ZAMTEL has donated K240, 000 sponsorship package to the Zambia Squash Association (ZSA) for the Junior Development Programme.

Speaking during the official handing over of the cheque at Lusaka club today, ZAMTEL Chief Marketing Officer Evans Muhanga said the company is committed to supporting the talent of young children from the tender age.

Mr. Luhanga also said the donation demonstrates the confidence ZAMTEL has in the Zambia Squash Association Executive objective of developing vibrant junior programmes across the country.

And National Sport Council of Zambia Chairman Mwamba Kalenga urged young people in the country to take keen interest in nurturing their talent and desist from engaging in illicit activities.

Meanwhile, Zambia Squash Association President Norena Chiteba thanked ZAMTEL for the gesture saying it will go along way in tapping talent in the remote parts of the country.

Chiteba has however bemoaned inadequate squash infrastructure and called on the corporate world to assist in renovating the existing infrastructures and the construction of new ones.

Vice President Inonge Wina said the Zambian population should be mobilised to work hard like what other countries are doing.

Mrs. Wina told ZANIS in an interview in New Delhi today that Zambians must be innovative and committed to increasing the pace of national development.

She said as part of the global community, Zambia should emulate and join other hardworking countries.

“This world is transforming its governance issues especially in the economic sector and the population of Zambia needs to be mobilised to realise that development can only be achieved if Zambians work very hard, if Zambians are willing to accept innovative ideas on development,” she explained.

The Vice President further pointed out that Zambia needs to collaborate with other countries in order to achieve the much sought for development.

Mrs. Wina observed that the recently held India-Africa forum provided a platform for Zambia and other African countries to share ideas on how to accelerate their paces of development.

She described the summit as beneficial adding that Zambia will implement the outcomes of the conference which was held on October 29, 2015 in New Delhi.

She said Zambia will take advantage of India’s extension of an olive branch for African countries to acquire soft loans from the US$ 10 billion which that country offered for credit in the next five years.

The Vice President said Zambia will utilise the finances which it may get from the concession credit to invest in areas such as energy, agriculture, health and other sectors where there is a deficit.

During the summit, Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, announced that his country will offer concessional credit of US$10 billion to African countries over the next five years and provide US$ 600 million in grant assistance over the same period.

Mrs. Wina has meanwhile noted that Zambian business people and the private sector have

been facing challenges in accessing loans for starting up or boosting their businesses in Zambia.

She hoped the local financial lending institutions will relax their lending terms so that many Zambian private companies can have access to loans.

The Vice President has since left New Delhi.

Ms. Siliya noted that there was need to empower Zambians with funds so that they can invest in alternative sources of energy in order to mitigate the power deficit being experienced.

Ms. Siliya explained that Zambia was spending huge sums towards the importation of electricity from other countries to service the domestic market.

The Minister of Energy and Water Development was speaking in Lusaka last evening when she presented the 2015 media awards to deserving journalists who entered in different categories organized by Rural Electrification Authority (REA).

Ms Siliya urged Journalists to highlight stories on other renewable sources such as solar.

She said government recognizes the role of the fourth estate as a partner in development besides the responsibility of entertaining, educating and informing the nation.

She commended the recipients for dedicating their time in writing stories on REA and challenged those who did not enter to do so next year.

And REA Chief Executive Officer Geoffrey Musonda disclosed that the Authority spent over K300, 000 on executing media awards.
Mr. Musonda pledged to work closely with the media in line with the Authority 2013- 2018 five year strategic plan.

He however, expressed disappointment that photo-journalists in Zambia did not attempt to enter the media awards.

Meanwhile, Zambia News and Information Services (ZANIS) staff Chimangeni Banda has scooped the 2015 best over Journalist media award in highlighting electrification issues.

Banda pocketed K35, 000 after beating four other contenders to get the top media award.

ZNBC’s McPherson Mukuka scooped the best radio journalist award, Zambia Daily Mail (ZDM) Reporter Jimmy Chibuye got the best print award while his employer (ZDM) scooped the best institutional coverage media award respectively. The two Reporters including ZDM got K15,000 each.

The Standard Bank Group which operates in Zambia has Stanbic Bank has lowered the country’s growth prospects for 2015 to 4.2 percent year on year from an average of 6.3 percent.

