Thursday, May 1, 2025
Subscribe
Home Blog Page 772

Administrative assistants would not leak information if paid well-Mulyata

Chief Editor
-
4
Administrative assistants would not leak information if paid well-Mulyata

Lusaka Province Minister Sheal Mulyata has implored employers to improve the conditions of service for Administrative assistants for them to avoid the temptation of leaking information.

Mrs. Mulyata said administrative professionals are key to the success of any institution because their job involves dealing with critical information at the workplace.

Mrs. Mulyata said at the Gala dinners and awards giving for the Executive and Personal Assistants Association of Zambia (EPAAZ) that the country needs visionary leadership and economic management skills for development and social progress to be attained.

She also called on the Association to position themselves for success through continuous capacity building so as to fit in today’s ever-changing business environment.

“As you forge ahead to uphold the status of your profession, it is your responsibility to educate employers about your value by applying and working hard in your respective institutions,” Mrs. Mulyata said.

The Ministry Finance Human resource Development Officer Namonda Imenda, received an award for being the most hard-working and an institutional award for being the most supportive while the Ministry of Health received an award for being the most punctual institution, Auther Davies Hospital from the Copperbelt Province was awarded as best customer service and ZESCO was awarded for being the most supportive.

Defence personnel recruited to battle GBV

Chief Editor
-
3
Defence personnel recruited to battle GBV

Zambia Army Commander Sitali Alibuzwi has urged defence personnel to play a leading role in being advocates against Gender-Based Violence(GBV) in communities.

Lieutenant General Alibuzwi says advocacy against GBV will protect men, women, boys, and girls from physical and sexual violence.

Lieutenant General Alibuzwi was speaking in Lusaka today when he officially opened a workshop for army personnel to commemorate 16 days of gender activism.

General Alibuzwi also called on all GBV victims not to shy away from reporting to relevant authorities.

And the Army Commander noted that GBV has a negative effect on the health status of victims.

“Gender-Based Violence has continued to negatively impact women and girls compared to men and boys in our communities. It is harmful to women’s advancement in society because it jeopardizes their individual freedoms and safety. In addition, it has a negative impact on victims’ health as it is associated with cases of HIV/AIDS and unwanted pregnancies,” he said.

Speaking earlier, Civil-Military Affairs Director-General, Genoh Muke said drug abuse is one of the leading causes of GBV.

Brigadier General Muke said it is for this reason the Drug Enforcement Commission has been included to be part of the training.

He said the training will also include practical steps on addressing the vice.

Meanwhile, Gender Analyst at the Gender Division at Cabinet Office, Emma Shamalimba called on the active involvement of stakeholders to end GBV.

President Hichilema announces his Trip to Malawi on Tuesday

Chief Editor
-
32
President Hichilema announces his Trip to Malawi on Tuesday

President Hakainde Hichilema has announced that his team is on Tuesday expected in Malawi.

Posting on his Facebook page President Hichilema said that the trip is part of the “President-to-President” diplomacy which has been the established tradition for new heads of state, adding that Zambia and Malawi share common values, culture, and rich history.

The President said that the two heads of state will discuss trade and matters of mutual interest and that opening up trade routes is vital as it will enable Zambians to sell their products.

Mr. Hichilema further noted that the opening up of trade routes will create employment and earn the Zambia foreign exchange which will help in economic stability.

The President said that he takes seriously his role of chief diplomat for Zambia hence exploring opportunities for Zambians and has pledged continuation of promoting economic diplomacy with neighboring countries.

Below is the full post

New Omicron variant is causing mild disease -South African Medical Research Council

editor
-
5
New Omicron variant is causing mild disease -South African Medical Research Council

A key question regarding the new Omicron outbreak is whether disease severity is similar, milder or more severe than with the other variants, given the large number of Omicron mutations.

Upon conducting a clinical profile on patient admissions associated with the Omicron variant in the Gauteng province, the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) has said the Omicron outbreak has not presented with the severe outcomes seen during the other waves.

