Government says it is committed to ensuring that the country acquires a national airline.
Minister of Transport, Works, Supply and Communications Yamfwa Mukanga said this in Lusaka last evening when he witnessed the inaugural flight of the RwandAir direct flight to Zambia.
Proflight Zambia and RwandAir have signed a codeshare agreement on the Lusaka – Johannesburg route with RwandAir as the operating carrier and Pro flight Zambia as the Marketing carrier.
The flights will be operated three-times-a-week on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays by RwandAir’s state of the art Boeing 737-800 Next Generation dual class aircraft.
Mr. Mukanga said government was doing everything possible to ensure that the RwandAir/Proflight agreement is sustained.He said it was possible for the country to have its national airline as it has a lot of clientele that would want to use Zambia’s flights.
Speaking earlier, RwandAir Director of flight operations, Santos Pio thanked the Zambian government for recognizing the need for Rwanda and Zambia to enhance bilateral trade.
Capt. Pio also thanked the Rwandese government for having a vision of expanding the network to bring countries together.He said this will reduce flight time between Zambia and Rwanda as well as the inconvenience people were facing previously.
Capt. Pio who is of Zambian origin also thanked Proflight management for coming up with the initiative.
Our very own obama and his team r really workin,he is indeed tha chosen 1,this is tha man we all had been waiting for.viva E.L the whole kitwe is behind u
heard this song way too many times
obama is fit and does not collapse and will never collapse in public
I think jay jay educated us about this “self same” airline business ,its a waste of money and i agree with him ,and after my own consultations with virgin airlines boss .
Drop the idea Mukanga.
How many times are we going to hear about this committment? If it has been said already, don’t say it again, Mr. Mukanga – let it be done! Otherwise just keep quiet about it..
is it the original nine chale of yester year who has started gathering his brains and realise that the yamfwa mukanga’s are time wasters
Really laughable…how many times are we going to tell… you think running an airline is like running a couple of buses at intercity..even that RwandAir you see there has never ever recorded a profit, always bankrolled by taxpayers.
Let me guess you are going to run to your corporating partners to give you a loan for a pointless airline…you don’t even know why you need an airline…why create one the answer is staring right in your faces? Leave it to the private sector.
Wake up from your docility!!
It is part of the deal signed during the pre-election period. Kagame gave Lungu campaign funds and so is Edwado Santos, Mugabe and Boko Haram guys. We are yet to see the rewards for Boko Haram. At least for Mugabe he got a loan negotiated by the Zambian government. As for Edwado Santos, we are reliably informed Zambia will be procuring oil from his country of which the middle men will be RB, Henry Banda and Lungu himself.
your are absolutely right.its pay back time even kuli dos santos to cut off walvis bay.wanjisulako ichipuma
This Yamfwa Mukanga again…he is truly one stubbornly dull empty tin, someone need to smother him with chloroform soaked cloth …these empty tins have LAMENTABLY FAILED to record a profit in a lucrative sector like telecomms with ZAMTEL and he has the audacity to make utterances about throwing tax payer’s money in a cut-throat competitive sectors like the airline sector…Zambians these people in leadership today are truly an utter embarrassment not worthy even to be headmaster of a primary school. We are paying empty suits to seat in offices to do absolutely nothing.
Instead of encouraging such private partnerships, you let them take the risks and concentrate on creating a conducive business environment.
The question is are we ready to run an Airline? This is a tough business to take up. Airlines fold. Zambian Airways folded because among other things it was run like a personal to holder by KK. I remember the times flights were cancelled so that he could take a plane. This will happen again. I believe in a country moving forward. Not just looking at the “needs” but also the “wants.” The wants propels people forward to get the extras and not be content with the “needs.” On the other hand a national air,ine will be used freely by the governement then we will be back to ZA. Natulenina fye ama lift kuli ba Emirates and others.
Its not a question of a readiness or location…its a question of prudent investment, no investors today are lining up to pour money in this sector like they did 20 years ago as they know its not profitable especially in Africa. Even Billionaire Richard Branson when he visited Zambia couldn’t give you a straight answer when asked for help..he avoided the question all together and alluded to investing in more profited sectors like solar energy.
