence operations by 30^th June 2022, and this has also not materialized.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with the Zambian Business Times –ZBT, ZACA General Secretary Juba Sakala said the association was concerned that these continued delays is denying Zambian consumers alternative services and that this is not the first time such is happening were commencement of operations extensions are being given on earlier extensions.

He explained that some time back another Company was awarded a licence but could not start operation adding that the current one has taken a year plus and has not yet started operation. A check by ZBT indeed confirmed that Unitel’s UZZI had indeed gone through several extensions until the license awarded was eventually cancelled, while Zambian consumers remain being unserved from benefits that may arise from having a 4th mobile phone and Mobile Internet operator

Sakala has since challenged the Directors of Beeline and the ZICTA board and management to come out in the open and explain their position to the nation before people are left with no options but to speculate and make their own conclusions.

“We would like ZICTA which is under the Ministry of Technology to state their position on Beeline and tell the nation what the way forward is” He said. An investigation by ZBT also drew a blank as the company – Beeline does not seem to have available contact persons who can be engaged to give the status quo.

“They should tell the nation what is the delay and when are they starting because justice delayed is justice denied, so we don’t know whether that this company will start operations or not”, ZACA told ZBT. ZACA is of the view that if Beeline Telecom is unable to source funds to start operations, they should state so and that ZICTA should be proactive and immediately re-advertise the license.

July 26, 2022

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The Zambia Consumer Association - ZACA has

A political twist emerges as BCHOD challenges EIZ suspension

Consulting Engineering firm Brian Colquhoun, Hugh O’Donnell & Partners – BCHOD Zambia whose shareholding is majority held by Zambians has challenged the Engineers Institute of Zambia – EIZ to reveal what exact details led to their membership being suspended.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with the Zambian Business Times –ZBT, BCHOD Managing Partner George Sitali said EIZ had suspended them without giving them an opportunity to be heard. “We don’t even know what the charges are and what they have been suspended for, EIZ has a process we’re members are written to and given time to respond if there are charges” Sitali told ZBT.

Sitali said EIZ did not at any point inform or write to us concerning the suspension of our membership. We are hearing this from the press statements and queries just like this. EIZ has processes on how to handle issues and we have not been engaged.

A further investigation by ZBT has revealed a political twist in that Sitali is the husband to constitutional court judge Annie Mwewa-Sitali who was appointed during the former ruling party – the Patriotic Front – PF regime. She is a prominent Judge and has handled highly sensitive cases and this may be the reason why the husbands company may be targeted.

Sitali when asked to confirm if he was married to a prominent lawyer who was being investigated as per tip received by ZBT, he confirmed that he is married to Constitutional court Judge Annie Sitali but he was not aware of her being investigated.

EIZ has suspended the membership of the BICON and BCHOD, both consulting Engineering firms following the irregularities revealed after a government appointed Joint Investigation Team – JIT invited the EIZ Technical Committee to review the issues surrounding Society House Tower building and the Ndola Mufulira Mukambo road construction projects.

BCHOD is of the view that it was wrong for EIZ to suspend their membership without the due process of being heard. The BCHOD Consulting Engineers Managing Partner said it was very difficult for him to give further comments as they were not informed of anything.

He said EIZ need to reveal to them the illegalities that have been found. “The rules of natural and fair justice demands that when you accuse someone, you need first to inform them before anything is done, but that was not the case.” He said.

He added that BCHOD Lawyers have since written to the EIZ to ask for what the charges are and share more details on everything that has transpired to arrive at the decision to suspend their membership.

After the above connection and relations, it’s now not clear if it’s the government’s JIT which initiated the review of these projects which has concluded that both BICON and BCHOD are guilty. EIZ confirmed that the institution was invited to be part of the investigation but the process of arriving at the verdict after the investigation has not been made public.

July 26, 2022

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Consulting Engineering firm Brian Colquhoun, Hugh O’Donnell

Companies

Italian firm ENI dupes Zambia & gets free carbon offsets for $7b Mozambique gas project?

Italian energy giant ENI which has a $7 billion coral floating liquefied natural gas project in Mozambique which Italian President Sergio Matterella visited before coming to Zambia intends to use the Luangwa valley under the Luangwa Community Forest Project – LCFP of Zambia without announcing any significant compensation to generate carbon offset credits needed for the project to pass global and EU emissions net zero requirements.

