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BANK of Zambia (BoZ) Governor Denny Kalyalya says the narrowing balance of payments has constrained the central bank’s capacity to build foreign reserves resulting in the volatility of the kwacha.
He has, however, said that the BoZ is determined to significantly build reserves to enable the country meet its external debt obligations.
Dr Kalyalya (right) said building reserves requires a positive balance of payment, which is currently in the negative owing to the fall in commodity prices on the international market.
“One of the things we try to do is build reserves but now building those reserves means you have a positive balance of payment. Unfortunately, exports have been coming down so the overall current account balance has been in deficit and it has been narrowing,” Dr Kalyalya said.
He added: “So our ability to buy foreign exchange on the market has been constrained because the central bank is not expected to be looking for money on the market as you are aware we are not ordinary players.”
Dr Kalyalya said this on a programme dubbed “Government Forum” on Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation’s (ZNBC) Radio Two monitored in Lusaka yesterday.
He said if the central bank went ahead to look for money on the market, other financial players would question the move to secure its resources openly.
“The central bank is working around to build up reserves to ensure that external obligations are met as and when they are due because if we default, it creates other pressures. So by allowing the exchange rate to adjust is in itself a mechanism in which you would try to insulate the economy from some of these pressures,” he said.
Dr Kalyalya said for Zambia to get more dollars and stabilise the exchange rate, it will need to export more services, obtain external loans or grants.
He said the country needs to get concessional loans from multilateral institutions as well as rely on foreign direct investment to help stabilise the exchange rate.
Dr Kalyalya said the capital flows for many of the emerging and developing economies have been affected by the slow growth of the global economy.
He reiterated his call for diversification from copper, which is the country’s foreign exchange earner, to agriculture and other factors.
He said Zambia has enough arable land, which can be used for investment into agriculture and not rely on copper.
Former Bank of Zambia Governor Caleb Fundanga
Former Bank of Zambia Governor Caleb Fundanga says it will be catastrophic for Zambia to adopt the use of the US dollar as a local currency in response to the sharp fall in the Kwacha.
Some Zambians especially on social media have been proposing the adoption of the US dollar as official currency in Zambia following the recent fall in the value of the Kwacha.
Dr Fundanga said the key is to implement measures that will improve macroeconomic environment to help stabilise the Kwacha.
He said adopting the use of a foreign currency will send panic and signal that the Zambian economy as it rock bottom.
Dr Fundanga who is now based in Zimbabwe where he is working as Executive Director of the Macroeconomic and Financial Management Institute of Eastern and Southern Africa said adopting the use of the US dollar will not help stabilise the Zambian economy.
He was speaking on Wednesday when he featured on a panel at the just ended 2015 Zambia Business and Finance Conferences organised by Euromoney Conference and the Ministry of Finance.
“For me, I now work in a country that adopted the US dollar as a local currency but whether that has helped is another issue. What I can encourage is for the government to improve the macroeconomic framework, I always talk about inflation, lower inflation, you lower interest rate and cut government borrowing and the rest will be done by the private sector,” Dr Fundanga said.
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Alexander Chikwanda
Finance Minister Alexander Chikwanda says the current economic challenges facing Zambia are not unusual.
Mr Chikwanda said this is not the first time that Zambia is undergoing economic challenges caused purely by external forces.
Mr Chikwanda said the dip in the economy is a normal cycle in any economic which should not be over dramatised.
He said the slowdown in the Chinese economy is mainly responsible for the weakening of the Kwacha as copper receipts have drastically reduced.
The Finance Minister was speaking in Lusaka on Thursday when he delivered a key note address at the 2015 Zambia Finance and Investment Conference organised by Euromoney Conferences at the Taj Pamodzi Hotel.
Mr Chikwanda said although some people want to portray a picture as if the government is solely to blame for the current economic woes, every genuine economist knew that there will come a time when the Chinese economy will begin to slowdown.
“Surely nobody expected China to continue growing at the same level, there was going to be a time when they would finish constructing their roads, office buildings and any other infrastructure and reduce their appetite for our copper and maybe that time has now come,” Mr Chikwanda said.
He said the Zambian economy is resilient enough to withstand the current economic storm.
Mr Chikwanda said government has taken a raft of measures to stabilise the macroeconomic environment which is necessary for sustainable growth.
