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Companies

12k Energy Group says the cooperating agreement that Zambia signed with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for the manufacturing of electric car batteries has challenged the private sector to provide products and services that should move consumers away from fossil fuels to clean energy.

Company Chief Information Officer Kellys Kaunda said such a move would involve a lot of capital injection because being able to reengineer the Zambian economy from fossil fuels to clean energy will require a lot of money.

Speaking in an interview with the Zambian Business Times-ZBT, Kaunda explained that the revolution from fossil fuels to clean energy such as electricity requires government clearing the policy framework that should be able to facilitate business interactions and the kind of legal framework that the new companies will be working in.

Kaunda added that this agreement has signaled that there is going to be a policy framework that will facilitate these collaborations among companies in different countries adding that government does not create jobs but only provides a legal framework and institutional framework as the actual work is done by the private sector.

He noted that the company is trying to identify financial institutions that could buy into its project proposal adding that it has been talking to development institutions such as the European Union, which has funds going into projects intended to move away from fossil fuel to clean energy.

Kaunda added that the company would also be talking to the African Development Bank, which also has resources to this effect among other development institutions adding that he hopes government will capitalize the Development Bank of Zambia and the Industrial Development Corporation so that it also plays a part in providing resources and working with the private sector.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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12k Energy Group says the cooperating agreement

Markets

Economist Noel Nkoma says investment in human capital and infrastructure development is important in an economy such as Zambia as the two complement each other and it is not possible to employ successfully human capital without infrastructure.

Speaking in an interview with the Zambian Business Times-ZBT, Nkoma said there is sufficient investment in human capital as far as skills development and education is concerned, among others therefore human capital must be deployed efficiently as the right infrastructure is in place.

Nkoma said the issue around investment in infrastructure development is not debatable but what many people have been questioning is at what cost a particular infrastructure was put up.

“Are we able to maximize the benefits from the resource that went into putting up that infrastructure without necessarily having to suffocate the economy, that is the issue and not that infrastructure was wrong. Infrastructure is very important but at what cost was it procured”, he said.

Nkoma however noted that it is not possible to absorb all the human capital on the market noting that the economy has not been growing as there has been negative growth, which is minus 4% GDP.

He added that Zambia can only absorb a number beyond the over 40,000 teachers and health workers government is yet to recruit when the economy begins to grow, and this means that the economy should be growing at 8% GDP and above to be able to have an impact for returns on the job market.

Nkoma said there is need for Zambia to invest more in high impact sectors such as agriculture, energy and other sub sectors of the economy such as value addition.

“In the mining sector for example, we are just producing copper but we are not investing in value addition so all those things should be looked at in total context”, he said.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Economist Noel Nkoma says investment in human

Lifestyle

The Africa wealth report has revealed that most wealthy people in South Africa, a projection that can be said to be the same for Zambia have either studied law or accounting.

These two careers or fields of study seems to offer the highest chances of joining the elite group of High Net-Worth Individuals – HNWI. The 2022 report availed to the Zambian Business Times – ZBT revealed that about 30% of HNWI have studied Law.

Accounting and Finance was the second most common area of study background among HNWI and it accounted for about 28%. The two (Law & Finance) are considered key in understanding how to both generate and accrue wealth.

Other notable areas of study that were areas of study and profession for wealthy people are ICT, Medicine, Engineering and Mathematic & Statistics. See chart for details.

Note from ZBT – any career path can land one into the elite league of HNWI, it’s the working knowledge of law and finance that is key. And that is why the Zambian Business Times – ZBT offers Business and Finance news that can help our readers improve and enhance their financial knowledge.

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The Africa wealth report has revealed that

Lifestyle

The Civil Servants and Allied Workers Union of Zambia says allowing workers to access part of their pension funds before they retire will enable them to plan ahead, invest and earn returns as they wait for their full package after retirement.

Union President Davy Chiyobe said it is worrisome to see people reaching 50 years and retiring without owning a house or having any investment to point at which can earn them an income while they wait for their retirement benefits.

Speaking in an interview with the Zambian Business Times-ZBT, Chiyobe noted that most workers shun getting loans because of the high interest rates by the lending institutions adding that the National Pension Scheme Authority (NAPSA) should consider giving loans to workers so that they can be able to invest in different venture whilst still in employment.

Chiyobe explained that it should be every individual’s responsibility to ensure putting their money to good use noting that no one has the right to dictate how someone should spend their hard-earned money.

“Let the money come and if a person wastes the money it’s their own fault, why should others start thinking for other people. You have been contributing to NAPSA but when you retire you become a beggar”, Chiyobe said.

“The labour movement has been pushing for those pension reforms. We have no problem with Public Service Pensions Fund (CSPF) but we had a challenge with NAPSA. NAPSA has been stealing from people, day light robbery, they have built a lot of infrastructure and have been getting a lot of tenders but look at the benefits they are giving to the person who’s contributing money”, he said.

 

 

 

 

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The Civil Servants and Allied Workers Union

Agribusiness

Agriculture Minister Mtolo Phiri has disclosed that the country currently has 1,509,455.03 metric tonnes of maize stock.

