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President Edgar Chagwa Lungu, President of the Republic of Zambia yesterday met Ashok Leyland Chairman Prajash Hinduja who has pledged to open an Ashok Leyland Plant in Zambia.
According to the statement released to the media by State House, the President also discussed investment in railways with Mitsui Deputy General Manager Shusaku Okamura, who paid a courtesy call in him.
The President met Techno Brain Representative Mr Antonio Poncioni Merian who said his company was already working with Governments in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) through providing it with solutions to their Ministries of Finance.
Meanwhile, President Lungu has also met the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Department of Africa Director Abebe Aemro Selassie.
President Lungu told the investors that time for talking was over because Zambia needs investment now.
And Mr Hinduja, who, is based in the United Kingdom, said his company planned big investment in Zambia, including, a motor assembly plant.
The President looked forward to the inauguration of the plant.
Mr Hinduja told President Lungu that his firm has launched an electric vehicle on the British market.
He said his Group is diverse and that they have invested in traffic control and health, among other sectors.
And Mr Okamura said Mitsui planned to build a rail line linking Zambia to the Mozambique Nacala corridor.
He said Mitsui will also build a dryport in Chipata.
He said Mitsui were already working with JICA on the Luangwa Bridge.
President Lungu asked the investors what they were waiting for because Zambia was ready.
The President later met the IMF Representative and told him that Zambia has taken bold steps to review the country’s debt stock.
Mr Selassie said an IMF team will visit Zambia soon to give a comprehensive assessment of the Zambian economy.
Students gathered at the Government complex during the opening of the Zambia Open University residential school in Lusaka
By MTHONISWA BANDA
THE Higher Education Loans and Scholarship Board (HELSB) has recovered more than K28 million from university graduates since it began its loan recovery exercise in 2016.
The recovered amount has been since been ploughed back into more colleges as loans for college and university students’ education.
HELSB acting Communications Officer Chiselwa Kawanda said in an interview at the just-ended North-West Expo that the loan recovery exercise was on-going, having started with government-employed graduates, and would soon cascade to the private sector.
“Most of the loans that have been recovered are from those employed by the Government since we have the same accounting systems. It has not been easy recovering from the private sector because of the difficulties in tracking down those who have been employed and how much they owe the loans scheme.”
The HELSB, formerly Bursaries Committee of the Ministry of Education, has since 2016 been transformed into a loan and scholarship board with the sole aim of providing school loans to students admitted to Zambia’s higher learning institutions through a revolving fund.
The Bursaries Committee (BC) previously gave bursaries to the University of Zambia (UNZA) and Copperbelt University (CBU) students and selected scholarships to those admitted to study abroad. However, under the HELSB, these loans will be available to any needy student admitted into college.
“We have spread the loans and scholarships to Mulungushi University, Mukuba University and Kapasa Makasa University. We have also begun engaging the private sector to help us track the former students employed by them and help us recover these loans.”
Ms Kawanda said the recovery which began in September 2016 was expected to increase in its reach so that more funds were recovered, and more students placed under scholarships.
“You may be aware that the Government has continued giving us the same grants and with the increasing cost of tuition and college fees, this grant is forcing us to reduce the number of students we can give loans to.”
The HELSB has offered loans to over 3,000 students at both UNZA and CBU. The plan for scholarships and loans for each university is 2,000 students.
“Unfortunately, in our loans we do not give students meal allowances. Our loans cater for tuition, accommodation and project allowances. Our loans are also not transferable from one institution to another, implying that a student that changes colleges and universities cannot access another loan during the period the other loan is running.”
She said for students to access their loans and scholarships, they are required to have college admission letters before approaching HELSB. – Courtesy of SUMA SYSTEMS.
The Zambia National Farmers’ Union (ZNFU) has hailed Acting Republican President Inonge Wina for intervening and re-stating clearly the government policy on maize and mealie meal business operations in the country.
ZNFU President Jervis Zimba said Farmers are excited with the government in that maize business from farm level and throughout the value chain is set to continue to operate undisturbed.
In the statement availed to ZANIS in Lusaka today, Mr Zimba explained that the government’s stance will go a long way in restoring confidence in all the players and farmers will plan in all earnest for the upcoming farming season.