He said government is focused on reducing the budget deficit to manageable levels as a free of freeing up capital for private sector lending.
“We are going to rein in on public expenditure this year and going forward as a way of managing our cash flow position, but most of these measures have to be taken before cabinet first, i normally do not like to pre-empt these tins before we debate them as cabinet but we are formulating something,” he said.
On the foreign exchange position, Mr Chikwanda said the Kwacha depreciation has been compounded by the speculators who are trying to cash in on the situation.
“The Bank of Zambia has been carrying out open market operations which have somewhat helped but they can only do so much and their activities have been restricted because of dwindling foreign exchange reserves, we are probably sitting around two and half months of import cover which is not a desirable situation.”
President Edgar Lungu with Amos Chanda
State House has said that President Edgar Lungu has proved that he is capable of handling any crisis and is fully in charge of the affairs of the state.
Special Assistant to the President for Press and Public Relations Amos Chanda said that this is evidenced by how President Lungu has been able to handle crisis after crisis within his early days of his presidency.
Mr. Chanda cited the acute fuel shortage inherited soon after assuming office, the recent drug shortage and the standoff between the mines and government over the new mine tax regime as some of the challenges President Lungu has ably resolved.
In an interview by telephone, Mr. Chanda told Qfm News that that President Lungu is actually dealing with a lot of things which also includes mitigating the current power deficit.
Mr. Chanda said that the current load shedding or the trends in the Country’ economy can be used as the basis upon which President Lungu should be re-elected or not.
He stated that his understanding is that a President of a Republic like Zambia is elected on the basis of the party manifesto and how one delivers the promises he makes to the people.
Mr. Chanda added that the power deficit the country is currently facing stems from lack of investment in power generation in the last 40 years.
He said that even if President Lungu puts all the money from the Treasury in power generation now, there would still not be any power generation plant established in just 7 months as it takes not less than 3 years to do so.
He added that the President has been able to deal with many other challenging issues, and that dealing with the current power shortage in the country is not an issue he can fail to handle.
Mr Chanda stated that if there are some people thinking that they can use load shedding as an issue to win the 2016 general election, State House wishes them well.
Singer/Songwriter Angela Nyirenda, known for her unique Makewane style singing will
launch her 4th and Brand New Album “Salary” with a nationwide tour starting in Lusaka
and ending in her home town Chipata. Ms. Nyirenda took the music industry by storm
when she released her first album in 2004. She is now set to take her career to the next
level with a more mature sound 11 years after her first single and 7 years since Zambian
Girls.
The long awaited album will be launched in a series of spectacular CompuTicket events
in Lusaka on the 2nd of October 2015 at the prestigious Government Complex, followed
by a Family Show at Belvedere Lodge on the 3rd of October. Ms. Nyirenda then intends
to take the show on the road and give Zambians all around a feel of her new sound.
The multilingual album, featuring songs in Kaonde, Bemba, Nsenga, Ngoni, Tonga and
English is produced by Mr. Moses Sakala of Sakala Arts Center and is said to be his
best work yet. The critically acclaimed producer continues to work behind the scenes in
ensuring that the production is nothing short of excellent.
Angela Nyirenda continues to touch lives with her music, especially following the tragic
loss of her child to heart disease. Through this experience, Ms Nyirenda has been
inspired to join the efforts of the National Heart Coalition of Zambia to contribute to the
philanthropic aspiration of one day opening a hospital for heart patients and reaching out
to those who have lost loved ones through her music. In this light Ms Nyirenda has
pledged that part of the proceeds of this album will go to the National Heart Coalition to
help with the work they are doing in Zambia.
Tickets to will officially go on sale from CompuTicket in every Shoprite Store across
Zambia.
The UPND would like to add their voice to calls for a Presidential press conference to be held urgently to address the people on the matter of the Kwacha’s rapid depreciation and the continued load shedding.
It is a great shame that under the PF, our Presidents have not taken the time and care to address the people and press directly and answer their questions. Such interactions are important in a healthy democracy, and help develop trust and confidence between the people and the government.
Failure to communicate naturally results in suspicion and mistrust, particularly when it looks like government either does not have a plan or is worried that should their plan be properly scrutinised they will reveal their ignorance to the Zambian people.
PF Government seems to be more intent on supporting other economies through the numerous trips abroad
If our President has time to play golf and rush off to lavish international dinners, then surely he has time to address us on these important topics and express his sympathy with those who are suffering from the tough living conditions here in Zambia while he enjoys his US$1000 dinner engagements.
