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Millers are purchasing maize at 1.8 kwacha per kg from local farmers, translating to K45 per bag. The government is however proposing a selling price of K45, the price it has fixed for the cooperative produced mealie meal. If Millers were to sell a K25 at kK5, they would instead be operating at a loss.
The threats by the head of state to introduce price controls will only mean Millers will pull out of the business as it will no longer be profitable, leaving many milling employees out of employment and farmers with no ready markets for their produce. Despite the honorable Kambwili declaring that the recent Kwacha debacle doesn’t affect the milling chain, small scale farmers are buying a bag of fertilizer at K500, from K180 to K250, last farming season. It is therefore difficult for farmers to sell a bag of maize for less than the current selling price.
Millers are also strained, because auxiliary requirements like cleaning chemicals, maintanance equipment, spares are all affected by the dancing currency. Further, loadshedding means Millers have had to rely on a more expensive alternatives in gensets. Government should discuss tangible solutions and target the weakest link in the milling chain as opposed to campaign rhetoric and threats that do not translate to any meaningful solution.
My Proposal
Government should consider permitting Millers to sell their mealie meal to DRC, as was in the past before mealie meal exports to DRC were banned. The price in the Congo is over three times the Zambian price.This can be done on condition that they can sell to Zambians at reasonable prices
Government should look at the best way to cushion fertilizer pricing, the FISP program can also include sensitization campaigns on natural manure and compost
Government should encourage diversification away from nshima as the staple food, thereby creating less demand for maize and lowering its price of mealie. This may in turn improve the health of the nation as a more diverse diet will provide better nutrition.
Government can add Millers as a priority industry when it comes to energy rationing on condition that they provide us with reasonable pricing.
The government must first provide alternatives before rushing to threaten business owners. Our country is already limping and we should ensure that we work at fixing it together, because working antagonistically with Zambian business men will only cripple us further.
Student dancing on the street with a grandmother to make some money in view of the unavailability of bursaries support and Russian laws not allowing students to work part-time. For us students it is very psychologically disturbing as fellow Russian students laugh at us when in class after they saw an African dancing just as shown in the picture for money
Letters from Zambian students in Russia
I would like to thank you for standing firm in your beliefs to give correct information to the Zambian people even at the time when everyone is praising failure so that they can be employed.
I trust you to convey this to HE Edgar C. Lungu, president of the Republic of Zambia, to the ministry of Education (specifically deputy minister-Chairperson of Bursaries Committee), the minister of finance and national planning, secretary to Bursaries Committee and to all authorities it may concern.
Zambian students in Russia have not received their top up allowances. The Bursaries Committee was supposed to pay students at the beginning of the academic year, it has, however, been 2 months now.
At the beginning of every academic year, students are required to pay for visa extension, medical policy and accommodation. While failure to pay for the latter leads to eviction from hostels, the former are offenses that lead to expulsion and deportation.
“These months have been hard for us. We have exhausted all our sources of income. We are starving, and we cannot borrow anymore- our Zimbabwean creditors are waiting for us to settle our debts. We have no money for bus fares anymore. It is affecting our performance in the university. The situation is bad.”
When student representatives contacted the secretary to the Bursaries Committee, she said that the BC has not been funded and she has no idea as to when the funds will be made available.
I have no idea who is sitting on the funding. However, I plead to HE Edgar C. Lungu, president of Zambia to look into the welfare of foreign students. Whether funding is coming from the ministry of finance or education, I appeal to the president to help us. I ask you to show us love as your children, as children of Zambia who are suffering abroad trying to acquire an education that they could not probably get in our motherland. I, sadly, remind you that most scholarship students abroad are coming from poor families and they completely depend on the top up allowances for their survival.
I would like to stress that if students do not pay for their hostels, they will be evicted from hostels. If they do not renew their visas, they will be deported. If they are discovered that they do not have medical policies, they will be deported. If they do not have money for their bus fares, they will be missing classes and that will lead to expulsion. If they starve,…while I do not know what happens to them.
Thank you.
By Zambian student in Russia.
Dear Editor,
I write this letter with so much sadness, anger and frustration that mere words cannot reflect. The extent to which the Zambian ministry of education has neglected students studying outside the borders of Zambia can no longer be ignored. It’s for this reason I write to you.