In a report the SAMRC said the main observation that they have made over the last two weeks is that the majority of patients in the COVID wards have not been oxygen dependent. SARS-CoV-2 has been an incidental finding in patients that were admitted to the hospital for other medical, surgical or obstetric reason.Therefore the SARS-CoV-2 positivity is an incidental finding in these patients and is largely driven by hospital policy requiring testing of all patients requiring admission to the hospital.The exponential increase in the positivity rate in these patients is a reflection of the rapidly increased case rate for Tshwane but does not appear to be associated with a concomitant increase in the rate of admissions for severe COVID (pneumonia) based on the high proportion of patients not requiring supplemental oxygen.

This is a picture that has not been seen in previous waves. In the beginning of all three previous waves and throughout the course of these waves, there has always only been a sprinkling of patients on room air in the COVID ward and these patients have usually been in the recovery phase waiting for the resolution of a co-morbidity prior to discharge. The COVID ward was recognizable by the majority of patients being on some form of oxygen supplementation with the incessant sound of high flow nasal oxygen machines, or beeping ventilator alarms.

The relatively low number of COVID-19 pneumonia hospitalizations in the general, high care and ICU wards constitutes a very different picture compared to the beginning of previous waves. A detailed analysis comparing the current picture with previous waves is still being conducted. This may very well be related to the early upswing of the fourth wave, with the more classical pattern becoming evident over the next two weeks. What is clear though is that the age profile is different from previous waves. It may be that this is a vaccination effect as 57 % of people over the age of 50 have been vaccinated in the province compared to 34% in the 18-to-49-year group.The high proportion of COVID incidental adult patients and the increased number of SARS-CoV-2 positive admissions among children aged 0-9 may reflect higher rates of community transmission compared to previous waves (variants) that is not translating into higher admission rates for a primary COVID-19 diagnosis. More time is required to fully answer the questions about the severity of COVID-19 caused by the new Omicron Variant.

The trend over the next two weeks will be clarified as the number of deaths is currently low, and sufficient time will have elapsed for the development of greater severity of disease and the number of deaths might be expected to increase. For now, the death rates over the last two weeks as well as over the past 18 months at the Steve Biko/Tswane District Hospital Complex are lower than the overall in-hospital death rate of 23% for the country over all previous waves, as reported by the National Institute for Communicable Diseases(NCID).

A significant early finding in the analysis is the much shorter average length of stay of 2.8 days for SARS-CoV-2 positive patients admitted to the COVID wards over the last two weeks compared to an average length of stay of 8.5 days for the past 18 months. The NICD reports a similar shorter length of stay for all hospitals in Tshwane in its weekly report. It is also less than the Gauteng or National average length of stay reported by the NCID in previous waves.

The South African Medical Research council however said it is essential to recognize that the patient information they presented only represents the first two weeks of the Omicron wave in Tshwane. The clinical profile of admitted patients could change significantly over the next two weeks, by which time they can draw conclusions about the severity of disease with greater precision.

Source:SAMRC News

How has President Hichilema performed in his fight against corruption so far?

Chief Editor
-
24
How has President Hichilema performed in his fight against corruption so far?

By Sean Tembo – PeP President

1. Our position regarding the fight against corruption by the New Dawn administration has always been the same; we shall support you in this fight provided it is fair and equitable. So the question then becomes; when is the fight against corruption fair and equitable? And more specifically; how has President Hichilema performed in his fight against corruption so far?

2. From our standpoint, the fight against corruption is fair if it is undertaken without malice. That is to say when the investigators do their job without an effort to exert extrajudicial punishment on the people being investigated either through harassment or through damage to their property or due to prolonged incarceration without presenting the suspect to court or giving them police bond. For instance, there is no reason why investigators would go and execute a search warrant at Amos Chanda’s residence in the middle of the night, as alleged. You see, when you are dealing with white collar crime, there is need for civility compared to when you are dealing with violent offenders. So when you’re looking for a bunch of criminals who have been committing armed robberies around town and they are armed and dangerous, they way you execute such a search warrant or arrest warrant is different from how you execute a search warrant for a suspected fraudulent procurement with regard to a person who has a fixed aboard such as Mr Amos Chanda. If you go and execute a search warrant at the middle of the night when his family and children are sleeping, when you can do it during the day, then you are harassing the person. It means that your fight against corruption is tainted with malice.