“Let me assure the government that farmers will always respond and grow maize with the right incentives in place. Already there is a commitment by farmers to grow early maize right now if the government provides the appropriate policy framework and guarantees for off-take arrangements locally or through exports,” Mr Zimba said.
“Farmers are also excited at the possibility of formalizing exports of maize and mealie meal into the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as this will pave way for the favorable expansion of maize growing in this country,” he said.
He underscored that all farmers whether small, emergent or large scale can grow maize, but the limiting factor has been a lack of access to larger.
The Zambia National Farmers Union President further assured of continued collaboration with other stakeholders and government to find ways of improving the affordability of mealie meal.
Mr Zimba pointed out that part of the measures should be focusing on how the cost of producing the maize can be reduced, followed by lowering the cost of doing business in the country which will drop the mealie meal prices.
Acting President Inonge Wina is concerned with the rate at which conflicting statements are being issued to the public regarding maize and mealie meal supply in the country.
FILE: President Lungu with Fergus Cochrane-Dyet , British High Commissioner to Zambia at State House
Earlier today, we featured on UNZA Radio’s Lusaka Star program to share our reflections on the exit statement of the outgoing British High Commissioner to Zambia – Mr. Furgus Cochraine Dyet.
We would like to thank the outgoing High Commissioner for his services during his period of accreditation in Zambia, as well as for his candor around his appreciation of both the country and people of the Republic of Zambia.
We noted that Ambassadors and High Commissioners of foreign countries accredited to Zambia serve at the pleasure of the country and the people of their respective countries. They do not serve at the pleasure of our elected government, neither are they here to antagonize our legitimately elected governments.
But these diplomats are also certainly not here to play convenient, useful idiots by adopting an indifferent stance amidst social, economic or political turbulence. They are here to provide candid, open and honest feedback and analysis to their governments of origin concerning our own country’s social, economic and political environment.
This, for them, is an issue of ensuring the right sort of diplomatic standards of engagement is maintained. It is also an issue of diplomatic credibility because the United Kingdom has a moral image to protect on the diplomatic front, by ensuring that all countries with whom they maintain diplomatic relations are demonstrably able to uphold certain minimum standards around the social, economic and political fronts.
Therefore, the outgoing High Commissioner was well within his diplomatic space to provide a forthright opinion around his assessment of our country’s footing on a number of fronts.
We noted that the concerns raised by Mr. Cochraine – Dyet are in fact not new. His concerns have been raised before in this country by members of the opposition United Party for National Development (UPND), former leaders of the Patriotic Front (PF) – notably Mr. Chishimba Kambwili, Mr. Harry Kalaba and Mr. Kelvin Fube Bwalya – KBF, members of the civil society, trade unions, professional bodies and the general citizenry.
Therefore, there was nothing unusual about the sentiments expressed in the outgoing High Commissioner’s exit letter.
In fact, there is nothing that precludes Zambian diplomats accredited to other countries, from providing constructive feedback on the affairs of their countries of accreditation, if any such affairs may have a direct bearing on the welfare of Zambia and her citizens.
An example is the prospect of a No Deal Brexit now looking increasingly likely with the House of Commons set for prorogation. This scenario could cost the UK up to £40 billion in a divorce settlement, something that could adversely affect Zambia’s ability to access both bi and multilateral aid from the UK and the World Bank’s European Investment Bank. Our High Commissioner in London is at liberty to comment on such and express concern. There is nothing to stop him from doing so.
It is also important, that the outgoing High Commissioner’s statement also provided some useful commendations around Zambia’s rich potential both on the natural and human resource front, our enduring peace and stability, our peaceful democratic transitions and handover of power at some crucial junctures.
These are some positives we ought to be proud of, and most certainly, aspire to build upon.
CRITICAL AREAS OF CONCERN
1. Rising national debt
This is an issue we as the UPND have consistently provided guidance on and repeatedly urged the PF administration to not only regulate the flow of debt money into the country, but also to stay away from non concessional, expensive, non – flexible borrowing. We are at 78% of GDP in terms of debt, with our economy set to grow at less than 2% by the close of 2019. We are also spending more than 60% of all we are earning on debt servicing. This means we literally have nothing to sensibly allocate towards the provision of critical public services such as health and education.