These empty tins want to put job creation as the core reason for creating a national airline that itself is a recipe for disaster in a sector where lean management principles are king.
President Museveni tried to detour a Kenya Airline flight to another town and was politely refused and told they had a schedule to keep…they never learn.
This is what happens when a president appoints somebody into a position without setting clear expectations and performance assessment measures. We see this again and again. That is why I wonder why we have ministers. Perhaps a small group of Presidential Advisors should be constituted in place of the cabinet. Say 5 or 7 really great minds. The ministries can be run by PermSecs.
How about that for saving cost, huh?
Jay JAY
On a serious note ,what was your dissertation topic.
Am interested, politics aside my brother ,though we started off on a wrong foot.Still does not mean i agree with everything you say.
But i have been following your arguments on the aviation industry topics with keen interest.
@1Plus1 – I really like your idea. Ministerial positions are rewards to completely useless numbskulls. And we can see where the economy is now headed when you have airheads in control.
Kaloba fulu! you are failling to pay,,, ati airline! stop it, lets just drink beer and talk about football
I wonder why upnd carders always they are on Mr. Henry banda, who really campained for hh and hh dine together with him. According to the sources, Its alleged henry is accompanning hh to his trip abroad, and you are there speaking ill about him………..
henry Banda is different from Andrew banda though all are RB sons.andrew campaigned for hh and henry sourced funds for EL in zimzim,angola and rwanda.
HH and his cadres removed Henry from INTERPOL list ,at that time he was not a thief, but because his dad is with Lungu ,he is a thief.
RB told us that even HH going to court with RB was for political mileage. RB has been in the game for a long time.
Edgar Lungu is not working.
He is busy moving across the world like a cocroch. He is just too useless.
It pains me to hear some people praising Lungu.
The man has done nothing and deserve nothing less than stepping down.
Iwe Lungu ena alankalifya umutima. Nachipotrati chakwe nalicifumya mu ofesi yandi. Te President, ni kabolala.
II am kindly asking our beloved president nto step down voluntarily.
He is not functioning and is good as a dead man.
Do not create an airline because it is POLITICALLY correct. Create one only if it is commercially viable based on strict discipline in technical and financial operation. Zambia has not reached the discipline in technical and financial management. Zambian parastatals are always waiting for delayed disbursement of operational or capital funding. An airline has to have alliance partners to link operational, financial and computer booking systems with the rest of the world. Alliance partners will not accept lazy, erratic and slow responses exhibited by our GRZ in responding to emerging operational, technical and financial issues.
My advice is do not create a POLITICAL airline because it will fail just like the past. Ask Professor Chirwa for an opinion. But you wont listen to him anyway.
Give me high speed rail before another tax payer money guzzling airline venture. Zambezi airways anyone?
President Lungu is working wherever he may be. He continues to make decisions for the country. Who told you that when the President travels he abandons his responsibilities? You really worry me, is that what your leaders will do in the unlikely event that they are elected to that office?
Anybody who gets elected next cannot do worst that current administration.
The air line business is tough. The margins are very low and therefore you survive on volume. Zambia is a country of 13+m people, 80% of whom are so poor. I don’t see where the volumes will come from in the domestic routes. On international routes, even SA is struggling. What will Zambia do differently? We need to be careful with this national airline desire! We should only do it when the numbers (profits, return on investment) say so!
The only thing Zambia will do is subsidy fuel and tax incentives for this pointless airline further burden on the tax payers and the likes of Kenya Airlines, SAL, Emirates will not sit by and watch the show they will surely price them out its a cut throat business.
The question is will you fly Zambia Airways for $400 when others are charging $300?? only ministers and government companies CEOs will be flying it more of your tax dollars being misused.
*….will do is subsidize fuel and tax…
Mr munkanga stop whispering carelessly. That is not a better way to use my tax. By the way, has the presidential house in Kitwe completed?
Is this the best that this Minister of Transport, Works, Supply and Communications, Yamfwa Mukanga come up with?