3. Similarly, the case of Davis Mwila makes sad reading. Why was he incarcerated for 12 days without being presented to court? And why did the State initially charge him with attempted murder when they knew that the evidence which they had could not support such a charge? Also, why did Vice President Mutale Nalumango lie to Parliament that the charge of attempted murder is non-bailable when in fact it is bailable? You can see a clear pattern here by the State to exact extrajudicial punishment against Mr Davis Chama. This behavior by Hichilema’s administration is not different from the behavior of the PF regime in which they charged political opponents with baseless crimes, dragged them through the criminal justice system at great cost, only to enter a nolle prosequi later. When the people voted out PF and voted in UPND, their hope was that such vindictiveness would end with Lungu, but alas, Hichilema is proving to be even more vindictive.

4. The case of how ACC officers are said to have harassed and damaged the property of the losing Chipata Central PF Parliamentary Candidate, Mr Amon Jere, makes very sad reading. Mr Jere has never worked for Government and he is an accomplished professional and respected member of the community in his own right. If the ACC or indeed any law enforcement agency suspected that he had committed an offense, they simply needed to execute their search warrant in a civilized manner that is devoid of harassment or damage to property. Remember that he has not been charged with any crime, so at this point he is not even a suspect, but merely a person of interest. You cannot treat a person of interest as if he is a convicted criminal. No. Such harassment is simply unacceptable.

5. Perhaps it is time for us to answer the second question; when is the fight against corruption equitable? It is when everyone is being treated fairly regardless of political affiliation or the region where they hail from. In this regard, we expect President Hichilema to treat the alleged corruption that took place during Lungu’s administration with the same veracity as the corruption which is currently taking place in his administration right now. Already, we are aware of the fertilizer scandal in which the husband to one of Hichilema’s Ministers has been awarded a $50 million contract to supply 50,000 metric tonnes of fertilizer when there were other bidders with a significantly lower price. Secondly, the Minister in question did not declare an interest as required by the Anti-Corruption Act No. 3 of 2012 for dealings by connected persons. The husband clearly meets the definition of a “connected person” as defined by the Act. The Minister’s excuse that she does not get involved with the businesses of her husband simply does not hold water in the eyes of the law. Thirdly, the Minister’s husband was paid $50 million in advance before delivery of the fertilizer and in the absence of any Performance Bond. All these are gross public procurement violations and we would have expected the ACC and other law enforcement agencies to be camping at the Minister’s house by now if Hichilema’s fight against corruption was equitable. But it’s quiet. This means that in the eyes of Hichilema, corruption is only corruption if it was perpetrated by those connected with the former PF administration. If anyone connected to the New Dawn administration is involved in corruption, then Hichilema simply looks the other way. That means Hichilema’s so-called fight against corruption is neither fair nor equitable. It is merely a witch-hunt that is designed to vanquish and annihilate all his perceived political opponents. We are not saying that there is no corruption that took place during Lungu’s administration, of course there was. Plenty of it actually. But when the fight against such corruption is not genuine and is tainted with malice, then it loses all credibility in the eyes of right-thinking members of the public. At the end of the day, instead of us focusing on the corruption that might have taken place during Lungu’s administration, our focus is now being diverted to the malice, vengeance, lack of fairness, lack of equity and overall vindictiveness of Hichilema’s fight against corruption.

6. Indeed, instead of Hichilema being a messiah and savior to the Zambian people, he has reincarnated himself as a demigod. He has taken Lungu’s dictatorship, vengefulness and arrogance, multiplied it by two and embraced it as his own. Hichilema is Lungu reloaded. Perhaps the only difference which will be there is that whereas Lungu lasted 7 years, Hichilema is likely to last only 5. And whereas in the middle of Lungu’s corruption, dictatorship, arrogance, incompetence and vengefulness, he at least managed to leave us with a trail of infrastructure ranging from roads to bridges, hospitals, schools etcetera, the only legacy which Hichilema is likely to leave us with after we kick him out of office will be IMF milestones and completion points.

