Tanzania Zambia Railways Authority (TAZARA) unionized workers have ended their two week-long work protest and have agreed to resume work with immediate effect.

Management had taken over the movement of the trains during this period the workers have been protesting.

The unionized workers from new Kapiri Mposhi to Nakonde TAZARA Railway Station have been protesting since last week to press for the immediate payment of their April and May salaries.

The decision to end the work protest was arrived at yesterday during a consultative meeting between government, management and the union leaders held at TAZARA regional headquarters in Mpika.

The meeting that was attended by Workers Union of Tanzania and Zambia (WUTAZ) leaders and senior managers was chaired by Muchinga Minister Gerry Chanda.

Also in attendance were Mpika district commissioner Moses Katebe and his administrative officer Mumbi Kaweme, among others.

The workers have agreed to resume work as management makes arrangements to pay them their May salaries.

It has been agreed that May salaries be paid by June 7 while the April salaries will be paid later and during this time, all the workers should return to work.

Addressing both management and union leaders in the board room after a closed door meeting with the union leaders, Colonel Gerry Chanda said both parties should ensure that they remain committed to what has been agreed upon.

Colonel Chanda said he will personally get involved to see to it that normal operations resume immediately and that the government is committed to ensuring that the railway company starts operating at full capacity.

And WUTAZ General Secretary Josam Nkhoma assured the minister and management that the unionized workers will resume work with immediate effect.

Mr. Nkhoma however, cautioned management to ensure that it honours its promise to pay the workers their May salary by June 7 while the April salary should also be paid soon.

Earlier TAZARA regional manager Patrick Shangala told the minister that the railway company was committed to paying the workers their salaries but that the process has been delayed due to inadequate funds.

Mr. Shangala said it was unfortunate that workers decided to stage a work protest at the time the company was making improvements in its operations.

He said that currently TAZARA in conjunction with Zambia Railways Limited is moving copper right from Kitwe and Chingola to the port of Dar-es-salaam in Tanzania saying this arrangement will go a long way in boosting the operations of the company hence the need not to disrupt the movement of the trains.

TAZARA has transported more than 15,700 metric tonnes of Copper to the port of Dar-es-salaam in Tanzania on behalf of Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) and Impala Warehousing and Logistics (Impala) since the beginning of April 2013.

Records indicate that TAZARA has moved a total of 39,068 metric tonnes of freight between April and May 2013, of which 40 percent (15,733) is Copper and the rest includes other commodities such as maize and fertilisers among others.

In March 2013, TAZARA, ZRL and SNCC, the three railways companies operating in Tanzania, Zambia and Congo DR, jointly signed a tripartite agreement to harmonize operations.

This was meant to facilitate smooth and seamless transportation of goods and passengers by rail amongst the three railway organizations and the respective countries.

The tripartite signing ceremony followed three earlier independent business agreements entered into between the respective parties, TAZARA and SNCC, TAZARA and ZRL as well as ZRL and SNCC.

Secretary to the Cabinet Roland Msiska has clarified that the new retirement age of 65 years that was recently approved by Cabinet has not yet come into effect.

Dr. Msiska says the decision by Cabinet is the first step in the process of reforming the pension system in the country.

He said following the proposed change to the retirement age from 55 to 65 years, government will have to table a Bill in Parliament for further debate.

Dr. Msiska explained that once Parliament passes the new law on retirement age it will then be sent to the President for assent.

He said it is only after presidential assent that the new law will be implemented.

The Secretary to the Cabinet was speaking in Mporokoso yesterday when he addressed civil servants in the district.

Dr. Msiska urged Zambians to debate the matter and offer their views on the proposed new retirement age.

Meanwhile, Dr. Msiska has advised labour leaders in the country to intensify sensitization campaigns on the collective agreement signed between government and trade unions on the new conditions of service for public service workers.

He said it is saddening to note that many workers especially in rural parts of the country do not fully understand the new conditions of service offered to them by government.

Dr. Msiska said government expects union leaders to be in the forefront of explaining the new conditions of service to their members so that industrial harmony continues to prevail in the country.