Zambian students in Russia have not been paid their keep up allowances (stipend/BC) for over 3 months. For the past week we have been seeing pictures and reading news articles about UNZA students who are rioting for an increase in their BC. Sadly, we as Russian students can not riot as we are located in a country that’s not ours and we are obliged to follow the rules and regulations of the country. So we are forced to stay silent like slaves and not do anything about it.
But truth be told, we have remained silent too long. We are suffering! We go to lectures hungry with no food to eat because the government has not paid us. All the food we have to eat is boiled. The other day, a friend of mine from Estonia asked me why we Zambians are always boil our food, he asked if it was a traditional way of cooking. With so much shame, I answered “yes” hiding the fact that is due to the extreme poverty we are going through that we cannot afford to buy cooking oil and fry some food. Some of us have forgotten the taste of chicken. This may seem exaggerated but it’s true. Students can’t go for lectures because they feel dizzy when thy walk from lack of food. Our diet has been reduced to boiled potatoes and salt which are the most affordable commodities. Winter is her and it’s cold, we can’t even but warm jumpers to keep us warm, so we are forced to bombasa 4 layers of clothing which forces us to walk like penguins. We are contantly asked why we are thin, and this is very shameful.
When students come to Russia, they are from different backgrounds, some come from families that can take care of them, some come from families that can’t send them money. In fact they are the ones who send money back home. So when money is held for over three months, one starts to wonder how people will survive. We have a lot of things to pay for, hostel fees, medical policy, visa fees, registration fees and personal up keep. Things are very expensive now in Russia with the fall of the Ruble and one is left to wonder how people survive. Students are forced to do humiliating and degrading things to survive instead of going for lectures, like working in grave yards, giving out fliers in markets, lifting boxes, giving massages to old women, dancing in public, cheat english to little kids just for a sack of potatoes in order to survive.
When we contact our government officials, nothing is done about it. Mwebantu twafwa. Please we need help.
Motor rally driver Jassy Singh and four others have pleaded not guilty in the Lusaka Magistrate’s Court to assault, resisting and obstructing an immigration officer.
Before magistrate Munalula Mubita was Singh, 32, Joshi Kishor, Naidoo Logendra, Kumaren Naidu and Ramakrishna Naidu, charged with one count each of resisting, obstruction and assaulting officers on duty.
The five told the court that they understood the charge but denied committing the offence.
It is alleged that on October 27 this year, the men resisted, obstructed and assaulted an immigration officer and a police officer on duty by physically manhandling them and making it impossible for them to conduct their work in Lusaka.
The five will appear for mention on November 23.
We should not be diverted away from the developmental agenda of our country by discussing immaterial things as a citizens.It is always heartbreaking that we politicians are sometimes in the forefront bringing up petty issues in our political discourse each time we fail to lead our people or have runout of ideas on governing.
Zambia has serious economic challenges at the moment which should ideally preoccupy the debate arena on how best we can solve them in short term, medium term and long term.With the onset of rains in various parts of the country at the moment, we must be asking ourselves whether farmers have received their seeds and fertiliser for planting this season and at what cost are they buying these farming inputs instead of dwelling on personalities in order to hide our failures.
These are the issues that preoccupy some of us on a daily basis and we make wide consultations with various stakeholders to find an amicable solution to our country’s economic challenges that has brought massive poverty and hunger in our homes.
Like we have said before, Zambians are now too clever to accept any empty rhetoric and sloganeering with false promises. We are depressing our masses, especially the jobless youths if, for example, we wake up one morning and announce recruitment of more than 5000 or so teachers only for the programme to be abandoned without any reasons.
These are the issues that are causing a lot of mistrust by citizens that is now rubbing on all of us in the public service as politicians. Citizens now think we are all the same despite our different backgrounds where some of us have achieved a few things in our own small way through hardworking which is now being ridiculed.
And the moment we shall accept to take the blame for our current situation is the day we shall realistically start dealing with these challenges.Ridiculing others, blaming everything on others, threats and violence will not solve our economic challenges such as saving jobs and creating more opportunities for our people.