The Italian Energy company which has launched a multi billion (estimated at $7 billion by Bloomberg) project in Mozambique needs the Zambian based LCFP to successfully proceed and justify the carbon emissions that are expected to be generated by its new gas project.

The question however is whether the Zambian government has properly negotiated to get the best payout of significant economic value relative to what ENI will make from the gas emissions as well as as the over 1 million hectares that will be dedicated to forest conservation in lieu of potential future development by local Zambians who currently inhabit the vast area.

According to ENI, the Luangwa community Forests Project- LCFP covers about 1 million hectares, involves more than 170,000 local people in the affected communities, and is key to the energy company’s goal to achieve a zero net upstream emissions by 2030. This target includes the its Mozambique project.

ENI in its official report seen by the Zambian Business Times – ZBT confirmed that the Luangwa Valley project is key to not only achieving the minimization of direct Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, but also implementing projects to compensate for residual emissions from its multi billion dollar projects.

The Zambian government and Ministry of Green economy have been engaged to reveal how much the Zambian government will make in terms of revenues from this project. Ideally, ENI should be paying funds into the Zambian treasury for the carbon credits they are purchasing from Zambia’s Luangwa Valley.

A critical look at an investment of $7 billion and annual revenues expected from the gas that will be harvested in Mozambique, Zambia should be able to negotiate and get out some significant value as its negotiating play should take into consideration the risk/return that is commensurate with the international prices for both the gas to be extracted annually as well as carbon credits to be obtained from Luangwa valley.

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Italian energy giant ENI which has a

Lifestyle

Rightful UPND candidate for Chingola sues govt for restitution

The rightful candidate who should now have been the United Party for National Development – UPND member of parliament – MP for Chingola in place of the current MP and Trade Minister Chipoka Mulenga has sued the state claiming various damages, costs and interest.

Donald Chishika in a statement of claim seen by the Zambian Business Times – ZBT stated that he was the aspiring candidate for member of parliament for Chingola Constituency but ended up not being adopted because the party [UPND] feared to adopt a candidate who was appearing for a criminal offense, despite being political in nature.

A check by ZBT on who eventually got adopted and subsequently scoped the seat shows that Trade Minister and current Chingola MP Chipoka Mulenga, a situation that has made the rightful candidate miss out on his lifetime opportunity which he may not be able to get for the rest of his life.

Chishika who is being represented by Robson Malipenga & Co legal firm, stated that he was arrested on 24 October 2019 and detained upto 28 October 2019 as a UPND member after they attempted to attend Independence celebrations on the invitation of the district commissioner.

He stated that he was kept in prison for three days and released on bail. The trial resumed and he continued to appear before court until 17 December 2021 when they were acquitted. This is after the change of government on 12 August 2021, by which time he lost out on the opportunity of being a candidate for Chingola.

Chishika is now seeking for damages for false imprisonment, damages for malicious prosecution and mental torture, interest snd costs. No specific claim amounts have been indicated in the statement of claim.

The Zambian government is facing a lot of claims for damages for ‘political’ cases after the change of government from Patriotic Front – PF to UPND. The total number of cases and amounts to be paid out to all the various cases that have been initiated across the country is yet to be ascertained.

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The rightful candidate who should now have

Society house saga deepens as EIZ suspends BICON & BCHOD

The safety and structural integrity of the Society House tower building located in Lusaka’s central business district along Cairo road which had first been raised in 2020 has come back with two engineering firms getting suspended.

The Engineering Institute of Zambia –EIZ has suspended the membership of BICON and BCHOD, both Consulting Engineering firms following the irregularities revealed after a joint investigation conducted by the EIZ technical committee and the government’s Joint Investigative Team – JIT on society house and the Ndola-Mufulira-Mokambo road.

Addressing the Media in Lusaka attended by the Zambian Business Times –ZBT, EIZ President Abel Ngandu disclosed that this came after the request of the Joint Investigation Team where EIZ was invited to review the Ndola Mukambo Mufulira road project.

Ngandu explained that in the interest of the general public, the technical committee constituted a team of expert to review the technical audit reports of the work that were conducted so far. He said the technical audit report revealed a lot of irregularities of great concern to the profession.

