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Mines Minister Wylbur Simuusa has told Reuters today that Zambia could cut back mineral tax royalties if commodity prices collapse next year. Mr Simuusa told Reuters on the sidelines of a London conference.
“For now (the royalties) will stay, but if it becomes a crisis, if prices crash, we might have to review the regime… not in 2012 but for 2013, in the next budget,”
Zambia plans to double royalties on copper miners to six percent in order to bring in badly needed revenue, increase social spending and farming subsidies – a move miners have warned may cause them to scale back operations.
The World Bank has said that the policy is unlikely to cripple the industry at current prices but could cause problems if copper prices fall.
Copper miner First Quantum, one of the largest investors in the Zambia’s mining sector, warned the viability of newer projects in the country, especially a newer generation with lower copper grades, could be at risk. It says its Kansanshi copper-gold mine is already among the most highly taxed in the world.
Adam Little, head of tax for First Quantum, indicated the miner hoped reforms to improve Zambia’s tax collection would result in lower royalties, which are based on revenue, not profit, and can be very punitive as prices fluctuate.
“We need to be thoughtful about the impact of revenue-based taxes. The recent 100 percent increase in mineral royalty taxes is damaging, especially for low-margin mines,” Little said.
“If other taxes can become more collectable, then Zambia’s reliance on the more damaging taxes can be reduced.”
Simuusa agreed their could be a re-calibration once Zambia has overhauled its tax and tax collection system.
Foreign mining companies operating in Zambia include Canada’s First Quantum Minerals, London-listed Vedanta Resources Plc, Glencore International Plc, Barrick Gold, Brazil’s Vale and Metorex of South Africa.
Zambian nationals driving into Zambia from neighbouring countries are being charged US Dollar Toll Fees. This practice has been going on for years. The arrangement is illogical and is being abused. We wonder where the Government is expecting Zambians to get US Dollars from each time the drive into Zambia.
Our understanding is that the Zambian Legal Tender is Kwacha. Why are citizens being forced to use foreign currency, we are not foreigners.
America will never force you to pay in Kwacha. An inquiry at Chirundu Border revealed that Government Officials are involved in the illegal Black Market Trade of US Dollars. When you go to the RATSA office, the cashier tells you that he is not allowed to receipt in Kwacha but US Dollars and he shows you where to go and change your Kwacha into US Dollars often at an exorbitant rate. The money changers take advantage because they know you have no way to confirm the rate and also the Bureau’s only open at certain times, so they will overcharge you.
The real story is that the same Government Officials are the ones selling/changing the money that’s why they direct innocent people to change Kwacha into US Dollars before they can accept it. We appreciate that the Zambian Government needs FOREX but not from its citizens,there are other ways to obtain the money.
Our appeal is that let the Government allows us to have choice of presenting either Kwacha or US Dollar unless the Kwacha is so fake that even the Government doesn’t want it any more.
Minister of Finance Alex Chikanda this morning delivered a statement to parliament on the printing of Bank Notes by the Bank of Zambia. Below is the full statement delivered.
Mr. Speaker, I wish to thank you for allowing me to deliver this statement on the printing of
banknotes by the Bank of Zambia.
Sir, the Bank of Zambia as mandated by the Bank of Zambia Act No. 43 of 1996 Cap 360 of
the laws of Zambia is the only issuer of Zambian Currency. The practice in recent times has
been to procure currency notes for three year periods, principally for cost considerations.
Mr. Speaker, for the 2010 – 2012 period, a tender was floated using limited bidding method
and 12 companies submitted bids. After tender evaluation, a German company Giesecke
and Devrient (G and D) was awarded the contract to print both paper and polymer bank
notes.
The contract sum was Euro 16, 779,411.00. Out of this amount the Bank of Zambia has
paid Euro 12,450,709.81 for the quantities received for 2010 and 2011. The balance,
therefore, stands at Euro 4,328,701.00. The total quantity of banknotes delivered so far is
212 million pieces while the balance of 116 million pieces will be delivered in 2012.