The recent spending priorities around the $800 million supplimentary budget by the newest Finance Minister confirmed that 65% of this required amount would go towards servicing debt, with nothing going towards health and education.
The UPND thinks it is essential for us to negotiate an IMF bailout, postpone payments on our loans and free up much needed resources for growth and development.
2. Hunger crisis
60% of Zambians, that is around 10 million of our people live on less than $1.25 a day. This is around K15 in a country where a bag of MEALIE MEAL now costs K150. 42% of our people, that is around 7 million of the 10 million classified as extremely poor, with another 400,000 having no guaranteed access to food on any given day.
The above has been the norm in Zambia for several years now.
The recent spike in the price of MEALIE MEAL and the destitution around it is indicative of the fact that the economic destitution often only associated with the bottom 60% , has now entered middle income households. It means the current hunger crisis arising from the PF government’s inability to manage the production, storage and supply of maize, has only heightened an already desperate survival situation for millions of Zambians.
The UPND has consistently urged the PF never to export maize before we can absolutely be certain that our country is food secure. A few months ago, despite the least than impressive rainfall patterns, Zambia had over 2.4 metric tonnes of maize against a national requirement of 1.9 million metric tonnes. Less than 3 months later, we have nothing to feed our people. This says a lot about the PF government’s lack of foresight and leadership.
We have since urged the PF to declare a hunger crisis so that our people can get to live another day. Given the scale of it, Zambia needs a minimum $500 million to navigate this crisis. We do not have that sort of money. This is why we need help. Zimbabwe estimated 2.5 million might have been at risk of starvation. They called for help and help came to the tune of over £270 million. Zambia is facing a much worse crisis given the statistics, despite these being underplayed by the government, and yet no call for help has gone out yet.
We challenged the President Mr. Edgar Lungu to go out across our vast country and see first hand the extent of the hunger situation and make a decision for himself.
3. Constitution Amendment Crisis
Any national dialogue was envisaged to Foster greater national unity and cohesion across the entirety of the political, civic and religious divide. The outcomes of the NDF have generated more distrust and tension contrary to what was desired. This is fundamentally because the process itself was marred by political bulldozing and lack of consultation and consensus.
The UPND are demanding a total withdrawal of the fraudulent Bill 10 and have the required constitional, electoral and public order act reforms driven by credible process underpinned by trust, genuine consultation and consensus.
4. Shrinking media freedom
We continue to urge the PF government to resist the urge to interfere with the media space through draconian legislative frameworks, and further urge them to enact the FoI Act. This is crucial to enhancing not only media freedom but also public accountability.
These are some of the issues we highlighted and implored the PF to provide leadership around.
In the absence of that, we have been clear that citizens of Zambia cannot and must never wait another 5 years before they demand a change of political leadeship. At the moment, all signs indicate that a change of political leadeship is now necessary so that we may give ourselves an opportunity to think anew around the numerous challenges our country is facing.
Patson Daka and Enock Mwepu will be visiting Anfield to face defending champions Liverpool in the group stage of the 2019/2020 UEFA Champions League.
Austrian champions RB Salzburg are in Group E together with the six-time champions ,Belgium club Genk and two-time Italian Serie A champions Napoli following draws made in Monaco on Thursday night.
It will be the first time that two Zambians from the same club will be playing in the group stage of the competition.
HH arriving at Lusaka Central Prison to visit Dr Kambwili
Opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema on Thursday afternoon visited incarcerated opposition politician Chishimba Kambwili at Lusaka Central Prison.
Mr Hichilema has since demanded that Dr. Kambwili be granted Police bond with immediate effect following his arrest yesterday.
Mr. Kambwili who was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly defaming President Edgar Lungu and has been denied police bond.
“Took time to visit our brother Dr Chishimba Kambwili who is detained at Lusaka Central police on flimsy charges. We encouraged our brother to remain strong and that we stand with him and will continue to do so in good or bad times,” Mr Hichilema said.
