Thursday, March 28, 2024

Chikwanda takes ZANACO owners to task over insignificant number of Zambians in the top management

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Finance Minister Alexander Chikwanda with Muchinga Permanent Secretary Charles Sipanje touring newly opened Zambia National Commercial Bank Branch in Nakonde
File: Finance Minister Alexander Chikwanda with Muchinga Permanent Secretary Charles Sipanje touring newly opened Zambia National Commercial Bank Branch in Nakonde

FINANCE Minister Alexander Chikwanda has taken Rabobank to task over the insignificant number of Zambians in the top management of Zanaco from the time the bank was privatised.

Mr Chikwanda said Zanaco had always been run by Zambians who were doing very well but from the time the bank was privatised, the presence of Zambians in top management of the institution had become insignificant.

The minister said this at the handover of the Zanaco dividend payment to the Government in Lusaka yesterday.

“You cannot take an institution which is running very well but now you have changed management, you leave them as board chairman when that position is just window-dressing,” Mr Chikwanda said. “We want much more significant representation of Zambians in the running Zanaco.”

He, however, commended the bank for increasing its capital stock up to US$30 million, saying that showed that the shareholders were behaving responsibly.

Mr Chikwanda said the dividend the Government had received would go a long way in the continued development projects that the Government had embarked on this year and beyond.

He said the Government wanted Zanaco to be bigger than it was and requested it to increase its support to small-scale farmers and small and medium enterprises and improve support from $20,000 beneficiaries to $30,000.

“We want the $30,000 to be expedited so that small-scale farmers and small and medium enterprises could benefit,” Mr Chikwanda said.

Zanaco managing director Bruce Dicks said the bank had recorded K186.3 million, recording a growth of 19 per cent and total equity of K867.6 million, representing growth of 22per cent.

Total assets for the bank were at K6.9 billion, recording a growth of 20 per cent.

Mr Dicks said Zanaco was committed to conducting its business in a transparent and efficient manner.

Zanaco was proud to be associated with the Zambian Government which the bank had continued to partner with in the education, agriculture and health sectors.

44 COMMENTS

  1. That’s the problem with the Zambian politicians; you privatized the bank and you have to live by the decisions of the capitalists. Just pull the peddle down and avoid messing up nabaikalile…

    • ABC has won my confidence. These are the people we need, not those who say one thing in the public and do the other thing in secrecy! Viva ABC! Viva!

    • Ba Mushota grow a brain and learn to read then you will get answers before you call a country of your birth rotten… ABD is finance minister

    • Kambwili said: “it is not Govt’s responsibility to educate Citizens”, so where are they going to get these people to be placed in mgt positions?

    • Mr chikwanda with due respect,,,, private companies are in pivate hands,,,, its like asking HH to employ alot of bembas in this companies or asking Elias Chipimo to employ alot of tongas in his companies

    • @Ndobo To the best of my knowledge, ZANACO is still majority owned by the government of Zambia. RUBO bank is a minority shareholder but was given the management of the bank by the Mwanawasa and Magande era.

  2. Mr Alex, that’s a good move which u have taken than to spend your resourceful time crying over the illegal recordings which u knew would be done by the post.

    Thanks

    • Chikwanda you are right ,in the same vain let me ask you why they a few Lozis,Tongas,kaondes,Luvales,and many other tribes from central and western provinces in your cabinet and PS levels,is it because they dull than most Bembas in your cabinet or its designed to your advantange as Bembas.I deserve an honest answer .

    • @One Zambia
      wow!!!, bembas are smart?? so you mean they know how to dress well than other tribes in Zambia, ,,,thats why they appointed to higher offices??,,i personally dont understand your tweeter english you young people of today,,,thats also the reason why me and my friend @Nostradamus dont drink wth abaiche of today,,, because your tweeter languague is different to our english

    • Smart has nothing to do with dressing. It can also mean a sharp sting, besides being sharp witted. Dressing smart is the only angle the Zambians seem to understand about this word. There you have it – I have brought you up to speed.

    • @Kalok
      The school i went to..below is the formal meaning of smart as i know it from student companion and get way to ,,,,, books

      smart(of a person) clean, tidy, and well dressed.
      “you look very smart”
      synonyms: well dressed, well turned out, fashionably dressed, fashionable, stylish, chic, modish, elegant, neat, besuited, spruce, trim, dapper, debonair; More

  3. iwe kamushota. today you say ”rotten country, the other day you say thats my presido.” where isyour stand you small kachumbu mushololwa. wake up and get a life.