Sir, despite the mandate of the Bank of Zambia to issue currency, the Bank is expected to
conform to the public procurement procedures in accordance with the Public Procurement
Act No. 12 of 2008.
The Zambian Government, as a custodian of public interest, will take keen interest in
ensuring that the Bank strictly conforms to the requirements of the Public Procurement Act
and avoid sidelining the Zambia Public Procurement Authority approval as was the case in
this particular instance. This is not only a recipe for impropriety but also raises legitimate
questions by the public who are at the end of the day the repository of our authority at all
levels of Government.
Sir, I now lay on the table a copy of the contract signed between the Bank of Zambia and
Giesecke and Devrient for the information of the House.
The COCA-COLA company has moved it secret formula to be put on public display at the World of Coca-Cola. It hasn’t been moved in 86 years, but the secret is out – The Coca-Cola Company has moved the 125-year-old secret formula for Coca-Cola to a new home at the World of Coca-Cola in Atlanta. As the capstone to the 125th anniversary year of Coca-Cola, the Company is sharing the rich history and timeless appeal of its secret formula in a brand new exhibit where visitors can experience the world’s most recognized brand like never before.
For the first time in history, the vault containing the secret formula will be visible to the public in a permanent exhibit titled The Vault of the Secret Formula, opening today at the World of Coca-Cola.
The move of the Coca-Cola secret formula is a historic moment for the Company,” said Paul Kaluba, Coca-Cola Zambia Country Manager. “The Company has always gone to great lengths to protect it and now by safeguarding it at the World of Coca-Cola, we can share its legendary legacy with people around the world.”
After Dr. John S. Pemberton invented Coca-Cola in 1886, the formula was kept a close secret, only shared with a small group and not written down. In 1891, Asa Candler became the sole proprietor of Coca-Cola after purchasing the rights to the business.
Then, in 1919, Ernest Woodruff and a group of investors purchased the Company from Candler and his family. To finance the purchase Woodruff arranged a loan and as collateral he provided documentation of the formula by asking Candler’s son to commit the formula to paper. This was placed in a vault in the Guaranty Bank in New York until the loan was repaid in 1925. At that point, Woodruff reclaimed the secret formula and returned it to Atlanta and placed it in the Trust Company Bank, now SunTrust, where it remained until its recent move to the World of Coca-Cola.
Guests to the World of Coca-Cola can feel closer than ever before to the secret formula. At The Vault of the Secret Formula exhibit, visitors will learn about the most closely guarded trade secret in history through an immersive multimedia experience that celebrates the rich history, mythology and intrigue around the secret formula.
While The Coca-Cola Company started with this secret formula 125 years ago, the secret to its success has grown far beyond the formula today.
“Any stakeholder who is part of our global system, from a local community partner in countries around the world to someone who simply loves our brands, is part of our secret to success,” said Kaluba. “It is this recipe for success that gives us the confidence to fulfill our 2020 Vision: to sustainably grow our business and continue to help build a better world and future for everyone, everywhere.”
As part of the 2020 Vision, the Company plans to double its system revenue from 2010 to 2020. The Company also has set sustainability goals as part of its commitment to being a good steward of the environment and a partner with communities around the world.
Yesterdays grand opening celebration event featured performances by the Coca-Cola 125th Chorus, and the Latin Grammy nominated Mexican singer-songwriter Ximena Sariñana. The Coca-Cola 125th Anniversary Chorus is a group of young people from the Atlanta area conducted by Francisco Núñez, founder and the acclaimed artistic director of the Young People’s Chorus of New York City.
Continuity or change?-An unidentified man walks past gabbage and flooded houses in Chawama
By E.Tembo
Zambia is a vast country with huge chunks of bare land. However we hear the continuous refrain of shortage of land. Everyone who has found new wealth will be looking for a piece of land whether serviced or not. The flaw in our system is to let land “manage itself” and yet land is a very important resource. The poor manner in which we manage land in the rural areas has led everyone to flee the village and come to the city. The old song called “Mayendele” rings in my head. “Kale bamwisa baletwikata ubulofwa, nomba iyo, mayendele muno Zambia”. While this is good it has brought about serious strain in terms of providing services in the cities and towns. And unless we tackle the rural areas we shall continue to gratify an ever increasing urban population who will continue to demand more from our cities and towns. We therefore need to manage our rural land better.