Recently, government and the labour movement signed a new collective agreement on conditions of service for public service workers in the country effective September this year.

And the Zambia Federation of Employers (ZFE) says it has received Cabinet’s decision to increase the retirement age from 55 to 65-years with shock.

Speaking to QFM News, ZFE Executive Director Harrington Chibanda says it is sad that the views expressed by the labour movement on the issue earlier have not been considered.

Mr. Chipanda says the Zambia Federation of Employers together with the Zambia Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) was against the idea of increasing the retirement because government failed to come up with convincing reasons for doing so.

He notes that the matter is in the technical report of the constitution making process and was supposed to be discussed by Zambians so that they agree whether the retirement age should be increased or not.

Mr. Chibanda says government’s decision to increase the retirement age without the issue being conclusively debated by the Zambian people lives one wondering whose interest government is serving.

He adds that government should have waited for the consultative process by the labour movement who represent the interest of the workers, and had initially opposed the increase in the retirement age.

Mr. Chibanda points out that an employee is more productive below the age of fifty five, stating that issue of health start coming in above that age which may make them not to be so effective in carrying out their responsibilities.

He says he is aware that government is looking at the whole issue from the angle of delaying the payment of pension benefits so that the money still remains in the economy in the pension schemes.

Mr Chibanda has further stressed that the implications are so many hence government should have left it to the people themselves to decide.

He since urged government to consult stakeholders on critical issues.

Standard Chartered Bank Zambia has successfully concluded negotiations for the 2013 conditions of service for its unionized staff, increasing salaries by KR900 across the board.

According to a statement emailed to ZANIS in Lusaka yesterday, the bank this year undertook a review of the conditions of service for unionized staff which culminated in an agreement to increase salaries for unionized staff from last year’s increase of KR750.

Standard Chartered Bank Zambia Acting Managing Director Kelvin Musana says staff and customers remain a top priority for the bank.

Mr Musana said the bank has a good working partnership with the Union Executive whom it relies on to encourage staff to have a change in mindset.

Mr Musana said the bank remains focussed on making a difference in the communities it operates in and had for this reason in 2012 engaged the union to roll out extended hours in its branches.

The Acting Managing Director said there was need for his bank to position itself for future growth in order to continue to compete effectively.

And commenting during the signing ceremony, Standard Chartered Bank Zambia Head of Human Resource Ruth Simuyemba said the over 700 staff across 24 outlets in Zambia are the bank’s biggest asset.

Ms Simuyemba said the growth that the bank achieved last year was testimony of the quality of staff and their professional and hardworking conduct.

She said the bank is committed to continue reviewing conditions of service for both management and union staff.

Ms Simuyemba added that the signing agreement shows the bank’s commitment to its brand promise of “We are Here for Progress, Here for People and Here for Good.”

Meanwhile, Zambia Union of Financial Institutions and Allied Workers (ZUFIAW) Secretary General Joyce Nonde-Simukoko commended Standard Chartered bank for closing the negotiations when other banks are yet to.

Ms Simukoko said this shows the hard work and commitment by the negotiating committee.

Ms Simukoko has since encouraged bank staff to change their mindset towards work saying bank workers need to enhance their skills in order to achieve more.

She called on the bank’s workers to utilise ZUFIAW’s newly opened Skill Development Training Centre where they will be trained in different aspects of their careers.

ZANIS

New Energy, mines and water development Minister Christopher Yaluma says he will ensure that there is no more loadsheding by the power utility company ZESCO.

Mr. Yaluma who has been moved to the energy ministry from the ministry of works,supply,transport and communication says his transfer is more than a plus because he understands the all sectors in his ministry well.

He says he will ensure that all departments that fall under his ministry begin to operate to the expectations of the people of Zambia.

He says having been minister for the same ministry before gives him great confidence to even work harder without disappointing the appointing authority.

Mr. Yaluma has since assured the nation that he will ensure that ZESCO reduces on unnecessary loadsheding of power.

