MTN Zambia yesterday launched the broadband internet services, to make it one of the fastest internet service.

MTN Zambia managing director, Farhad Khan said his company had made substantial investment in technology such as easy cable to ensure that the broadband internet was the best on the market with higher speed and reliability.

He said MTN was using integrated network and was offering the third generation (3G) and EDGE technologies.

Speaking at the launch in Lusaka yesterday, Mr Khan said US$200 million was invested to ensure delivery of quality services to its customers.

Mr Khan said moving with global technological trends; internet has become key for business and consumer needs.

“We believe that what is of importance and reliance is the fact that all our subscribers now have access to high speed internet anywhere on the MTN Zambia network.

Equally important is the fact that our customers need not concern themselves about settings and configurations because all the settings are done by us as service providers,” he said.

He said the MTN broadband service was designed in such a way that mobile phones or modem automatically choose the fastest connection available expending on the, capability of the mobile phone or modem.

This also depends on how busy the network would be at that particular time. Mr Khan disclosed that MTN has doubled its subscribers on the network across the country from one million to two million.

[Times of Zambia]

THE Government has directed the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) to reduce the price of maize to millers from U$200 per tonne to U$160 in order to bring down the prices of mealie meal.

Mealie meal prices currently range between K43, 000 and K55, 000 for 25 kilogramme bag of breakfast and between K28, 000 and K43, 000 for roller meal.

Chief Government spokesperson Ronnie Shikapwasha told journalists at Parliament buildings last evening that the reduction in the price of maize should result in reduced mealie meal prices.
The reduction means that a 50kilogramme bag of maize would now cost K40, 000 from the previous K50, 000.

Lieutenant-General Shikapwasha said the Government expected millers to bring down mealie meal prices to correspond with the reduction of maize prices.

“Government will also expect mealie meal traders to pass on the benefits of reduced prices to consumers.

“In addition, Government expects consumers to be vigilant and purchase mealie meal only from millers and traders who will reduce their mealie meal prices,” he said.

Lt-Gen Shikapwasha said the Government was also targeting the school feeding programme to benefit from the surplus maize stocks.

“Relevant Government wings will be tasked to ensure that millers do not engage in speculative activities including hoarding and reselling of stocks.

“The price of maize for trading and export will remain at $200 per tonne, therefore maize sold to millers at a reduced price should not be exported,” he said.

Lt-Gen Shikapwasha said that Government would continue to encourage the FRA and the private sector to export surplus maize in order to create space for the following harvest.

“So far indications are that the nation may enjoy another good crop this year which will pose a challenge on storage space if the surplus crop is not disposed of,” he said.

To date the FRA has exported about 200,000 tonnes of maize and the agency still has about 800,000 tonnes in storage.

In the last farming season, Zambia recorded a bumper harvest of 2.8 million tonnes while the country’s consumption was estimated at two million tonnes.

When contacted, Millers Association of Zambia chairperson Peter Cottan said he would comment over the matter after analysing Lt Gen Shikapwasha’s statement.

“It will be premature for me to give a comment before I analyse the statement that was issued by the minister,” Mr Cottan said.

[Times of Zambia]

SAUDI firm Menafea Holding intends to invest US$125 million in a 5,000-hectare farm in North-Western Province this year and in building 2,000 housing units in Lusaka South multi-facility economic zone (MFEZ).

The project is expected to create employment opportunities in Lusaka and Northw-Western Province and link up indigenous small-scale farmers to a ready market through outgrower schemes.

Menafea Holding board member Khaled Alrajhi said the company plans to invest the funds this year and will grow pineapples and build a factory to produce juice.

This is contained in the latest issue of the Zambia Development Agency (ZDA) Spotlight publication availed to the Mail on March 1.

Mr Alrajhi said Menafea will build 2,000 housing units in the Lusaka South MFEZ under the same agreement, signed with Zambia’s investment promotion agency.

“We have been granted 5,000 hectares of land to grow pineapples using the latest technology and are going to put up a factory to produce juice for local consumption as well as export,” Mr Alrajhi said.

ZDA director for investment promotion and privatisation Muhabi Lungu said more Saudi investments were expected in Zambia.

Last December, Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane said Zambia did not regard leasing farmland to foreign investors as a form of ‘colonialism’ and was encouraging countries from the Gulf to invest in its agricultural sector.

[Zambia Daily Mail]

Fitch Ratings, an international global ratings agency which provides issuer and bond ratings, has assigned the Zambia Long-term foreign and local currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDR) of ‘B+’. Zambia’s rating is the same as that for Ghana, Kenya and Angola and one step above Lebanon’s.

The Outlook on both ratings is Stable. Fitch has also assigned a Short-term rating of ‘B’ and a Country Ceiling of ‘BB-‘.

