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Foreign Affairs Minister Chishimba Kambwili has said that government will not be selective in dealing with criminal cases involving foreigners working in Zambia.
Mr. Kambwili said that government will not use any diplomatic channels in investigating any criminal activities suspected to have been committed by foreigners.
The Minister was reacting to developments in which Police in Luanshya are holding four Chinese nationals in connection with an indecent assault case involving 9 girls between the ages of 12 and 15.
Mr. Kambwili who is also Roan Member of Parliament told ZNBC News today that he is disturbed with the developments and has urged the police to investigate the matter.
He said that the law should take its course regardless of whoever has committed the crime.
Police in Luanshya arrested four Chinese nationals in connection with an indecent assault case involving 9 girls between the ages of 12 and 15.
A ZNBC news crew found the four Chinese nationals in police custody at Roan station while the girls were also there giving statements to police on today.
Copperbelt deputy police commanding officer MILNER MUYAMBAGO says the matter is still being investigated before the four can be charged.
But some of the girls interviewed revealed how they have been exchanging sexual favours for cash with the Chinese.
The girls says they are given 90 thousand kwacha for a session of sexual intercourse and 30 thousand kwacha for being fondled.
Nkana’s teenage prodigy striker Reynold Kampamba this afternoon made an impressive start on senior debut scoring a brace in Zambia’s 4-1 win over Goa Select at Nehru Stadium in Goa.
However, Herve Renards side first had to shrug off an early second half scare after Goa Select had taken a 1-0 lead in the 49th minute after a scoreless first half.
19 year old Kampamba, who has scored 9 times in all competition for Nkana this season, lead Zambia’s rally with the visitors equalizer in the 55th minute after benefitting from a Jimmy Chisenga cross.
His striker partner at Nkana Evans Kangwa also scored on his debut when he put Zambia ahead two minutes after the hour mark thanks to an assistant from Russian based striker Chisamba Lungu of Ural Sverdlovsk Oblast.
Kampamba completed his brace with a cool finish on 75 minutes before Chisamba wrapped-up Zambia’s comeback two minutes from fulltime.
Zambia will complete their week-long training camp on Tuesday at the same venue with another friendly against the India national team.
George Kunda and Company Law Firm has disputed revelations that it benefited 190 million Kwacha out of the sale of ZAMTEL.
The firm says the revelation is shocking.
George Kunda and Company Partner Ireene Kunda says the firm only received 100 million Kwacha from Zambia Development Agency -ZDA in 2010, as legal fees with regards to the sale of Savoy Hotel.
Mrs Kunda who is also wife of former Vice President George Kunda says the matter was out-standing since 1997.
She alleged that ZAMTEL Technical Committee Chairperson Dimple Ranchhod released unverified information.
Mrs Kunda also lamented that the Technical Committee did not invite her legal firm to exculpate it self.
This is contained in a statement released to ZNBC news in Lusaka on Friday.
Forum for Leadership Search Executive Director Edwin Lifwekelo says the discovery of 2.1 Billion kwacha at former Labor Minister Austin Liato’s farm borders on economic sabotage.
Mr. Lifwekelo says the Patriotic Front government is being vindicated in its fight against corruption.
He was speaking in a statement released to ZNBC on Friday.
A team of police on Friday morning dug up money worth 2.1 Billion kwacha at Mr. Liato’s farm, buried under the ground.
The operation took place around 01;30 hours on Friday morning.
IN the continued crackdown meant to bring sanity to the road sector, the Government has terminated the K117 billion-contract awarded to Jianjsu Wjin Corporation for the construction of roads in Kabwe and Kapiri Mposhi districts.
This comes barely five days after the Government cancelled the K80-billion contract awarded to politician, Ben Mwila’s company, Wade Adams Piling, for the construction of part of the Mumbwa-Landless Corner Road in Central Province.
Road Development Agency (RDA) head of public relations, Loyce Saili, said in an interview in Lusaka yesterday that Jianjsu Wjin Corporation Limited was awarded the contract to construct urban roads in Kapiri Mposhi and Kabwe but failed to meet the terms of the contract.