“There are so many PF corrupt thieves out there who deserve to be in jail as opposed to people calling for restoration of normalcy in the country,” he said.
“We demand for his immediate release from detention. Our brother has assured us that he will remain strong and not be broken.”
He added, “When in government, we will not waste time and resources arresting citizens who will be holding divergent, views. There are those who don’t agree with us, insult and call us names but we don’t pay attention to their ridicule. Our preoccupation is to take over government and run the country better in order for citizens to be able to afford three meals a day.”
HH arriving at Lusaka Central Prison to visit Dr Kambwili
Nkana have been challenged to win trophies in the 2019/20 season.
Nkana opens the season on Sunday with a FAZ Super Division match against Green Buffaloes at home in Kitwe.
Club President Evaristo Kabila said qualifying for CAF club competitions is a must for the 12-time league champions.
‘We have got two things which we got win. We have got the league which we want to win,’ Kabila told players during the club dinner on Wednesday night.
‘We need to qualify for continental games. We have got ABSA Cup which we need to qualify for and win,’ he said.
Nkana assistant coach Manfred Chabinga said the team will challenge for silverware.
‘We are going to compete. I am just hoping that we will win the league and represent the country in CAF games. It is so sweet to represent the country,’ Chabinga said.
Nkana last season failed to qualify for CAF competitions and the ABSA Cup after finishing seventh in Stream B of the transitional league with 23 points from 18 matches.
Green Eagles’ CAF Champions League pre-group stage opponents Premiero de 1Agosto have the biggest number of domestic call-ups in Angola’s 24-member 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers team to face Gambia.
The seven call-ups include 17-year-old striker Zito Luvumbo who won gold and bronze with Angola at the 2018 COSAFA U20 Cup and 2018 COSAFA U17 Cup respectively and later had a trial spell with Manchester United earlier this year.
Petro de Luanda has the second largest number of local call-ups with five players.
The rest of the 1Agosto call-ups are goalkeeper Adao Cabaca, defenders Salmonao Troco , Afonso Masunguna and Isaac de Costa including midfielder Jose Ganga.
Striker Cristovao Paciencia popularly known as Mabululu,and who so far has two goals in the CAF Champions League, completes the 1Agosto call-ups for the two legged away and home date against Gambia next week.
Green Eagles will host 1Agosto in the first leg on September 14 and travel to Luanda for the final leg on September 24 to decide who qualifies to the CAF Champions League group stage.
High mealie meal prices have increased Zambia’s annual inflation rate to 9.3 percent in August from 8.8 percent last month. The annual rate of inflation has been rising for the past five months with March figures recorded at 7.5 percent rising to August’s rate of 9.3 percent.
Central Statistical Office -CSO- Assistant Director Social Statistics Iven Sikanyiti says increased prices of cereals like breakfast meal, roller meal, maize grain and local rice have contributed to the rise in the inflation rate.
He said food inflation rate for August rose to 10.3 percent compared to 9.3 percent recorded last month owing to the above factors.
Speaking during the monthly briefing in Lusaka today, Mr. Sikanyiti also revealed that the annual inflation rates increased for all provinces except for North Western Province which remained unchanged.
Western province topped the list of provincial inflation rates at 10. 5 percent followed by Eastern at 9.9 percent and Lusaka and Southern provinces at 9.6 percent.
The inflation rate for alcohol beverages and tobacco increased to 6.8 percent in August 2019 from 6.7 percent recorded in July 2019 due to price changes in tobacco products.
Inflation for clothing and footwear also marginally increased to 6.5 percent in August from 6.4 recorded last month while for health it increased to 7.4 percent in August from 7.1 percent July 2019.
There was also an upward adjustment of inflation in the Transport, Communication, Education and miscellaneous goods and services sector in August from July 2019.
Meanwhile, Zambia last month recorded a 27 percent increase in trade deficit from K619 million in June to K786.2 million.
Mr. Sikanyiti however noted that despite a decline in both imports and exports, the decline in exports outweighed that of imports.
And, Interim Statistician General Mulenga Musepa said the country needs to do more in its diversification agenda.
