Minutes of the 5th Cabinet Meeting held on the 19th March 2018

PRESS STATEMENT BY THE CHIEF GOVERNMENT SPOKESPERSON ON THE DECISIONS MADE BY CABINET AT THE 5TH CABINET MEETING HELD AT STATE HOUSE ON MONDAY, 19TH MARCH, 2018

At the 5^th Cabinet Meeting held on Monday, 19th March, 2018, at State House, Cabinet discussed two (2) substantive Agenda Items in the continued pursuit by His Excellency the President, Mr Edgar Chagwa Lungu and his Cabinet to develop Zambia and improve the general living standards of the people. The Meeting lasted from 10:20 hours to 17:40 hours. The following were the decisions made:

1. The Public Private Partnership (Amendment) Bill, 2018.

Following the presentation of this matter to Cabinet by the Minister of Finance, Cabinet approved that the Bill entitled “The Public-Private Bill, 2018” be approved for publication and introduction in Parliament during the current sitting.

The objects of the draft Bill are to:

(a) revise the functions of the Public Private Partnership (PPP) Unit in the department of the Ministry responsible for finance;

(b) revise the functions of the Public Private Partnership Council; and

(c) provide for matters connected with, or incidental to the foregoing.

Cabinet emphasised the need to place the PPP Unit in the Ministry of Finance in order to ensure a well-coordinated private investment prospect in line with Government aspirations on overall national development.

Cabinet appreciates the importance of bringing the private sector to fully participate in the development path the Patriotic Front Government has seriously continued to pursue as seen from the many programmes and projects Government is implementing in many sectors of the economy. While Government will continue to put more money in the area of infrastructure development, such as roads, rail, air transport, hospitals, clinics including universities and secondary and primary schools in all the provinces of the country, Government feels the private sector is a key player in fostering development in Zambia.

It is the hope of Government that with this law in place, the private sector will be able to fully invest their resources in national development as partners with the Government.

2. The Credit Reporting Bill, 2018.

Cabinet with full knowledge that the current sitting of Parliament is mainly to look at the Bills passed by the Executive, the Bill entitled “The Credit Reporting Bill, 2018”, was approved for publication and introduction in Parliament during the current sitting.

The objects of the Bill are to provide for:

(a) the regulation of credit reporting agencies by the Bank of Zambia;

(b) the licensing of credit reporting agencies;

(c) the establishment of a Credit Registry;

(d) the governance and management of credit reporting agencies;

(e) the protection of data subjects;

(f) information sharing and reporting to enable assessment of the credit worthiness of a data subject; and

(g) matters connected with, or incidental to the foregoing.

The introduction of the Credit Reporting Bill, 2018, will provide for a legal framework within which the Bank of Zambia can regulate credit reporting agencies so as to ensure repayment of debt obligations by clients and enhance credit reporting services oversight. Further, the Bill will provide for the protection of the privacy of borrowers.

This Bill, shall also be presented to Parliament during the current sitting.

3. Authorised Share Capital of the Zambia National Building Society.

Cabinet took note of the brief by the Minister of Finance that the authorised share capital of the Zambia National Building Society (ZNBS) was increased from 191,677,538 to 1,341,742,766 by issuance of 1,150,065,228 Class B shares at par value of K0.81 per share giving a total value of K931, 552,834.68. The Minister informed Cabinet that the decision was in line with the ZNBS 2017 Annual General Meeting resolution.

Cabinet noted that it was necessary to increase the authorised share capital for the Society in order to:

(a) lower the costs of mortgagees to make decent housing accessible to ordinary Zambians;

(b) reduce the current housing backlog;

(c) spur activity in the construction sector; and

(d) create employment in the construction sector.

The housing financing sector in Zambia has been facing wide ranging challenges including lack of affordable capital hence the option of increasing the authorised share capital through the issuance of Class B shares. It is envisaged that increased share capital of the Society will result into increased access to cheaper mortgages for low and medium income earners in the country.

Hon. Dora Siliya, MP
MINISTER OF INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING SERVICES AND CHIEF GOVERNMENT SPOKESPERSON