Ms Saili said RDA had now instituted measures to recover the money from the Chinese company so that the tender could be given to another firm. This brings the total amount of money that RDA is trying to recover from the two companies to more than K130 billion.
Ms Saili said Jianjsu Wjin Corporation Limited was paid K17.5 billion as advance payment for the road projects that were commissioned in May and were expected to be completed this month. Nothing tangible has taken place on the ground.She said RDA had written to the bank that guaranteed the funds asking for a refund to ensure that the project did not suffer.
Ms Saili said Jianjsu Wjin was contracted to work on a 34-kilometre road network in the two towns but deserted the project and that the work was below satisfactory levels.
She also said the contract provided that the Chinese firm should have made available a performance bond within 28 days after the contract was done but failed to do so.
“This amounts to a fundamental breach of the contract. So as RDA, we had no choice but to terminate the contract. We are in the process of trying to procure another contractor to improve roads in Kabwe and Kapiri Mposhi,” Ms Saili said.
She said RDA had re-aligned its procedures following high levels of irresponsibility exhibited by some contractors. She said RDA was compiling performance records of all contractors and those that would show a poor record would be blacklisted.
Ms Saili said RDA did not want to deal with “makeshift” contractors because it wanted roads to add value to the economy.
“We will be firm in our monitoring and supervision of all the contracts. This will involve sending reminders at every stage where we think work is not being done accordingly,” Ms Saili said.
The company was running as a joint venture with a Zambian consultant.The letter of termination was written on September 28, 2011 asking the firm to surrender the project back to RDA for deserting and failing to meet the terms in the contract.
Apart from Jianjsu Wjin Corporation, RDA terminated a road construction project valued at about K80 billion with a performance bond of K8 billion for a company owned Mr Mwila.
Mr Mwila is president of National Democratic Focus (NDF) and contested the Nchelenge parliamentary seat on the MMD ticket during the September 20 general elections.
VICE PRESIDENT Guy Scott, Defence minister Geoffrey Mwamba and Muchinga province PF chairperson Jimmy Sinyinza arrive at Shem Basic school ground before addressing a campaign rally in Nakonde
THE Government may consider reconstituting the technical committee of experts appointed to draft a new Constitution to include stakeholders not represented such as the Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia (EFZ),Vice-President Guy Scott has said.
Dr Scott told Parliament that the Patriotic Front Government (PF) was listening to the calls of the people on the composition of the committee of experts to draft the Constitution.The vice-president said this in response to a question by Mpika Member of Parliament (MP) Mwansa Kapeya (PF) who wanted the Government to shed light on the views being expressed by Zambians on the composition of the committee.
This was during the vice-president’s 30-minute question time in the House.“Stakeholders who are not represented such as the EFZ may beconsidered,” Dr Scott said.
The EFZ has since written to Justice Minister Sebastian Zulu nominating their representative to the committee of experts. Kalomo MP Request Muntanga (UPND) asked for an assurance that the people left out of the committee of experts to draft the Constitution would not boycott the exercise, to which Dr Scott said he could not guarantee so.
The vice-president said, however, that those that would boycott would have to be blamed for their actions.Nalikwanda MP Geoffrey Lungwangwa (MMD) asked Dr Scott to tell the House which contractor had been engaged to renovate State House, to which the vice-president said a comprehensive statement would be issued over the matter by the minister of Works.
And Liuwa MP Situmbeko Musokotwane and his Lunte counterpart Felix Mutati (MMD) lauded the 2012 National Budget and commended the PF Government for acknowledging the firm macro-economic foundation laid by the MMD regime.Contributing to the estimates of expenditure for 2012, Dr Musokotwane congratulated the PF Government for increasing the mineral royalty tax to six per cent from three per cent as well as increasing allocations to the education, health and agriculture sectors in the 2012 Budget.
“It is not debatable that in the last decade, the economy has grown while jobs have been created. More food has been produced. In the 2012 Budget, I notice that the Minister of Finance and National Planning Alexander Chikwanda will spend more compared to 2011.“
”In the education sector, the minister proposes to spend K900 billionmore, another K900 billion more will be spent in the health sector while K400 billion more will be spent in the agriculture sector while bulk other amounts will go towards infrastructure, which is commendable,” Dr Musokotwane said.He said the MMD government could have done the same by increasing expenditures in the agriculture, education, health and infrastructure sectors.Mr Mutati on the other hand hailed the PF Government for increasing the mineral royalty tax to six per cent.He said the PF Government should build on the economic growth left by the MMD government to find more money to spend on the social sector.“The tax relief of K2 million is a welcome move as it will benefit all taxpayers.