“The ratings reflect the marked improvement in Zambia’s economic performance since 2003 driven by improved macroeconomic stability, economic liberalisation, rising private investment and production in the mining sector, and more recently, a strong agricultural performance,” says Veronica Kalema, Director in Fitch’s Sovereign Group.

“The rating is also supported by Zambia’s resilience to the global financial crisis, with growth accelerating in 2009 and 2010, and comfortable external and public debt ratios, which deteriorated only slightly in 2009 before recovering in 2010.

After spiking in 2008 and 2009, inflation fell to high single digits in 2010 and the currency has been stronger and more stable since H2 2009.”

Zambia’s real GDP growth has averaged 6.3% since 2006, in line with the ‘B’ median five-year growth average and accelerated to 7.1% in 2010.

The country has healthy medium-term prospects. Growth will be driven by rising public infrastructure investment and private investment and production in the mining sector.

Copper production reached a record high of 820,000 metric tonnes (MT) in 2010, which surpassed targets, and the government expects it to reach 1million MT in 2012.

Growth will also be supported by interventions and policies to improve the business environment, which is already well ahead of the ‘B’ peer group and close to the ‘BB’ category median.

The country’s political stability should also continue to give confidence to domestic and foreign investors. Elections are due later this year.

Debt relief from bilateral and multilateral donors in 2005 and 2006 substantially reduced debt ratios. Conservative fiscal policy since then has resulted in small budget deficits and a decline in the public debt ratio to 26% of GDP in 2010, much better than the median for the ‘B’ rating category of 35% of GDP.

However, this has come at the expense of capital investment, which, at 4% of GDP since 2006 is lower than for rating peers.

The government plans to substantially increase public investment from 2011 and will make greater use of non-concessional funds. Debt projections within Fitch’s forecast period to 2012 have debt ratios remaining below the peer group.

However, the rise in non-concessional borrowing presents risks and the government would need to implement projects within the context of debt sustainability to preserve creditworthiness.

Further ahead, the increase in the tax/revenue ratio through higher mining tax revenue as the 100% capital allowance is written off earlier than anticipated as a result of higher metal prices, will help strengthen debt tolerance, improving creditworthiness.

Zambia’s external sector has also strengthened. It has had a trade surplus since 2004, which reached a peak of 16% of GDP in 2010 due to rising copper and cobalt prices and production. This has been offset by large profit repatriation by foreign mining companies.

However, the country has achieved balance of payments surpluses in most years due to high foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows. As such, gross external debt ratios remain low. A high proportion of private foreign debt is FDI related and therefore less costly. A free floating exchange rate helps the balance of payments adjustment to commodity price shocks.

Zambia’s main weaknesses are related to social and structural issues. Per capita income at USD1,200 versus USD2,700 for the ‘B’ median as well as other human development indicators are much weaker than the ‘B’ median.

Faster growth in Zambia raised per capita growth above that for rating peers in 2009 and 2010 and per capita income has tripled since 2003. Social spending is prioritised in the budget. Nevertheless, this is a longer-term rating constraint.

Infrastructure is the other significant weakness. Energy and roads are the government’s main focus. The financing constraint has been reduced by the lifting of the IMF non-concessional borrowing ceiling to USD800m in 2011, but project appraisal capacity and actual implementation capacity may constrain the pace of implementation.

Addressing infrastructure and micro reforms that would raise growth potential and improve economic diversification will be important for improvements in the rating.

The ‘BB-‘ rating for Zambia’s Country Ceiling, a notch above the Long-tem foreign currency IDRs reflects the absence of exchange controls for two decades and reliance on foreign investment which reduces the likelihood of controls being introduced.

[Fitch Ratings]

The UK Government, through the Department for International Development (DFID), will increase its aid spending in Zambia by 15% over the next four years.

This is according to British High Commissioner to Zambia . The announcement follows a major review of all British aid around the world and will re-orientate the focus of DFID programmes and projects so that they deliver the greatest impact on poverty reduction.

With its increased resources, the DFID programme in Zambia will shift its focus more to helping rural Zambians in three broad areas over the coming years.

It will continue to help Zambia expand its resource base and work with Government to use this to deliver better services, with a particular emphasis on tackling corruption and waste, and increasing transparency and accountability for its citizens.

At the same time, it will directly address the most off-track MDGs through a combination of cash transfers, maternal mortality interventions and programmes to improve sanitation and hygiene.

Finally it will work to remove the barriers to wealth creation and investment especially in rural areas so that Zambia has a sustainable future beyond aid. Zambia may also benefit from regional funding around its integration and climate change activities.

“Mike Hammond, Head of DFID Zambia, and I are very pleased with this outcome. Zambia has an opportunity for change and it is our belief that with the right support and policy choices there can be real poverty reduction and Zambia can achieve its vision to become a prosperous middle-income country by 2030”, Mr Carter said.

Mr Carter further said he looked “forward to working with all our partners over the coming period to achieve this common goal.”

ZNBC