Government has urged the banking sector in the country to complement its efforts in reducing interest rates.

Commerce, Trade and Industry Minister Felix Mutati said reduced inflation rates and appreciation of the Kwacha against major currencies is among the several efforts by Government to reduce the interest rates.

The Minister said this in his key note address to delegates at the on going Euro Money Investment Conference in Lusaka today.

Mr. Mutati said it is sad that despite several Government efforts to help improve people’s lives by ensuring that they have access to bank loans and other products, the banking sector has not been willing to reduce the cost of money.

He said Government has now opened up the sector to more investment resulting in more international and local banks joining the market in order to help promote competition.

Mr. Mutati disclosed that following the successful establishment of some international and local banks in the country more international banks have expressed interest to open their banks in the country.

He added that once more banks join the market, the situation will result in competition which in turn will compel the banks to offer unique and quality banking services.

Mr. Mutati has said the three economic zones, Government is establishing this year namely the Chambishi, Lusaka south and east are aimed at further industrialising the country.

He added that the economic zones are also aimed at adding value to the products created from the industries and creating employment to Zambians.

And Mr. Mutati has disclosed that Government will soon build one border post facilities at Nakonde and Kasumbalesa border posts in Northern and Copperbelt Provinces respectively to help reduce congestion and expedite cross border trade.

Mr. Mutati further revealed that Government will establish open plan offices with automated operations at the Immigration Department and PACRO offices.

He said the move will help reduce corruption as officers at both institutions will have less personal contact with clients.

At the same gathering African Development Bank Vice President for Corporate Services Arunma Oteh urged the Private sector to focus on building infrastructure such as roads and railways as part of its social responsibility.

Ms Oteh added that the Private sector should also help Government in complementing its efforts by investing in water and sanitation in communities where they operate from.

Meanwhile, the Commerce Minister has urged Zambian entrepreneurs to develop business partnerships in order to broaden their capital base.

Mr. Mutati noted that increased capital base can help entrepreneurs to grow their investments and present them with opportunities to capture a large market for their products.

Gender specialised scribes have taken the Teachers Commission of Zambia, TCZ, for not taking any disciplinary measures against teachers suspected to have defiled pupils.

And the civil society has expressed concern at the rising number of child labour and abuse among school going children in schools.

ZANIS reports that the scribes expressed their concern after learning that the commission has to date not taken any penutive measures on any teacher reported to have defiled a school girl.

Renowned scribe, Felistus Chipako, said on Tuesday during a media forum on Child abuse held at the International Labour Organisation offices that it was disheartening to note that the commission had not taken a single measure against any offending teacher in the country.

Ms Chipako said this is despite that the commission is mandated under its statutory to ensure that any teacher found guilty of misconduct should be relieved of duty.

This was after former education Permanent Secretary, Barbra Chilangwa, disclosed in her presentation that a number of teachers defiling school children were let scot free by the commission.

The scribe took Mrs Chilangwa, who is the Executive Director for Campaign for Female Education, CAMFED, to task on why it has taken her to disclose the development now when the practice of defiling school girls by teachers had been going on for a long time in Zambia.

Her colleagues supported her view saying the development was saddening.

And Mrs Chilangwa disclosed that her organisation had discovered from its recent study that child labour and abuse was rampant in most schools in Zambia.

She, particularly, pointed out at one named school in Eastern province where she said pupils where being sent to solicit for money from the general public to pay salaries for members of staff not on pay roll.

The CAMFED Executive Director said to abate this practice, her organisation had introduced zero tolerance against child abuse programme in schools throughout the country.

She said most vulnerable school girls are, in the programme, being offered full package sponsorship by CAMFED and advocacy programme to guard against abuse in schools.

She pointed out that in most cases poverty was a major contributor to child abuse in schools as some of the pupils are intimidated and harassed by the fellow pupils as a result.

Meanwhile, United Nations International Commission for Education, UNICEF, has called for a child friendly schools in the country to enable children enjoy their right to education.

UNICEF deputy representative, Elspeth Erickson, said there was need for child friendly environment in Zambia so that every child enjoys the privileges of education.

ZANIS/MM/ENDS/SJK

Zambia needs a growth in real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of 12 percent per annum which should be driven by massive investment in priority sectors of the economy, the Bank of Zambia (BOZ)has said.

