By Wesley Ngwenya
Here in Zambia, we are right in the middle of the rain season—a time when we are blessed with showers from above almost on a daily basis. This annual blessing is complimented with budding trees, colorful flowers, and a carpet of green grass. It is a time when there is plenty of fruits, vegetables, mushrooms, and all kinds of Zambian delicacies.

What I particularly don’t like about this time of the year, in addition to the mud, is the waste of food that goes on in our country. Admittedly, Zambia yes is a poor country with millions of people living in poverty because they cannot afford descent housing, water, health, education and food. It is rather appalling, this time of the year to see so much food going to waste.

Our country is endowed with various kinds of fruits such as mangoes, masukus, quavas, lemons, oranges nsumos, muchenje, muchingachinga, muzauli,( insert your favorite fruit here). There is also the list of once a year vegetables we enjoy such as bondwe, delele, maize, katapa, kalembula, impwa, etc. These are foods that majority of Zambians love to have at their dinner tables. But what is preventing us to have them all year round?

We need to see Zambians taking the initiative (Let’s forget about the government) to invest in food processing businesses that can be strategically located in places where these foods come from. I have already started seeing rotten mangoes. Rotten mangoes make good juice just like rotten apples make good juice. Yes, I saw that with the Amish in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. They would pick the fallen apples cut out the worst part and throw them in a bucket. Next, they would wash them take them to a grinder and a few minutes later it was pure natural apple juice or applesauce. Why can’t we have a fish cannery factory in Mongu? For once I would like to eat a canned fish that comes from the Zambian waters or enjoy some masuku juice from Spar.

Preserving our food in this country whether it is by drying, salting, canning, freezing or whatever method is a significant milestone to achieving the Millennium Development Goals. If we can have abundant food all year round then the food prices will likely go down. This means that many family members can now enjoy bananas in the comfort of their homes not in the hospital beds of UTH.

Finally, the government has a huge responsibility in creating an environment that promotes locally manufactured food products. This includes ensuring that retailers, restaurants, hotels purchase products that are produced within our country. Many farmers around the country have foods that go to waste simply because they cannot find buyers. Meanwhile, our major grocery stores find it “cheaper” to buy their foods from South Africa. I have always wondered why I have to go to Turnpike in Kafue to have a good banana—why can’t I buy that at Shoprite?

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Mufulira Town Clerk (TC) Charles Mwandila says the bad work culture at the council has affected revenue collection for the local authority.

Mr. Mwandila told the council during a special meeting held to consider estimates of income and expenditure for 2009 budget that the bad attitude of members of staff has cost the council K11 billion in uncollected revenue.

He said it was shocking that with the labour force of about 400 workers, the performance of the council was below par.

He noted that other councils that had as low as 200 workers such as Livingstone City and Chingola Councils were able to collect revenue which was twice as much as what the Mufulira council was collecting.

“The council collects K189 million in rate charges per month,” Mr. Mwandila said.

He has since appealed to the council to consider reducing what he said was a blotted labour force next year so that the local authority could meet the expectation of the 2009 budget.

Mr. Mwandila said the council should source for money to engage job evaluators to access the performance of workers, noting that those that will not perform will have to appear before the relevant council committees which will decide course of action.

He wondered why the council manages to collect more revenue when it engages school leavers to assist in revenue collection than what permanent workers collect.

The Town Clerk disclosed that the wage bill of permanent workers is K7 billion per annum, which he said did not commensurate with the service delivery provided to the residents.

He said the council and Zambia United Local Authority Workers Union (ZULAWU) should look at ways of striking a balance between the demand for improved workers salaries and quality of service delivery to the public.

During the same meeting, Council Director of Finance, Zakeyo Mbao said the council owes statutory institutions K3.9 billion in un remitted workers contributions.

Mr. Mbao said these institutions include NAPSA, ZULAWU, ZCTU, LASF and workers compensation fund.

He also said other creditors such as ZESCO and the water company are owed K150 million in unsettled service charges.

