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Companies

The Zambia Consumer Association (ZACA) has condemned the move by the Zambia Metrology Agency – ZMA to withhold the names of the five (5) companies that were found wanting after inspection in the first half of 2022, accusing the government body of abetting wrong doing.

Association Executive Secretary Juba Sakala said Zambian consumers deserve to know what products  have been found wanting so that as to inform their future buying decisions. There is need for the market to be informed and companies found wanting to be fined or punished.

In an exclusive interview with the Zambian Business Times – ZBT,  Sakala stated that the association will compel Zambia Metrology Agency-ZMA to reveal the five companies so as to know which products on the market have been found underweight.

He said this is one way of protecting consumers by disclosing who and what was found faulty because consumer need to get value for their money. They also need to be compensated were it can be proved that they have not received the right value.

Sakala further added that, it is the consumer’s right to know the findings of Zambia Metrology Agency-ZMA, they are funded by tax payers money, hence it is just proper to disclose such information to the public.

He stated that disclosure of these companies will expose the types of products on the market, the giving of half-baked information is not fair on the consumer side. ZMA needs to know that it’s working for the Zambian public and not special interests.

Zambia Metrology Agency shielded and refused to name five (5) companies that were found wanting for the first list of 2022. But the agency was then accused of playing double standards after they had named Africa and Nyimba Milling, but refused to disclose the other five companies.

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The Zambia Consumer Association (ZACA) has condemned

Companies

A railway concession agreement has been signed off by the Angolan government with a consortium that includes global metals and minerals trader Trafigura, infrastructure construction services provider Mota Engil and Vecturis, a Belgian railway operator that will see Zambia lose out on huge transport and logistics revenues if no immediate actions are taken by the Zambian government.

According to a statement by the Angola Ministry of Transport availed to the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, the rebuild and revamp of the Lobito railway between Angola and Democratic Republic of Congo – DRC will see the concessionaires (Trafigura, Mota Engil & Vecturis) invest US$256 million in infrastructure, US$73 million in equipment and rolling stock, and an additional amount of US$4 million in various activities.

Railway transport which is much more cost effective for the transportation of bulk mineral and Agro commodities which are currently being transported by road via Zambia to ports such as Dare-salaam in Tanzania, Beira in Mozambique, Durban in South Africa and Walvis Bay in Namibia.

Zambia risks losing out hundreds of millions dollars in logistics business opportunities of on the existing heavy cargo traffic from DRC through Zambia to its export and import destinations. Moreover, most toll gates in Zambia are collecting huge monthly revenues driven by the DRC traffic.

The statement seen by ZBT further indicated that the consortium will take over the operation, exploration and maintenance of the rail transport of goods between Lobito and Luau, as well as the maintenance of the entire existing infrastructure along the Corridor.

With the rents negotiated, the Angolan government expects to collect, in each period of 10 years, revenues of US$319 million, in the first 10 years, US$ 787 million between the eleventh and the twentieth, and US$ 919 million in the last 10 years of the 30 years concession.

The Angola Transport Ministry stated that the award of the Lobito Corridor brings other relevant benefits for the country, namely the direct impact on the development of industries, “heavily” dependent on the logistics chain, such as agriculture and mining, and the consequent creation of jobs in each of them.

As for Zambia, the government is more concerned with fighting local political battles. This has resulted in further delays in construction the Solwezi – Kipushi road to open alternative routes to DRC, delays in opening up of the jimbe and Shangombo border with Angola which are key to unlocking trade with resource rich neighbors in Angola and DRC. Zambia’s Minister of Transport Frank Tayali could not be reached for a comment at the time of going to press

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A railway concession agreement has been signed

Agribusiness

The Zambian Fruit and Vegetable Traders Association has attributed the current low prices of tomatoes on the market to the availability of the commodity as most farmers are currently harvesting their crop.

Association President Bernard Sikunyongana said farmers have flooded their produce on the market and supply has outstripped demand, which is leading to the commodity fetching a lower price.

Speaking in an interview with the Zambian Business Times-ZBT, Sikunyongana said there is need for coordination among farmers so that they do not offload their produce on the market at the same time.

Sikunyongana said some farmers have an alternative market, which is Kasumbalesa border in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) but those who can only sell their produce locally may incur losses looking at the current prices therefore the need to start looking for long-term solutions.