BOZ Governor Dr. Caleb Fundanga stated that the 5.1 percent growth in real GDP was not adequate to eradicate poverty in the country.

Dr. Fundanga said Zambia needs to attract investment in infrastructure development that will subsequently spur economic development.

He pointed out that the country needs investment in the transport sector following business opportunities that are opening up in various sectors of the economy.

“ In order to consolidate the recent economic successes and to realise full potential , Zambia needs to address the large infrastructure gap that is inhibiting further growth.

The country needs investment in the railways transport, we need to replace the diesel locomotives to the electric train so that we can cut on costs on diesel,’ he stated.

Dr. Fundanga noted poor infrastructure and inadequate accesses was resulting in significant increased cost of doing business , making it difficult to integrate the rural population with the rest of the economy.

He further pointed out that the country needs investment to utlilise the abundant water resources in order to generate water for both local and exports to earn foreign exchange.

Opportunities for the export of power are available, Dr Fundanga noted especially in East Africa where the region was not able to generate sufficient power to meet its demand.

Speaking at the Euro Money Conference, Dr. Fundanga however, stated that the country has continued to perform well as evidenced by the GDP which averaged 5.1 percent per annum over the past five years which was mainly driven by the Mining, Tourism, Construction, Transport and Agriculture sectors.

The Governor added that GDP per capita also rose to US$ 934.5 in 2007 from US$ 360.5 in 2001.

He added that the country’s trade balance rose to a surplus of US$ 983.1 million compared to the deficit of US$ 342.2 million in 2001.

Giving an overview of recent development in the country, Dr. Fundanga attributed the outrun to high receipts from increased copper exports following increased production and record high prices on the international market due to strong demand mainly from China .

He added that Non Traditional Exports (NTE) has over the past five years rose by 260 percent from US$ 255.7 million in 2000 to US$ 920.7million in 2007.

ZANIS/ENDS/MK/CLM.

Vice President Rupiah Banda has reaffirmed Government’s commitment to providing an enabling environment for increased local and foreign investment in various sectors of the country’s economy.

Officially opening a two- day Euromoney Zambia Conference in Lusaka today, Mr. Banda said Zambia has many investment opportunities hence the need for domestic, foreign direct and joint venture investment.

Mr. Banda said foreign investment would increase financial flows, internalisation of expertise from abroad and technology transfer as well as importation of good business practices that will assist Zambia become competitive at global level.

He explained that Zambia has since 2004 been implementing the Private Sector Development Plan which has reduced the process of registering a business from 21 days to three days in a bid to minimise the cost of doing business in the country.

He stated that Zambia continues to be a favourable investment destination because the country has maintained macro economic stability over a consistent period of time saying the direction and pace of the economy is predictable.

The Vice President noted that the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has consistently exceeded five percent over the past five years and inflation has reduced to single digit although it recently touched the double digit due to a rise in World oil prices.

Mr. Banda added that the Zambian government has significantly reduced borrowing from the local banking sector with the net domestic borrowing reducing to 0.1 of GDP in 2007 from 1.8 percent in 2005.

He said such a development meant there will be more money for more investment by the private sector in the banks.

He said the Zambian government placed emphasis on the stability of the financial sector to upgrade to the highest level of performance to boost investor confidence.

Mr. Banda said Government has therefore advised the Bank of Zambia as regulator to reform itself in order to deal effectively with the challenges of modern financial sector to ensure that pitfalls that have wrecked havoc in the financial markets of major economies are avoided.

On energy, the Vice President assured investors that Government was focusing on rehabilitating existing infrastructure to make it more efficient as an interim measure.

Mr. Banda further said electrical power energy is vital to the development of the economy and Government aims at creating more capacity through new investments.

Speaking at the same function, Finance and National Planning Minister Ng’andu Magande said regional integration is vital in attracting investment.

Mr. Magande explained that by promoting participation in regional markets such as the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC|)through greater openness to trade and investment, the market for firms investing in the country was large.

He said Zambia has a large pool of financial intermediaries from across the globe operating under a well functioning regulatory environment.

Mr. Magande however, said fears of a global recession due to the current turbulence in most western economies posed a serious threat to the domestic economy’s growth prospects.

