Thursday, March 28, 2024

Zambia Airways Relaunch: A Blessing or a Blunder!

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Zambia Airways Boeing 737-200
FILE: Zambia Airways Boeing 737-200

2018 CENTRE FOR TRADE POLICY DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH WING PRODUCTION

Zambia is moving towards the reestablishment of a national airline with the aim of boosting its tourism and export sectors. There appears to be a number of good reasons why the government and other stakeholder are pushing for the relaunch of Zambia Airways but many critics believe the move is politically motivated, economically unsound and a misplacement of priorities. In this opinion piece, CTPD considers some important questions which need to be answered around this policy debate. In doing so, both supporting and opposing views will be presented; highlighting the possible pros and cons, before giving our opinion on the matter.

What exactly is a National Airline?

A National Airline, also called a National Flag Carrier, is an airline owned by or strongly identified with a particular nation. Such an airline enjoys special privileges in international relations because it is an extension of the nation to which it belongs. It must be noted that a country can establish a national airline with or without the need to be a majority shareholder in the company. If Zambia was to own 55 percent stake in an airline, the airline would be deemed a national airline by virtue of ownership. This notwithstanding, the reality is that a national airline is really one that is identified with a particular country and not only owned by it, forinstance, the Kenyan Government’s shares are below 20% in Kenyan Airways and the Mauritian Government has about 15% in Mauritian Airways (Nkonde, 2017). These are among many examples of Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) which have established national flag carriers.

What are some of the reasons behind the reestablishments of Zambia Airways?

The move towards the reestablishment of Zambia Airways was initiated by the late president, Mr. Michael Chilufya Sata. He appointed a technical committee comprising of Zambia Airforce staff, former Zambia Airways staff, and civil servants from the ministries dealing with Transport, Commerce, Finance, and Tourism (Nkonde, 2017). This Technical committee presented the following as possible benefits for the reestablishment of Zambia airways before the Cabinet in 2014:

(a) Gains in the Tourism Industry

It was documented in the Technical Committee’s report, that the demise of Zambia Airways in 1994 left a big void in the local aviation industry, giving leeway to mainly foreign airlines to explore the investment potential of the country. As a result, this situation affected the various sectors of the economy such as tourism and agriculture. It was proposed that the national airline would bring gains in many strategic sectors of the local economy especially the tourism sector through boosting tourism arrivals, via reduced local and international transportation costs and thus help in realizing the 1 million tourist annual arrivals target (Kabaila, 2014). According to the Ministry of Tourism and Arts (2015), out of 53.3 million tourist arrivals in Africa, Zambia only receives about 1.7 percent of this number In terms of contribution towards GDP, Zambia’s Tourism sector contributes about 3.4 percent to GDP with total annual earning of about US$ 400 million in the year 2015. There is therefore scope for significant improvements in this sector.

(b) Increase in Non-Traditional Exports

The withdrawal of British Airways from Zambia, which provided transport for most of the country’s Non-Traditional Exports (NTEs) such as fresh fruits, vegetables and flowers, negatively affected Zambia’s NTE export potential (Kabaila, 2014). Zambia’s Non-traditional exports declined from about US$ 2.4 million in 2014 to about US$ 1.9 million in 2015 (ZDA, 2016). The decline in NTEs was attributed to an increase in the cost of production due to high shipping costs, among others. It is highly anticipated that the rebirth of the national airline will help ignite this sector and stir up activities such as agro processing and value addition solely for the export market (Kabaila, 2014).

(c) Employment Creation

The Technical Committee also highlighted that the resurgence of the national airline would also create employment and increased contributions to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) through foreign exchange earning which would in turn strengthen the kwacha against other international currencies (Kabaila, 2014). The liquidated Zambia Airways had about 1, 200 employees and thus there may be potential to generate even more employment this time around (Mwale, 2015). The presence of a national airline would also help in returning the country’s pilots and technical staff that have left for greener pastures abroad.

What are the reasons against the establishment of Zambia Airways?