Unfortunately for now the PF Government seems to be more intent on supporting other economies through the numerous trips abroad which number 16 in just 8 months. The cost of these trips to the Zambian taxpayer could provide funding for skills training for thousands of Zambians as one example.
Charles Kakoma
UPND Spokesperson
___________________________
“Before my mamma knew that I was so different,there were alot of things that daily she insisted,like doctors or lawyers are the only ones I raise , so there will never be a failure in your days. But I never saw myself doing anything better than the beats I was editing , so every night,every night I stayed up living that life that i made up…”
A couple of weeks ago Jay Rox released his highly anticipated album “Outside the Rox” . Prior to the album, he had released a number of hit singles such us “kumutima” , “mvula” and “ituntulu”. With every new single the hype grew and everyone was eagerly awaiting the album. In January 2015 he dropped the first official single “Auto pilot” , an incredible, smooth low tempo track , that set the bar high for the upcoming album.
“Outside the Rox” is an incredible album .I could go as far as to say its the best Zambian album of the year so far ! Everything from the production to the lyrical content is top notch . You can tell a lot of effort was put into the making of this album. More often than not , most Zambian artists make music that sounds similar to each other due to following trends . This is not the case with Outside the Rox , it is fresh and original , Jay Rox is in his own lane .
“I grew up looking at the FINDECO / now im standing toe-to-toe where you think im finna go / im finna take the music from Zambia to Senegal / take the music to the world till I reach my pinnacle…”
Outside the Rox is a hiphop album fused with some elements of dancehall (as in “Joanna” and ” Steady“) and other influences. The lyrical content is mature, as it deals with some personal issues Jay Rox is going through( in “How mamma raised me “), as opposed to the usual bravado and swag talk that most rappers deliver. He shows he is a good storyteller with some as uplifting verses (in “Not for sello“)and love songs( “Autopilot” ,”Cake“) . This fact gains Jay Rox a wider audience for his music as he has songs people from all walks of life can enjoy.
Stand out tracks
I love all the songs on the album but these are my top 3
Outside the box – “shes a 10 without a calculator/ my number one shorty shes my motivator / she speaks my language like an interpreter/ mami let me tell you/ when im with you, im outside the box” this is an infectious song that will have you dancing the whole night . It features Ghanaian Award winning dancehall artist ‘Stonebwoy’ .
Time of my life – is a motivating song that encourage one to strive to achieve there dreams and remain positive even if nobody is supporting you. “..even though they talking ,they can never do the walking , such a thing is very shocking..”
Not for Sello – is an uplifting song that tells you that whatever difficultly you may be going through ,never compromise your integrity and do something you will not be proud of, because you are not for sello . “… eventually she looked at me and told me it wasn’t meant to be, she told me she was tired of being tortured physically and mentally, she told me she was done ,can’t take me like kantemba cause im not for sello”
“Outside the Rox” is a top class album that will definitely stand the test of time . All the songs are special in there own way . It will be succefull not only on the Zambian market but international !
“…when mamma knew that , knew that, her son could do rap , do rap, she held my hand and bumped every track and told me look forward son never look back …”
Zambia head into their 2017 Africa Cup Group E qualifier this weekend one spot poorer on the latest FIFA rankings released on Thursday.
Chipolopolo has dropped from 73 to 74 on the World rankings.
Zambia are 32 places below fellow Group E side Congo-Brazzaville who are at number 42 heading into their Saturday date away to Guinea Bissau.
Zambia’s opponents on Sunday, Kenya, are at 116 in the World while Guinea Bissau, who held Chipolopolo to a 0-0 draw in their opening Group E match in Ndola on June 13, are 142 in the World.
The Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) and SuperSport have agreed a new $5 million five-year deal to broadcast FAZ Division games.
The deal will run from 2015 to 2020 following the expiry of the initial US$850,000.00 per-year deal signed in 2010.
“Our football is in a privileged state. With this five-year extension, live television guarantees our clubs a new platform of opportunity and assures them of a stage from which they can further engage into and or expand commercial ventures based on this guaranteed five year undertaking,” FAZ president Kalusha Bwalya said.
“The challenge for us is to continue to work hard as one united family, to continue on the path of development and safeguard the interests, integrity and credibility of our game through exemplary and professional conduct on and off the field.”