He said one way of addressing this issue is investing in cold storage facilities so that farmers are able to keep their produce for a longer period in the event that the market is flooded with a particular product.

Farmers have expressed concern over the low prices of tomatoes, which is lower than the cost of production, causing farmers to incur losses. A box of tomato is selling for as low as K40 in some places.

 

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The Zambian Fruit and Vegetable Traders Association

Agribusiness

The Zambia Cooperative Federation-ZCF says it has concluded discussions with Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) concerning the export of maize to the two countries.

ZCF Director General James Chirwa said all that is remaining now is for the two countries to agree to the asking price that the federation has set and process the payment then the maize exports can start.

Speaking in an interview with the Zambian Business Times-ZBT, Chirwa said the demand is over 30, 000 metric tonnes and the federation intends to export between 15, 000 to 20, 000 metric tonnes of maize.

Rwanda and DRC had earlier shown interest in importing maize from Zambia and the federation wants to take advantage of the opportunity to create a market for maize and its products so that the country can earn foreign exchange.

Chirwa noted that all the cooperatives from across the country could take part in the business venture especially those strategically positioned in order to ensure that the farmers realise a decent amount of profit from the venture.

He reiterated that it is important for small-scale farmers to belong to cooperatives, as it is an easier channel to use to do business adding that it is easier to export when the cooperatives put their commodities together.

“We are talking about Rwanda, obviously we cannot go and pick maize from Kasempa to take to Rwanda, it will be a costly venture so we look at the cost of doing that business. We are still waiting for the purchaser to send the payment, we are waiting for a process of payment but we have concluded the discussions”, he said.

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The Zambia Cooperative Federation-ZCF says it has

Mining

Minister of Mines and Minerals Development Paul Kabuswe says the delay in reopening Kasenseli gold mine is because government wants to ensure that everything is done correctly before operations resume at the mine.

Responding to a question from the Zambian Business Times-ZBT, during a media briefing, on why government is not reopening Kasenseli gold mine, Kabuswe said the gold mine will be reopened at an appropriate time.

“We are going to reopen Kasenseli gold mine at an appropriate time, like I mentioned to you, the challenges that we thought were easy, were actually deep so when something is deep you have to also dig deep to come up with a correct way of doing things”, he said.

Kabuswe said gold is a game changer and Kasenseli gold mine is a critical component of how government wants to formalize the gold sub sector in Zambia adding that the nation should be assured that the formalization that government is going to bring about for the artisanal miners will be exceptional.

He mentioned that he is aware that government has the role of eradicating poverty in the country noting that the process needs to be done correctly so that there will be no need of going back to the same things.

The Minister said the reforms being made in the gold, manganese and other mineral sub sectors will benefit a lot of people and not only the treasury as there will be proper formalization and record keeping.

Kabuswe said this would ensure that those who have not been complying in terms of paying taxes would have nowhere to hide, as the ministry of mines will be present wherever there are mining activities.

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Minister of Mines and Minerals Development Paul

Lifestyle

The joint statement which was made by the Minister of Local Govt and a representative of the Mobile Money Traders Association has been disowned citing the fact that the meeting prior to the press briefing was not a dialogue but an imposition of views by the government team.

A source who asked to remain anonymous has disclosed that the closed door meeting that was held yesterday at the ministry of local government was in no way a fair or two way meeting because the mobile money traders were not given a chance to air out their views but instead were told to agree to what was being imposed on them.

The source stated that most of the affected mobile money booth owners are still waiting to hear and see if the Minister of Local Government Gary Nkombo and the Mayor of Lusaka will do what is favorable for them before coming out in the open on what is obtaining on the ground.

The source told the Zambian Business Times – ZBT that the Mobile Money booth owners made it known to the Minster that the proposed place the government is suggesting to make affected agents to be trading from, that is from the post office up until Findeco house is not ideal or safe for anyone to trade from. But despite the unresolved concerns, the minister went ahead and made the announcement to the public that that’s what was agreed upon.

And when the source was asked why their representative didn’t have anything to say when given the chance during the press briefing that was held after the closed door meeting that ZBT attended, the source accused the agents representative  to have been compromised or bought. “that guy was just bought, he is not with us and we are not with him, he was just bribed, he does not even have a booth, he does not know what it even means to have float, he is on their side”.