Land management covers all activities, concerned with the management of land as a resource such as agriculture, mining, property and estate management and the physical planning of towns and the villages both from an environmental and economic perspective. Unfortunately we seem to take management of land rather casually in Zambia as in most African countries as witnessed by the general abject squalor that the lot of our people live in.
The dungeons in Chibolya, the smell of sewer in Garden, the massive heaps of uncollected garbage in Misisi is testimony of allowing land to manage itself. Our major cities and towns are all but glorified shanties with basic amenities such as clean piped water being a reserve for a few. In the countryside we are saying depletion of forest reserves for energy purposes, while we sit in our air-conditioned offices saying all nice things about how we are managing climate change. Clearly we are not doing something right.
Underlying most of these problems is the way we administer land. I wish to interrogate the land question from the functional aspect of land administration in the country and what I believe we need to do as a country if we are to truly engender sustainable development.
One land economist once said, “the trouble with land is that they do not make it anymore”. Indeed supply of land is fixed while demand will continue to soar. However, when we look at our land mass versus our population we should not be in the situation where land is in short supply at all.
Our colleagues in Japan must be wondering what is wrong with us crowding in a small land mass called Lusaka when we have such a vast land. It is not land per se that we should be looking at providing but rather shelter and amenities. Added to the supply quagmire is the fact that we are not opening serviced land and are allowing ourselves to create eyesores of townships with individuals creating their own services. It is not uncommon to find acres of land allocated with no services of basic roads, water and sewerage.
A casual glance at Lusaka will reveal that the whole of Lusaka South and North has all but been “consumed” by massive self built housing with hardly any aid from the state in the form of basic services of any kind. In fact we should commend our people for the tenacious way in which they are able to create housing on their own initiative and create some kind of services to access their houses and find water to drink, throw rubbish –all without the aid of the government.
Critically, though we need to be forward looking and assess the demand for land by initially carrying out a land audit around our major towns and cities. We can only develop that which we know and therefore the starting point should be to analyse who owns what land around the cities and what use it is for. It can be argued that this information is available at the Ministry of Lands.
But to what extent have we mapped and recorded all the land transactions in the peripheral of our cities and towns? Pieces of land falling in the ambit of the chiefs around the major towns and cities are not well recorded. Therefore huge chunks of land (so-called farms) are being apportioned with the consent of the traditional leaders. We now have the new smart Alecs from the city owning land on the peripheral of the cities and towns who call themselves “farmers”. Traditional land is very susceptible to abusive use and with collusion of traditional leaders is subjected to all forms of subdivision and sold to the highest bidder without recourse to any planning ethics. Consent by the chief for instance is not commensurate to judicious use of the land by the one who gets consent; neither does it suggest that the consent is beneficial to the community or the land itself. The expectation is that the land delivery system should at the very minimum involve planning, surveying, servicing, pricing, allocation and title registration. One, of course, can argue that this is only applicable to urban land. Indeed this land delivery cycle is best suited to state land. However, customary land also requires some form of land delivery system which will create real value to the land.
There is need therefore to build new structures to manage traditional land. The current laissez-faire attitude of handling land in traditional /customary areas will impact negatively for the future. We must understand that traditional leadership, with due respect, does not have the requisite skills to manage and administer land as required in a modern economy.
A policy decision needs to be made to introduce a new governance structure in the rural areas; this structure can include the traditional leadership but must in the main be made up of technocrats whose job it is to oversee the proper administration of land. Perhaps the Ministry of Chiefs will come up with a policy on rural development which will come up with a land administrative structure which tackles land administration in the rural areas. The model in countries like Botswana and Namibia can be used to develop such a structure. Botswana has created Land Boards in each province.
