The Kitwe District Chamber of Commerce, Trade and Industry have urged the government to devise a strategic way of rationing power supply as opposed to importing the commodity, a move that would raise the cost of production for industries.

Speaking in an interview in Kitwe today, Kitwe Chamber of Commerce Vice President Emmanuel Mbambiko also suggested that the mining companies should start paying for electricity at a commercials rate unlike subsidized rates to compensate for the subsidy that government pays on electricity.

Yesterday Energy minister Mathew Nkhuwa said the government will hike the cost of electricity by about 75 percent to enable it to import the commodity from South Africa to cushion the current power deficit.

Mr. Nkhuwa also announced that the fuel price will also go up soon due to the recent attacks on Saudi Arabia owned oil facilities that knocked down crude oil supply.

Mr. Mbambiko said the government should do away with plans to import power and instead prioritize power supply to industries during the day and then supply the households in the evening so that industries can work normally during the day.

He noted that if the government hikes the electricity tariffs now a lot of industries will fail to continue operating as the cost of production is already high due to high fuel and electricity prices.

And Mr. Mbambiko has urged the Minister of Finance Dr. Bwalya Ng’andu to consider reducing tax on the importation of solar power materials in the 2020 national budget to promote diversification to solar energy in view of the electric power deficit.

Giving the chamber’s expectation in next year’s budget due to be presented soon, Mr. Mbambiko also urged the Finance Minister to control the spending pattern for the government especially the cabinet and the security wings.

He said the spending figures should be reduced so that more money is channeled to critical areas such as health and education.

He, however, noted that the government revenue collection base is currently eroded hence making it difficult to make revenue collection projections.

The national budget for the year 2020 is expected to be presented to parliament by Finance Minister Dr. Bwalya Ng’andu before the end of this month.

Monze Town Council (MTC) Secretary Benson Bweenje has declared his district ready for investors in different sectors including those interested investing industrial park which will be the first of it’s kind in the Province.

Speaking in Livingston where the district is showcasing its investiment opportunities at the Provincial Tourism and Investment Exposition, Bweenje said the district has various opportunities and that land has been made available for would be investors in different areas.

He said the district has various mineral deposits which have not been exploited an opportunity he said was worth looking into.

“We have also minerals which have been identified. We have overwhelming evidence of Gemstones which have been identified in Monze they are there. Those who are interested to invest in such they are free to come to Monze and we will show them the sites, we have been shown the sites, they are readily available.

“The minerals you are able to see on our stands were just picked on the surface, what more is on the ground. I don’t know but those who are interested to invest can be able to see. Apart from that, we also have quarry mining. The quarry we have there, we have been told that ot has the potential to be turned into a cement plant. So we are also inviting people who are willing to come and invest in our District. Our District has the potential,” he said.

Meanwhile Bweenje said the town will be home to an industrial park which will be located in Bweengwa.

He said the Bweengwa Industrial Park will have an advantage of using the by-products of geothermal energy which is heat and hot water to be used in a number of industrial activities.

He explained that the Kalahari Geo Energy, the company doing the geothermal project has indicated that the pilot power generation will start in early 2021 hence those interested should quickly position themselves for the opportunity.

He further explained that there are also opportunities in the area of value addition to the meat and dairy products and by products.

“Have not talked much to do with animal or maybe maize, you might be wondering. Am aware, for example the government is putting the mealing plant so I can not talk on that because I know that value has already been added and I do know that we still have some people who buy the hides from animals so that business is already but we want people to come and invest in a company that will turn these raw materials into finished products,” he said.

On Tourism, Bweenje said the district has huge potential for game ranching and Safari as it is home to the Lochinvar National Park.

“Apart from that, we are also giving the opportunity to people to view wild animal, that’s game ranching. we also have the opportunity for people to do normal Safari. We also have the opportunity for people to come and build estate, for example on our stands you are seeing the display of a map which is planned for a shopping mall. Those are opportunities that Monze is giving out,” he said.