A number of stakeholders including Civil Society Organizations, leading economists, and opposition political parties have raised concerns with some strongly condeming government’s intention to re-establish an airline. The following are some of the reasons why many believe the setting up of Zambia Airways is a blunder in the making:

(a) Opportunity Cost

The economic concept of opportunity cost is the basic postulation that resources and time always have alternative uses and thus using them for one purpose implies that they cannot be used for another purpose. The fact that government does not possess an unlimited supply of funds implies that using US$ 30 million in setting up Zambia Airways would mean that some other projects will be deprived of both the funds and attention of the State. The questions therefore are; Is there something else that can be done with US $30 million which would yield more benefits than the projected benefits of the national flag carrier? Is the setting up of the airline in line with government policy towards fiscal consolidation and prudent debt management? Is this move going to benefit the general poor population?
Some critics believe that the money can be better spent on expanding the agricultural sector seeing that the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), for example, is a ready market for Maize and other products. Spending on improving medium scale value addition factories or on loans for entrepreneurs seems to be a more viable alternative to a number of local businessmen (Chisala, 2017). In other words, Zambia has numerous more pressing needs at the moment to dedicate it money and efforts to the airline business in search of the merge of national pride and tourism gains.

(b) Huge sustained industry losses

The African Airline Industry is simply a complex business and characterized by huge losses. It has been projected by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) that the African airlines will make a combined loss of about US$ 100 million in 2018 (Chishala, 2018). If this projection comes to fruition, Zambia risks losing its investment among these losses. Industry losses or profits are computed by summing up all profits or losses of the players, in this case airlines, in the industry. A situation of huge industry losses means that the majority of the airlines will be making losses in 2018. This is not surprising because currently, all African national airlines apart from Ethiopian Airlines are making losses. These include Air Namibia, Air Botswana and Air Zimbabwe. South African Airways (SAA) has been bailed out several times due to sustained losses. In 2017, the South African government announced that it had provided funds to help repay loans of about US $ 176 million to Standard Chartered in order to keep the airline afloat (Chishala, 2107).

(c) Trend towards Privatization

The Aforementioned huge industry profits have triggered a recent weave of privatization in the African airline industry. The Botswanan government decided to start privatizing its national airline, Air Botswana, after giving up on supporting it from the treasury. African governments have opted to privatize their national flag carries due to the cost of bailing them out. The Government of South Africa recently used National Reserve Funds (NRS) meant for exceptional expenditure to bail out its National airline after doing so several times using other forms of government funds. SAA is said by experts and rating agencies to be a threat to the South African economy. Consequently, SAA is headed for privatization because of its deteriorating financial position (Sanchez, 2016). According to Debrah and Toriotich (2005), Kenyan Airways faced managerial and financial problems from the period it was set up until its privatization.

(d) Potential Political interference

National airlines have been said to fail because of political interference in their management. According to experts, the ingredients of failed national airlines include the following: a blotted workforce, overpaid staff, low productivity, appointment of incompetent managers, acquisition of wrong aircrafts and overcapacity or competition saturation (Nkonde, 2017). A number of local analysts believe that the setting up of Zambia Airways is politically designed to advantage the party in government. They predict the use of the airline to transport government official at subsidized rates or no cost at all during elections for campaigns and personal businesses, the employment of unqualified party carders into important position in the management of the airline leading to overcapacity and government interference in the purchase of airplanes (Chishala, 2017). If these predictions turn out to be true, CTPD foresees the airline becoming grossly inefficient and projects that it will definitely begin to make losses in the already loss prone African airline industry.

How does Zambia wish to set-up and operate the new National Airline?

According to the then acting Minister of information, Mr Stephen Kampyongo, the government of the republic of Zambia (GRZ) seeks to set-up the air line through a partnership with the only African National airline currently making profits, Ethiopian Airline. The choice of the partners is indeed commendable since it is expected that this airline has sound management and business strategies. Under this partnership, the government of Zambia will have 55 percent stake in Zambia Airways while the Ethiopian Airline will have the other 45 percent. However, it is not clear exactly how much will be spent on the relaunch of Zambia airways.

There minister of Transport and Communication, Mr Brian Mushimba, stated on December 19th 2017 that cabinet agreed to set aside US $ 30 million for the project in 2018 but later clarified, more than a week later, that the US $ 30 million will be the total equity contribution for the two equity holders. The Zambian government will contribute US $ 16.5 million (55 percent) while Ethiopian airlines will contribute US $13.5 million (45 percent) during the first year. Following the latter explanation, the Zambian government will only spend US 16.5 million during the first year because this will make up 55 percent of the total US $ 30 million project. This 55 per cent equity shareholding by GRZ will be held by the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC).