These Boards elected and selected by the Minister of Lands are composed of the salaried “civil servants” who are schooled in land administration. The chief executive of a land board is a board secretary who would be equivalent to a director in a government department. Each district will also have sub-land-boards to govern land at the district.
So, by the same token there is need as a sense of urgency to come up with new land administration structures in the rural areas of Zambia. I think the office of the district commissioner could well be converted to that of the land manager in areas where the councils are not planning authorities. This will of course necessitate the creation of land records in each district which would then feed into the national land database. The current situation where anyone who wants to get a title deed must travel to Mulungushi House is untenable for the future; if any thing the situation lends itself to corrupt practice. In this regard it is gratifying to note that the new government is keen to see a new decentralised government system. How this will pan out will be significant in heralding a new development paradigm in the rural areas of Zambia.
This week we will concentrate on flexibility and stretching of the upper body.
It is important to stretch your muscles , it prevents injures when doing harder workouts and it keeps you flexible.
THE WORKOUT
The bridge (glutes, back, thighs)
how its done;
Lie on your back with your knees bent, keeping your feet on the floor.
Push your feet into the floor and draw your hips up, keeping your shoulders on the floor.
The cobra (abs, pecs, back)
how its done;
Lie on your front with your hands under your shoulders.
Keeping your hips on the floor, push your arms straight.
Hold for a few seconds, then come down.
Back bends (shoulders, back)
how its done;
Place your palms on your lower back, lift your chest and bring your elbows together.
Bend back as far as is comfortable.
The camel (abs, quads, lower back)
how its done;
Kneel down, keeping a 90-degree angle in your knees.
Reach back and try to grab your ankles.
If you can’t then just go back as far back as you can.
Follow this 4 week plan .
The plan
Week one Monday Bridge straight up and down x 10; Cobra x 5 Wednesday Standing back bends x 5; Bridge straight up and down 2 x 10 Friday Bridge straight up and down 3 x 10; Cobra x 10
Week two Monday Bridge + hold for 5 seconds each time 3 x 10; Cobra + hold with hand off floor for 10 seconds 3 x 10 Wednesday Standing back bends x 10; Stretch chest + shoulders Friday Bridge + hold for 5 seconds each time x 15; Cobra + hold with hands off floor for 10 seconds 4 x 10
Week three Monday Bridge into half wheel (steps 1-3) + hold for 10 seconds x 5; Camel x 5 Wednesday Bridge into half wheel + hold for 10 seconds x 10; Camel x 10 Friday Bridge into half wheel + hold for 10 seconds x 15; Camel x 15
Week four Monday Bridge into half wheel + hold for 20 seconds x 10; Cobra (with arms outstretched to side. Lift lower legs too.) 3 x 10 Wednesday Bridge into half wheel + hold for 20 seconds x 15; Cobra (with arms outstretched to side. Lift lower legs too.) 3 x 15 Friday Bridge into half wheel + hold for 25 seconds x 15; Cobra (with arms outstretched to side. Lift lower legs too.) 3 x 20
UPND leader, Hakainde Hichilema has accused the President Sata of making false statements against him by linking him to the sale of companies and pocketing money from the sale of these firms.
Mr. Hichilema has since challenged the President to arrest him if he has any proof that he pocketed the money from the sale of the companies.
President Sata last month accused Mr. Hichilema at a public rally in Magoye of having liquidated Luanshya Mine and allegedly pocketed the money from the sale of the company.
Mr. Hichilema also accused the President and the PF government of abusing him as a citizen of the country.
He says the President has been abusing him and many other people on a lot of issues adding these are as a result of the excessive powers the President has been given in the constitution.
Mr. Hichilema also lashed out at the Speaker of the National Assembly Dr. Patrick Matibini for allegedly allowing Lusaka Province Minister, Miles Sampa to debate on tribal lines while he ruled off a point of order which was raised by Derrick Livune on the matter.
File: FAZ president Kalusha Bwalya and general secretary George Kasengele
Kalusha Bwalya says Sports Minister Fackson Shamenda is being misled by people around him with different agendas.