SHOW US THE FIGURES! HOW MUCH PROFIT WILL IT MAKE FOR ZAMBIA?
Or are you just going to burden future generations with the cost of your stupidity and ignorance? Paying back YOUR kaloba.
Do you really think sharp businessmen are sleeping behind their desks like you are?
They KNOW it is a non-starter, or they would have done it already – while you were sleeping of your Munkombe lunch!
yawfam bring back UBZ not wat you are saying.
Here we go again! Mukanga will keep saying this like a kid who has just memorized a line for his exams! Sadly though, while Mukanga, Minister of a reasonably peaceful nation of 50yrs keeps yaping, a tiny Rwanda, barely 20yrs after ruining its image could pull a big one on none-doer talkers.
Interestingly, Rwanda is becoming one of the most clean, orderly and corrupt free nation. No minister in Rwanda drives a govt car. All gvt employees (ministers included) pay their own phone airtime. By 2018 every household will be on the grid! How is that. Mr. Mukanga keep yaping Sir!
I wish though that our gvt could learn from Kagame.
Where are all these bunch of sarcastic bloggers from. Can’t you just blog without derogatory remarks or zambians have now become lunatics . from the first blogger Only 2 are criticising with knowledge of the subject matter while others thinks it is a forum for insulting the president. No wonder we have such type of leadership in Zambia. Lusaka Times used to have sane bloggers before zwd became useless.
Definitely you are not one of those two knowledgeable bloggers. Shame that Minister of Transport does not have same knowledge.
As to insults, we follow shining example of the Minister of Education and his friend in the Ministry of Information.
Stick to the topic please.
Ba Rwanda nempiya shakwiba mu Congo balikwata Rwanda Air ifwe tucili tulelanda landa fye?
Govt must stop this idea of acquiring an airline, it is definitely not one our the priorities to alleviate poverty in the country. Instead the govt should working on reducing the slams and providing safe accommodation for the people instead of getting busy with the airline issue. The country is lacking in many important areas, we cannot even finish funding secondary school projects in southern province and we already dreaming about flying. The railway systems we have failed lamentably, what the flights that require more? Important things first and not luxury things.
This chap is just making noise to ensure dull people who believe in dreams continue dreaming. Gvt has no money. All the orojects started under Sata have stalled and contractors have gone unpaid. With these fuel crisis how are they going to keep the planes fyling? If the cant run hospitals and the keep runing to RSA, how are they going to manage the airline? Packed in the hanger?
Zambia is still sufering from the same leadership problems. KK was No different from this chaps. KK demolished the only good stadium that was in Ndola, so he could build a new one. After contracting a company that demolishing the stadium, he realised that he did not have money to build a new stadium. No someone should tell me if this was not stupid. These are the same time of leaders you have continued to vote for.
Fortunately zambia will be soon on a right path with the capable leadership of pf govt. Critics will always be there and we are used to them now.
@ sponge bob
Can you please change to “anus licking bob” as it will be more appropriate and in line with intellectual contents of your comments?
Mu kanga, stop yapping. Just come and announce that you’re launching and not yapping all the time. Kapata did the yapping the other week and you’re doing the same after doing so several times. The idea of a national airline is welcome despite these arm chair critics but we are tired of your mere announcements without action. To the critics,you will be the first one to fly with Rwanda Air. But can’t sees the need for Zambia to do so. No wonder Zambia is not going forward with these minds which always see impossibilities instead of possibilities.
Government doesn’t need to own an airline, we can’t afford one yet! I would compare Zambia owning an airline to a pompous man living in a rented two-room ramshackle in one of Lusaka’s high density townships who drives the latest Rover on the market acquired on higher purchase while his children go to public schools, eat one meal a day. For pride and status’ sake. No, Zambia cannot afford to tread that path again. The best our government can do is to allow a conducive business atmosphere and infrastructure development for private sector to manage aviation related business. There are Zambians with money who can run successful aviation companies in Zambia if the environment was right. Government does not respect local investment by extending those incentives enjoyed by foreign investors.