Zambia’s High Commissioner Designate to South Africa Emmanuel Mwamba has disclosed that a Zambian-South Africa Business Council has been formed that will bring together South African business entities and persons that have invested in Zambia and Zambians that have invested in South Africa as entrepreneurs and professionals.

The Council held its inaugural meeting yesterday to spearhead the launch and a Business Forum that will be held after the launch.

Mr Mwamba said, to help with the process, a steering committee is being set up that include Mr. Charles Kalima, Mrs. Lucy Zulu-Simuzingili, Mr. Timothy Simelani representing the Mail Guardian and Augustine Chisembele.

He said the team is tasked with the initiative of putting together a steering committee comprising Zambians and South Africans that should ensure that the launch planned for October 2015 is successful.

The taskforce on the control of importation of edible oils has called on all stakeholders in the country to uphold the law that bars the importation of these products so as to help the sector thrive and contribute to the Gross Domestic Product of the country.

This call came when the taskforce took a tour of the Chirundu border post to ascertain why there is still an influx of refined and packaged cooking oil coming into the country.

Department of Agribusiness Acting Principle Economist Matongo Munsanje, who is also Team leader of the Taskforce said the tour was necessitated by the fact that the Ministry has in the past two months not issued any permit for refined oils but the commodity has continued to come into the country.

Mr Munsanje said this shows that there could be something wrong or any other challenges that the stakeholders are facing at the point of entry.

Stakeholders at the Chirundu border have complained that the new system at the Zambia Revenue Authority, which is e – commerce has secluded them from the ASYCUDA programme where they have no access as they are unable to know what goods are coming into the country.

Environmental Health Officer at the Port of Health Point Kabeela Kagula said Zambia Revenue Authority(ZRA) takes the lead in processing import permits of commodities and the department is mostly unaware of the products that are passing through the border.

Mrs Kagula said in the past customs officers were trained on how to handle goods and those that needed clearance from various sectors would be directed for clearance to their respective offices.

She said some goods are cleared as far as Beit bridge and will just pass through the border without inspection from the relevant authorities.

She lamented that this problem has been observed since 2010 when the ASYCUDA system under ZRA was introduced which has not included the other stakeholders leaving the control of goods coming into the country to ZRA alone.

The Bureau of Standards officer Gerald said the same and called for ZRA to incorporate them in the system so as to help curb this vice.

Meanwhile, ZRA Customs Officer Joshua Phiri said there was also need for them to be trained and have machinery that could detect what was crude oil or edible oil so as to put a stop to it.

Mr Phiri said samples can be taken to Lusaka and back does not support that they keep a tanker of oil marooned at the courts because it was considered dangerous to the people.

He said if this can be done then quick intervention can be accorded and importers either fined or commodities disposed of according to what the act stipulates.

THE Food Reserve Agency (FRA) has announced 474,170 metric tonnes maize, translating to 9.3 million bags of maize valued at K711 million, has been bought within a month in the country.

FRA Executive Director Chola Kafwabulula announced in the District Commissioner’s office in Chipata on Wednesday that of this Northern Province had the highest tonnage with 94,818 metric tonnes while Western Province was at the bottom with 7,000 metric tonnes.

He said out of the total amount owed to farmers, FRA disbursed K96 million to various districts.

“Let me take this opportunity to announce the latest crop purchase for the whole country, we have so far purchased 474,170 metric tonnes of maize valued at K711 million,” he said.

Mr Kafwabulula said the ministry of finance was expected to release about K300 million to pay the farmers who were still owed the money.

He said FRA had the huge mandate to run the marketing season adding that stringent measures have been put in place to ensure that it minimised on what transpired in the last marketing season where the agency encountered a lot of challenges with the payment of farmers.

He said in Eastern Province, the FRA has managed to buy 75,000 metric tonnes of maize from the farmers.
He said Eastern Province, Petauke had the highest purchase of maize.

Mr Kafwabulula said a lot of purchases were expected to be conducted before the closure of the crop marketing season.

He said the expectation of the FRA was to ensure that all farmers were paid within two weeks after sell of maize.

He also said the agency had in the last two years reduced the wastage of maize to one percent.

Mr Kafwabulula said the reduction in the wastage of maize because of the investment plans which the agency had embarked on in the country.

“The FRA has in the last two years reduced the wastage of maize by one percent and we have worked on the mechanism to ensure that the commodity does not go to waste,” he said.

He said currently FRA through the investment plans would construct 98 sheds with the capacity of 5,000 metric tonnes of which 18 would be constructed in Eastern Province.