Myths and Misconception over Covid-19 Vaccination affecting the campaign to increase vaccination uptake

Chief Editor
-
16
Myths and Misconception over Covid-19 Vaccination affecting the campaign to increase vaccination uptake

Public health specialist Dr. Christopher Dube says myths and misconception over Covid-19 Vaccination being peddled on social media have negatively affected the campaign to increase vaccination uptake.

The Ministry of Health is currently implementing a Covid-19 Vaccination campaign aimed at ensuring that 2 million Zambians are fully vaccinated by 25 December 2021.

Dr. Dube from Ndola District Health Office said even some health workers were resisting Covid-19 vaccination because of myths and misconception.

He said the Ministry of Health in Ndola is now engaging stakeholders such as councilors, chiefs and the clergy in a bid to encourage more people to get the Covid-19 vaccination.

Dr. Dube announced that the Ndola Health Office will next week launch the door to door campaign and visit some campaigns to encourage more people to get vaccinated.

Speaking on a Radio Icengelo Programme on Friday, Dr. Dube emphasised that people who have been vaccinated are less likely to die from Covid-19.

“Myths and misconceptions have been the major challenge that has caused what we would call vaccine hesitancy. So we have our public health unit and I think they are trying to do their best to ensure that we have sensitization activities on Covid-19 vaccination. We have also come up with one-on-one focus group discussion for those who have serious questions on vaccination,” Dr. Dube said.

“This challenge initially was not just for the community out there, even for health workers we have had challenges and it’s only now that we have seen a lot of our health workers getting vaccinated. At least we are now over 90 % vaccinated as health workers,” he said.

“This social media information is everywhere. Social media has really dealt a bad blow to the campaign on vaccination. If you talk about myths others are religious. I think the major issue has been the issue of knowledge just like the Bible says ‘my people perish for lack of knowledge’ so knowledge on Covid-19 vaccinations is something that needs to be out there,” Dr. Dube said.

Meanwhile, the Ndola District Health Office is expecting to vaccinate 83,000 people by Christmas.

Ndola has 34 public health facilities where vaccines are being administered.

Business owners told to tap into the increased CDF

Chief Editor
-
3
Business owners told to tap into the increased CDF

North-western province Minister, Robert Lihefu has called on the business community in the province to take advantage of the business opportunities that the increased constituency development fund will come with.

Mr Lihefu said there is a need for business owners to identify potential investments and start positioning themselves.

He said government desires to see resources remain in districts for the benefit and development of all.

“I urge you, especially the chamber, to take advantage of the opportunities that will come with the funding to the districts. Decisions will no longer be made in Lusaka, but at the local level. You are therefore urged to put your house in order if you want resources to remain in the districts,” Mr Lihefu said.

The minister was speaking in Solwezi today during the mini expo organized by the North-western Chamber of Commerce and Industry and sponsored by Prospero Zambia and GiZ.

He said the private sector forms a greater base to social and economic development making it key in driving the country’s economy.

“I want to implore the private sector to look into avenues in which they could fund directly or indirectly through public partnerships, “Mr Lihefu said.

He said government will continue providing a favourable environment in which businesses can thrive and establish linkages with multi-corporations and enhance business growth.

Speaking earlier, Chamber president Mukumbi Kafuta said the mini-expo has provided an opportunity for local business owners to establish linkages with others.

Mr Kafuta said the chamber invited all eleven local authorities to showcase the possible investment areas that exist in their respective districts.

And one of the exhibitors, Aaron Menda, appealed to government to consider lowering the cost of doing business.

Mr Menda, who is the chief executive officer of Smart shoe manufacturers, said lowering the cost of doing business will help local companies to expand and create job opportunities.