The royalty tax increase is also good,” Mr Mutati, also leader of the opposition in the House, said in his debate to Parliament on the 2012 Budget.He said the MMD government did re-energise the national economy to the best of its knowledge and what the PF should do was to build on the weaknesses for the good of Zambia.?Mines Minister Wylbur Simuusa in his debate told the House that the PF Government did not promise to reintroduce the windfall tax as it was being alleged but it promised to harmonise the tax regime in the mining industry so that Zambians could reap more benefits from their national resources.
Mr Simuusa said the Government was already addressing the taxing system andt the increase of the royalty tax to six per cent from three was a step in that direction.He said the PF, then in opposition, and their counterparts advocated for the re-introduction of the windfall tax owing to the high consistent price of copper at the international market.
“At that time Mr Speaker, copper prices were pegged at U$10,000 for a long period of time and that was why we advocated for the re-introduction of the windfall tax, the then MMD government should have been responsive to the then prevailing situation,” Mr Simuusa said.
He said even the Chamber of Mines of Zambia had stated that it was not against the reintroduction of the windfall tax but the way the MMD government implemented it.Minister of Lands, Energy and Water Minister Chris Yaluma told the House that the PF Government would continue to accelerate investments in the expansion of power generating projects.
His counterpart at Local Government Nkandu Luo said it was saddening that the so-called economic growth achieved in the last two decades did not translate into uplifting of the welfare of ordinary Zambians.Professor Luo hailed the K2 million free tax initiative of the PF Government, stressing that it would benefit especially the poor people of Zambia and not those well-off. The two ministers were contributing to the debate on the 2012 national budget.
Zambia, Africa’s largest copper producer by output seeks to upgrade its energy infrastructure to ensure it meets the increasing demand for electricity chiefly from the mines.
Presently, the Zambian government has realized the essence of upgrading its power capacity and seeks to secure adequate fundings from the cooperating partners and through public private partnership to ensure the power demand is sustained as the country seek to grow its economy by an average eight percent per annum.
Against this background the government has directed the Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation (Zesco) to increase capacity of its power generation at various power plants including Kariba North Bank, near the border with Zimbabwe.
Mr Chris Yaluma energy minister of Zambia on November 21st 2011 directed the power company to ensure that Sino Hydro Power Company, a Chinese company contracted to upgrade the Kariba North Bank Extension Project, speeds up its work to boost electricity supply in the country. Sino Hydro Power Company was also engaged to upgrade Kafue Gorge lower Power Station.
Mr Yaluma noted that upgrading of Kariba North Bank Extension Project was important in increasing the national power base and that Zesco should play a vital role to closely monitor the construction project. Government was concerned about challenges of increased load shedding but was confident that once the upgrading of the power station was completed, the situation would change.
During a recent tour of Kariba North Bank power plant in Siavonga and Kafue Gorge Power Station said that it was important that Zambia’s power generation capacity was raised to meet local and export demands as the industrial base increases with need for more power supply. Zambia’s economy was growing fast because of increased investments in the various sectors and that more investors could only come if power supply was able to meet higher demands.
He noted that such projects were a vital cog to the economy and the government would ensure that they were successfully upgraded to help minimize power outages. Government was aware that the completion schedule of Kariba North Bank Extension Project delayed by a year because of financial constraints.
During the tour, Mr Yaluma directed Zesco management to find an efficient mechanism of employing casual workers on substantive basis if they had credible qualifications. Kariba North Bank Extension Project has about 29 casual workers and 110 on permanent basis. He further directed contractors Sino Hydro Power Company and Zesco to prioritize the safety of employees.
Mr Cyprian Chitundu MD of Zesco expressed confidence that the power utility company would live to its expectations of providing reliable power to both the mines, local and export consumers.