THE Road Development Agency (RDA) has signed a KR 13 million contract with Satra Zambia that will culminate into the construction of a 210 kilometre dual carriage way between Lusaka and Kapiri Mposhi.

And the RDA has also signed two contracts for KR 27 million and KR 6.1million respectively for the periodic maintenance of the Kabwe -Kapiri road and some selected gravel roads in Petauke District.

The contract with Satra Zambia is for the provision of techno-economic and environmental studies and engineering design in preparation for the upgrading and creation of the dual carriageway.

RDA Chief Executive Officer Bernard Chiwala said the objective of the services was to perform the necessary studies to rehabilitate and construct the Lusaka-Kapiri dual carriageway to optimal and economically justified standards and make comparative cost estimates for the selected technical solutions.

Mr Chiwala said the creation of the dual carriageway was necessitated by increased congestion on the road and that the project is expected to ease traffic flow and enhance economic activities.

“RDA has signed a contract with Messers Satra I-Man Pvt Limited in association with Satra Zambia for techno-economic study, detailed engineering design and tender document preparation for the upgrading of the 210 KM from Lusaka to Kapiri Mposhi dual carriageway at a contract sum of ZMW 13, 451, O46.51,” Mr Chiwala said.

Satra Zambia Associate Director Ashik Hussain said the company would put in the best to ensure that safety features were enhanced on the road.

The Lusaka Kapiri road had in the recent past been rocked by road traffic accidents that have claimed many lives.

And speaking during the signing of the contract for maintenance works on selected gravel roads in Petauke District in Eastern Province which has been awarded to the Zambia National Service, Permanent Secretary in the Defence Ministry, Rose Saukatula hailed RDA for according ZNS an opportunity to provide road maintenance works on a commercial basis.

Ms Salukatula said the project would enable the security wing generate income which would be used to recapitalize its operations through the procurement of modern equipment.

Zambia National Service Commandant General Nathan Mulenga said the ZNS had always looked forward to a time when it would provide services at a commercial level.

Gen Mulenga assured the RDA Chief of quality works and that the contract would be executed within the stipulated time frame.

Meanwhile Rankin engineering have been awarded a contract for the periodic maintenance of the Kabwe-Kapiri road at contract sum of KR6.1 million.

Company Director Vahdat Alavian said the contractor was already on site was would begin works on Monday.

Mr Alavian assured that works on the roads would be completed within the stipulated 14 months.

Mines Minister Yamfwa Mukanga has said that government was capable of taking over the operations of Konkola Copper Mines(KCM) if Vendetta Resources limited failed to run the mine. Mr. Mukanga was reacting to sentiments from the Chamber of Mines of Zambia that has insisted that the planned job cuts at KCM are in the interest of the mining conglomerate.

The Minister wondered why KCM plannned to lay off 2000 miners when other mining firms were employing more miners. The Mines minister said this in an interview in Kitwe at the ongoing Copperblet, Mining and Agriculture show.

But chamber of Mines General Manager Frederick Bantubonse insisted that issues at KCM are internal and are in the best interest of KCM operations. Mr. Bantubonse said that government should seriously examine the reasons why it privatized the mines 20 years ago before discussing any issues regarding KCM.

Mr. Bantubonse felt that mining companies are running better in private hands which was not the case when government was running the mines which saw production drop from 750 thousand tons annually to 250 thousand tones per annum.

He has insisted that the creation of new jobs in other mining companies should not be compared to KCM because different mines have different operational challenges and production costs.

KCM last Friday announced its intentions to retrench two thousand workers, a move that government has opposed.

Zambia’s annual inflation rate for May has increased by 0.5 percent. The inflation rate now stands at 7 percent from last month’s 6.5 percent.

Central Statistical Office -CSO- Acting Director Goodson Sinyenga has attributed the increase to an increase in the prices of non food and some food items.

Mr. Sinyenga has told a media briefing today that food products accounted for 3.3 percent while non food products accounted for 3.7percent.