Mr. Musepa said Zambia still heavily relies on Copper exports.
He said there is need to expand the diversification agenda by not just increasing the number of products but also increasing export destinations which is key in attaining what is outlined in the Seventh National Development Plan.
Mr. Musepa however noted that the current infrastructure development in the country are opening up sectors such agriculture and tourism.
Former Republican Vice President and leader of the opposition Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD), Dr. Nevers Sekwila Mumba has urged the leadership of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to intervene in the looming threat of Xenophobia in South Africa.
In a message quoted on his official Twitter handle, @Nevers Sekwila Mumba, issued on Wednesday, Dr. Mumba also warned that any reports of Xenophobia would yield negative and undesirable retaliation from Zambia, and possibly other affected countries.
“We wish to make it clear that any report of a Zambian being killed shall have economic ramifications on South African investments in Zambia.” He said, in reference to a possible public boycott of South African linked investments in Zambia.
Dr, Mumba has meanwhile urged the Zambian Government to immediately take a stand against Xenophobia and engage the South African government in light of the strong history the two nations share in which for many years, Zambia offered support and housed leaders of the struggle against apartheid at great cost and danger to herself.
“Our brothers and sisters of South Africa must realize that if it were not for the support of other countries like Zambia, apartheid would not have ended. Under the leadership of our founding President Dr Kenneth Kaunda, Zambia provided help to the current governing party of South Africa, the African National Congress (ANC) and infact we went a step further to give them space to house their headquarters here.
Most of the ANC big wigs who weren’t in prison with President Nelson Mandela like Oliver Tambo, Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma just to mention a few were based in Lusaka Zambia during the struggle”, Dr. Mumba said.
Dr. Mumba, who is an advocate for an Africa of Morality and Integrity, is a vocal critic of Xenophobia and other social vices and has often been quoted as saying the only way Africa, and any of it’s people, can achieve the equitable distribution of its wealth and resources is by ensuring that ,africans demand for, and procure for themselves, a leadership of morality and integrity, and not through Xenophobic attacks on fellow Africans.
“These Xenophobic threats are a time bomb which, if not nipped in the bud, may spread to other countries. For example, if citizens in Country X attack Citizens of Country Y based in Country X, Citizens of Country Y may also retaliate and attack citizens of Country X who are in their Country. This will in the long run lead to social and economic destabilization in the region”, he said.
In Pretoria, South Africa violence followed the fatal shooting of a taxi driver identified as Jabu Baloyi allegedly by a foreign national who was confronted for dealing drugs in the CBD on Tuesday 27th August.
In retaliation, the angry crowd on Wednesday set alight numerous stores suspected to be run by foreign nationals they accused of selling drugs to young people around the notorious Lilian Ngoyi and Brown streets intersection.
Protesters broke into stores before setting them ablaze in front of police awaiting back-up.
However, criminal elements took advantage of the situation and started looting, grabbing TVs, fridges and other electronic equipment. Others helped themselves to food.
Zambian businessman Llyod Kalenshia said painting every foreigner with the same brush was very problematic and dangerous. “I am hurting because my cellphone store was burnt to the ground and I am left with nothing. These people must let the police deal with these things and not take the law into their own hands.”
Shopfronts burn in Pretoria, South Africa, Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2019. Police fired rubber bullets as protests erupted in the central business district of South Africa’s capitol Pretoria with rioters setting several small businesses in the area alight. (AP Photo/Yeshiel Panchia)
Chifubu Area Member of Parliament (MP) Frank Ng’ambi is set to appear before Ndola High Court for plea and possible commencement of trial on September 2, 2019 for allegedly assaulting his wife.
This is contained in a cause list issued by the High Court availing cases expected to be brought before the Judge in the month of September 2019.
The matter is to be heard before Ndola High Court Judge Yvonne Chembe.
In July 2019, the Ndola Magistrate Court committed the case to the Ndola High Court for the commencement of trial.
It is alleged that on June 7, 2019, Ng’ambi, whilst acting with intent, did assault his wife Agnes Ng’ambi, causing her grievous bodily harm.