Government has embraced digitalization for purposes of enhancing service delivery at a reduced cost

Chief Editor
-
1
Government has embraced digitalization for purposes of enhancing service delivery at a reduced cost

Chongwe District commissioner Evans Lupiya says government has embraced digitalization for purposes of enhancing service delivery at a reduced cost

Mr Lupiya reaffirmed government’s commitment to promoting the adoption and use of digital products when he officiated at the opening of the ZAMTEL customer service center at Waterfalls mall in Chongwe today.

He commended Zambia telecommunications company (ZAMTEL) for supporting government’s digital agenda through their efforts in providing affordable quality digital services to its customers.

He further urged the public to develop a culture of adopting digital lifestyles in view of the COVID-19 pandemic so as to reduce the spread of the disease.

Meanwhile, ZAMTEL Director of enterprise sales Worried Chibuye disclosed that the company has so far opened over 80 mini shops and 41 customer service centers to enable people to easily access digital services.

Mr Chibuye stated that the company has adopted a franchise model which assists enterprising citizens with entrepreneurial opportunities created through the telecommunications value chain.

Audit Findings on Feeder and Township Roads Disappointing-Gary Nkombo

Chief Editor
-
18
Audit Findings on Feeder and Township Roads Disappointing-Gary Nkombo

The Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development has embarked on a country-wide audit of the feeder and township roads performances.

Local Government and Rural Development Minister Gary Nkombo says Kapiri Mposhi is the first district that has been audited.

Mr. Nkombo described the audit findings as discouraging, stating that one contract was over-stated in terms of the number of kilometers while seven other companies were reported not to be on-site despite them being paid advance payments.

“We are meant to have visited sixteen contracts and I can confirm that we managed to see five contracts and so far out of the five contracts we saw we must quickly state that there is some reasonable amount of work going on,” Mr. Nkombo said.

Mr. Nkombo said the audit findings reveal what President Hakainde Hichilema mentioned that there are contractors who were paid colossal sums of money but have not mobilized.

Mr. Nkombo has since appealed to all the contractors in the country that are not on-site to quickly be close to their contracts before they are visited or to report to the ministry and make their presentation on the circumstances that have made them fail to mobilize.

“For those contractors who may not be aware that there is an audit going on, we want to use this platform as a means to communicate for them to be as close as possible to their construction sites so that we can expedite this audit as quickly as possible in order for us to arrive at a point where those who deserve to be paid are paid as quickly as possible,” he said.

Mr. Nkombo has also called upon banks and insurance companies that may have issued performance bonds against the contracts to quickly encourage the contractors to do the right thing by reporting to his Ministry so as to reconcile the differences between the audit findings and the contractor point of view.

Zambia U17 Qualify To The COSAFA U17 Cup Semifinals

sports
-
0

Junior Chipolopolo Zambia on Saturday qualified to the 2021 COSAFA U17 Cup semifinals at the ongoing tournament in Lesotho.

George Chilufya’s side beat Eswatini 1-0 on a rain-soaked artificial pitch in Maseru via an 87th minute goal from Joseph Sabobo Banda who scored his third goal of the tournament.

Zambia finished top of Group A on maximum 6 points from their allotted two games.

Lesotho and Eswatini, who both have zero points, fight for second place on Sunday to join Zambia in the December 7 semifinals.

Zambia will face Group B runner-up Botswana or Malawi in the semifinals.

Botswana and Malawi have 1 point each and battling to join Group B winners Angola in the last four.

Meanwhile, Shepolopolo U17’s final round-robin, preliminary stage game on Saturday against Namibia have been srecheduled to Sunday.

This is after it was washed-away on Saturday morning following a heavy downpour in Maseru.

Nkana End Five Match Losing Run Against Forest

sports
-
0

Nkana ended their four-match winless drought stretching back over a month after beating Forest Rangers 2-0 at home in Kitwe.

The win was also Nkana’s first over Forest after losing their last five meetings since drawing 2-2 away in Ndola in the 2019 transitional season.

Nkana toiled for the victory that took them until the final quarter of the second half.

Patrick Gondwe fired in the first goal in the 75th minute with a long range shot and goal of the season contender.

Derrick Mukombozi sealed Nkana’s win in the 79th minute when he side-footed Jacob Ngulube’s corner.