Mr Kafwabulula said 18 sheds at cost of US$ 13 million would be constructed in Sinda, Nyimba, Chadiza, Lundazi, Mambwe, Vubwi, Chipata, Katete and Petauke districts.

And Chipata District Commissioner Kalunga Zulu commended the agency for reducing the wastage of maize.

He said FRA deserve a part for reducing the wastage of maize to one percent saying previous Government had been wasting the commodity through wastage.

Mr Zulu said he would be glad to see the FRA continues paying the farmers in order to avoid what happened in the last marketing season.

FINANCE Permanent Secretary Pamela Kabamba has called for appropriate solutions to the mismatch existing between improved economic performance and high levels of inequality in Zambia.

Ms Kabamba noted that evidence had shown that there had been a weak link between growth and poverty in the country.

This has partly been attributed to the growth driven by mining, construction, wholesale and retail trade and communication which were mostly urban based.

She said this in Lusaka yesterday during the planning meeting for the consultative process of the Seventh National Development Plan (SNDP) which would run from 2017 to 2021.

The Permanent Secretary was hopeful that efforts would be made to draw lessons from the experiences of the implementation of the Fifth, Sixth and Revised Sixth National Development Plans to ensure good practices were reinforced.

“Key among the challenges that have emerged is the mismatch between improved economic performance and high levels of inequality in the country.

“These unintended outcomes require planners to be ingenuous and come up with collective solutions that will help redress the situation,” Ms Kabamba said.

The formulation of the SNDP is a critical point in that it was more of a decisive plan towards the attaining vision 2030.

This requires the Government to adopt measures and strategies that would effectively tackle high levels of poverty, unemployment, income inequality and poor living conditions that daunt the country.

Ms Kabamba noted that there was compelling need for the country to work towards promoting higher level strategies that would bring sectors together.

There was also need to direct resources and efforts to implementing the key national strategies in areas where comparative advantages exist towards the attainment a prosperous middle income nation by the year 2030.

“These national strategies should also foster regional development and help spur poverty reduction in very significant proportions,” she said.

PRESIDENT Edgar Lungu has assured that his Government will continue to promote private sector-driven economy aimed at spurring economic growth.

Mr Lungu said opportunities for foreign investment in Zambia were plenty and urged newly appointed Ambassadors to ensure that their countries increased investment portfolios in the country.

“Investment opportunities are abound especially in the government-prioritised areas of agriculture, tourism, manufacturing, energy and water development and mining.

“I strongly believe, therefore, that your respective countries have a lot to offer Zambia through the enhancement of trade and investment.

I encourage your Excellencies to harness this potential during your tour of duty and increase your countries’ investment portfolio in Zambia,” he said.

The Head of State was speaking in Lusaka when he received letters of credence from five ambassadors-designate and one High Commissioner at State House yesterday.

Mr Lungu received credentials from Filipo Scammaca who is the new Italian ambassador to Zambia as well as Leonidas Contovounesios, the new envoy for Greece.

Others were Alicia Moral Revilla as new Spanish ambassador as well as Mohammed Aminnejad from Iran and Gershon Khan of Israel. Asaf Khan also presented his papers as Pakistan’s High Commissioner to Zambia.

Mr Lungu said the Government was encouraging the setting up of joint venture projects between Zambian and foreign investors.

Mr Lungu noted that Zambia’s central location in Africa offered a huge market for business and urged investors from the new envoys to set up business distribution centres in the country.

He said Zambia’s bilateral relations continued to be guided by the country’s foreign policy focus based on national development priorities.

“Our 2014 revised foreign policy will, therefore, continue to serve as a point of reference for shaping and enhancing our partnerships and cooperation,” he said.

The President urged Mr Scammaca to help in building and strengthening the existing cooperation between Zambia and Italy and establish new avenues of mutual partnership in areas that cut across socio-economic, trade and investment.

Mr Lungu said that although Zambia and Greece have been hit by economic challenges, he hoped that the two countries would explore new avenues of cooperation, to pave way for increased trade and meaningful economic, social and cultural cooperation for the mutual benefit of the two countries and peoples.

He said Zambia was keen to benefit from Iran’s expertise in alternative sources of energy, especially now when the country and sub-Saharan Africa was facing a serious power deficit.

On Spain, Mr Lungu said Zambia had continued to cooperate with the European country in area of education, but urged Ms Revilla to explore new areas of cooperation in order to strengthen the country’s bilateral relations.

Mr Lungu said his government had demonstrated commitment to strengthening relations with Israel as demonstrated with the recent opening of a diplomatic mission in Tel Aviv.

The head of State said Zambia looked forward to learning from Pakistan, which is South Asia’s second largest economy, on its experience and enter into agreements in areas of trade and investment.