The current economic hardships, especially among our youths, are real and these go beyond one’s political affiliations, hence the need for unity of purpose in confronting them.
Anyway, at the end of the day, as Zambians we hold the destiny to ourselves through the leadership choices we make and our prayers and request this time around is we consider merit and not any other considerations for the betterment of our country and future generations.
Pastor Reuben Sambo of Rivers of Joy Ministries in Lusaka has charged that it is time for the church in Zambia to take courage and come out of its comfort zone and be relevant to finding solutions to the dire state that the nation has been plunged in.
Reacting to a statement in the Post of 2nd November 2015 in which Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD) President Dr. Nevers Mumba has been quoted as lamenting the lack of support from the church in his political pursuit to be President of Zambia, Pastor Sambo has agreed with Dr. Mumba that most of the church in Zambia has taken a back-seat and chosen to be irrelevant on-lookers while secretly complaining about the state of the nation which they only voice in prayer meetings.
“I am saddened how we Christians, particularly the Evangelicals, conduct ourselves. We have taken the safe position, choosing to keep quiet and not come out in the open. We Tumbukas have an adage to describe this mentality which is translated as ‘The coward hyena lived longer’. This is the kind of attitude we Evangelicals displayed even towards Dr. Frederick Chiluba before he became president. Later when he ascended to the presidency, many of us suddenly became frequent visitors to State House,” said Pastor Sambo.
This is the kind of attitude we Evangelicals displayed even towards Dr. Frederick Chiluba before he became president. Later when he ascended to the presidency, many of us suddenly became frequent visitors to State House
Pastor Sambo has advised the church to take a leaf from the biblical story of Moses, who in spite of living a a life of luxury and privilege in the Egyptian king’s palace, a time came when he had to choose to leave that comfort zone to take up God’s chosen and perilous assignment to deliver millions of Jews held in bondage in Egypt and lead them to the promised land. Pastor Sambo said Dr. Nevers Mumba has demonstrated a similar pattern and is viewed by many as a courageous and fearless pioneer in many fields.
“He was the very first Zambian preacher on TV with his hugely successful ‘Zambia Shall be Saved’ series on national television. Dr. Mumba became the very first minister of the gospel to hold the Victory Ministries Conferences at Mulungushi Conference Centre with renowned international preachers, giving an opportunity for many Christians to step into the limelight, some for the first time.
“But many pastors criticised him and said he would fail. I am not sure if it was because of jealousy. He was the first Zambian to hold national crusades across Zambia and abroad with most of us pastors looking on with wonder and intrigue at such boldness and success. Most of us at the time had no courage to venture out like that and I am grateful to Dr. Mumba for opening the way for the rest of us and several of us are now holding conferences at Mulungushi.
“With his pioneering spirit, Dr. Mumba stepped into the political realm. His appointment as Republican Vice-President surprised the entire church and the nation at large. He suddenly became Guest of Honour at almost all Christian events but when he was fired, many church leaders began shunning him and they cannot even invite him to speak at their churches nowadays.”
Pastor Sambo said Dr. Mumba is a source of inspiration to a lot of progressive pastors and has inspired even him personally to also enter politics. He said Christians cannot continue to sit on the fence to first wait and see what will happen.
He paid tribute to Dr. Mumba for being a great source of encouragement for the up-coming young pastors not only in Zambia but in Africa and the world at large that a Christian can venture into politics to influence the world with Christian values. He wondered how Christians continue saying politics is a dirty game but as the “salt of the earth”, they still choose to stay out.
“We should not join the chorus of ignorant and vision-less voices with their tired song of ‘Nevers go back to the pulpit’. I think it is only right that we as Christians give him our support. It is time to give meaning to the declaration of Zambian as Christian nation. Let us seize this moment given to us by God and begin to actualize the declaration for the betterment of mother Zambia.”
President Edgar Lungu has arrived in Dar es Salaam in Tanzania to attend the inauguration ceremony of that country’s President-elect John Magufuli.
President Lungu’s challenger jet plane touched down at Julius Nyerere International Airport at about 09:55 hours local time (08:55 hors Zambia) amidst rains.