He added that the current high oil prices which are around $130 per barrel also posed a serious threat to growth prospects of the Zambian economy due to the country’s inability to immediately substitute oil and related products for other energy sources.

The Conference has attracted among others world class investors, international business persons and consultants.

Zimbabweans seeking greener pastures in neighbouring Zambia – and an escape from the election violence wracking the country – are becoming increasingly concerned at the rising levels of contempt directed against them.

“We are being treated with a lot of indignation. Everywhere we go, we are being treated like lesser human beings; it’s like as long as you are a Zimbabwean woman in Zambia, then you are a prostitute [sex worker], which is not the case,” Patience Ndhlobvu, a Zimbabwean cross-border trader in the Zambian capital Lusaka, told IRIN.

“I personally take strong exception to that; this is not fair, it’s not a situation of our own making … Zambians have been very good to us, but it’s like things are changing [now]. Everyone is suddenly saying bad things about us. Just the other day, someone called me a prostitute as I was selling my products [sweets, chocolates and biscuits] in town.”

South Africa boast the continent’s largest economy and is a first choice destination for Zimbabweans seeking to escape the more than 80 percent unemployment rate and an inflation rate unofficially estimated at more than one million percent.

However, recent attacks by South Africans against foreign nationals, which has killed over 60 people and displaced tens of thousands, has seen an influx of about 25,000 Zimbabweans from South Africa to Zambia according to the Red Cross, more than double the number already thought to be in the country.

Levy Mwanawasa, Zambia’s president and chairman of the regional body the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC), reportedly said the country did not have the capacity to host any more foreign nationals or refugees, as it was developing its former refugee camps into specialist institutions such as skills training centres.

Zambia was host to about 300,000 refugees fleeing the Great Lakes conflicts and the Angolan civil war during the 1990s; numbers have since fallen to about 113,000 following the repatriations of Rwandese, Congolese and Angolan nationals.

Mike Mulongoti, Zambia’s information minister and chief government spokesperson, said there was a concern Zimbabwe’s presidential run-off elections on 27 June could precipitate the migration of yet more Zimbabweans to neighbouring states.

Rising tensions between neighbours

The opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) won the 29 March parliamentary poll and almost snatched a first-round victory in the presidential ballot. But 60 people have since died in political violence following the elections, according to the MDC.

“We are continuously being inconvenienced as a people of Zambia,” Mulongoti told IRIN. “We can’t continue to deny that there’s something wrong going on there [in Zimbabwe] because their people are now coming onto our soil in thousands. They [Zimbabweans] are all over the place.”

Zambia’s diplomatic relations with Zimbabwe are strained – in part as a result of Mwanawasa convening an extraordinary SADC summit ahead of the 29 March election. Mugabe refused to attend the Lusaka meeting and his government launched vitriolic attacks against Zambia, along with Botswana and Tanzania, for doing the bidding of Britain, in “a campaign for speedy regime change in Zimbabwe”.

“As the government of Zambia, we take strong exception to the Zimbabwean government’s recent unwarranted attacks on us in the media. How long are we going to tolerate this? How long are we going to host these people? We did it during the struggle for freedom,” Mulongoti said.

Lee Habasonda, executive director of the regional good governance and human rights watchdog, the Southern African Centre for Constructive Resolution of Disputes [SACCORD], told IRIN South Africa’s xenophobic attacks, which appear to target Zimbabweans more than others, could spread to other countries if Zimbabwe’s economic meltdown was not addressed.

Zimbabweans resented in the region

“The thing is, it’s not just here in Zambia where Zimbabweans are being resented, even in Botswana, even in Mozambique, and even in Malawi the situation is the same. We have a lot of them coming to do businesses in unacceptable fields such as in the sex trade,” Habasonda said.

In April 2008, Zambian immigration officials deported about 60 Zimbabwean suspected sex workers from Livingstone, the country’s tourism capital.

The Immigration Department is attempting to curb the influx of Zimbabwean immigrants through Zambia’s Southern Province border posts of Chirundu, Kazungula and Kariba, “but it’s difficult to completely clamp down on these illegal immigrants because they don’t require any visas to enter Zambia. Some of them come with a day’s permit as visitors but never go back,” an immigration official, who declined to be identified, told IRIN.

“On average, we are having over 200 Zimbabweans crossing into Zambia every day,” he said.