Speaking when he received a report on a special joint stock take exercise of the national strategic food reserves at FRA Mungwi Depot today, Phiri said this is the total national stock position held by the Food Reserve Agency, the Millers Association of Zambia, the Grain Traders Association of Zambia and the Zambia National Farmers Union.

According to information made available to the Zambian Business Times-ZBT, Phiri said with the current stock levels, the country remains food secure up to March 2023 and the ministry will continue doing its best in ensuring food security in the country by putting in place appropriate measures that promote a balance between business and national food security.

Phiri noted that government would endeavor to continue supporting farmers and other stakeholders by providing market access through the agency and timely release of funds for their delivered produce and provision of critical services.

The minister further said that the national strategic food reserves have proved to be very useful in many ways including stabilizing mealie meal prices caused by food supply imbalances in the country due to negative effects of climate change.

He added that national strategic food reserves are vital for the nation as they serve as a safeguard against national food insecurity, hence the need to stock adequately the reserves in good quality and countable manner at all times.

Speaking at the same event, Food Reserve Agency Board Chairperson Kelvin Hambwezya said the agency during the 2021 crop-marketing season purchased 947,776 metric tonnes of maize.

Hambwezya noted that this was in addition to a carry-over stock of 319,199 metric tonnes giving a total of 1,266,977 metric tonnes of maize held for national strategic food reserves as of 4th February 2022.

He said the stock-take confirmed through physical counting, the existence of 1,209,465 metric tonnes of maize in 390 FRA depots across the country representing 95 percent of the expected 1,266,977 metric tonnes as of 4th February 2022 and 0.016 percent overall stock loss.

The Board Chairperson mentioned that this exercise was conducted during the rainy season which made access to some roads impassable therefore, 25 satellite depots were not visited and had their stock-take deferred noting that the unvisited satellite depots, through verifiable records were holding a total of 57,225 metric tonnes representing 5 per cent.

He said the stock-take exercise was conducted from 4th February to 17th March 2022, by a combined team of officers from internal audit, Zambia Agriculture Research Institute (ZARI), Plant Quarantine and Phytosanitary Services (PQPS) under the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Reserve Agency and other key stakeholders.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Agriculture Minister Mtolo Phiri has disclosed that

Lifestyle

The 2022 Africa wealth report has revealed that Zambia has two individuals who have a network of over US$100 million (over K1.8 billion) in privately held wealth.

According to the Africa Wealth Report published by Henley & Partners, the global leader in residence and citizenship by investment, in partnership with South African wealth intelligence firm New World Wealth, the ‘Big 5’ wealth markets in Africa are: South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria, Morocco and Kenya in that order.

Zambia has only two high net worth individuals – HNWI with net worth of over $100million, has 30 individuals with US$10 million and above, and only 800 individuals with networth of over $1 million.

Zambia currently has no billionaire in US dollar terms but Africa has six countries listed to have citizens with net-worth of over $1 billion. Egypt has the highest number with seven (7) billionaires, followed by South Africa with five (5) billionaires, Nigeria has four (4) billionaires while Morocco has three billionaires.

Other countries with one billionaire each are Tanzania and Angola. The report did not however state who these individuals are for confidentiality purposes but most of them are well known in their respective countries. See table below of the ranking.

For Zambia – Who do you think makes up the two millionaires with their wealth estimated at over $100 million or K1.8 billion?

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The 2022 Africa wealth report has revealed

Lifestyle

The new dawn government is set to expand the already bloated civil service wage bill by an additional K1.7 billion (about US$100 million) by the new teacher recruitment currently underway, a policy shift from spending on infrastructure to more focus human capital.

It remains to be seen if the gamble by Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane opting to fund human capital over continuing with an aggressive infrastructure drive will yield positive results for the Zambian economy.

Musokotwane has bet big on using the Public Private Partnership – PPP model to Fund the rehabilitation and further expansion of road infrastructure, a model that has struggled to work in Africa with few exceptions in Senegal and South Africa to point at. Using PPP model to fund road infrastructure  risk giving up revenues for many more years or arriving at astronomical high tolls.

The National Action for Quality Education in Zambia- NAQUEZ executive director Aaron Chansa has disclosed that Government will spend about K1.7 billion (about US$100 million) on the 30, 000 teachers to be recruited. He said that the K1.7 billion is what government had put aside for the recruitment of 30,000 teachers.

The recruitment plan was unveiled when unveiling the 2022 national budget in Parliament in Parliament by Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane stating that the 30,000 teachers would be recruited to help reduce the backlog of unemployed education workers.

The Finance minister said the recruitments were aimed at improving the quality of education by reducing the pupil-teacher ratios. He added that over the next five years, the Government would continue to hire more teachers in net terms and the plan was to be current by 2026, the term end for the UPND government.

The move by the UPND government to undertake a massive recruitment exercise at the same time seeking debt restructuring is seen by economists and analysts as being a populist move aimed at appeasing its supporters but may end up further hurting the economy.