The Head of State was welcomed by Tanzania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Relations Bernard Membe, Foreign Affairs Minister Harry Kalaba, Zambia’s High Commissioner to Tanzania Judith Kapijimpanga, some government officials and Zambians resident in that country.
President Lungu is accompanied by his Special Assistant for Press and Public Relations Amos Chanda and his Political Affairs Advisor Kaizer Zulu and some government officials.
Tanzania’s newly elected President John Magufuli, who is from the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi party and is the former Minister of Works, won the disputed October 25 general elections.
Dr. Magufuli, of the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party, was declared winner of the elections on Thursday last week after defeating his closest opponent Edward Lowassa in the Tanzania presidential elections.
The Chama Cha Mapinduzi party has been in power since 1961 when Tanzania attained her political independence.
Several African leaders are expected to attend the swearing in ceremony set for Uhuru stadium today.
President Lungu, who has been accompanied by his Special Assistant for Press and Public Relations Amos Chanda told journalists at the airport that it was good that the people of Tanzania have exercise their democratic rights to choose a leader of their choice to rule them.
He said he and other leaders in the region will work with the new Tanzanian President to ensure he succeeds.
He added that the new Tanzanian President is not a newcomer in the system as he belongs to the ruling party, Chama Cha Mapinduzi which has been ruling the country for many years.
President Lungu said countries and individual homes should embrace democracy so that views of the majority are respected.
The President said he will return home today immediately after the inauguration ceremony.
He was seen off at the airport by Minister of Justice Ngosa Simbyakula, Service Chiefs, Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet Peter Kasanda and senior Patriotic Front party and some government officials.
L-R:Provincial Acting Youth Coordinator Trywell Moonga, Eastern Province Permanent Secretary Chanda Kasolo, National Sport Council of Zambia Board Member Haroon Ghumra and provincial sports coordinator Rhoda Goma holding an independence trophy donated to Eastern Province by sport council in Chipata
GOVERNMENT will sue young people in Eastern Province who have failed to repay the loans they obtained under the Youth Development Fund (YDF).
Under the 2013/2014 YDF, Government loaned over K2.3 million to 90 young entrepreneurs in Eastern Province.
In Chipata, 17 youths got loans worth K650,000 in 2012 but have failed to pay back over K331,000.
Eastern Province acting youth development co-ordinator Trywell Moonga said in Chipata yesterday that defaulting youths will be prosecuted so that the government can recover the money and lend it to other deserving applicants.
Mr Moonga said there is need for youths who access the loans to pay back on time.
The money is a revolving fund and so any delay in repaying the money deprives others of such empowerment funds.
Mr Moonga said youths submit good business proposals to access the funds, but misuse the money on other activities. He said frequent monitoring of projects will be done.
Mr Amos ChandaGOVERNMENT will in the next four months set up 2,000 solar-powered milling plants countrywide and that this will help reduce mealie-meal prices.
Government has already established three milling plants in Kasama and Luwingu in Northern Province and Solwezi in North-Western Province.
Special assistant to the President for press and public relations Amos Chanda said in an interview on Monday that President Lungu wants to stabilise the price of mealie-meal and to make the staple food affordable for everyone.
“The setting up of solar-powered milling plants in all parts of Zambia is a presidential initiative to bring down the price of mealie-meal for people to easily access the commodity. So far, milling plants have been set up in some districts,” Mr Chanda said.
He said the project of setting up milling plants will be done in two phases.
He said after the project is completed, over 4,000 milling plants are expected to be established countrywide.
Mr Chanda also said the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) will be feeding the milling plants with maize bought from farmers.
He, however, said small-scale farmers will be allowed to have their maize milled at the plants to help cushion the price of mealie-meal.
Mr Chanda said the milling plants will be run by cooperatives in the respective districts.
Home Affairs Minister Davies MwilaGOVERNMENT has extended the issuance of national registration cards (NRCs) for five days in Southern Province due to a shortage of registration materials at some polling stations.
Minister of Home Affairs Davies Mwila told Parliament in a ministerial statement yesterday that the extension is aimed at ensuring that eligible Zambians are given the opportunity to register and to obtain NRCs.
This was in response to a point of order by Monze member of Parliament (MP) Jack Mwiimbu (UPND) on the shortage of registration materials in the on-going mobile issuance of NRCs in Southern Province.
