Zambia spends an astronomical $1 million in importing frozen foods such as pies and pre-packaged samoosa’s it has been learnt.Commerce Deputy Minister Miles Sampa says it was fundamentally wrong for the country to be importing things like pies 50 years after Independence.
“The majority comes in from South Africa into Shoprite, Pick & Pay and Spar. We need to cut down on this” said a visibly disappointed Miles Sampa. “We will support our local farmers to produce more so that we import less of what we already grow locally.This will create employment and consequently strengthen the kwacha,he said.
Speaking when he toured various chain store outlets, Matero Member of Parliament Sampa wondered why such economic activities can not be extended to local manufacturers if they had the ability to produce them for the local markets.
Thumbs up Miles Sampa.This is the reason I say Zambia needs leaders born after independence. We dont’ accept nonsense! Now can the relevant authorities explain why we are making South African farmers richer while we impoverish our own farmers.I say ban imports of food already found in Zambia. This is worthy of a boycott,protest march etc. Public Order ACT on South African Foods!
Zambians love anything imported regardless of quality. They always regard local products as inferior.
My advice to Zambian manufacturers, improve quality of your goods and sometimes the quality is good, but the labelling is so poor and unacttractive most of the time
This importation of frozen and highly processed foods must be stopped forthwith
Miles is just acting. He’s been at commerce for over two years now & he’s only learning now that these boers are importing chips. Then what does he do? Then he says “we will support our farmers…” When? Come on Miles you can do better.
As for the idea of the ‘born frees’ flooding leadership corridors I totally agree with you.
Firstly we should change our mind set that Foreign is the best? secondly Zambians should take ownership and produce quality things. problem is that our people lack innovation, they believe in cheap with no sense of producing things that can compete on international market.
We can see that with even just building / roads. we like cheap hence people buying food from South Africa.
Let our people change and we should have proper regulatory board for quality and hygiene.
Ba fiwa!!!! this is what kaunda was doing in the 80s, trying his best to stop importations of everything and boosting local manufacturing. but we did not understand him, we said ati ama shortage yachilamo. Ka chiluba came with his liberalised economy which you were all crying for and you got importation of even babamba natukaputula twamukati!! And you were very happy.
There can be no progress without struggle, frederick douglass once wrote. In the kaunda days, we used to have shortages but atleast we produced most of the things we consumed. even cars, we assembled for ourselves. People had jobs !!! we were not brainwashed by watching fake foreign TV all the time. hypnotising our children into ex-says and yobalis trying to live the western life they see on TV.
Thumbs up miles!!!
Now, the question is for you mr law maker miles sampa.what are you going to do about it.As deputy minister in commerce,study the agricultural environment,do forecasts and see how much we produce in a year and how consistent the production of say potatoes can be.once you know these details,look at the consumption rate of potato related products in the country,do a forecast on that too.then with this information, you can then present a bill to parliament which will only allow say the importation of 20% of potato related products knowing very well that our local market will provide the remaining 80%.This will then make shoprite, pick and pay to buy more potatoes in zambia.
Enough talking bwana minister, act now. MPs are lawmakers not buying vigayos and bicyles for their constituents
STOP POLITICKING.ALL THESE YEARS YOU NEVER KNEW THAT WE WERE CREATING EMPLOYMENT FOR THE XENOPHOBIANS/SAMPA AND CREW WAKE UP!
Please do not mind this empty tin Sampa he thinks any potato is good for chipping there is billion dollar science behind that; you have to investing more in education and policies that allow our farmers consistently regular sized produce put on gum boots and get in the fields and rural areas…big super stores like Walmart and Shoprite like consistent regular supply; there is a reason why it is frozen.
you will see a raise in cancer diseases from eating frozen junk food
@ Fresh
The rise of cancer cases is already there, just like diabetes and many cardio vascular diseases.
Zambians think eating junk food is a sign of being wealthy and good milile.
This coupled with sedentary lives as many Zambians are driving now is a deadly cocktail for the health of our nation.
I TOTALLY SUPPORT YOU.IT IS A KNOWN FACT THAT THE WESTERNIZATION OF AFRICA HAS CAUSED A DOUBLE INCREASE IN HEART DISEASES,SUGAR DISEASE AND CANCERS (COLON)
ABENA ZAMBIA EATING AT NANDOS OR BARCELOS IS NOT A SIGHN OF WEALTH?WAKE UP!
good thinking miles,i thought we had agreed to boycott their products after they slaughtered our own?
agree to boycott dstv too
The South African farming is highly mechanized, commercialized and above standards and able to meet the demands of the market in terms of quantity and quality. Our farmers in Zambia are still peasant. If he wants to fix this problem that seems simple at face value but difficult when you peel the onion a few layers back, it starts with revamping our farming and cleaning up the entire supply chain all the way to the end product. We are a long way to go. But it can be done with a focused govt creating enabling environments, banking sector availing necessary funding and an eager entrepreneur people.
A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step – don’t allow fear to stop positive economic transformation. We can do all that South Africa does – the demand is good for our growth
So what? Mechanisation is their own strategy, however China uses any means all the means to face any challenges. We need someone to get us out of the mess.