Mr Stephen Kampyongo also stated that the government will not interfere in the operations of the airline. He explained that the government observed the mistakes of the past which led to the failure of Zambia Airways and will therefore not be involved the running of the new face Zambia airlines. Zambia has spent over US$ 1 billion since 2012 in its efforts to develop the aviation industry. The setting up of the airline is just one aspect of this broader vision which has seen massive expansion and facelift projects targeting airports and runways throughout the country. These include the Kenneth Kaunda and Copperbelt International airports expansion projects aimed at making Zambia a Southern African Hub for aviation transport.

CTPDs opinion on plans to relaunch Zambia Airways?

Having considered the proposed and perceived benefits and possible challenges in re-establishing Zambia Airways, our opinion may be in order. The Centre for Trade Policy and Development thinks that although the idea to have an airline is not a bad one, it actually does offer an opportunity to grow some of the sectors already highlighted in this piece, the timing is wrong. There is need to expand the tourism sector and improve Zambia’s foreign currency earnings. Furthermore, the Zambian government has chosen a strategic and reputable partner for the setting up of the airline. It must be noted however, that the African airline business is complex and has been experiencing industry losses.

CTPD also think that the country is currently facing pressing challenges that need to be prioritised because of their far-reaching consequences, key among these include the following

(a) Zambia’s Public Debt situation

The Zambian government set aside about US $1.4 billion for repayment of both its external and domestic debt in 2018. This amount is greater than the allocation to health infrastructure and school infrastructure combined. The huge debt that Zambia has is indeed robing the nation of the much needs improvements in many sectors. In light of this, it may seem prudent to reduce government borrowing in order to reduce allocations to debt servicing. This notwithstanding, Zambia wishes to borrow about US $ 2.1 billion in order to finance the 2018 national budget and thus add to the existing US $10 billion public debt (US $ 7.2 billion external debt and US $ 3.8 billion domestic debt) (Mutati, 2017). CTPD thinks that relaunching Zambia airways will create an avenue for further borrowing in the event that the airline makes losses.

It must be noted that a great portion of Zambia’s external debt will be maturing between 2020 and 2024. The redemption profile for public debt from 2016 to 2021 is maintained at around US$280.0 million per annum. However, in 2022 and 2024, public debt service is projected to quadruple to about US $ 1 billion per annum due to maturities of the three Bonds issued on the international capital market. Thereafter, debt service smoothens and is maintained around US$120.0 million per annum, that’s assuming no huge borrowing between now and 2022. In other words, Zambia will be paying an average of US $ 1 billion dollars per year towards its debt from 2022 to 2026. Stakeholder have long advised the government to setup a sinking fund to help with these forthcoming repayments but no funds have been set aside. The investment in a National airline is therefore untimely and misguided.

(b) Unclear Source of Funding

There is no direct allocation in the 2018 national budget for the reestablishment of Zambia Airways. Although the Zambian government allocated at total of about US $ 90 million to international airport, it is not clear whether the funding for Zambia Airways will be derived from this amount. According to the minister of Finance, Mr Felix Mutati, the said allocation is meant for the completion of the Kenneth Kaunda International Airport and the Copperbelt International airport construction works. If the required US $ 16.5 million is gotten from this line item in the budget, the two projects risk not being completed in 2018. The government should prioritize the finalization of infrastructure projects which they have already commissioned.

(c) Terms of the Stakeholder agreement

The stakeholder agreement between the Zambian government and Ethiopian Airlines stipulates that the Zambian government will be a majority stock holder. This will both increase the power of the Zambian government in the management of the airline and also reduce the incentive for success on the part of Ethiopian Airlines. Owning a majority stake in the airline and promising to eliminate interference is simply not palatable. If this move is indeed economically motivated, there is no need to be a majority stockholder when owning less stake is more prudent, makes the government realize all its economic goals and indeed less risky. If the government interferes in the management of the airline, history may repeat itself.

(d) Type of Aircrafts bought

According to online media and other news platforms, In July, 2017, the government of Zambia is cited to have completed a deal for the purchases of 5 Russian made Sukuhoi Super jets 100 (SSJ100) airplanes at an approximate cost of about US $ 30 million each (Lusaka Times, 2017). The Jets, to be delivered to Zambia in early 2018, include 4 jets with 98-passenger capacities and 1 VIP jet meant for the President. These jets are simply too big to be used for local travel in Zambia for the first year before embarking on international travel. Owing to the fact that Jet fuel is more expensive in Zambia as compared to other neighbouring countries, it is highly doubtable whether Zambia Airways will succeed. In passing, it must be noted that the cost of relaunching Zambia Airways has been greatly underestimated. The government should have also added the over US $150 million used in purchasing the jets and clarified that the US $ 16.5 million is only and equity contribution meant for setting up operations in 2018.