A family source revealed that Mr Ngambi descended on his wife after an argument over his extramarital affairs.The source said the family vowed that the Chifubu MP will face the law for disfiguring their relative.
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) Cross border traders association has expressed concern with reports of some Zambian Truck Drivers being threatened with violence, following a planned nationwide work stoppage by the South African truck drivers.
Association Chairperson Jacob Makambwe observed that if allowed the reported protest by South African truck drivers will have a negative effect on the region’s agenda of setting out principles and values that are aimed at enhancing regional integration.
“Working together within SADC is one reason why we even get in to regional groupings, but such kinds of reports have potential to impact negatively on this agenda,” he said.
Mr Makambwe told ZANIS in an interview in Lusaka today that in regional groupings, people should be free to move and conduct businesses in other member states without any harassment or interference from citizens of that country.
He noted that it is worrying to see increased threats and acts of violence resulting in xenophobic attacks on other foreign nations by South Africans, adding that the act affects trade relations shared between South Africa and other countries.
He added that as Africa strives to become an integrated economy through the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) there is need for relevant authorities to provide lasting solutions to such challenges.
Mr Makambwe explained that if South African truck drivers have issues with Zambian truck drivers being employed by South African companies, they should use the right channels and relevant authorities to air out their grievances than venting the anger on their counterparts.
“We are now looking at a bigger picture of Africa becoming economically integrated through AfCFTA, we do not want such kinds of approach when resolving differences, “he added.
He further hoped that the situation will not have a negative impact on the inflow and outflow of trade between Zambia and South Africa.
He also appealed to cross border traders going to South Africa and those that engage the truckers to transport their goods, to be cautious so that they are not caught up in the confusion.
The Zambian High Commission in South Africa has advised all Zambian truck drivers who are scheduled to travel to South Africa on 2nd September 2019 not to do so until security is guaranteed following the planed National wide work stoppage by the South African truck drivers were some Zambian drivers have been threatened with violence.
The Mission further advised Zambian Truck Drivers who will enter or would be working in South Africa on the 2nd September 2019 to park their trucks in safe and secure designated places in order to avoid loss of life and property.
The Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) has congratulated the Senior Women National Team for their first leg victory against Zimbabwe.
FAZ General Secretary Adrian Kachala said Zambia’s 5-0 first leg victory over Zimbabwe in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic qualifier on Wednesday at Nkoloma Stadium was impressive.
Kashala has wished the team the best of luck in the return leg in Harare on Sunday September 1st 2019.
“We are happy with the performance of our women national team in the first leg of the Olympic Games qualifier. We urge them to finish off the job on Sunday and ensure qualification to the next round,” stated Kashala.
Kashala narrated that the country’s investment in the women and youth structures is beginning to manifest itself through the performance of the various teams.
He also revealed that he is optimistic that an equal performance will be put up by the U17 Women, who are currently in camp, preparing for the 2019 Inaugural Women Championship, to be held in Mauritius next month.
Kashala explained that FAZ will endeavor to do everything possible to ensure that the team qualifies to the Olympics.
Zambia plays Zimbabwe on Sunday in the second leg in Harare, and winner will play either Botswana or South Africa in the next round.
This is contained in a statement availed to ZANIS in Lusaka today by Football Association of Zambian Communications Manager Mwazi Chanda
By Mupota Muchelemba
Managing Director of Seidor Zambia
In 2015 Zambia suffered from large scale and prolonged load shedding which had a substantial impact on the day to day running of businesses, resulting in a negative effect on the economy. At the time businesses were almost 100% reliant on the national power grid and there were very few alternative power sources. Today we are seeing less of an impact because there is a greater awareness of the importance of using power wisely and people have also started investing in alternative power. However, the lasting lessons from that time are clear – businesses need to have systems in place that allow them to plan around and manage unforeseen circumstances.
Disruptions like rolling power cuts can have a massive effect on mid-sized businesses. A very large part of the business is unproductive if there isn’t power and the repercussions are expensive. Diesel generators are expensive, and diesel is expensive, so you often find that production costs have to be increased due to the added expense of more expensive power.
Manufacturing businesses and businesses with moving assets, like logistics and transport companies, can be particularly affected as their systems are heavily reliant on electricity.