“EIZ has since referred the matter to the disciplinary committee in a bid to protect public interest.” He said. When asked by ZBZ how long the suspension is, EIZ President said it is up to the disciplinary committee to determine the time frame.

The EIZ President however mentioned that the suspension is due to the gravity of the matter, EIZ has suspended their membership as governed by the EIZ statutes. Ngandu however could not reveal the actual irregularities, stating that the matter was before the government’s JIT working with the EIZ. EIZ has since urged its Members to strictly follow the code of conduct and provisions of the EIZ act.

In 2020, issues surrounding concerns over the structural integrity and the need to strengthen the columns of the Society House Tower were raised with BICON reporting that 153 columns of the total of 258 columns were found to have lower than the specified design capacity of the specified concrete strength. More to follow

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The safety and structural integrity of the

TAZARA pushes delayed resumption of passenger & cargo services to Sept

The state of the railway transport sector in Zambia is a dire need of leadership as this sector should be able to deliver the cheapest and the most cost effective means to transport bulk good and passengers over a long distance.

Some experts say if railway transport was used to deliver finished petroleum products, it would help cut the current high price of fuel pump prices even by say K2 per liter as only a pipeline can deliver at a much cheaper cost, compared to the current state were fuel is being imported by road using tanker trucks

From the recent Zambian Business Times – ZBT discussion and engagement with the two railway companies (Zambia Railways and TAZARA), we are getting a sense of lack of direction as non of the two companies seem to have a view of the strategic direction they are taking.

Both ZR and TAZARA seem to be at sea and are unable to confirm if they have medium to long term plans enter the cleaner energy electric train space, let alone share any plans on how they intend to raise the needed funds to upgrade the trains and tracks.

And Tanzania-Zambia Railway TAZARA has disclosed to the Zambian Business Times – ZBT that it is expecting to resume passenger and cargo services after next month. It’s services have remained suspended and are costing the nation huge sums in terms of lost value of the millions of dollars of investment that had been pumped over the years into the company.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with ZBT, TAZARA Head of Public Relations Conrad Simuchile said the services are expected to resume in September this year of 2022. “The plan to resume freight operations will awaken both the Passenger and Cargo Services which were suspended in May 2020, in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic”.

When asked by ZBT what is really causing the delay as most transport sectors such as road and air have already resumed services and no longer using COVID as an excuse to remain closed, Simuchile requested for a formal press query which he has yet to respond to by time of going to press.

Cheaper passenger travel services in Zambia through Railways should also be revamped as it enables local businesses to intensify local or intra-country trade. Trade within the country is also a key for local development and currency velocity, which can help spur additional engines for faster economic development.

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The state of the railway transport sector

Agribusiness

Revamp of NCZ urgent as global fertilizer prices continue to soar

The need to revamp and even drive the opening up of more local and privately owned fertilizer manufacturing factories in Zambia is now even more eminent following the steep increase in prices of the commodity on global markets on the back of the Russia-Ukraine conflict as well as the supply issues from Asia.

Ministry of Agriculture Permanent Secretary Green Mbozi says there is need to rehabilitate and revamp the Nitrogen Chemicals of Zambia – NCZ plant in Kafue in order for the company to increase their production capacity and be able to meet the national demand.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, Mbozi said NCZ has indicated that it can produce up to 50, 000 metric tonnes of D Compound adding that going forward the company can increase their capacity if they are given additional funding for rehabilitation.

Mbozi said it is government’s plan to have NCZ produce as much D compound as possible as well as ammonium nitrate in the near future noting that it is safer to have domestic producers providing fertilizer considering the high prices of the commodity on the international market.

“Issues have to do with their capacity constraints, their plant needs to be rehabilitated, it may not have been rehabilitated over a long time, so this year they have indicated that they can produce up to 50, 000 metric tonnes probably going forward they can increase their capacity”, he said.

“We have a new government but the issue of capacity constraints were found, in the past NCZ was only given a total of 10, 000 metric tonnes to supply and the UPND gave them an additional 13, 000 to supply. This year we have given them up to 50,000 which is an increment, any increment has to be gradual, we don’t want to give to NCZ what they may not be able to produce, we are taking a step by step approach”, he said.