In conclusion, it is our opinion as the Centre for Trade Policy and Development, that the move to relaunch Zambia airways at this time is a bad investment decision, it is actually more of a blunder than a blessing. We foresee the costs of owning an airline, for Zambia’s case, outweighing all perceived benefits. Zambia needs to focus on pro-poor policies which will benefits the majority of its people. Politically motivated investments such as this one will end up reducing government allocations to key sectors like health and education. In light of Zambia’s huge debt and soon maturing Eurobonds, the government needs to pursue fiscal consolidation and not expanded government expenditure on new projects.

Bibliography

  • Chishala, M. (2017). Relaunching Zambia Airways is the worst Business decision . Retrieved from Lusaka Times : www.lusakatime.com
  • Debrah, Y. A., & Toraitich , O. K. (2005). The Making of an African Success Story: The privatization of Kenya Airways . International Business Review .
  • Free Dictionary . (2018). National Airline. Retrieved from www.freedictionary.com/national+airline
    Kabaila, M. (2014). National Airline Benefits-Plenty. Retrieved from Lusaka Times : www.lusakatimes.com
  • Lusaka Times . (2017, December 28). Brian Mushiba on About US $ 500 million revenue to be retained in the economy once Zambia Airways launches. Retrieved from Lusaka Times : www.lusakatimes.com
  • Lusaka Times . (2017). Dr. Mphuka on Revived Zambia Airways should be run profitably as a commercial entity. Retrieved from Lusaka Times: www.lusakatimes.com
  • Lusaka Times . (2017, July 22). Government buy 5 Russian Super-jets, one for President Lungu . Retrieved from Lusaka Times : www.lusakatimes.com
  • Lusaka Times . (2017). Mutati Felix on Zambia’s Total external debt jump to US $ 7.2 billion. Retrieved from Lusaka Times: www.lusakatimes.com
  • Lusaka Times. (2017 , December 18). Stehpen Kampyongo on Ethiopian Airline to own 45 percent of the soon to be launched Zambia Airways. Retrieved from Lusaka Times : www.lusakatimes.com
  • Lusaka Times. (2017, December 19). Brian Mushimba on Cabinet approves Zambia Airways rebirth as it sets aside US $ 30 million for the airline. Retrieved from Lusaka Times: www.lusakatimes.com
  • Ministry of Tourism and Arts. (2016 ). 2015 Tourism Statistical Digest . Lusaka.
    Mwale, C. (2015). The Fall of Zambia Airways . Retrieved from Daily Mail : www.daily-mail.co.zm
  • Nkonde, K. (2017). Why Zambia Should not Start National Airline: SAA gets state bail out and Air Botswana on sale. Retrieved from Lusaka Times : www.lusakatimes.com
  • Sanchez, D. (2016). South African Airways is headed for privatization with a new board of directors . Retrieved from Africa Insider : www.afkinsider.com
  • Zambia Development Agency . (2015). Non-Traditional exports record decline . Retrieved from Daily Mail : www.daily-mail.co.zm

35 COMMENTS

  1. Pleases focus on rubbish collection , sewage , clean water etc to avoid cholera.

    Airline not necessity at this juncture.

    Poor governance !!!

    Ka Lungu

    • Zambia Airways and the way it went under, is a story yet to be told. Characteristic of Zambia, we have decided to move forward haphazardly, as though blindfolded. What lessons do we bring from the failed airline? Is there a comprehensive report of what happened?

    • The Warren Buffet Rule … buyins are best when the entire speculative market has a negative forecast ~ it’s no wonder he’s the World’s second richest man.

      This makes Warren Buffet a investment genius!!! Not withstanding, there’s a reason ET is a profit making enterprise and we at QZ intend to mimic that.

      Nothing in this speculative article is clairvoyant enough to warrant the demise of this noble understanding. It’s a what-if analysis filled with citations of all nay sayers’ predictions.

      None of the sources cited ever rooted for tapping into this $1.5 Billion industry in Zambia alone without opening other markets … as well written and researched as it is, it’s does not have enough material to support the alternative conclusion.

      It’s more like taking an opinion poll with a…

    • Continued …

      It’s more like taking an opinion poll with a skewed sample of 70% Republicans and 30% Democratics in a state that is 50-50. Your poll will not be reflective of actual sentiments.