In the case of the transport sector, we see very particular problems arise in the area of maintenance when there are power cuts. A company that manages a fleet of trucks is unable to be productive if they cannot, for example, do tyre fittings. Each truck may have 20 tyres or more, and a fleet could have upwards of 2,000 tyres that need replacing during regular maintenance. It is also unlikely that a manager can effectively track his vehicles online without power, which becomes a security issue as well as a customer service issue (as the company cannot report back to a customer on where their freight is). These sorts of tasks are essential, and therefore being able to plan around potential load shedding becomes key to productivity.
The transport and logistics sector is a vital contributor to Zambia’s GDP as the country is land locked and relies heavily on trucking to move goods in and out. Outside of the companies that own the trucks, and physically do the transport, there are supporting businesses (like the 800 freight forwarding operators in Zambia) that operate in the background on vital operations like customs clearance and brokering. In total there are about 7000 users on the country’s customs system which gives us a good indication of the number of commercial entities reliant on the logistics sector to run smoothly.
Zambia’s GDP numbers from 2015 show that transport and storage contributed to 4% of GDP which was similar to the public administration and defence sector, and larger than financial and insurance activities. Macro-economic numbers from 2017 show that percentage as 7.3%, which is significantly higher and showing a clear growth in the field. Overall the GDP from transport in Zambia averaged 1168.41 ZMK Million from 2010 until 2019.
Given that transport and logistics can be seen as an important part of Zambia’s economy, how can businesses in this sector best mitigate the fall-out from load shedding? The answer lies in effective enterprise resource planning (ERP) with a system like SAP Business One.
A good ERP system will help businesses manage both pre-planning for outages, as well as how to keep the business running during load shedding.
SAP Business One has the capability to treat a generator as a cost centre in the business to track the running cost of the backup power compared to using grid power. In order for manufacturers to determine whether a generator makes financial sense SAP business One allows users to adjust their production plans to see how using back up power will affect costs. Plus, if they have used the system for a while, they have access to historical data to map out patterns. These patterns are particularly useful to manufacturers and large distribution business as they can predict, for example, what power outages would do for a set number of hours per day and they can then adjust sales forecasts accordingly. The system will also help businesses prioritise where to spend their energy.
An ERP system allows businesses to see how power outages affect their productivity and products and they can therefore adjust their strategic thinking. For example, the decision to invest in solar power or buying a backup power generator or whether to move systems from a server to a cloud can be entirely driven by data. As you can’t control what you can’t measure, I believe it is much easier to make a decision when you have access to accurate information. Information is power.
It has become essential good business practise to track how much power is being used across all parts of a business. In an environment where stable power supplies are rare, it becomes a powerful step towards building more sustainable businesses. Once smaller to medium businesses understand their power use, which they can do through an effective ERP system, they will have greater knowledge as to how they should be using and managing this scarce resource – to ensure productivity and profitability.
Knowledge is power and there is power in knowledge.
The first Zambian woman to be a Rhodes Scholar, lawyer Lucy Sichone returned home to represent people whose rights were trampled on.
Zambians awoke to the delightful news that the late Lucy Sichone had become the first female Rhodes Scholar to have a portrait in Rhodes House.
This is the result of work by Kelsey Murrell, herself a recent Rhodes Scholar, who was disturbed to learn there wasn’t a portrait of a woman in Rhodes House, in spite of the many women who’ve received the scholarship and gone on to do great things.
We certainly have our qualms about the likes of Lucy Sichone being associated with John Cecil Rhodes’ terrible legacy, and this site has written quite a lot about that (I have also contributed to the debate here).
But given that there isn’t a Wikipedia page yet for Lucy and the fact that this gesture by Rhodes House will posthumously catapult her into the global limelight, I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to write a few words about her and what she stood for.
Lucy Sichone was born in the Northern Rhodesian mining town of Kitwe in 1954. She was born at a time when it was greatly frowned upon for a girl to attend school. To get around this societal sanction, Lucy’s parents shaved her head bald to make it easier for her to attend school. Perhaps this way, she could pass for a boy and face less ridicule. And this, according to her daughter, fomented within Lucy a bold, no fear spirit that would typify her in later life.