According to Chitundu Kariba North Bank, which has a production capacity of 540 MW would be one of the premier power stations once rehabilitation works were completed. The power plant upon upgrading, power production capacity would increase to 720 MW.
Mr Wesley Lwiindi project director of Kariba North Bank Extension Project revealed that a new substation was also under construction in Siavonga at a value of USD 420 million intended to supply power to the local people locals and is expected to be finalized and commissioned next year.
Mr Fidelis Mubiana manager of Kafue Gorge Power Station revealed that upgrading of the station was done through the Power Rehabilitation Project. It was mainly focused on refurbishment, replacement and uprating of existing generators and transmission infrastructure. Zesco had bought machinery at a cost of about USD 3 million that would used to remove weeds from Kafue River.
Mr Mubiana revealed that the company had also bought water cameras intended to among other things monitor weeds that are a menace to the operations of power plants as they choke machinery resulting in reduced power generation capacity.
Last year Zambia sought USD 1.5 billion to upgrade all its power plants in the country to meet the increased power demand especially the mines that consume 40% of the total 1,400 MW generated per day. Power consumption in Zambia rises to 1,800 MW at peak hours which is insufficient to meet the demands of the mining companies that consume an average 540 MW daily to mine and produce copper and other base metals.
Zambia’s friendly against Goa select on Saturday at Nehru Stadium has been enhanced with the Indians reinforcing the side with West African professionals.
Six India-based professionals playing in the Goa Regional league have been added to the team to face Zambia in the latter’s first of two friendly games in India of their weeklong training camp there.
Three Nigerians, two players from Cote d’Ivoire and one Ghanaian professional will be part of the Goa Select team.
Ivorian’s Babakar Keita and Olga Kalou, Ghanaian Moga James and the Nigerian trio of Ndubuisi Okpara, Joel and Ranti Martins will formed the foreign legion of Goa Select.
The game is part of Zambia’s two-match series of friendly games in India with the second a full international against the hosts at the same venue on Tuesday before the team returns home on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Zambia coach Herve Renard is set to give senior debuts to Nkana’s attacking trio of Evans Kangwa and Reynold Kampamba who have been in lightening form their club this season.
Kampamba and kangwa are also part of Zambia Under-20 team that will be defending its Cosafa Youth Championship title in Botswana next weekend.
President Michael Sata, has applauded the combined team of Zambia Police Service, Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) and Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) for conducting a successful operation that resulted in a seizure of K2.1 billion cash at Mr Austin Liato’s Mumbwa farm.
The President said he has learnt with great shock, the discovery of such huge sums of money concealed in a strange and most unusual manner at the former labour minister’s farm.
“No doubt, the Mafia-style under which this money was hidden raises serious questions about how the same was acquired. It breaks my heart to see how someone could go to such extremes to conceal money if it was legitimately acquired,” the President said.
“This only goes to show the Zambian people the extent to which the mandate they gave those they entrusted with authority to preside over affairs of state was abused.”
The President said unearthing a total sum of K2.1 billion buried in two steel trunks under a thick layer of concrete slab in a highly fortified and electronically fitted structure, sends a wrong signal about the image of the country because this is not exemplary behaviour from political leaders.
President Sata said this is just one of the many operations the combined team of investigators were carrying out regarding suspected criminal activity that took place under the previous regime.
“Of late, some suspects have been unreasonably grumbling by issuing pre-emptive statements to try and threaten a duly elected government against carrying out its legitimate mandate. This discovery is a serious indictment on all those elements that may be facing possible charges of corruption and other forms of wrong-doing including those who have seen it opportune and convenient to betray the Zambian people by siding with such people,” the President said.
“Let me make it abundantly clear that this is just the beginning and our colleagues should not panic or resort to desperate measures of seeking false public sympathy by mischaracterising legitimate investigations as persecution. This is not a witch-hunt, we are moving systematically by taking into consideration all leads and clues into what happened in the past. After all the Zambian people are the complainants and they deserve nothing but the truth.”
He urged the investigating wings to ensure that they follow the due process of the law and take to court only those cases they are satisfied with.
PF Leader Michael Sata adressing a rally in Chongwe
PRESIDENT Michael Sata says he avoids taking international trips because he does not want to waste the country’s meagre resources which can be channeled towards poverty alleviation for the benefit of the majority poor Zambians.