The source further told ZBT that the decisions that were made yesterday was not out of consensus, no one is comfortable with it, the source alluded that the excuse that the Minster gave yesterday of finding faecal matter within the booths is not making sense. “How can we do that within our offices and expect customers to come and trade with us, they are just saying such to paint us black” the source said.

It was also revealed that contrary to what is circulating on different social media platforms, the mobile money traders are being told to look for areas which have public toilets so as to set up their booths. This is in the case were mobile money booths were brought down with the aim of relocating them according to the local government minister, but the traders are refuting to the area they ought to be relocated to and the conditions therein being stipulated.

Yesterday 11 November 2022, the minister of Local Government, the Lusaka Mayor and other stakeholder representatives held a closed door meeting with mobile money traders before a press briefing that took place at the ministry. Only one question was taken which left various media houses representatives stunned and left with a lot of un-answered questions.

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The joint statement which was made by

Lifestyle

Minister of Local Government Gary Nkombo yesterday took only one question from the media in what in the end resulted in dodging of other questions that the media was eagerly waiting to get answers. Nkombo had called for a press briefing to address the media and mobile money booth owners concerning the displacement of mobile money booths in undesignated areas in Lusaka.

Nkombo who is managing one of the most complex ministries had called for a press briefing to address the media and mobile money booth owners concerning the displacement of mobile money booths in what the Ministry discribed as undesignated areas in Lusaka.

The decision to forcefully remove the mobile money booths which provide jobs to most of the unemployed youths has backfired as it coincides with the increased cost of living and increasing commodity prices on the back of consecutive fuel price hikes.

Before addressing the media, the minister held a closed-door meeting, which lasted for 40 minutes with mobile money booth owners, a representative from the Mobile Money Business Association of Zambia and other stakeholders.

Speaking during the media briefing which was attended by the Zambian Business Times-ZBT, Nkombo said all the stakeholders had agreed to work together to ensure that there is sanity in the Central Business District therefore the need to relocate the mobile money booths.

However, the minister had dodged a number of questions from the media such as how many individuals have been displaced, what is the financial impact if the government would compensate the affected owners of booths etc as he only took two questions from one journalist because the moderator stated that it was in the interest of time and requested that all those with questions should follow the minister to his office.

Nkombo explained that government has been having discussions with the Mobile Money Business Association and other relevant stakeholders concerning reorganizing the sector for 12 months now adding that this will cause disturbances in the business.

He noted that going forward no, individuals will be allowed to establish mobile money booths anyhow as it was done earlier. The mobile money owners spoken to by ZBT however still felt their concerns had not been adequately addressed.

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Minister of Local Government Gary Nkombo yesterday

Companies

Despite publicly naming Nyimba and African Milling as being found wanting for underweight Millie meal after the surveillance, the Zambia Metrology Agency (ZMA) has shielded and refused to name five (5) other companies that were found wanting for the first half of 2022.

However ZMA could only confirm that from the first quarter till date, five (5) companies whose pre-packaged products and measuring instruments were inspected were found wanting for compliances, and corrective action was taken in accordance with the law.

When asked why other companies have been named while others were named and information was made public, Chola Chilumba, the public relations officer stated that he could not name them due to the sensitivity of the matter.

He stated that the non-compliances were on packages such as mealie-meal, tile fix, peanut butter, and measuring instruments such as weighing scales among others. ZMA has for the year-to-date inspected three hundred thirty-three (333) companies for compliance of measuring instruments and Pre-packaged commodities.

Chilumba said for locally produced pre-packaged commodities, ninety-eight thousand five hundred and forty-three (98,543) products were inspected and recorded ninety-three percent (93%) compliance. The Agency also inspected seventy-three thousand and twenty-one (73,021) imported pre-packaged commodities and recorded ninety-eight percent (98%) compliance.

He told the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, that in line with its mandate, the Agency undertook market surveillance of four thousand three hundred and forty-nine (4,349) pre-packaged commodities and recorded a ninety-two percent (92%) year to date.

He further added that Clients were engaged to enhance their internal quality control systems to ensure the measurements were accurate and consistent. Those found with inadequate packages were directed to repackage the products and also amend their inadequate labelling in cases where the labelling was non-compliant.

And he revealed that to strengthen these controls, the Agency has put in place enhanced sensitization programmes to train and re-emphasize the significance of adhering to the Metrology Regulations.