And some zambians with low self esteem and inferiority complex think eating junk frozen foods from shoprite, pick n pay, subway is being “modern”. They think its being a “town, city boy or girl”. I NEVER buy any food stuff from these shops. I only buy toiletries from them. NEVER go to food stuff shelves.
Zambia imports a lot of Junk foods which is not necessary, these imports just kills our industry and innovations. why import pies, samosas, cakes, frozen chickens, rice when these can be grown here in Zambia.
Chain stores have just found a loop hole to steal our forex to prop up their economy back in south Africa.
If I was in government I would ban imports of such to grow our Zambian economy and create local jobs. Do not wait until you build capacity its already there and most Zambian products are naturally grown than these GMO food imports.
Govt should agree with shop owns what they can import at least give them guidelines.
I am always amazed by people who think that the “imports” argument is a new idea. We have been down the “Import Substitution ” road before and I am sure we all know what lies at the end of that road.
Experience over the last 50 years shows that countries that made giant strides in industrialization did not do so through import substitution but by the export driven economic model. This worked for Japan, for Malaysia, for South Korea, Taiwan and for Singapore and even China. It also worked for Mauritius. That is what works and that is what we should be going for. No country got far through import substitution. It just makes the quality of your products poorer and poorer.
Miles Sampa is barking up the wrong tree and it saddens me to see how many people have not learnt Zambia’s…
presido2021 why would you premise your point with such a defeatist line? Sampa’s thinking should be applauded right thinking person and if you have nothing sensible to say while you sit on your hands, just keep your £$%^&
We are spent $1m monthly importing frozen chippies and pies etc because we have useless MPs and govt which believes that everything from outside is good for us. Even when it comes to transport, a Ghanian apostle has produced cars while the Zambian govt with copper still imports deadly second hand cars which were rescued from the tsunami and are causing death on our roads. Instead of being like our Malaysians who have their own cars and won’t allow any foreign brand to be used for taxis to protect their car industry, we don’t have MPs and a govt which can’t protect the local industry. Where has gone Serios Int. suits? We can protect the local industry by imposing heavy tax on all imported goods which do not add much value to us.
Government should find investors who would buy produce from our local farmers so that they produce the frozen veggies and other food stuff we import
The problem is that our government is too busy with non-essential issues. You wonder when they even sit to plan for the country. No wonder Miles is just discovering such obvious things after 4 years in office. The country needs to be productive & more importantly the role of government is to empower its people to be the owners of this production. Create targeted projects for Zambians aimed at curbing forex drain. CSO & ZRA ought to have info on what our money is busy buying outside & for whom.
Obesity(disease),cancer,Bp,diabetes etc. These were unheard of in the 70’s because what was being consumed was non GMOs.People used to live longer not only that there was no Aids but because of what they were eating. Village Chicken is the best but be careful you might end up eating layers. Maybe the reason why people have opted for meat and broilers, is because Fish and kapenta have become too expensive.
Well spoken. Definitely miles away from HH.
Can local peple take up this business before crying for a ban on imported frozen foods. People with money can invest in such instead of burying it underground or keeping it in foreign banks or politics.
So far the environment for business by local people is already there. To help further govt should raise taxes on imported frozen foods.
Is it the government that pays for the imports or its the Chain stores themselves. The headline is misleading.
We have to be realistic. Our agriculture sector is failing to manage maize growing, harvesting, storing and marketing. How are we going to manage these other crops like potatoes. Local quality is also bad. So this MILES idea is a non starter.
@Chimbwi, kwena uli chimbwi we muntu iye ka! Tell me in any of the things you have outlined that “money” doesn’t play a crucial role?
For Agriculture as an industry (which includes: growing, harvesting, storing and marketing) to improve you need a ready “MARKET” to support it. And if you keep importing french fries from South Africa, guess which farmer/govt is getting the cash to improve their “agriculture sector”? YES, you guessed it, South Africa and its farmers.
That $1 million dollars being sent to S/Africa every month if used to support Zambian farmers by buying their produce, the improvements you are talking about will naturally happen because farmers will have money with which to innovate and improve their practices. In turn more jobs will be created for Zambians!
@Chimbwi: To top it all off, you even say such silly things: “Is it the government that pays for the imports or it’s the Chain stores themselves. The headline is misleading.” REALLY!
Surely, even if you are a “chimbwi” you can at least acquaint yourself with how international trade works.
Look, even if it is a chain store importing stuff, our economy/Govt still has to support that import order by releasing the equivalent in internationally tradeable currency (mostly dollars, which the Kwacha is NOT) to cover the purchase. Even when you import your ragged Japan’s car, this is what happens. You can NOT just fly into S/Africa or Japan with a briefcase full of Kwachas and pay for your goods. And the more you import the weaker the Kwacha gets—this is what Sampa is getting at!