Mr Sata has said that he did not want to undertake costly trips abroad because he wanted to minimise on expenditure so that money could be channeled to helping ‘defeat’ poverty for which the Zambian people elected him into office.
Addressing a mammoth public rally at Chongwe grounds to drum up support for the PF candidate for the Chongwe parliamentary by-election scheduled for Monday, President Sata said he was an accountable leader who had rejected a number of recent foreign trips, including one to Australia and another to Malawi.
The president said he could have spent a lot of money already had he been traveling indiscriminately because all his trips required a horde of security and other personnel accompanying him, all of whom were entitled to allowances.
He said such expenses would be enough to build a hospital for the people of Zambia.
President Sata said his first trip outside State House was only on Wednesday this week when he travelled to Magoye in the Southern Province.
Mr Sata said he could not back-track on his position on expensive foreign trips, especially that he condemned and referred to his predecessor, Rupiah Banda, as a mobile president because of the numerous trips he undertook.
And Mr Sata has said that UPND president Hakainde Hichilema should not be trusted with the presidency because he allegedly failed to account for money from the privatisation process.
Mr Sata said when he was minister under the Chiluba administration, then Finance minister Ronald Penza invited Mr Hichilema to manage the privatisation of Luanshya Copper Mines, Kagem Mine and Intercontinental Hotel in Livingstone but that the UPND leader allegedly chose to become chairperson of the same hotel he had privatised.
The president said the Government had allegedly not seen money raised from the privatisation of the facilities to which Mr Hichilema was associated and warned that he would abuse power should Zambians make him president.
He said Mr Hichilema lacked experience as a politician, especially that he had never served at lower ranks but merely jumped the ladder to lead the UPND after the death of founder president Anderson Mazoka.The Chongwe parliamentary by-election resulted from the resignation of Japhen Mwakalombe as an MMD MP.
Mr Sata said he had decided to give Mr Mwakalombe a job as high commissioner because the former MP was a credible man who did not want to benefit from a corrupt victory.
Mr Mwakalombe won the Chongwe seat in the September 20 elections.Other candidates contesting the Chongwe seat are Adrian Bauleni of the UPND, the Forum for Democracy and Development (FDD) has DavidChulu while UNIP will be represented by Jahannes Mativenga.
The president said Mr Bauleni was appointed Zambian ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo where he was allegedly rejected by the government of that country and later resigned to join UPND.
The president urged the people of Chongwe to equally reject Mr Bauleni to avoid poverty and underdevelopment.
Mr Sata also said his critics had been proved wrong after having had campaigned that his presidency would deliver Zambia into war.
[Times of Zambia]
Editors note:Our sincere apologies for the errors in the article and the inconvenience caused
JUSTICE Minister Sebastian Zulu has asked top leaders in the previous government to stop issuing negative statements about the Zamtel Commission of Inquiry findings as some of them allegedly benefited alot from the proceeds from the privatisation of the telecommunications company.
Mr Zulu has revealed that a well-known law firm owned by one of the top MMD officials allegedly benefited over K190 million from the Zamtel privatization exercise.
The minister, who described the sale of Zamtel as “fraud and economic sabotage” said at a Press briefing in Lusaka yesterday that it was unfair that former MMD top officials who benefited were now in the forefront condemning the outcome of the inquiry without shame.
“Let these named MMD top officials declare interest in the Zamtel sale because a law firm received K190 million from Zambia Development Agency (ZDA) for unknown services.
These findings were not stage-managed, whoever is saying this is just trying to cover up something,” the minister said.And a team of experts hired by the commission of inquiry to do a thorough research on the sale of Zamtel and its assets discovered that ZDA had a suspense account in which legal fees were paid with all supporting documents.
And justice Minister Sebastian Zulu disclosed that LAP GREEN is externalising its capital following the recent inquiry into the privatisation of the telecommunication company.
And Chairperson of the technical committee constituted to inquire into the sale of Zamtel, Dimple Ranchhod says George Kunda and Company legal firm was paid 190 million kwacha during the procurement of the ZAMTEL deal.
