Minister of Finance Felix Mutati has this afternoon left for the 2017 Annual Meetings of the IMF and the World Bank to be held in Washington DC, USA. On departure, the Minister made the following statement;

“The Government has made significant progress on the reforms outlined in the Economic Stabilisation and Growth Programme. The issues on which we have made progress so far are:

1. Undertaking to limit projects to those that require completion as reflected in the 2018 budget;

2. Action to restore fiscal prudence by embarking on reforms which enshrine fiscal management in law, including the review of the Public Finance Act, Public Procurement Act and the Bank of Zambia Act;

3. Further, presenting the Planning and Budgeting Bill for consideration by the current session of Parliament; and,

4. Debt reforms.

With regards to the outcome under Article 4, we recognise that our debt risk has been revised from moderate to high. Looking back, the Government’s own assessment of debt risk under the recently conducted debt sustainability analysis corroborates the assessment by the IMF.

Going forward, the Government is therefore defining a path for sustainable debt contraction as indicated in the newly published Medium Term Debt Strategy (MTDS). Further, the Government is moving ahead to enact a new Loans and Guarantees Authorisation Act in the current sitting of Parliament.

Further, Government has commenced the enhancement of capacity in debt management by restructuring the debt function in the Ministry to respond to the new challenges. New staffing and capacity development has also been embarked on.

The Government will, based on these policy reforms, be issuing directives on these matters to ensure clarity for the public. The Government will not slow its reform efforts aimed at reducing the fiscal deficit and slowing debt accumulation, whilst these discussions continue.

The 2018 budget for example, envisages a decline in the fiscal deficit from the projected 7.3% of GDP in 2017, to 6.1% of GDP in 2018. This is fundamental affirmation of the way debt management will be pursued. These policies, as stated earlier, are based on the Economic Stabilisation and Growth Programme (ESGP) and the 7th National Development Plan (7NDP).

I am pleased that the ESGP and the 7NDP have both been welcomed by IMF Board Members during the Article IV discussions. This is positive feedback and we should build on it. To put the status of the envisaged IMF Programme in context, our shedule in Washington DC will include deliberations on the next steps in engagement with the Fund. The discussions in Washington will be aimed at setting the next steps forward after which the public will be informed.

At the end of a roadmap that we will agree, and after the Board has considered the submission from the staff and the relevant office at the Fund, only then would we know whether the IMF Board has approved our program or not. So far, there are no indications that our programme will be rejected.

The next engagement, once agreed, will take into account the measures being undertaken on debt reforms; defining borrowing parameters and taking into account the outcome of the latest assessment under Article 4, the new Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and the 2018 budget.

Note that, Cabinet in March 2017 authorized that Government engages the IMF in discussions to embark on an economic supported progrmme with the IMF. The Government and the IMF have thus engaged in discussions since April this year but more intensely in June when a mission visited Zambia.

The discussions in June were based on reforms Government has embarked on under the Economic Stabilisation and Growth Programme. The reforms included those undertaken in the different sectors including energy and agriculture and reforms in public finance management. These reforms have the aim of restoring fiscal prudence and addressing debt that the Government agrees is increasingly becoming strenuous.

These reforms also cover the strengthening of the legislative framework governing the financial sector, to ensure that it is more resilient and better supports economic growth.

MultiChoice Zambia has announced the launch of two new local channels Prime TV, a general entertainment channel and Camnet TV a Christian contemporary channel on DStv. Prime TV (channel 273) and Camnet TV (channel 274) will be available on the Premium, Compact +, Compact, Family and Access bouquets from the 11^th of October, 2017.

With the launch of these two local content channels, Zambian DStv customers will have access to even more home-grown programming, which is MultiChoice’s key focus and objective.

Committing to this development, MultiChoice Zambia Managing Director Ngoza Kasunga-Matakala said “MultiChoice continues to partner with local TV channels and local content providers as a show of commitment to growing the Zambian film and television sector. This is one of the ways in which we continue to show how we are putting our customers at the heart of everything we do as a business and we will continue to add more value for their viewing pleasure.”

Prime TV Managing Director Gerald Shawa said “We are very excited about this support and partnership we are receiving from DStv through MultiChoice Zambia as it gives Zambian talent and local producers an opportunity to express themselves and grow their potential on a bigger platform. As a station we are committed to ensuring that we provide the best local TV programming possible.”