The Bank expects Zambia’s growth to reach 4.5 percent year on year in 2016.

In a note, Standard Bank Fixed Income and Currency Strategist for Africa Yvette Babb said the slowdown in economic activity follows from a combination of poor weather conditions, sustained power rationing, lower commodity prices, currency instability and higher interest rates.

Ms. Babb said the Bank expects that the current account deficit will reach 5.6% of GDP in 2015, despite higher copper export volumes in quarter two relative to quarter one.

‘Base on copper prices averaging USD5, 038/MT in 2016, the trade balance is likely to be marginally positive, but insufficient to cover the negative balance on services, income and transfers fostering a further C/A deterioration,’ she said.

She observed that under the proposed 2016 budget, the deficit will decline to K7.82 billion which is 3.8% of GDP from K12.8bn which is 6.9% under the revised 2015 budget.

‘The deficit will largely be financed externally, with foreign financing set to reach ZMW6.07bn or 2.9% of GDP. Net domestic financing is set to reach 1.2% of GDP or ZMW 1.75bn in 2016 from ZMW3.64bn under the revised 2015 budget’.

Ms Babb said the government will find it hard to deliver such acute fiscal consolidation.

She said the Bank of Zambia is likely to adjust its policy rate in response to the recent sharp spike in inflation and in a bid to address supply side constraints to private sector credit extension.

‘The upward pressure on government yields looks set to continue amid concern around the currency weakness, inflation and public sector borrowing. Despite the Kwacha halving in value against the USD in 2015, the risks probably still remain towards further ZMW weakness without a catalyst to reverse the present negative sentiment.’

She said although Zambian Eurobonds are arguably pricing more than enough bad news, the Bank await a catalyst to reverse the present negative momentum.

‘The government is battling with the negative shock from lower copper prices Presidential, parliamentary and local government elections will be held in 2016.’

Mr Lungu counselled the miners to avoid being cheated by some power-hungry opposition leaders discrediting Government over the challenges the mining sector is facing.

He said the challenges besetting the mining sector are a result of a drastic fall in copper prices on the international market.
He called on the labour movement in the mining sector to provide the required leadership of championing the interests of the workers and protect them from any form of abuse at their respective companies.

President Lungu was speaking during his familiarisation tour of Konkola Copper Mines’ (KCM) Konkola Deep Mining Project shaft number four.

“I am here to see how you are working and assure you that we will not abandon Zambian mineworkers because of the fall in copper prices. We will make hard decisions going forward, but we’ll not neglect miners. We need to benefit from our minerals. We’re still depending on copper for the growth of our economy.

“We don’t expect mine owners to fire people when prices of copper go down. Minerals should not only benefit foreigners but benefit Zambians as well,” President Lungu said.

He was accompanied by First Lady Esther and State House staff led by his special assistant for press and public relations, Amos Chanda.

The President called for sacrifice from mine owners and workers during these hard times in order to sustain jobs and operations of all the mines.

He said problems in the mining sector should not be politicised and that he would not allow mining firms to hold Government to ransom through retrogressive job cuts and closure of mines.

“We can’t change the price of copper, so mining companies will not be allowed to hold us to ransom by firing workers,” Mr Lungu said.

He said government would remain open to dialogue on matters that could make the sector viable.

Minister of Information and Broadcasting Services Chishimba Kambwili, who was part of President Lungu’s entourage, urged KCM and all mining companies to respect Zambian workers and always avoid throwing them onto the streets whenever the sector encounters temporary setbacks.

“It is not good to throw workers on the street. Business of copper has ups and downs. It is unfair to lay off employees who have contributed to mining companies when the sector is faced with temporary setbacks,” Mr Kambwili said.

KCM chief executive officer Steven Din said his mining company is in Zambia to stay and that it has a 50-year long-term plan which guarantees job security to its workers.

He lauded President Lungu for his visit to KCM and promised to work closely with unions in the sector on matters that could help in making the sector viable.

Minister of Mines and Minerals Development Christopher Yaluma, Copperbelt Minister Mwenya Musenge, Patriotic Front (PF) deputy secretary general Mumbi Phiri and Chililabombwe member of Parliament Esther Banda were among those who accompanied the President on the tour.