Mrs Ranchhod says the revelation on the payment of the same funds to the legal firm was discovered at the Zambia development Agency -ZDA-
She also divulged that RP capital did not evaluate ZAMTEL assets.
The K190 million payment to the legal law firm allegedly had no supporting documents.Chairperson of the experts committee, Dimple Ranchhod, said upon questioning the ZDA chief accountant on the K190 million paid to one of the top officials in the MMD, it was discovered that the money was allegedly not paid for legal services but for unspecified services.
“ZDA failed to show the committee any documentation supporting the payment of the K190 million to a named legal firm,” Mr Ranchhod said.
[pullquote]“Let these named MMD top officials declare interest in the Zamtel sale because a law firm received K190 million from Zambia Development Agency (ZDA) for unknown services.[/pullquote]
Meanwhile, Citizens Forum executive director Simon Kabanda has said it is irresponsible for former vice-president George Kunda to claim that the findings were stage-managed when the commission of inquiry was just confirming earlier findings by the Dennis Chirwa-led rribunal.
Mr Kabanda also called for the immediate reversal of the 75 per cent sale of Zamtel to Libya’s LAP Green given the irregularities that had come to the fore.
Mr Kabanda said in Lusaka yesterday that the irregular and fraudulent manner that Zamtel was sold had already been observed by civil society organisations which petitioned the matter before the tribunal.
He said it was clear from the onset that there were some irregularities in the manner that the former government of the MMD undertook the privatisation of Zamtel.
“It is surprising that George Kunda could come out this way because the issues coming out now are not new. You will recall that the civil society organisations had taken this matter to a tribunal and a lot of irregularities were found, only that then Communications and Transport minister Dora Siliya was being shielded by the former government,” Mr Kabanda said.
File:A youth in business -cashing in on Tujilijili (brandy or gin packed in small sachets)
THE Government will soon issue a statement to guide the production and sale of alcoholic beverages packaged in sachets in an effort to curb abuse of alcohol.
Local Government, Housing, Early Childhood Education and Environmental Protection Minister Nkandu Luo has said that the Government will soon make a comprehensive statement on illicit alcoholic beverages such as those in sachets (commonly known as Tujilijili).
Professor Luo said such forms of alcoholic beverages had immensely contributed to alcohol abuse in the country as well as contributing to gender based violence.
Prof Luo has since urged the civil society to operationalise the Gender Based Violence (GBV) Act.
She was speaking when she officiated at the Non-Governmental Organisation Coordinating Council (NGOCC)’s 15th General Assembly in Lusaka yesterday.
Prof Luo said the civil society should partner with the Government in raising awareness on the existence of the GBV Act.??She said both men and women needed to be sensitised about the existence of the Act because people were still not aware that GBV was a crime.
She said there was need for vices like alcohol abuse to be curbed because they fueled gender-based violence.
A combined team of law enforcement officers on Thursday unearthed and seized two point one billion Kwacha from former Labour Minister Austin Liato’s farm in Lusaka West.
Officers from the Police, Anti-Corruption Commission and the Drug Enforcement Commission undertook a two hour joint operations to uncover and seize money buried in two trunks at Mr Liato’s farm number 44 in Mwembeshi area.
The law enforcement officers are expected to question Mr LIATO over the money suspected to have been corruptly obtained and held in contravention of the Banking and financial services Act.
A ZNBC news crew that checked on the former Task Force on Corruption Officers in Woodlands in Lusaka around 03:00 hours on Friday found the joint team of Security officers counting through the stacks of cash bundles in fifty thousand Kwacha notes.
Inspector General of Police Martin Malama who was at the Former Task Force on Corruption offices, vowed that no stone will be left unturned in pursuit of plundered public resources.
Dr Malama says all culprits will be brought to book regardless of their political or social status.
And Police Spokesperson Elizabeth Kanjela says Mr Liato will appear before the law enforcement officers to account for the money.
Ms Kanjela says Mr Liato will be accorded a chance to explain how he acquired and held on the cash suspected to have been looted from public coffers.
Following the recent successful launch of their Vehicle and Asset finance product in Zambia, First National Bank Zambia (FNB) yesterday officially launched their home loans product to the Zambian market at Lusaka’s Inter Continental Hotel.