Zimbabwe’s run-off presidential election could be the trigger for far larger numbers. “We are all keenly watching the situation in Zimbabwe. Whatever happens in Zimbabwe has a bearing on Zambia,” Neo Simutanyi, a senior political science lecturer at the University of Zambia, told IRIN.

“Clearly, the people of Zimbabwe want change, but chances of a free and fair election run-off are very slim. What we foresee taking place in Zimbabwe is a possible military coup or armed rebellion if the ruling ZANU-PF goes through, which will be very bad for Zambia and the region as a whole.”

[Source: IRIN, a UN humanitarian news and information service]

A farmers Association in Samfya in Luapula Province has expressed happiness with the set maize floor price of K45 000 (approximately US$13)by the Food Reserve Agency.

Samfya Farmers Association says its members are happy with the price.

Association Treasurer Jestus Mwenya said in Samfya that the new selling price for maize had cheered farmers.

He said it had always been the farmers outcry for the selling price of maize to be raised to at least k40 000 and above.

Mr Mwenya said the development was an indication that FRA had listened to farmers’ demands.

FRA chairperson Costain Chilala recently announced the new maize price for this maize marketing season.

Previously, farmers were selling a 50 kg bag of to FRA at K38,000 but will now sell the commodity at K45,000 for the same quantity.

Meanwhile,Samfya Farmers Association has bemoaned the continued poor organisation of the district agricultural shows.

Mr Mwenya said there had been no improvement in the way the Show Society was organised adding that the organising committee leadership failed to produce financial reports for fund raised during respective events.

He disclosed that farmers have since constituted a committee to lobby for change of leadership in the show organising committee.

He said one of the lapses identified in the committee was lack of representation from farmers and other stakeholder groups.

Mr Mwenya noted that it was imperative that farmers and other strategic partners sat on the committee.

Meanwhile, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has encouraged farmers in the country to view the soaring food prices as an opportunity to expand agriculture through the utilization of farm management skills.

FAO Country Representative Noureddin Mona said farm management skills are a great asset to small scale farmers and urged government to ensure that the farm management section under the department of agriculture is fully activated, functional and supported.

Dr. Mona said this during the close of a stakeholders meeting on capacity building in farm management for extension workers in Lusaka .

He said there is need for government to scale up the capacity building programme to the rest of the country so that all extension officers benefit.

Dr. Mona however reiterated FAO’s commitment as a stakeholder to the development of a robust agricultural sector through various programmes that include technical support programmes.

He said his organisation will continue to work with government to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, Fifth National Development Plan and the Vision 2030 by providing technical assistance in the agricultural sector.

And FAO Senior officer for enterprise development and agricultural management David Kahan said extension services have to be reoriented and made more efficient to focus on the market and production.

Dr. Kahan said in an interview that farmers need extension services for them to be aware of climate change effects to avoid crop losses due to variations in agricultural systems.

He said all farmers need to be furnished with appropriate data to be better organized in planning their cropping pattern.

He noted that extension officers should educate farmers on the need to diversify into other crops that are drought resistant or not affected by extreme weather conditions.

Former Information Minister, Vernon Mwaanga has advised members of the National Constitutional Conference (NCC) to be cautious when debating the 50 plus one percent clause of the draft constitution.

The Veteran politician said the NCC should ensure adequate safeguards are in place to protect people against the challenges that may come with the proposed piece of legislation.

He said the NCC should take into consideration what is happening in other countries, which have the 50 plus one law.

Mr. Mwaanga made the remarks was speaking at a University of Zambia students forum on national and international politics.

He also hoped the clause, if implemented, would not give what he termed an appetite to upcoming leaders to change the constitution to suit their needs.

And former Southern Province Minister, Samson Mulyata abandoned his planned contribution before the National Constitution Conference (NCC) Public Service Committee.

This was because a Zambia National Broadcasting Cooperation ZNBC news crew was capturing the deliberations on Camera.

Mr. Mulyata who rose to debate on Republican Presidential powers on deployment of peace keepers, refused to proceed with his contribution when a ZNBC crew tried to record his debate.

He asked the crew to switch off the camera before he could make his contribution.

But NCC Chairperson, Chifumu Banda raised a point of order on why Mr. Mulyata was interfering with the work of the media.