The new dawn government is also undertaking to hire an additional 11,000 health workers. All these are in the civil service and will rely on the already strained tax receipts. Analysts argue that the government should rather support the expansion of the local private sector which is best suited to make the economy more productive.

 

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The new dawn government is set to

Politics

President Hakainde Hichilema has launched the Public Private Dialogue Forum-PPDF, which will promote economic development through public-private partnerships.

The Head of State said the social and economic development of the country cannot be left to government alone, as it is not possible for government to deliver development on its own because it does not have all it takes to reconstruct the economy therefore the need to engage the private sector.

Speaking when he officially launched the Public Private Dialogue Forum for Private Sector and Economic Development at Mulungushi International Conference Centre, attended by the Zambian Business Times-ZBT, President Hichilema said government recognises the private sector as the engine for innovation and job creation thus the role of the private sector in realising economic development cannot be underestimated.

He added that the magnitude of job creation and business opportunities would come from the private sector hence it is the responsibility of the public and private sector as well as partner groups to work together and drive economic development for the country.

“In order to ensure meaningful private sector participation in the economy, the PPDF has been established to actualise the potential that the country has been sitting on for decades. This will help create jobs and when we create jobs, other underlying issues will fall in place”, President Hichilema said.

President Hichilema mentioned that the contribution of the private sector to economic development in the country in the past years was limited in part by inadequate government uptake of recommendations coming from the private sector but that will now change.

The Head of State said Zambia is a land-linked country and should be the centre of production, processing, packaging, distribution, domestic market spot supply, regional and international market which will help the country realise the potential it has been talking about for years.

He added that economic development would expand the market and demand for goods and services for the private sector.

The President stressed that the PPDF Will provide a strengthened partnership between public and private sector and will promote a mechanism for structured interaction between government and the private sector on various matters affecting the economy.

 

 

 

 

 

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President Hakainde Hichilema has launched the Public

Politics

President Hakainde Hichilema has disclosed that President Felix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is expected to arrive in the country by Friday 29 April 2022 and the two governments will sign agreements aimed at accelerating trade between DRC and Zambia

Speaking during the official launch of the Public Private Dialogue Forum for Private Sector and Economic Development, President Hichilema said the agreements would enable the country to unlock the stringencies that have been inhibiting trade between Zambia and Congo.

The Head of State explained that the agreements would cover a range of areas such as traditional exports-small, medium and large as well as look at how the two countries will work together strategically as countries that are leading in terms of nature’s endowment in electrical vehicle industry on the African continent.

“We have decided to work together with Congo and create strategic value as other countries did before who are oil producing. This is our oil as well going forward and we would like the business community to be part of it”, President Hichilema said.

He noted that government is motivated by the need to harness trade and investment opportunities for the private sector on the local, regional, continental and international markets adding that the UPND administration wants to promote value chains and value addition for various commodities and products as well as create jobs and wealth for the citizens.

President Hichilema said creating businesses that pay taxes to the treasury and businesses that deliver dividends to its shareholders delivers value to all citizens therefore the need to support growth as a country by supporting businesses that create jobs and government must sustain those jobs by ensuring that the businesses succeed commercially.

He said government has committed to an inclusive, transparent and accountable dialogue mechanism with the private sector noting that there have been many efforts to unlock business opportunities in the country and with the launch of the Public Private Dialogue Forum platform, the benefits of those efforts will be realised.

The Head of State stressed that the private sector is the engine for job creation and its role in contributing to government’s vision for economic development cannot be undermined, as it is not possible for government to develop the country alone adding that economic development will expand the market for the private sector.

 

 

 

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President Hakainde Hichilema has disclosed that President

Lifestyle

The U.S. government announced the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) will open an Office of Security Cooperation at the U.S. Embassy in Zambia.

In a statement made available to the Zambian Business Times – ZBT,  the visiting AFRICOM Brigadier General Peter Bailey, Deputy Director for Strategy, Engagement, and Programs, made the announcement during a meeting with President Hakainde Hichilema – HH.

The statement read that “Building on the foundation of U.S.-Zambia shared security interests, the new Office of Security Cooperation will enhance military to military relations and expand areas of cooperation in force management, modernization, and professional military education for the Zambian security forces”.

And General Bailey commended President Hichilema and his New Dawn Administration for its steadfast commitment to regional peace and stability and stated the U.S. government looks forward to building on its strong bilateral ties with Zambia to enhance security cooperation. General Bailey also praised the Zambian Defence Force for its professionalism and contributions to United Nations peacekeeping missions.

During his visit, General Bailey will also meet with the Minister of Defense, Honorable Ambrose Lufuma, and will represent AFRICOM at the official opening ceremony for the start of pre-deployment training for the eighth Zambia Battalion (ZAMBATT VIII).

The statement did however not state if the opening of the office is a prelude to opening of a full AFRICA command Centre – AFRICOM which is a controversial move that needs proper review as risks of loss of sovereignty become imminent.

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The U.S. government announced the United States