      Nice try Ba CFPD … Ba Brian Mushimba, please faka speed and establish this thing called QZ yesterday … It’s reports like this one that justifies why there is only one Warren Buffet.

      We just spent colossal unbudgeted for amounts of money on cholera a sunk cost, QZ is not a sunk cost. Can we plan more? Yes we can!!! But is this totally a wrong thing to do??? Hell No!!!

      I rest my case …

    • It is this attitude that differentiates us from the Asians and the South Americans. Look at the Chileans, they told themselves we can run the copper mines and they did. Look at the Chinese, they said we can do everything the westerners can and they did. The opposition and other detractors condemned MCS for overspending on untimely and unnecessary infrastructure but 4 years after his death, look at our Health system??? In Lusaka, people have stopped going to UTH. There are functional District Hospitals in every province. Access to health, as prescribed by the UN is on track. Need I say the recent separation of the conjoined twins is testimony of this and that UTH and other major provincial hospitals are fast becoming hubs of medical excellency??

    • Interesting news would be to wake up to headlines proclaiming Zambia a non-hungry nation! Or at least from 3rd hungriest to 4th, that would be an achievement. I remember Chiluba saying what’s the use of having skyscrapers to which you point at on an empty stomach?

    • Why hasn’t Govt consulted Malawian Govt to find out how Ethiopian Airlines is milking them dry? Is it becoz of Maizegate that they are not talking to Malawi?

      1st Blunder = reviving Zambia Airways at a time when the economy is in dire straits due to lungu’s vision-less reckless excessive borrowing
      2nd Blunder = Govt purchasing wrong plane – Those Russian jets were wrong. Service back-up is very poor.
      3rd Blunder = Awarding contract to Ethiopian Airlines & giving them $30 Million (which will be siphoned to Ethiopia)
      4th Blunder = KK International Airport soon to be auctioned to Chinese
      5th Blunder = Focusing on international flight routes instead of reviving local routes with smaller planes then jumping onto international scene.

    • @Wantanshi: 3rd hungriest country that grows enough of its staple food 3 times over?? 3rd hungriest that has excess wheat, beef, goat, chicken, groundnuts, vegetables, etc??? From under which damned rock doth you crawl from????

    • WITH NO SHRED OF DOUBT THIS IS A WONDERFUL AND DREAM COME TRUE BLESSING. BUT ABANA BANDOSHI TEPO BALEFIMWENA. I AM PERSONALLY VERY HAPPY WITH THE GOVERNMENT ON THIS ONE AND MANY OTHER THINGS.

    • How will it boost tourism as Brian mentioned it will be only a regional carrier?? Which tourists are we target?? Malawians, Tanzanians and Congolese?? What a shame?? PF government is so dull they don’t think. What the hell would a minister make a decision for an airline?? Recruit and let the CEO decide?? This is a bad start and another failure.

  2. The waste planner ever see on this plane. Borrowing day and night, misplaced priorities, ever in a hurry to steal eg Fire Tenders, Ambulances construction of Lusaka Ndola road.

    • Blessing or a Blunder? It is both.

      Although BLUNDER is not the right word to use for throwing US$ 30 MILLION of Taxpayers money in the rubbish! DISASTER is a better word.

      But it will be a BLESSING also. It will be a Blessing for the people that PF have borrowed huge amounts of money from as EUROBONDS when Zambia will not be able to repay these loans. Then as soon as the “Zambia Airways” planes land in another country they will be waiting with Court Orders and Bailiffs to seize the planes for the non-repayment of the KALOBA these thieves have stolen!And FAILED to repay.

      Ask Zimbabwe. They have been there before!

  3. It is a definite blunder disguised as great business opportunity by one Mr Brian Mushimba and a certain character BR Mumba.

  4. In the same breath, new Zambia Airways is presented as asset and liability before taking sides. That is not analytical enough. Take your pick and defend it consistently. There is no need to confuse the public about subjective as opposed to objective analysis. The truth is, new Zambia Airways is a viable business idea. National Airlines offer benefits for the country. The collapse of old Zambia Airways was provoked by the collapse of the economy. In turn, the collapse of the economy was triggered by poor policies. Domestic policy and foreign policy were not in synch with economic development policy. Government interfered in management of old Zambia Airways. The economy is now breathing and therefore new Zambia Airways will contribute directly to tourism and export horticulture.

    • @Dr. Makasa Kasonde … that’s the underlining fact all these nay sayers fail to grasp and as a result all their negative outlooks are always subjective and not objective.