    • To be smart is always wanting to get what you want at a right time while telling people what they want to here not what you here.

  4. I agree with Chikwanda, we have alot of capable people in zambia who can run Zanaco and other companies well … when are we going to take charge of our country????? MMD rushed to privatize Zanaco, i wonder if they even consulted anyone when doing so …privatization is not always the best solution but instaed whenever a company is not doing well, restructuring and indeed re-strategizing is the way forward.

    I thank you

  5. The last MD for ZANCO Musonda was sent to jail for being very corrupted and abuse of office so let the investors run their own show.

    • ZANACO is still majority held by Zambians. It is only management that was given to the minority shareholders. It seems most zambians do not understand this arrangement. If Chikwanda wants to reverse it, he can do that without any recourse to the laws, or parliament.

  6. Lolest am enjoying the Zambian governance! You privatize and don’t stipulate conditions and come back later to say u need to involve Zambians in top mgt.. u didn’t see it coming? This is what happens wen u employ pipo way beyond their prime yrs in strategic positions. Tiye tiye Zambia we have no one to blame but ourselves!

  7. That’s great Mr Chikwanda . please tell these guys called investors , don’t fear them. They must employ more Zambians in ZANACO

    • Mushota,
      I personally don,t see the reason of you criticizing Chikwanda. In my view he must be recommended for pushing for more Zambians into top management. What people should not forget is that GRZ still has shares in ZANACO hence receiving those dividends.
      I have been following your arguments of late, you sound as though you are the inplant of post on social media.

  8. Who is this same Mushota punk?????? He seems to be taking center stage up in this place…. The best way to shut a fool up is to ignore it. #Word.

  9. VERY GOOD ABC. We need more Zambians in key institutions. The money they earn will contribute to growing the economy. Your government also needs to covertly lobby for the appointment of Zambians to senior positions in International organizations and the UN, its critical not only for influence , but for forex earnings. Zambia has even fewer Senior international staff than Malawi!.

  10. To those opposing Chikwanda,you should know that GRZ is a shareholder in Zanaco and when he was speaking he was receiving dividends on behalf GRZ hence on behalf of the people of Zambia! So Zanaco has a duty to respond to shareholders to clarify its position on this issue. Infact, this call should be extended to all entities operating in Zambia especially the mines. The fact that we do not have Zambians in upper echelons of critical sectors makes us vulnerable to manipulation as foreigners connive to defraud the country. For those who may not know,Zanaco was privatised by MMD under Levi and Magande and there was alot of opposition as the bank was doing well. That is why Sata (PF)commissioned an inquiry when he got into power tho sadly,we have not heard the results!

  11. Chikwanda is just yapping and as usual most comments are being made from a position of ignorance. Any sane minded person should just visit ***zanaco*** and see for themselves if what Chikwanda is saying is true.

  12. Zambians are incompetent. They talk all day on the phone and facebook. The work ethic is alien to Zambians. All foreign companies will ALWAYS PUT THEIR OWN PEOPLE IN THE KEY JOBS.
    Look at:
    KCM
    First Quantum
    Voyagers Travel
    Southern Sun Hotels
    Autoworld
    Just to name a few

  13. Yaba! Long time, my compatriots!
    Sorry nali ku-ntwanu. So I couldn’t find the time to comment on a lot of nonsense I have seen on LT about PF. FACT: ba Chikwanda – working hard as always! People misunderstand him a lot. Don’t believe everything you read in the papers, without checking with me first. Let me tell you, ba Chikwanda is actually down to earth, even more than I thought he was just a month or so ago. If you want to understand what I’m talking about, just go back to The Post transcript again pali ilya verbatim conversation bakwete na muntu ninshi balekuntula. That conversation if you read it very carefully, that is exactly the kind of conversations tukwata nga tulenwa bonse pano…and everybody who drinks I’m sure identified with that (including YOU!) Yama! Viva PF! PF Oyee!

  14. Zanaco is not private grz has 49% shares therefore the minister has a right to make sure Zambians are well represented.

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