Empower our farmers. some things you don’t need laws. The South Africans do not want grapes from chongwe in their countries. Even those mangoes, Hon. ensure that they stop coming in Zambia. Zambians need to improve on packaging
Sampa, can you please clarify, $1 million per week, month?, as without a timeframe, the figures are meaningless.
Regardless point taken, we should not be importing products that can be produced locally, and should be protecting local industries.
Hon. Sampa, the answer to your question is very simple.
Your Ministry and various Authorities under your Ministry have lost confidence in your capability to enforce statutory provisions.
ZBS has not prosecuted anybody.
Weights and Measures (Cap. 403) non compliance has become habitual occurrence.
Protection of intellectual property occurs only in respect of CD’s. whilst Merchandise Mark Act has been ignored.
The Competition and Consumer Protection Act has not been enforced.
This are the fact Hon. Sampa. Have guess whose responsibility is enforcement of above statutory provisions.Local industries are loosing hundreds of million of USD because of YOUR failure to enforce the law.
Please roll-up your socks and do the job you are paid for.
So how much Irish potatoes does Zambia produce?. Do we have local processing companies? Miles is just saying the obvious. There’s nothing to see here….move on!
Miles Sampa has started his presidential bid.
however isnt your sg calling farmers kachemas? how do u expect farmers to proudly produce? you pf are just useless chaps.
Iwe. Address the topic. You can’t put your bitterness aside for just a second?
BELIEVE ME YOU GUYS….
IF I MAKE NSHIMA AT CHISOKONE MARKET AND SELL IT IN SHOPRITE UNDER A BRAND NAME
“TASTE SOUTH AFRICAN MADE NSHIMA” CHONGOLOLOS AND MANY AFFLUENT ZAMBIANS WOULD BE ON LONG LINES WAITING TO BE SERVED.
“KA COMPLEX KA”
Who commissioned/opened the mukuba mall recently? Once I get the answer from you learned colleagues, then I will ask him…why he did so?
Zambians are largely to blame. When KK tried to localize drinks such as Tip Top we rioted because we wanted coca-cola. Had we persevered this drink would have improved by now. It helped citrus growers as the bottling company was buying the fruit from them!
Ba Bachelor,
Please lets be respectful to each other. Just because we are hiding behind a screen does not mean we speak anyhow to fellow countrymen and women.
I may sound a bit of a defeatist as you say because of my vantage position of seeing this for what it is. We Zambians like blowing up smoke without detailed and in-depth due diligence and analysis of why the situation is the way it is. We then end up exciting each other unnecessarily when the devil is in the details. The suggestions from Hon Sampa can be done. It just needs visionary and supportive leadership and a landscape that is supportive. If you don’t agree with me, you can disagree without attempting to insult me or belittle me sir.
In 2011 spent some time in Malaysia. While I was there, I spent some time with some Malaysians and most of those that I talked to when I asked them about how they were getting on, almost all of them said one thing in common. They all said, “Here we do not wait for the government to do things for us, we work ourselves.” That is the working culture of most Malaysians.
This thing of relying on our governments will take us nowhere. Of course governments have some roles to play so as to furnish for the social wellbeing of its citizens but if we think that these gorvenments will do things to our own satisfation, we will be frustrated to the point that it will lead some people to grow old quickly by complaining. Every time we will be there waiting to post some angry comments about government.
don’t just talk ba Sampa we need quick action.
Ati imported potatoes…… anything from outside is class in Zambia.How can True Pep set up shops in zambia mwebantu?
SAMPA u r being FOOLISH. Who r u asking this question? It is suprising in this country. Presidents say the same things. U r D/Minister of Commerce. DO SMTHING ABOUT IT. HOW CAN PIPO WHO R IN GOVT, MAKING POLICY, BE ASKING QUESTIONS INSTEAD OF IMPLIMENTING AND DEVELOPING POLICIES ABOUT IT? Its stupid. So, who is supposed to change it? Zambians r raising chickens, raising cattle etc. They have no markets becoz GOVT has allowed foreign super markets to support South African industries. STUPID GOVT OFFICIAL – SAMPA!!!!!!
Thanks Miles, you are an intelligent person. Govt needs to put in place a legal, policy and enforcement framework for addressing such issues and not ad hoc inspections only. Let the external companies set up chip packing factories in Zambia so that local farmers can have market for their potatoes and our people can have jobs. If the country had a think tank similar to the defunct National Commission for Development Planning, these issues would be well researched and articulated. Such an advisory body should comprise of non full time well exposed people across the sectors. The development agenda requires shrewdness beyond the civil service, cadres or theoreticians
This ***** has been in government for 4 years and this is when finds out about this.
Good but do’nt touch Hungry Lion Quick-Pack & Coke o
Do not ban the importation of foreign foods, instead increase tax on all imported food stuff. This way the food from abroad will be more expensive to buy while the locally produced will be cheaper. Next move, introduce lessons in primary schools and the dangers of eating food from abroad which is treated with chemicals for it to stay many days while in transit. Educate the youngster that local food is more health than important as it is less processed. This way you can change the mindset of young people.
Chachine ifi fima jank food file tulwalikafye ama gout(joint pains).