He has stated that the removal of subsidies on maize and fuel is expected to further lead to a rise in inflation as producers of commodities are likely to pass on the extra costs onto consumers.

Meanwhile, April has so far recorded the highest trade surplus so far this year currently standing at 3-hundred and 29 point 5 million kwacha rebased up from 3-hundred and 7 point 2million kwacha rebased in March.

Mr. Sinyenga says this means that the country exported more than it imported in April 2013.

And Government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Stanbic Bank that will see over 3 -hundred local contractors take part in the on going road construction projetcs.

Under the Agreement the contractors will be able to acquire equipment using the Banks’s Vehicle and Asset Finance System through partners and suppliers.

The Agreement was signed between the National Road Fund Agency, The Road Development Agency and Stanbic Bank.

And speaking during the signing ceremony, Transport Minister Christopher Yaluma says the MoU marks the beginning of a consultative process which will see more local players participate favourably in the construction sector.

Mr. Yaluma has commended Stanbic bank for joining forces with road sector agencies in availing adequate and affordable credit lines to contractors and equipment suppliers through the agreement.

And Stanbic Bank Chief Executive Dennis Kennedy says local contractors through the agreement will be able to acquire equipment using the existing vehicle asset finance through partners and suppliers.

At the same occasion, Road Development Agency Board Chairperson Willie Nsanda called on local engineers to work harder to ensure better quality road works.

Senior Chief Nzamane of the Ngoni speaking people of Chipata district has advised Zambians not to take the removal of fuel and maize subsidies as a human rights issue.

Chief Nzamane says despite the decision by government to remove subsidies on the two important sectors of the economy there is need for Zambians to accept the decisions and adopt to the changes.

The traditional leader told ZANIS in an interview in Chipata today that the debate on subsidies should be handled with care by both government and the citizens.

He explained that government will continue taking bold steps aimed at saving national resources in order to have a stable economy.

Senior Chief Nzamane however noted that the decision by government was not done at a right time especially that the agriculture sector is likely to be affected by the reduction in the crop harvest.

He said government would have consulted relevant authorities for them to carryout sensitizations for people to fully understand the rationale behind the decision to remove the subsidies before implementing it.

He cited the subsidy on maize that it was a well known fact when the programme of Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP) that it was going to end as it was meant to help vulnerable farmers with start up packs just for a period of time.

Senior Chief Nzamane stated that it was for this reason that people needed to be reminded that the programme was meant for farmers to graduate and stand on their own.

He added that the abrupt action will affect the small scale farmers who did not prepare for the change.

Meanwhile, the traditional leader has cautioned his subjects against selling all their produce without storing some for consumption.

He noted that the subjects should instead adopt the new metal silo technology to enhance the storage of crops.

He explained that many farmers in his chiefdom were forced to sell all their produce due to lack of proper storage facilities.

Senior Chief Nzamane added that this was why the new metal silo project introduced by the Effective Grain Storage for Better Livelihoods of African Farmers would go a long way in addressing the post harvest losses being experienced.

ZANIS

Government says labour based technologies are cardinal in creating employment for the unemployed youths. Speaking during the official opening of a two days workshop on the mainstreaming of labour based technologies in Zambia, Transport, Works, Supply and Communication Deputy Minister Mwimba Malama said labour based technologies has the potential to spur employment creation in the construction sector.

Mr Malama said infrastructure development is key in addressing the challenges of mass employment through the use of labour based technologies.

He explained to the delegates that long time ago Zambia was using the labour based technologies in the construction sector which helped to create employment before switching to Mechanised technology.

He complained that Mechanised technology does not provide employment opportunities for the masses.

However Mr Malama admitted that Mechanised technology is quicker when executing projects this is despite the technology not creating adequate employment.

He stressed that labour based technologies should be encouraged as this will help to mitigate youth unemployment in the country.

The workshop attracted provincial Permanent Secretaries, Members of Parliament and Contractors.

Meanwhile National Council for Construction (NCC) Vice Chairman Phesto Musonda saluted government for gracing the official opening of the two days workshop.

ZANIS