Nkana’s win also ended their four match winless drought dating back to October 30 when they beat Kafue Celtic 1-0 away in Lusaka.

Ghana Hold Zambia in FIFA U20 Women’s WC Qualifier

sports
-
1

Zambia on Saturday battled to a goalless draw against Ghana at home in Lusaka in the first leg match of the third qualifying round for the Costa Rica 2022 FIFA Under-20 Women World Cup.

Both sides missed some fair chances to starve fans of goals at Nkoloma Stadium in Lusaka.

Zambia coach Charles Haalubono paraded dependable players among them captain Evarine Katongo, Enelesi Phiri and Agness Phiri among others.

The return leg will be in Accra, Ghana on December 18.

The young Shepolopolo advanced to the third after eliminating Malawi 8-1 on aggregate last October while Ghana had a walkover after Mauritania withdrew from the qualifiers.

Only two representatives from Africa will be at the Costa Rica FIFA World Cup.

ACC arrests DBZ Managing Director for using Public Funds to pay for his Children School Fees

Chief Editor
-
30
ACC arrests DBZ Managing Director for using Public Funds to pay for his Children School Fees

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has arrested the Development Bank of Zambia (DBZ) Managing Director Samuel Bwalya for Abuse of Authority of Office involving about K 781, 195 contrary to the Laws of Zambia.

ACC Spokesperson Queen Chibwe disclosed that Mr Bwalya on multiple occasions but between May 1, 2020 and July 30, 2021 abused the authority of his office in the manner he arbitrarily directed the payments of school fees for his children using public funds belonging to DBZ.

This is according to a statement issued ZANIS in Lusaka by ACC Spokesperson Queen Chibwe.

Mrs Chibwe noted that Mr Bwalya, using public funds, made 12 separate payments of £ 15, 980 pounds equivalent to about K 417, 900, R 106, 324 Rands, equivalent to K 132, 435, and R 90, 205, equivalent to about K130, 709.

She added that other payments were R35, 160, equivalent to K 39, 028, while over K61,121 was paid to different schools in the United Kingdom, South Africa and Zambia.

Mrs Chibwe explained that this was an act prejudicial to the rights and interests of the government, a matter or transaction that involved the said public body.

“Samuel Bwalya, 51, of House No. 28, Sugar Street in New Avondale, Lusaka, has been charged with 12 Counts of Abuse of Authority of Office contrary to Section 21 (1) (a) as read with Section 41 of the Anti-Corruption Act No. 3 of 2012,” Mrs Chibwe pointed out.

The ACC Spokesperson said that the accused has been released on bond and is expected to appear in Court soon.

In a different matter, ACC has arrested Chirundu District Education Board Secretary (DEBS) Veronica Mubanga, and two other officials for theft and forgery contrary to the laws of Zambia.

Mrs Chibwe revealed that Ms. Mubanga 53, of Chirundu High Cost, has been charged with one count of Theft by Public Servant contrary to Section 277 as read together with Section 265 of the Penal Code, Cap 87 of the Laws of Zambia.

Ms. Mubanga has been arrested together with Chirundu District Guidance and Counseling Coordinator (DGCC) Obert Sibajene, aged 50, of Chirundu Secondary School Teachers Compound, House No. 8 and Chirundu District Resource Centre Coordinator (DRCC) Njekwa Njekwa, aged 41 of Mazongolo Compound.

Mrs Chibwe explained that Mr Sibajene was charged with one count of Forgery while Mr Njekwa, has been charged with two counts of Forgery, actions contrary to Section 342 as read with Section 347 of the Penal Code, Cap 87 of the Laws of Zambia.

She added that Mr Sibajene and Mr Njekwa on separate occasions, forged an Accounts Form 44A purporting to be a retirement form for a certain Eddie Zaza when in fact not.

The trio have since been released on bond and will appear in court soon.

Three People in Zambia Test Positive for Omicron Variant

Chief Editor
-
12
Three People in Zambia Test Positive for Omicron Variant

The Minister of Health Sylvia Masebo has disclosed that the country has detected three SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant isolates among samples from individuals who tested positive for COVID-19 in the last one week.