The minister said Government has acknowledged that there is a shortage of materials at Ikumbi, Mulamfu, and Mabombo in Kalomo and Katimbo in Kazungula district polling stations.
“Government does not discriminate in the issuance of NRCs.
“To the contrary, the government seeks to serve all Zambians to the best of its ability.
“And as far as NRCs are concerned, Government wishes to make this important identity document available to every eligible Zambian,” he said.
Mr Mwila said Southern Province has been given 144,000 blank green NRCs since August 2015, against the targeted 80,000 people.
He said Government is happy that 113,492 people were issued with NRCs supplied to Southern Province.
Mr Mwila said this shows that the province has a balance of about 30,508 blank cards, adding that the shortage of registration materials was as a result of the field vehicles which developed mechanical problems.This took over five days to rectify.
He said it is not Government’s policy to discriminate against any eligible Zambian on religion or political affiliation.
Mr Mwila appealed to opposition MPs to desist from issuing inflammatory statements that promote divisions rather than unity in the country.
PATRIOTIC Front (PF) central committee member Frank Bwalya has appealed to Zambians to support President Lungu’s appeal to the mines not to fire workers unnecessarily.
Father Bwalya said in a statement yesterday that President Lungu must be supported for opposing the behaviour of some mining companies who are rushing to laying off workers when they experience operational challenges.
“President Lungu’s challenge to Mopani Copper Mines to hand over the mine to the government if they have failed to run it should be supported by all patriotic Zambians because it provides the right framework and philosophy in dealing with foreign investors,” Fr Bwalya said.
He said President Lungu’s position in opposing the behaviour of some mining companies is justified because they make huge profits when the price of copper is high.
When they make windfall profits, they cheat and refuse to share the benefits with the miners.
“We accept the reality that foreign investors come to our country to make money. But we should never accept a situation where they would reap huge profits but abandon our people at the sight of challenges triggered by trends in the global economy,” Fr Bwalya said.
He said mining companies should demonstrate loyalty to people who work hard to make them generate huge profits when the price of copper is good.
“When they make windfall profits, they cheat and refuse to share the benefits with the miners.
“It is against this background that President Lungu’s bold stance should be commended and supported so that foreign investors, especially mining companies, can learn to treat us fairly,” Fr Bwalya said.
Davies Chama
PATRIOTIC Front (PF) secretary general Davies Chama has appealed to the Supreme Court over the High Court’s decision to reject his application to prompt the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) to set a date for the Kasama Central parliamentary by-election following the declaration of the seat as vacant.
Mr Chama has sued ECZ and Attorney General Likando Kalaluka, respectively, for not announcing the date of the Kasama Central parliamentary by-election.
High Court judge Anne Phiri rejected Mr Chama’s application on grounds that there was a case in court involving the Kasama Central Constituency seat to which the ECZ is party.
Justice Phiri said she could not allow the application against the ECZ to proceed before the other case was fully determined as doing so would render it an academic exercise.
Mr Chama contends in his memorandum of appeal that Justice Phiri erred in law and fact and consequently misdirected herself by not distinguishing the legal issues in the application that were before her.
He said Justice Phiri erred when she dismissed the constitutional issues brought in the application for leave by wrongly invoking the provisions of Order 53 rule 4 (55) RSC.
Mr Chama wanted the court to grant him leave for judicial review in order to seek an order from the court to compel the ECZ to announce a date for the by-election to be held before the expiry of the 90 days.
He said failure by the court to grant his application will perpetuate an injustice and illegality that could cause a serious constitutional crisis and that the Kasama central constituency will have no elected representative for more than 90 days to the detriment of the electorate and the political parties.
He also wants the court to grant an order of mandamus (a judicial remedy in the form of an order from a superior court, to any government subordinate court, corporation, or public authority) compelling ECZ to announce the date of the by-election to be held before October 22, this year.
Nkana striker Tshimenga celebrates after scoring against Might Mufulira Wanderers in Kitwe on Sunday, November 1,2015 -Pictures by THOMAS NSAMANkana coach Aggrey Chiyangi has hailed striker Fred Tshimenga for scoring a hat-trick in Sunday’s 3-0 demolition of Mighty Mufulira Wanderers in Wusakile.