Zambia coach George Lwandamina has picked his 23-member team to face Kenya this Sunday.
Zambia travel to Nairobi on Friday to play Kenya in a 2017 Africa Cup Group E qualifier.
Lwandamina moved swiftly to axe regular club bench-warming call-ups namely Patson Daka of Power Dynamos and Nkana defender Kapota Kayawe.
He has also dropped TP Mazembe defender Kabaso Chongo who has endured a tough last eleven months in the Chipolopolo squad revolving door.
Meanwhile, Power midfielder Benson Sakala has made the cut after some combative displays in just three games for his new club.
And Green Buffaloes are smiling today after they have a rare three players on Zambia duty for an Africa Cup qualifier.
Defensive midfielder Buchizya Mfune, midfielder Jack Chirwa and striker Friday Samu have all made the cut.
Israeli-based striker Evans kangwa and his club mate at Hapoel Ra’anana defender Emmanuel Mbola have both been dropped after failing to join camp by the Wednesday deadline date.
Zambia head into their second Group E match on 1 point tied with Kenya, Guinea Bissau and Congo-Brazzaville.
Guinea Bissau host Congo-Brazzaville on Saturday in Bissau.
GOALKEEPERS:Kennedy Mweene (Mamelodi Sundowns, South Africa), Danny Munyao (Red Arrows), Jacob Banda (Zesco United)
Wally Mlewa is the founder and managing director of Impact Media, one of Zambia’s top advertising media companies. He left full time employment where he held various senior positions including Country Director for Stuttafords Removals and Commercial Manager for DHL, to start Impact Media. Within 2 years, Wally grew the company from $5,000 to $1,200,000, with reach in all provinces of Zambia. Impact Media
United Party for National Development (UPND) President Hakainde Hichilema has said that the main problem that has caused the current economic challenges is the result of both incompetence and lack of economic planning. In a statement released to the media, the UPND leader said that it was pure laziness, lack of planning and sheer incompetence to always be quick to look for excuses for problems the country is facing.
Below is the full statement
The other day I mentioned that while the current economic challenges such as the falling Kwacha could be attributed in part to global economic trends, the main problem is largely our own creation and the result of both incompetence and lack of economic planning.
We have stated before that it is pure laziness, lack of planning and sheer incompetence to always be quick to look for excuses for problems the country is facing so that we do nothing in offering even what resembles like a strategy or mitigation measures on how the current economic problems can be resolved.
A true leader does not blame the problems on circumstances, but anticipates and finds way to deal with circumstances. That’s why they call it leadership!
True leadership is being able to appreciate that the environment will always be changing and a good manager must respond to the environment internal or external. These are basic things that are taught in business and economic schools, and one doesn’t need to go Harvard University to know this because even our own University of Zambia, Copperbelt University and other local institutions teach these things.
We in the UPND insist that the current economic turmoil is largely self-inflicted. Government has failed to protect and strengthen the economy through such measures as diversification and stimulating the growth of value add industries. Instead they have weakened the Zambian economy and left it vulnerable to outside forces.
We all know that the Zambian currency has been losing value since the PF took over government in 2011, way before the so-called current global economic challenges. In 2011 the currency was trading at 4.95 to a dollar, today approaching 10 Kwacha to a dollar. What we are seeing today is a result of bad economic management.
We warned a long time ago that we needed systematic planning of the projects taking into account the economic fundamentals rather than political, to prevent the current turmoil and the repetition of a situation we have seen before where Zambia has a huge budget deficit.
Honestly, what is global about Zambia’s collapsing economy due to continued PF induced by-elections that have so far gobbled huge amounts of money purely for their greediness to have numbers in parliament?
What is global when we go to the open market and continuously keep borrowing at high interest rates, invest money in non-productive sectors, and later these loans become due and we start paying back in US dollars, hence create a further scarcity in the foreign currency leading to the falling Kwacha?
What is global if the PF cannot prioritize national expenditures and cut down on unnecessary government costs to match the level of reduced economic activity in the country?
What is global about the unnecessary and useless trips by the president and his ministers with large and unnecessary entourage all costing a poor country a fortune?
What is global when a poor country like Zambia decides to spend on a large cabinet with lots of incentives such as allowances, expensive motor vehicles with high maintenance costs, free fuel, etc?