Atlas Mara, an investment company co-owned by former Barclays Plc chief executive Bob Diamond, last year acquired ABC Holdings — which owns BancABC which has its presence in Botswana, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Earlier this month, the group said it was looking to expand into seven more countries in sub-Saharan Africa through acquisitions.

Announcing its financial results for the nine months to September where it posted an after tax profit of US$7,1 million, the group said negotiations to acquire total control of Finance Bank of Zambia were at an advanced stage.

The group said the financial performance of the Southern region year-to-date was supported by, among other factors, asset recoveries emanating from continued management efforts, particularly the increased focus on non-performing loans and the establishment of new collections activities.

“The potential transaction is subject to the parties entering into definitive documentation and the subsequent satisfaction of selected conditions precedent (including requisite regulatory approvals). The Company expects that definitive documentation will be signed shortly,” the company said in a statement accompanying the financials.

“Subject to agreeing definitive documentation and the subsequent satisfaction of relevant conditions precedent, Atlas Mara anticipates that it would acquire FBZ for approximately US$60 million in cash and 2.6 million Atlas Mara shares (this may increase to US$61 million and up to 5.7 million Atlas Mara shares, subject to a number of conditions, including the Zambian Kwacha/U.S.
Dollar exchange rate at closing and the meeting of specific future profitability targets). Subject to signing definitive documentation, Atlas Mara would expect the transaction to close in Q1 2016.”

The group said once completed, the transaction, which would include the merger of FBZ with Atlas Mara’s Zambian subsidiary, African Banking Corporation Zambia Limited, would result in the creation of Zambia’s largest bank by branch network and fifth largest bank by assets with combined assets of approximately US$418 million.

“The enlarged group would be well-positioned to contribute meaningfully to the development of financial services in Zambia and the potential combination would be consistent with Atlas Mara’s over-arching strategic objective of being a “scale” player in its countries of operation,” the company said.- Zimbabwe Independent

The miners are rejecting the K900 monthly salary effected this month.

And Luanshya District Commissioner Harold Mbaulu expressed disappointment at the action saying protesting was a sign of disrespect and lack of confidence in President Edgar Lungu who was in the province to address the issue among other challenges.

The irate miners, who gathered outside the Mine Workers Union of Zambia Roan Branch office, took to the streets after a failed attempt by District Commissioner Mbaulu to resolve the matter.

The miners demanded to meet the union representatives who were not in their offices.

The miners placed big logs across the road as they started throwing stones to oncoming vehicles, prompting police officers in riot gear to swing into action.

The miners were demanding for among other things to have their full salaries restored, know the date the LMC Baluba shaft would open and resume work, maintaining of their full pension and also to have direct audience with President Lungu and not through their unions when he visits the district on Tuesday next week.

They complained that this was not the first time the mine in Luanshya had gone on care and maintenance as this has happened on three occasions and all the time they got their full salaries, but wondered what was special this time around.

They complained that their salaries were negative as the banks were deducting the loans owed to them and that they were also faced with legal litigations as they were failing to pay back to other institutions and people they owed.

But Mr. Mbaulu assured the miners of government intervention into their requests saying President Lungu was on their side and that was why he was going to visit the district on Tuesday to resolve the mine issues once and for all.

He begged the miners to remain calm, noting that their grievances were genuine and that government was doing everything possible to safeguard their interests.

He implored the miners and other Luanshya residents to show solidarity to the President by remaining peaceful and present their petitions through a right channel to ensure that President Lungu attended to their plight.

Mr Mbaulu further urged the miners not to politicise the issue by refusing to dialogue and persisting to take a violent course as this will spoil their opportunity to be heard and have their grievances addressed.

About 1,640 employees at LMC Luanshya copper mines two months ago were sent on forced leave following Baluba mine being put on care and maintenance.

The action has seen miners getting a minimum of K900 salary from the initial K2800 for the least paid workers.

Last month, Chief Government Spokesperson Chishimba Kambwili assured the miners that government had engaged LMC on the matter and that they were going to continue receiving their full salaries despite being sent on forced leave.