      I couldn’t have said it better … what a breathe of fresh air, your comment is. You’re the best among the smart people of the Zambian Enterprise!!!

      Let’s roll …

  5. This is commendable and applaudable realistic break down and clear itemizing of key components to the merits and demerits of the re launch of the country`s flag carrier. Honestly, to see and point at a Zambian plane on the foreign airport or skies is the pride we all as Zambians would want to be associated with. However. I have personally called off such desires and expectations for now. I have renewed the need for patience . We need to wait a little longer. if we want to re launch and sustain our pride in the skies, lets first develop shock absorbers on the ground with little money we have- we need to grow agriculture and manufacturing industry first,

  6. Agree with the analysis.
    Misplaced priorities by corrupt ECL and PF.
    Its important to always vote wisely – Zambia is headed for doom with these scumbags.

  7. To Mumba and other supporters, how do you explain why Zambia airways will be a success when other more fiscally responsible governments and larger economies such as South Africa and Kenya are struggling to keep their airlines viable? This is despite all the higher tourism travel, cargo and freight that these airlines even have as an advantage over the volumes that Zambian airways can possibly hope to achieve. The odds are stacked against Zambia and the idea of an airline at this point in our economic development of Zambia. Maybe at another time. There have been several researched and well-informed papers circulated in the last couple of days on why Zambia Airways will fail (not just opinions). Whereas for those in support all we get are opinions. No empirical evidence or a business case…

    • @ Cuponda. You couldn’t have put it better. Those who are supporting this scum are people without a practical understanding of how business works. If it’s all about pride, the Zambian government should also start building a Zambian version of the burj Khalifa. What I am trying to say is that it shouldn’t be about pride that we have a national flag carrier but about business sense. We don’t have that much money to waste on that kind of luxury. The United Arab Emirates are a wealth nation. As a nation, we’re failing to run very good companies like ZAMTELL, ZESCO, TAZARA, ZRL etc and you think we can run a more trick industry like an airline? How naïve.

  8. Okay since running an airline is very complex and a loss making business, then let all airlines operators in the whole world close down their business and engage in other profitable ventures like agriculture or manufacturing as per your suggestion. Let us be fair here, then start moving around the world with canoe.Please take note:
    (1) If you are going to keep on saying, here in Zambia we cannot manage to run complex project, then rest assured you will never see any meaningful development without taking any risk that is a fact.
    (2) just look at our economy, we fail to compete with other countries because many of our educated people want to engage themselves in simple projects and easy to implement, then how do you make money like that?

    Let me tell now, if you want to get rich , then…

    • @Peacemaker: My man, you are spot on!! Part (2): Right now the people opening factories and industries in Zambia are Indian and Lebanese immigrants who are much less educated than our horde of super educated elites who prefer to build houses and flats as a safe and risk free investment. That is the attitude we Zambians have adopted.

  9. Critics are always there, but progress should too. We are too big a nation to fail to run an airline. Let’s all wish the board an management all the best and give the necessery support

  10. “Accused tells court inmates use bare hands to clean up faeces at Chipata’s Namuseche Prison.”
    we can use our money wisley,not this wastage investments into black holes

  11. Everything including the so called landing gear will be pilfered. I would not fly on the planes, there is no second chance in aviation mischief, with our countries standing or image, even cargo will fear traveling by Zambia Airways.

    On a serious not, would we have the market? I would rather pay a lot more to fly than look at who is cheaper. So the option of being more affordable is not a factor here.

  12. Ba UPND, your thinking is totally warped and yet you talk the loudest with infected brains. How on earth can you oppose the establishment/relaunch of a National Airline? It simply shows that you dont understand how things operate and let alone you are the ones who think you can be trusted with Naational affairs, patali!

  13. Gecamine the DRC government owned miner now wants to renegotiate all mining contracts with the investors especially cobalt marketing. Can’t ZCCM do the same here and ignore those who will oppose the move.

  14. Too late. Its a done deal. Papers have already been signed. Come October 24th 2018, I will able to fly to Kasama in the morning, connect to Chipata in the afternoon and attend a management meeting in Ndola the folling day. And we will follow our chipolopolo boys everywhere in Africa without any connections and all paid fall. And we shall walk with our heads high accross the continent of Africa. To the minister , the message is that please go ahead and bring Zambia Airways. If you dont do it now, the same who are against this project will do it tomorrow and claim the credit.

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