Provincial Permanent Secretary Mwangala Liomba points out that the only challenge the sector faces is that most people, who include both local and international tourist, do not fully exploit the various tourism sites dotted across the province.

Mr Liomba told ZANIS on the sidelines of the Southern Province Exposition, to be officially launched tomorrow, that the province will continue relying on tourism, adding that government will also focus on accelerating the development of other sectors through value- addition of local products.

Mr Liomba stressed that the region has had several untapped riches which need to be exploited especially in tourism and agriculture.

He said government is trying to ensure that necessary infrastructure is put in place in all tourism sites across the province.

“As you know, the ability of the national economy to benefit from tourism depends on the availability of investment to develop the necessary infrastructure and on its ability to supply the needs of tourists,” he explained.

Mr Liomba added that this is the reason why government decided to have the exposition, in order to accelerate the economic diversification and exploration of untapped potential in various sectors of development.

“The exposition will be treated as an opportunity to open up Southern Province, and enhance youth empowerment and employment creation,” he added.

Mr Liomba expressed optimism that the region is poised to diversify its traditional reliance on tourism to other areas of interest with the successful hosting of the Expo.

Meanwhile, Livingstone residents have challenged stakeholders to diversify the economy of Southern Province by tapping into other beneficial sectors of the province.

“I was born in Livingstone 66 years ago, there were some industries in Livingstone apart from the hospitality industry which has dominated the region, I don’t know what has happened,” Patrick Mwiza a resident of Livingstone lamented.

And Emanuel Nyambe 33, complained that he among other residents of Livingstone have different career skills far away from hospitality industry and they feel disadvantaged in the tourist capital.

Meanwhile, the Southern Province exposition has gained momentum with several local and international exhibitors, as well as would be investors have all arrived in the tourist capital which is the Expo’s hosting place.

The Expo’s theme is accelerating Development through Value Addition and Diversification and President Edgar Lungu is expected to grace the event.

PF has maintained its opposition to the re-introduction of deputy ministers in the Constitution Amendment Bill Number 10 of 2019.

PF Secretary General Davies Mwila says the re-introduction of Deputy Minister will be costly to government.

And Mr. Mwila says the PF supports the increase of timeframe for an election petition to be heard from 14 to 30 days.

He said the Party also supports the proposed amendment of article 116 to include sub article 4 to allow Minister to continue holding office until a new government is elected.

Mr Mwila said this will allow the government to continue performing its functions.

He said the proposal to reduce the period a civil servant should resign before seeking political office from two years to six months is also supported by the party.

Mr Mwila was speaking when he appeared before the Parliamentary Select Committee tasked to scrutinise the Constitution of Zambia Amendment Bill Number 10.

Meanwhile, Mr Mwila said the Party is opposed to the proposed amendment on the voting of the President to include the possibility of forming a coalition government.

He said it is important that the President should draw his or her mandate directly from most of the people because most coalition governments have proved to be unstable.

[ZNBC]

The Zambia Centre for Interparty Dialogue (ZCID) has supported the constitution amendment bill number 10 of 2019.

ZCID Constitutional Committee chairperson Chilufya Tayali says 32 out of the 35 ZCID affiliates resolved to support the bill after a meeting that was held in Lusaka.

Mr. Tayali says other affiliates of the ZCID that did not take part in the meeting are at liberty to present their individual political party submission before the parliamentary select committee.

He says ZCID believes that Bill number 10 is a true reflection of the resolutions of the National Dialogue Forum (NDF)

Mr Tayali, who is also opposition Economic and Equity Party (EEP), the leader was speaking when he presented submissions before the Parliamentary select committee on the Constitution Bill number 10 of 2019.

And MMD president Felix Mutati has supported the re-introduction of deputy ministers.

Mr Mutati said this can be achieved if the government considers compressing the number of ministers in Cabinet