Tshimenga’s stunning three goals handed Nkana their first league win after a three-match winless run.
In a post-match interview, Chiyangi described the Congolese as a very good player.
“Tshimenga is a very good player. The goodness is that he is able to create space and have scoring chances,” Chiyangi said.
“Today he concentrated very well and that made him to score those three goals,” he added.
Chiyangi was a relieved man after this huge win.
“I am happy to see the team play like this today because we have gone through a lot of problems but I think the players have now settled,” Chiyangi said.
Nkana are 8th on 38 points, seven behind 5th placed Mighty with one match left to play in the 2015 season.
Wanderers coach Manfred Chabinga conceded defeat.
“I say congratulations to Nkana.They won the game fairly I can’t complain,” Chabinga said.
“The players didn’t play according to my instructions. If you look at the first half we had only one shot at goal,” he said.
Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry Margaret Mwanakatwe with Permanent secretary Siazongo Sikalenge at SADC 35th Council Of Ministers meeting in Botswana on Friday Picture By EDDIE MWANALEZA.
Government has advised Zambian businesses to consider forming partnerships with foreign investors that want to set up businesses in the country. Commerce, Trade and Industry Minister Margaret Mwanakatwe, said that government is working hard to attract foreign businesses into the country.
Mrs Mwanakatwe was speaking in an interview with ZNBC Sylvia Kabala, ahead of the UK-Zambia Investment Forum which opens in London.
Mrs Mwanakatwe said that the Forum was targeting investors from the United Kingdom and beyond, to invest in sectors such as Agriculture, Energy, Tourism, Mining and the extractive industries.
She said that half of the investors expected to attend the forum are interested in exploring the potential for investment in Zambia’s Energy and extractives sectors.
The Vice President who is already in London, will give a keynote address to the Forum, at which about 500 businesses have now confirmed participation.
Several other stakeholders from the private and public, in Zambia, are also expected at the forum, called to market Zambia’s investment potential.
The forum has been organized by the Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry, in collaboration with the Developing Markets Association of London.
FILE: UPND President Hakainde Hichilema helps offload soft drinks in Linda compound
On Tuesday the Bank of Zambia announced a rise in the base lending rate from 12.5% to 15.5% in an effort to curb the inflation that has spiralled under the PF’s watch. The current inflation rate is 14.3% year on year. We foresaw this, adjustments in monetary policy are but short term measures to stabilize an economy. The kwacha/dollar exchange rate has not stabilized. Watch what happens in the next months.
Unfortunately this is the latest learning of what can happen when economic management and fiscal prudence are either not well understood by a Government; or when a country has a Government that refuses to listen and contracts large loans but does not invest them wisely and transparently.
Our concern now is that the interest rate rise presents yet another hurdle for our SMEs in growing their businesses. What is even more worrying is that the interest rate cap has been removed, soon, banks will start charging 50% interest rates and see what happens then to the loan portfolios for both companies and individuals. Zambia’s business environment is no longer conducive to doing business and the next thing that will happen is that new investments will not be forthcoming. Without new investments and the existing investments being constricted by loan obligations, people will lose jobs. This interest rate adjustment is coming at a time when power cuts are rampant and the kwacha is so unstable. What kind of economy are we creating?
Small and Medium-sized Enterprises are the lifeblood of an economy wherever you go in the world. And as our population expands we need to support these local businesses and entrepreneurs to flourish and catalyse job creation and economic diversification so we can move towards a sustainable growth model in which every Zambian has the opportunity to succeed and make a decent living. Zambia has now completely killed the middle class the was coming up from 2002 onwards. These are the people that accessed loans to create employment for others. But we have killed them, so who will consume the goods and services?
Government needs to recognise the burden of these challenges and move assertively and confidently to resurrect confidence in its ability to plan and manage the economy. This means clear and concrete communications between State House and the public so that information is shared on how long these circumstances can be expected to persist and how the Government is working to relieve the burden on business. The current situation where Government hides behind press statements and prayers serves no one but themselves.
In this challenging time for business we call on Government to cut the red tape and reduce the bureaucratic burden for SMEs so they can make savings elsewhere.