And even as they are wasting money on travels, to date we have never heard any tangible results from any of the many trips in form of being able to attract tangible investment in various sectors that can be doing value addition and create exports so that we earn foreign exchange and create local jobs for our youths.
So what’s global about failing to create a conducive economic environment and confidence in the country and attract foreign direct investment?
What is global if the country, through incompetence and corruption, decides to waste huge amounts of resources in US dollars procuring contaminated crude oil that damages Indeni Refinery and people’s motor vehicles?
What is global when a country decides to cut electricity power supply even to the critical sectors such as the mining industry and the few manufacturing sectors which are the backbone of the Zambian economy in terms of generating foreign exchange that strengthens the Kwacha and avoid job current losses?
What is global when a Head of State at such a critical period decides to be taking golf lessons whilst the national currency is on free fall, local industry crippled by ad-hoc power rationing and real unemployment well above any meaningful statistical data, plus job losses?
If I were in their position, I would be reluctant spending time taking golf lessons but would immediately leave the golf course and probably get a bit of US$1.25billion Eurobond money and invest it in solar energy, even through Public Private Partnerships (PPP).
By now I would be spending sleepless nights finding solutions to the current power cuts through creation of solar energy farms that would generate power to supplement our hydro electric.
Countries such as the United Kingdom and others do not experience as much sunshine as in Zambia, but they are doing solar energy farming which is supplementing other energy sources.
For the CEO of our country to keep giving excuses on everything instead of solutions is pure laziness and incompetence that deserves an instant dismissal by the Zambian employers.
We should understand that there will always be some global economic trends which we can also take advantage of with a focused leadership.
Currently, the oil prices on the world market have fallen sharply, so why not take advantage of this global trend by reducing the fuel price which we all know is the engine of economic production, especially now that most citizens, small businesses, and industries are relying on generators for them to operate to some level?
We have always been consistent on the need to diversify our economy to other sectors such as agriculture, tourism and also on the need to expand the manufacturing sectors and make our goods competitive on the world market in order to salvage the ailing economy through non-traditional exports.
It is time President Lungu gave way for a serious leadership.
Mayor for Livingstone Milford Maambo (left) during the installation of the mayor and deputy mayor in the tourist capital
THE LIVINGSTONE City Council (LCC) has constituted a seven man committee to investigate into the alleged illegal allocation of plots by the City mayor Milford Maambo.
Mr Maambo, who is United Party for National Development (UPND) councillor for Simoonga ward, has already been suspended by his party from the position of Livingstone Constituency chairperson over the same allegations.
This is in a case were Mr Maambo and the LCC acting Town Clerk Chabala Chanda are allegdly implicated of having allocated themselves about 18 plots in Highlands area near Tandabale market.
When some councilors got wind of it, they petitioned the council to have a special full council meeting where management and the mayor were supposed to clear the air on the alleged illegal acquiring of plots.
The meeting which, was called on Tuesday and started at 10 hours, was closed to the media and the general public and it concluded its business at 16:30 Hours.
Addressing the press after the meeting, Livingstone City Council public relations manager Emmanuel Sikanyika told journalists that a seven man adhoc committee had been formed to investigate the matter further and that they were given 30 days in which to report their findings to another full council hearing.
Mr Sikanyika confirmed that Mr Chanda and the Mayor Mr Maambo were the main players implicated in alleged land scum, but advised people to treat it as mere allegations and wait for the findings of the adhoc committee.
“In the recent past, we have had adverse news about the council illegally allocating plots to the mayor and that this was done without following any laid down procedure. So this morning we called for a special council meeting and what was agreed was that an adhoc committee be formed to investigate this matter further and report back within 30 days,” Mr Sikanyika said.
Mr Sikanyika said since these were mere allegations for now, no cause of action was taken against the mayor and the T/C until after the report from the committee.
“So no action has been taken against the mayor and anyone implicated in this issue. A number of people have been implicated but until the matter is concluded, it must be treated as an allegation,” Mr Sikanyika said.
The Seven man adhoc committee of councillors comprises of Philemon Musonda from the UPND, Likando Liswani also from the UPND including Stanely Ngoma and Saxon Simachembele from the same party.
Others are Mathews Jere and Friday Nkonde both from the Movement for Multi-Party Democracy (MMD) including Moses Simbaya from the ruling Patriotic Front (PF) party.