Some of the programs to look out for on the two TV stations include general entertainment, and Lifestyle programming that includes Music, drama, documentaries, movies, local and foreign News on Prime TV, with Camnet providing a wide range of Christian programming, both local and international.

No evidence that mines are evading tax:Chamber Chief says onus is on critics to prove their allegations

Those who accuse the mining industry of tax evasion and illicit financial flows should present the proof behind their allegations, Chamber of Mines president Nathan Chishimba said today.

“In the absence of evidence, these allegations are both outrageous and unhelpful,” he said. “They are intended to damage the reputation of an industry that is central to our economy.”

Chishimba was reacting to an article in the Lusaka Times (October 1, 2017) by Kalima Nkonde. Nkonde argues that last month’s national budget presentation was flawed because it “does not address tax evasion and illicit financial flows by Mines”. He accuses the mining industry and multinationals of “robbery” and “smiling all the way to the bank”.

Chishimba said: “The article is riddled with speculation presented as fact, and it uncritically recycles claims by third-parties about missing tax revenue that have never been substantiated or verified. Once again, we have a commentator quoting from the Financial Intelligence Centre report, without actually having read it – if he had, his conclusions would be very different.

“We have tried to follow the trail of these allegations to their source, but we cannot find any primary data source that reveals this figure of $3billion – or any other figure for that matter. Furthermore, these are the very same allegations that preceded the regressive mining tax policy changes of 2014-15, and we surely remember how much damage that hiatus caused us.”

Chishimba said the sums being bandied about – running into billions of dollars a year – are so large as to stretch the bounds of credibility. They imply that more than half of Zambia’s annual copper production is somehow unaccounted for.

“We challenge Mr. Nkonde – or anyone else – to produce the evidence of these allegations,” said Chishimba.

He added that the Chamber of Mines was not the only organisation in Zambia to question these constantly recurring allegations, that the mining industry was stealing $3 billion in mineral production every year that doesn’t show up in official statistics.

In an interview with the online mining publication Mining for Zambia earlier this year, the allegations were roundly dismissed both by Mooya Lumamba, Director of Mines at the Ministry of Mines and Mineral Resources, and Ron Smit, chief consultant on the Mineral Production Monitoring Support Project, a four-year programme funded by the European Union.

“These allegations are wholly untrue, and come from a position of ignorance – not just about how copper is mined and produced, but how our mineral monitoring systems work,” said Lumamba in the interview. “It’s alarmism.”

Smit agreed. “We have noticed that this particular allegation has been recycled in the media for several years now, but no one ever offers any proof.”

H.E Deputy Briitish High Commissioner, Andrew Hamilton, has  announced that the UK is investing over 62 million Kwacha in an education bursary initiative.

He announced this ahead of International “Day of the Girl” celebrations that fall today 11th October 2017. Mr Hamilton  emphasised  the importance of girls education as an investment rather than a donation.

“The UK is investing over 62 million Kwacha, specifically in this bursary programme. The yields from investing in girls’ education are substantial. An educated girl is likely to increase her personal earning potential, as well as reduce poverty in her community. According to the World Bank, the return on one year of secondary education for a girl correlates with as high as a 25% increase in wages later in life,” he said.

He was speaking when he officiated at the pre-screening event for a documentary that will premiere on ZNBC TV at 20hrs on 11th October 2017 to commemorate “International Day of the Girl” 2017. The documentary focuses on the girl-child education bursary programme that is supported by UKaid and British Council Zambia through the Zambia Accountability Programme (ZAP).

“As we look forward to commemorating the International Day of the Girl, with the global theme of ‘Girls’ Progress = Goals Progress: What counts for girls’. I really hope that we will start the conversation of what really does count for girls,” he concluded.

On Wednesday 11 October 2017, ZAP will premiere a film titled – ‘NyamukaMoye!’ in commemoration of International Day of the Girl (IDG). The film sets out the need for supporting girls with bursaries, achievements of beneficiaries and the importance of support networks in increasing access to and retention of girls in education. The role of teachers in providing  mentorship is highlighted.

Funded by the UK’s Department for International Development, ZAP has been providing grants to two education-focused civil society organisations (CSOs): Zambia Open Community Schools (ZOCS) and Campaign for Female Education (Camfed) with the aim of improving access and retention to secondary and tertiary education for young people, particularly girls from rural areas. ZAP also supports education  policy advocacy work of  Restless Development, World Vision International and the umbrella – Zambia National Education Coalition (ZANEC).