In 1978, she became the first Zambian woman to receive a Rhodes scholarship and went on to read for a BA in Politics, Philosophy and Economics at Oxford. She was one of a handful women in her course.
Upon finishing her studies, Ms. Sichone returned to Zambia where she embarked upon a career as a lawyer focused on human rights issues. She represented people in the village whose land had been grabbed from them either by the State or by private citizens. She represented widows who had their property grabbed upon the passing away of their husbands – herself having earlier been a victim of this type of injustice. She represented people who had their rights violated by the State. Most of this she did for free.
In 1993, during the pivotal period when Zambia had just reverted to multiparty democracy and the ruling class were still using one-party strategies to stifle dissent, Lucy Sichone formed the Zambia Civic Education Association (ZCEA). ZCEA’s aim was to spread the gospel of human and democratic rights and to remind Zambians that it was not enough to have democracy on paper. We also had to make the demand, every minute and every hour, for our rights. ZCEA formed civic education clubs within secondary schools – her idea was to capture the imagination of the young whilst they could still dream. I am a beneficiary of Lucy’s dream having joined the civic education club at Munali Secondary School in Lusaka and later serving as Vice President of the club at David Kaunda Secondary School in 2001.
Perhaps because Lucy Sichone was never content with just idling by and watching the politicians desecrate the constitution, she decided to go into politics. The kind of person that Lucy was can be gleaned from the political party she decided to join. When everyone else was running towards the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD), the party that had just won the momentous 1991 elections that removed Kenneth Kaunda, Ms. Sichone decided to join the United National Independence Party (UNIP). UNIP, having ruled Zambia for 27 years, had lost the 1991 elections and its political fortunes were in decline. But for Lucy, political office was not the aim. Her calculus was probably that an association with UNIP would help spread her message about safeguarding human rights and holding politicians accountable. After all, civil society organizations at that time did not have much of a following. Everyone looked up to politicians. But as expected, Lucy’s no compromise attitude unnerved people within UNIP’s inner circle. She left UNIP in 1994.
Next she took her message to the newspapers and joined the then Weekly Post as a columnist. It was during her time at the Post that two memorable events happened that thrust her into the limelight and confirmed her position as the conscience of the nation. In February 1996, Ms. Sichone wrote an article titled “Miyanda has forgotten about need for justice.” Godfrey Miyanda was then Vice President and leader of government business in parliament. An order to arrest Ms. Sichone along with the newspaper’s managing editor and chief editor was issued. The three immediately went into hiding with the latter two eventually giving themselves up. But Ms. Sichone refused to do so and continued to write ever more scathing columns whilst in hiding. In one of them she emphatically declared, “the freedoms enshrined in the Bill of Rights make it a sacred duty for me to defend them to the death.”
She eventually gave herself up and a sort of truce existed between her and the authorities. But this truce was momentary. In August of 1997, Kenneth Kaunda, the former president and leader of UNIP was shot at by the police while attempting to address a rally in the town of Kabwe. Many were arrested and injured during the fracas that ensued. All this happened while the president, Frederick Chiluba, was on a foreign trip and upon his return, Lucy Sichone snuck into the international airport and flashed the president a placard which read “Welcome to Zambia, Our Own Sharpeville Massacre.” This was in reference to the Sharpeville Massacre incident in South Africa in 1960. Needless to say that the president was not pleased.
Lucy Sichone died on August 24 in 1998. She was only 44. When she died, the Weekly Post newspaper ran the headline “Zambia mourns Sichone” and the following weeks followed with articles and columns memorializing her from across the country. The civil society movement tried to petition the government to accord her a state funeral but, as expected, the authorities declined. We are all left to wonder what other brave and inspiring things she would have done had she lived longer.
I had the rare privilege of meeting Lucy Sichone in 1998, the year she died, during a prize giving ceremony for students who had done a lot to advance civic education at their schools. She gave me a certificate carrying her immortal signature and asked all the recipients that day to carry her dream even further.
This article first appeared in 2015 on africaasacountry.com