The Faz president told BBC Africa Sport that Shamenda has not been properly briefed over the sacking of Dario Bonetti and return of Herve Renard as the Italian’s replacement.
“The minister knows that the hiring of Herve Renard was a decision of the executive committee and the process was thorough,” Bwalya told the BBC.
“It appears though that the right kind of information hasn’t reached him.
“If the minister has an issue with the football association in future, he should talk to us directly so that we resolve things amicably.
“I haven’t received any notification from the minister regarding the report he tabled in parliament, but we have a lot of well-wishers in Zambia.
“Everybody in Zambia knows where the problem is; there are people around the minister who give him the wrong information to push their own agendas.
“I have no doubts that we’re doing is in the best interest of Zambian football, and I’ll continue to serve football to the best of my ability.”
Shamenda has over the last fortnight and in Parliament on Tuesday repeated that Government was concerned with Bonetti’s firing and subsequent hiring of Renard.
He said Government will not pay Renard’s salary and also told Faz to shape-up its operations at Football House before Zambia goes to the Africa Cup.
MMD presidential candidate received a thunderous welcome when he arrived at the Kenneth Kaunda International airport this morning.Here he is lifted shoulder high by his supporters
MMD Presidential candidate Dr. Nevers Mumba received a thunderous welcome from MMD supporters when he arrived at the Kenneth Kaunda International airport this morning.Upon arrival Dr.Mumba was detained in the Zambezi V.I.P lounge for about an hour.
It was said the D.E.C wanted to search his bags and some officers were seen questioning him.
When he emerged from the V.I.P Dr. Mumba was hoisted by his supporters who carried placards in solidarity for his MMD presidency aspirations.
Dr.Mumba told his MMD supporters not to be intimidated by the government even when they came to grab their property.
“We have started a very long journey and lets not be discouraged” ,Dr.Mumba added
Dr.Mumba also stated that Canadian investment to Zambia had increased the last two years since he became high commissioner.
Dr.Mumba was recently recalled from diplomatic service by President Sata who also accused him of serious financial impropriety at the mission in Toronto.
However Dr. Mumba denied the allegations and stated that there actually wasn’t a Zambian mission in Toronto. Dr.Mumba welcomed Zambia’s Auditor General, who had given the mission in Canada a pass a few months prior to return for another audit if need be.
The Die Hard MMD youth wing has backed the candidature of former Zambian High Commissioner to Canada Nevers Mumba to take over the party presidency from former republican President Rupiah Banda.
“We think Nevers Mumba can push us from where we are now to the next stage, probably taking us back into power. We know that Nevers Mumba will work with the youths, all structures of our party, the Church and ordinary Zambians said the MMD National co-ordinator Bowman Lusambo
“We want to encourage the MMD youths to come together and support his candidature because we, as the party youth wing, have received warm welcome from the general party membership in all the provinces. We have also received a lot of support from the intellectuals with whom we have shared this idea (of supporting Dr Mumba),” Mr Lusambo said.
He said Dr Mumba has leadership qualities that the MMD needs in its current state.
He said the tele-evangelist and former diplomat, who once served as republican vice-president in former President Levy Mwanawasa’s administration, is charismatic, clean, has the ability to interact with all citizens regardless of their political affiliation and has vast experience in relating with the international community.
Mr Lusambo warned that the MMD youths will not support any candidate who will engage in corrupt practices in a bid to win the presidency.
Supporters for Nevers Mumba with placards at Kenneth Kaunda international airport
The MMD has distanced its self from a scheme reportedly being promoted by some opposition political leaders in the North Western Province aimed at destabilizing the region.
MMD National Secretary Richard Kachingwe says his party has nothing to do with recent revelations by State house that some politicians are inciting people to rise against the government.
Major Kachingwe has told ZNBC news that the MMD would never have such ill intended motives of bringing down a legitimately elected government.
And the council of Elders, an interest group championing interests of people in the North Western province has also disassociated its self from any grouping carrying out subversive activities in the region.