He said the Agency continues to focus on its core operational areas of Maintaining national standards and traceability to the International System of units, Providing calibration of process and quality control measuring instruments, Verifying measuring instruments used in commercial transaction law enforcement, health, safety and environmental management.

The Statutory inspections of measuring instruments and pre-packaged commodities in the sectors and sub-sectors of Petroleum Sub-Sector, Agriculture Sector, Mining Sector and Manufacturing Sector is one of the focuses of the Agency, he stated.

Analyst say there is no law that mandates ZMA to hold Information away from the public on which companies are found wanting. It actually defeats the purpose of the Agency if they fail to name then companies and products that are found wanting.

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Despite publicly naming Nyimba and African Milling

Tech

Energy Minister Chibwe Kapala has vowed to continue with monthly fuel price adjustments despite key stakeholders feedback that it’s not working and is making business planning a at both business and household level a nightmare.

Key stakeholders such as the Buss and Taxi Owners Association, Association of Oil marketing Companies, Business Owners and members of the public have told the Zambian Business Times – ZBT that monthly fuel adjustments is not working well.

Consumers argue that the monthly adjustment are disruptive with those having school going children as well as those consumers who use public and even private transport are struggling to manage their expense budgets.

Business owners on the other hand say its disruptive in the pricing of their finals products which needs transport and logistics costs to be absorbed in the selling prices. This is leading to general price adjustments almost on a monthly basis and for those with pricing power, they end up increasing prices to carter for anticipated future fuel price increases.

They argue that Business planning as well as business financial projections have become increasingly difficult even on a quarterly basis, a situation that is worsening the already increased cost of living.

But Energy Minister Kapala and the Energy Regulation Board insist that monthly price adjustments are needed siting concerns on debt accumulation if a quarterly or a longer cycle of review is put in place.

Kapala In a statement posted on his facebook page and seen by ZBT stated that “we have no plans to revert to previous ways of adjusting fuel prices after months, as that makes it hard to manage the debts owed to oil marketing companies and doesn’t make the pump price to be cost-reflective”.

A check however reveals that the Ministry has retained and extended the policy of waiving value added tax – VAT, import duties and excise duties by extending the statutory instrument that the new dawn government inherited. This in itself is an indirect subsidy and represents lost tax and non tax revenue to government.

Moreover, the Ministry is yet to conduct an official industry and consumer research to generate empirical evidence and inform their stand to continue with monthly fuel price reviews and adjustment. It remains to be seen how sustainable and who eventually will profit on the insistence to keep this policy.

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Energy Minister Chibwe Kapala has vowed to

Uncategorized

Minister of Local Government and Rural Development Gary Nkombo says all the individuals legitimately operating mobile money booths that have been asked to move from undesignated areas around the Central Business District of Lusaka will be compensated.

Speaking during a media briefing attended by the Zambian Business Times-ZBT, where he addressed booth owners and the media on issues surrounding the uprooting of booths erected in undesignated areas, Nkombo said everyone registered with the local authority and a Mobile Network Operator-MTN, Airtel or Zamtel will be relocated to new trading areas.

Nkombo said it has been agreed with the Mobile Money Business Association of Zambia and Mobile Network Operators that for now, the mobile money business trading lane in Lusaka will be between the interface of the post office and the Zambia Railways Line upto Findeco House adding that all booth designs will be standardized in the near future.

He explained that one of the reasons for carrying out this exercise is to harmonize the data base between the service providers and the local authority for the optimization of revenue collection and to make sure that the revenue is going to the correct institution which is the local authority.

The Minister noted that in the past, there was disorder in the allocation of mobile money booths due to political influence adding that the designation of where money booths were to be established became a function of political players and not the council.

“Many of these booths have been operated by landlords who basically collect rent and there are cartels that were established around this business. We want to increase financial inclusion by broadening and making the process transparent so that more Zambians can get the benefit of engagement with this business”, he said.

Nkombo said the UPND government is working towards ensuring that order is restored and the sector is reorganised noting that there will be sizable disturbance in the business but no individuals will be allowed to establish mobile money booths anyhow as it was before in Lusaka as a starting point or any other parts of the country.

He noted that this development is not only for Lusaka but the entire country as government envisages to clean and bring sanity to the whole country.

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Minister of Local Government and Rural Development