ZANIS/PS/EML/KSH/ENDS

Authorities in Northern Province have called on service providers and the business community in the region to immediately effect reduction of prices of goods and services in view of the drop in the cost of fuel.

Provincial Minister Charles Shawa said it was unfair for the business houses and transporters to continue charging exorbitant prices and fares on goods and services when the pump price of fuel has drastically reduced in the country.

Mr. Shawa said in Kasama yesterday that consumers needed to benefit from the reduction in the cost of fuel by accessing goods and services at a cheaper price.

The minister said there was need for the price of essential commodities such as mealie meal and transport to be reduced in the province so that people could afford them.

He said it was saddening to note that the price of mealie meal produced within the province was as expensive as that coming from outside the area.

Mr. Shawa has since urged local millers to make the price of their commodities affordable to the poor people.

He further explained that since the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) has reduced the price of maize, milling companies should also reciprocate the gesture by reducing the price of their mealie meal.

And Bus operators in Mungwi district in Northern province have been asked to reduce bus fares for the distance between Mungwi and Kasama district following the reduction of fuel pump prices by the Energy Regulation Board (ERB) last week.

The call to reduce the fares between Mungwi and Kasama was made by Zambia National Union of Teachers (ZNUT) District Secretary, Andrew Chungu today.

Mr. Chungu told ZANIS that minibus owners should urgently reduce fares from K8, 000 to K5 000, adding that failure to do so would mean stealing from the people.

Mr. Chungu, who praised government for reducing fuel prices, said the labour movement in the district was concerned about some transporters who did not want to reduce fares even after government has reduced fuel prices.

He wondered why transporters were not effecting the changes when they were always excited to increase the fares when the country experiences an increase in fuel prices.

He said bus operators in the district should not wait to be told to reduce fares because they were aware of the economic implications that their failure to do so might have on the district which he said was predominantly taken for peasant farmers.

The ZNUT district secretary also pointed out that since the Chitila-Kanyanta road has been rehabilitated, transporters should soon reduce the bus fares.

ZANIS/LS/KSH/ENDS

The Zambia-China Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone, ZCCZ, has set aside substantial sums of money to secure operations at the Chambishi Copper Smelter in the wake of the global financial crisis.

ZCCZ, Board Chairman, Tao Xinghu, said adequate financial resources have been mobilized to ensure operations at the Copper smelter remain afloat despite the declining Copper prices and overall global financial crisis.

Mr. Tao, who spoke through an interpreter, told ZANIS in Mfuwe today that the smelter is set to begin full operations next month.

Mr Tao explained that construction works of the project were not affected by the global economic crunch.

About US$300 million has been injected in the Chambishi Copper Smelter construction project, which has an estimated production scale of 100, 000 metric tones of Copper concentrates per year.

Over 1, 200 job opportunities would be created for local people when the smelter begins its full operations.

ENDS/SJK/AM/ZANIS

A shortage of mealie-meal is looming in Mazabuka following the shortage of the commodity at Choma Milling depot and some leading super markets in the district.

The situation is similar at Mazabuka’s largest market ,Nakambala, where retailers do not have the commodity in stock.

A survey conducted by ZANIS in Mazabuka today revealed that Choma Milling Company, Mazabuka depot, ran out of the commodity four days ago.

Milling Depot Manager, Goodson Daka, told ZANIS that his depot ran out of the commodity four days ago because of a shortage of maize in the district.

Mr. Daka, who could not state when the situation would normalize, said only the company top management could answer such queries.

And Bhagoos Group of Companies Director, Suleman Bhagoos, disclosed that his super market has been without mealie-meal for over six days.

He urged the millers to quickly address the situation before it degenerates into a crisis.

At Shoprite staff talked to by ZANIS said only a few bags of National Milling brand are in stock.

The staff said the quantities in stock will only last for about three days.

But Kapinga Milling Company Manger Grant Mwankontami said his company will offload mealie-meal at its depot tomorrow.

Mr. Mwankontami however said his company will only sell a bag to each client.

He said the move is aimed at striving to serve as many clients as possible.

ENDS/HC/AM/ZANIS