And Nitrogen Chemicals of Zambia-NCZ Sales and Marketing Manager Cleopatra Chanda noted that NCZ will be able to produce over 50, 000 metric tonnes of D Compound for the year 2022 adding that the company wishes to start operating at full capacity in the near future.

Last year 2021, then IDC Group CEO Mateyo Kaluba confirmed that a the total amount of K638 million was invested into NCZ for working capital support for the local production of fertilizer to enable the company consistently supply the commodity to the market, while K45.6 million would enable the procurement of a fertilizer blending plant. See full article on this link IDC invests K640m into NCZ

As a country, Zambia seems to be taking a merry go round. When one looks at the reasons behind the set up of NCZ, it was precisely to secure local supply as fertilizer is a strategic commodity that is key to food security. But the country let it deteriorate and opted to import due to what some analysts say was motivated by graft and foreign interest that wanted to take over the supply business.

Today, the country is back to square one, in trying to rehabilitate and revamp NCZ as well as attracting foreign direct investment to set up local fertilizer factories that can secure supply as well as help cut down the cost of the final prices to farmers.

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The need to revamp and even drive

Markets

Borrowing for consumption driving up demand for loans

Increased demand and uptake for loans should ideally be a good economic indicator especially when people are borrowing for investment and to increase production.

But the case in Zambia is that there is an increase in demand for loans but the factors driving this demand is low liquidity levels resulting in the loans being taken for cashflow management and consumption purposes.

According to the Association of Microfinance Institutions in Zambia – AMIZ, there is a notable rise in demand for loans in the second quarter (April to June) of 2022 compared to the first quarter (January to March) of this same year – 2022.

AMIZ Executive Director Webby Mate however said the major challenge the country is facing is that there are more loans going towards consumption than production as more households and individuals are borrowing than businesses.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, Mate explained that mainly households are borrowing to smoothen their consumption and pay for school fees with their salary as a source of repayment.

“There are more people borrowing mainly for consumption, so it says something about the state of economy, people’s livelihood, there is more going to consumption than productive activities”, he said.

Mate further told ZBT that although the increase from the first to the second quarter has been minimal, there is an improvement in terms of loans taken for the purpose of productive activities as a few more people are borrowing to invest in small and medium size businesses.

He noted that primarily, local businesses engaged in trading activities are the main borrowers with a few who are involved in small scale manufacturing, adding that the economy is opening up now post Covid-19 pandemic and people have started increasing their movements to bring in supplies from different countries.

“Generally, the situation we had under the Covid-19 pandemic has changed and improved a lot, the demand is now picking up, and the situation has changed from what it was under the Covid-19 pandemic”, he said.

“We hope this trend continues as credit keeps the economy going, it keeps businesses going, we expect that this will continue into the third quarter and beyond. With the pronouncements from government regarding a possible conclusion of the deal with IMF, we expect the economy to be much more stable.

If the IMF deal comes through, it is expected that it will help stabilize the exchange rate, the local unit – the Kwacha may strengthen against the dollar and that will spur more importation of goods into the country, so the outlook for micro finance is very positive”, he said.

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Increased demand and uptake for loans should

Agribusiness

Farmers appeal for soya exports as price drops to K7

Farmers in Central Province have appealed to government to consider allowing the export of soya beans in order to address the issue of the current low prices of the commodity locally.

Cresta Kabwata, one of the farmers in Mukonchi, Kapiri Mposhi said the prices of soya beans have continued to drop due to the restrictions on the export of the commodity therefore the need to consider allowing exports.

Speaking in an interview with the Zambian Business Times-ZBT, Kabwata noted that the highest price that soya beans buyers are offering currently is K7.65 per kg, which the farmers are not happy with considering the production costs.

Kabwata mentioned that buyers were offering around K11 per kg in May but the prices have continued to drop which is disturbing adding that the farmers cannot wait for the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) to start buying the crop, as they need the money now.

“They have not started buying and we can’t wait, we have problems that need money so we can’t wait for the government to come and buy whilst our problems are waiting so we have no option but to take to the millers who are giving us a lower price”, he said.

“We were just hearing that they are exporting, especially these people from Tanzania, they were coming in to buy, that’s why the price was good. The ones buying soya beans now are local buyers, maybe they are keeping it for resale”, he said.

July 22, 2022