Ms. Masebo said the cases were detected through the genomic sequencing laboratory at the University of Zambia, School of Veterinary Medicine yesterday.

Contained in a statement issued to ZANIS, Ms. Masebo revealed that the three detected cases include two males who are fully vaccinated and have a history of international travel, and an out-patient female of COVID-19 but not yet vaccinated.

The Minister added that two cases were displaying mild flu like symptoms while one case is asymptomatic but that all are in isolation.

She noted that information on the symptoms of the new variant are still unclear but that there may be an increased risk of reinfection with Omicron as compared to other variants of concern.

Ms. Masebo said severity of the disease following infection with the Omicron variant is yet to be understood.

“There is currently no information to suggest that symptoms associated with Omicron are different from those associated with other variants,” Ms. Masebo indicated.

The Minister assured that the current COVID-19 vaccines remain effective against the pandemic.

Ms. Masebo said studies are underway to understand the potential impact of the Omicron variant on existing counter measures.

She urged members of the public to continue adhering to the Public Health and Social Measures as well as get vaccinated in an effort to manage the further spread.

Omicron is a variant of the SARS-CoV-2 that the World Health Organisation (WHO) designated as a ‘variant of concern’ on 26 November 2021. This means it has potential for increase in transmissibility, more severe disease with possible increased hospitalizations or deaths, reduced effectiveness of treatments or vaccines, or diagnostic detection failure.

Seed Co Rebounds as Zambia’s Kwacha rises

Chief Editor
-
17
Seed Co Rebounds as Zambia’s Kwacha rises

Seed Co International Limited says stronger Zambian kwacha rebound inspired by positive sentiment in Zambia boosted volumes and sales during the half year ended September 30, 2021.

Seed Co’s review period coincided with the election, in a landslide victory, of new President Hakainde Hichilema to office, after beating former president Edgar Lungu.

Mr. Hichilema hit the ground running with immediate engagements with big lenders including the International Monetary Fund (IMF), promising to work out a concrete solution to Lusaka’s debt crisis.

Mr. Hichilema’s international goodwill and promise to do things differently immediately fired up the Zambia kwacha, which bounced-back against the United States dollar.

Still, Mr. Hichilema faces the task of turning around copper-rich Zambia from near-bankruptcy to a stable economy, but as Seed Co said this week, firms have benefitted from his reforms.

The Zambian market is a key factor in the pan-African giant’s operations, which cut across east, west and southern African markets.

“Effective US dollar selling price increases in Zambia, benefitting from the post-election kwacha appreciation, further enhanced revenue and gross margins,” chief executive officer Morgan Nzwere said.

Mr. Nzwere’s commentary came as financial results for the period showed revenues rising to US$35,5 million, compared to US$27,9 million previously.

However, profits slowed to US$1,5 million during the period, compared to US$2,5 million previously, as overheads charged in line with higher distribution costs and expenses associated with a massive push for stronger sales in “the nascent Ethiopian and Mozambican markets”.

Strong sales volume growth was recorded due to early seed dispatch to customers in Malawi and Tanzania, thanks to a healthy stock carry over position,” the Seed Co CEO said.

“The period under review witnessed the gradual relaxation of lockdown restrictions and border closures as the Covid-19 pandemic situation somewhat eased off as vaccination programmes in the various countries the group operates gathered pace.

“This was a huge boost to the group’s seed movements across regional borders. During this period, the main activities are the harvest of raw seed produced by growers and its subsequent delivery to the factories for processing in preparation for the upcoming selling season,” he said.

In July, Seed Co International said it was set to bolster its African ambition through State-backed food security interventions in Malawi and Zimbabwe, where it saw growth opportunities unravelling as Harare braces for landmark polls in 2023.

Like in Zambia’s case, poll time has traditionally unlocked market opportunities for the firm that has made aggressive forays into Africa from its Zimbabwe base.

1...771772773...5,624Page 772 of 5,624

Company

Trending

Categories

© Lusaka Times