The main features of the FNB home loans product are flexible pricing, terms and accessibility appropriately suited to the local market. The launch is most timely, taking into consideration the increasing consumer demand for houses, the few options available for affordable housing finance, the recent decrease in the base lending rates and Government’s priority to increase the number of low to medium cost housing units in the country. FNB Zambia becomes the fifth retail financial institution to provide property finance in the country. The Honourable Minister of Local Government, Housing, Early Education and Environmental Protection, Professor Nkandu Luo was in attendance as Guest of Honour.
Speaking at the launch, FNB Zambia Chief Executive Officer Sarel van Zyl said: “The home loans product will give our customers access to housing finance for the purpose of buying, renovating, building and releasing equity out of their asset at a competitive and flexible pricing structure.” He further added: “the launch of the home loans product is just one example of our commitment to innovation across our entire range of retail banking products to be introduced in Zambia”.
FNB offers a comprehensive range of retail lending products including mortgage loans, vehicle and asset finance, personal and business loans to Zambian nationals and residents.
During the past decade, significant investments in key sectors and the overall infrastructure of Zambia has led to solid economic growth and a budding property market. Unfortunately, the shortage of housing units has remained large due to the low effective demand brought about by affordability factors such as low formal employment levels, low income and the high cost of borrowing.
Housing finance is said to be starved of credit options and many consumers yearn for innovative options to finance the purchase of a home. Research in the local market further indicates that short term loans and high interest rates significantly increase repayments, thereby making the dreams of many Zambians to own their own house impossible. In line with FNB Zambia’s vision to “Create a Better World” and with the above mentioned in mind, FNB developed their home loans product for its Zambian clientele.
FNB is proud to be the first bank in Zambia to introduce a product that will allow home buyers to get an upfront bond. An upfront bond is a pre-approved certificate that displays the amount of finance that has been approved in principal by the bank for which the customer qualifies, before they start looking for a house.
Honourable Nkandu Luo commented: “Residential finance has remained expensive and unaffordable for the majority of Zambians with the largest growth in the housing sector being self-build projects as individuals purchase land around the major cities and build their own houses over a period of 3 – 7 years. It is timely that FNB Zambia has entered the local property finance market, offering an alternative option on flexible as well as innovative pricing and terms.”
Regular income earners, who are either FNB or non-FNB clients, will be eligible to access FNB’s innovative range of home loans finance facilities, which includes a home owner’s and credit life insurance policy that provides cover against death, permanent disability and critical illness, a quick response time and a maximum repayment period of 20 years at affordable interest rates.
“FNB hopes this venture will give a great boost to the housing sector, empower Zambians and contribute immensely to the economic growth of the country. These are all part of FNB Zambia’s continued strategy to contribute towards local development and growth”, concluded van Zyl.
File:Give us a bribe...Traffic police officers confront a public service bus driver at Longacres in Lusaka
Transparency International says corruption is getting worse in Southern Africa adding that the number of people paying bribes for public services was increasing.
The report focuses on Zambia and five other African countries.
The new survey from Transparency International, which was released this morning in Berlin Germany, shows the police are seen as most corrupt.
The report revealed that 56 percent of all those who come in contact with public service providers were asked to pay a bribe in the past year.
The survey also found that across the region 62 per cent of people believe corruption has become worse in the past three years.
Daily Lives and Corruption, Public Opinion in Southern Africa surveyed more than 6,000 people in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe between 2010 and 2011.
“Governments must wake up to the fact that people will not tolerate corruption any more and start reforming weak institutions, particular the police. People have a right to feel that they are protected by the police and not harassed,” said Chantal Uwimana, Regional Director for Africa and the Middle East at Transparency International.
The report found that people in all six countries named the police as the most corrupt service provider of the nine featured in the survey and that most bribes were paid to the police.
The results showed some regional differences. In four out of the six countries people reported paying bribes to speed up services but in South Africa and the DRC more bribes were paid to avoid problems with the authorities.
In five of the six countries people trusted the government more than non-governmental organisations, the media, international organisations or the private sector to fight corruption. In Malawi, however, non-governmental organisations were trusted just as much as the government.