Council of Elders Chairperson Lucas Chikoti has since challenged law enforcement agencies to probe the grouping, if they had sufficient evidence that the association is mobilizing people to revolt against government.
Mr. Chikoti noted that his association will work with any government to bring development to the North Western Province.
State house on Wednesday disclosed that a horde of politicians are allegedly going round executing a scheme with the help of traditional rulers to destabilise the country.
Information, Broadcasting and Tourism minister Given Lubinda interacts with Chinese investors
Turkey has asked Zambia to take advantage of the 2o0 million US Dollars provided for in its 2012 budget, for tourism development in least developed countries.
Turkish Ambassador to Zambia Ahmet Arda says his country is ready to support Zambia’s tourism sector.
Ambassador Arda said this when he called on Information, Broadcasting and Tourism Minister Given Lubinda at his office in Lusaka on Thursday.
At the same occasion Mr Arda disclosed that Turkey has completed documentation to launch a direct flight to Lusaka through its flagship Turkish Airline.
Mr Arda says the direct flight from Istanbul to Lusaka will boost Zambia’s tourism industry as more tourists will be able to visit Zambia.
And Mr Lubinda appealed to Turkey to assist Zambia develop Livingstone into a fully fledged tourism destination, in view of cites Co-hosting of the 20th United Nations World Tourism Organisation -UNWTO- General Assembly in 2013.
Zambia will Co-host the Assembly with neighboring Zimbabwe.
This is according to a statement issued on Thursday by the Press and Public Relations Unit of the Ministry of Information, Broadcasting and Tourism.
Zambia’s human development has stagnated for over twenty years.
This is as a result of inappropriate macro-economic policies implemented in the 1970s and 1980s, which caused a decline in economic growth.
This has been revealed in the latest United Nations Development Programme-UNDP Report on Human Development.
The report states that the structural adjustment programmes sharply increased unemployment, reduced real wages and significantly increased the incidence of extreme poverty.
The Report says the positive economic growth which the country has experienced in recent years, is not enough to fully redress the decline in people’s standards of living.
Zambia’s human development index value for 2010 was 0.395 putting the country in the low human development category.
The Auditor General’s report for the year 2009 has revealed glaring irregularities in various parastatals.
Irregularities that have been cited include unretired imprest amounting to K1.4 Billion , 14 Billion Kwacha in unsupported payments and irregular payments totalling K 4 Billion.
Parastal bodies that have been found wanting include ZESCO, the Road Transport and Safety Agency -RTSA- and the Citizens Economic Empowerment Commission -CEEC.
Others in the report include ZSIC, Judiciary headquarters, the State Lotteries Board and NATSAVE.
Other irregularities pertain to fuel amounting to 2 billion Kwacha.
The report also sites 1 Billion Kwacha which is unaccounted for and 10- Billion Kwacha of irregular procurements.
This is according to a statement released to ZNBC news on Thursday by Ellen Chikale the spokesperson in the office of the Auditor General.
President Michael Sata has castigated two clergy men who plan to hold a briefing to denounce him over the constitution making process.
Mr. Sata has said that Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia Executive Director Reverend Pukuta Mwanza and Bishop Simon Chihana intend to hold a press briefing to denounce the head of state.
President Sata said that the two supported the MMD before the elections and they have should not question his appointments.
And President Sata has reiterated his message that traditional rulers inciting people to rise against the PF- government were peddling lies about the Patriotic Front, in the runner up to the September 20 polls.
The President repeated the warning that any political or traditional leader in the North Western province inciting instability will be visited by the law.
President Sata said that it is disappointing that the traditional rulers inciting people to rise against government were lying to the people that if he wins the September 20 elections, he would send all people in the region to Angola.
President Sata said this when he swore in two members of the technical committee on the Constitution and the Permanent secretary for the ministry of commerce trade and industry on Thursday.
Those sworn in are Patricia Jere and Reuben Lifuka for the constitution technical committee and Stephen Mwansa as permanent secretary in the Ministry of commerce trade and industry.
