A Chinese company is set to employ over 3-thousand Zambians in the installation and maintenance of over 2-thousand solar powered mini milling plants across the country.
Shandong Deijan Group Limited Country General Manager Huang Meng has told ZNBC News in Lusaka that the company will also set up a centre for training locals in the operations and maintenance of the milling plants under the Presidential Milling Initiative.
Mr. Huang has told ZNBC news in Lusaka that the company will only bring in experts to train locals who will be solely responsible for installation and maintenance of the equipment.
He says his company will further hand over the project and training centre to the Zambian government after five years.
Mr. Huang says his company has already started construction of sites where the milling plants will be placed in Southern, Lusaka and North Western Provinces with three mini milling plants having been airlifted into Zambia.
The three milling plants were shipped at a cost of over 100-thousand dollars while about 200 plants will be shipped before December this year.
And Zambia Cooperative Federation -ZCF- Director General James Chirwa is happy that the project is finally becoming a reality.
Mr Chirwa says the setting up of the solar powered mini milling plants will improve the livelihood of the people in rural areas as mealie meal will be produced in areas of high maize production.
This is the kind of news those who are negative to development don’t want to hear.
Small minded and visionless cadres like Vampiro will be all excited and call this development.
Questions:
1. When was the feasibility study or cost-benefit analysis done?
2. What is the sustainability plan? Are we going to continue importing the spare parts and accessories?
3. Who is going to be responsible for managing [running] this company and where is the profit going to go?
Big minded and people with vision would do this:
Facilitate and empower citizens to manufacture the hammer mills. For your own info we have people with enough skills to manufacture hammers mills in Zambia. With a serious govt and proper support and supervision they can do that. We have many workshops with foundry facilities to cast most of the part required in a miller. We may just need to buy a few components that we can make.
Tell me Vampiro, How many jobs would be created if this was done?
I am opposition and happy with this news
SO ECL HAS ALREADY CREATED 3000 JOBS, 2000 MORE TO GO. PEOPLE SAID IT’S IMPOSSIBLE!!!!
The watchdog cant report this, we know them enemies of progress
@politiko no wonder I say it’s a curse to be in opposition because your mind is set in reverse mode.
The idea of solar mill plants did not start today. Everthing has already been worked out with priorities first.
1. We need cheaper and readily available mealimeal for now
2.train locals to do those jobs ( long term plans)
3. Own the project . this is where your point comes in and I guess sometime in 2022.
When lungu said he will create half a million jobs by end 2016 This is just one area employment will be created from.
So you call the about 3 months ago when JECL went to China a long time ago? Short vision as usual.
And who told you that currently Zambia is experiencing a critical shortage of maize milling capacity?
The mealie meal prices are just high today because of poor management
credit where credit is due, well done Ediga. More of the same, now can instead of only opening shopping malls we want manufacturing plants. pleas even engage solar companies to build an assemble plant in Zambia and see to it that some of the components are made in Zambia. you talk of adding value already with such a move all the copper conductors in the solar panels assembled in zambia will be from Zambian copper, in Zambia.
Ba opposition who can buy your useless advise. Honestly how do you start thinking of manufacturing milling plants when Miller’s have fixed the price of the commodity high. Deal with the price by creating competition in the business so as to lower the price of the commodity and when we get satisfied enough that’s when you start manufacturing plants for the purpose of satisfying the region and earn forex thereafter .
Iwe POLITIKO,
How can you conduct a cost benefit analysis before you implement? I think you are talking about a cost and cost-effectiveness analysis. Go and revise or ask your lecturer to explain better.
if you don’t kow how, Go back to school and learn.
To help you with a simple definition
Cost Benefit Analysis is a technique used to determine whether a planned action will turn out good or bad.
Another way of putting it is
Cost-benefit analysis is the exercise of evaluating a planned action by determining what net value it will have for the company. Basically, a cost-benefit analysis finds, quantifies, and adds all the positive factors. These are the benefits. Then it identifies, quantifies, and subtracts all the negatives, the costs.
Don’t even get excited because you don’t know the quality of the solar equipment. It is Chinese after all and what they deliver to the African Market is rubbish. The shipping pro a lay cost more than the equipment. It will work for 3 months then spare parts will be needed and huge sums of payment t will be needed to bring them in. Call me cynical but it is the truth. Progress in the power sector should be sustained bit let us look at other sources too!
My first reaction to this news is “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”
There is insufficient information. Where is the specification of these Mills? i.e. capacity (throughput) in kg/hr, Power rating of the motor (Watt), and hence how many sq. meters of Photovoltaic solar panels are needed to generate required power, taking into account cloudy and rainy days. Is the picture above part of the solar powered Mill?
This sudden ‘good’ news seems to have just been pulled from the hat. More pictures needed please.
GOVT BETTER STAY OUT OF BUSINESS.
Zambia Cooperative Federation -ZCF- Director General James Chirwa is accepting some responsibility neither him or the federation is ill prepared or equiped to profitably operate.
Late President Chiluba, faced with critical public transport, allowed individual operators to import buses Duty free for a given period.
Even late Sata promoted Higer to assist local operators get buses.
That way, we do not end up with stories of government officials abusing the system, literally, steal public resources. Examples are abound in Zambia of failed AFE Ltd, Lima Bank etc.
Let the government initiate & promote but stay out of runing companies. Its a worst of public resources.
The three milling plants were shipped at a cost of over $100K while about 200 plants will be shipped before December this year.
Surely docile Zambians how is this value addition they always preach to you about and where is this selfsame funds coming from? Lazy Lungu press conference at State House now!!
Is this progress, for Chagwa , are they going to cook this bunga on solar, since there is loadshedding ,Ni forward fye
Is it free for all grind the corn? My daddy has no money to pay,
If these millers were made in Germany, I would give it high five, but made in china substandard
They will break within a year