GOVERNMENT has assured the Norwegian energy business community that it has introduced attractive policy measures that are favourable to companies that invest in the country’s energy sector.

Speaking in a speech delivered on his behalf by Director of Energy, Mr. Arnold Simwaba, Ministry of Energy Permanent Secretary, Mr. Danies Chisenda said that the Government has put in place an attractive policy environment through the revision of the National Energy Policy of 2019 and the review of legislation and regulations aimed at ensuring increased investments in the sector.

According to the statement released to the media by Nicky Shabolyo Counsellor Embassy of the Republic of Zambia in Sweden, this came to light on Wednesday during a virtual forum on investment opportunities in the Zambian energy sector organised by the Embassy of Zambia accredited to the Nordic region, in collaboration with the Norwegian-African Business Association (NABA).

The event held under the theme: Showcasing Zambia’s Investment Potential in the Energy Sector attracted 21 top energy companies operating in Norway. The aim of the forum was to foster economic cooperation through showcasing investment opportunities that exist in Zambia and to provide potential investors and the business community with information fundamental to how to invest in Zambia.

The Permanent Secretary assured the participants that Government remained committed to the provision of affordable and sustainable energy services hence the revision of the National Energy Policy, among other measures.

Standing at 2, 900 megawatts of national installed capacity, Mr. Chisenda pointed out that there was still enormous potential for investment in the energy sector to meet the country’s energy demand as well as that of the Southern African region, given Zambia’s strategic location in the centre of the SADC pool.

He added that main investment opportunities were in hydropower, solar, wind, petroleum, coal and biofuels energy sources.

The Permanent Secretary noted that rural areas and off- grid electricity space offered numerous opportunities for private developers to invest and supplement Government efforts of increasing electricity access rates.

And Zambia Development Agency (ZDA) Director-General, Mr. Mukula Makasa informed the participants that demand for electricity has been growing at an average rate of 3% per annum, mainly due to increased economic activity in the country, especially in the agriculture, manufacturing, and mining sectors.

Mr. Makasa pointed out that the country’s growing population has also led to an increase in demand for other sources of energy such as petroleum and solar energy for transportation and domestic use especially in rural areas.

Making a presentation on behalf of ZDA, Investment Officer, Ms. Tazizwa Mvula informed the participants that Government was advocating for a more diversified energy mix, particularly in the renewable energy sector.

Ms. Mvula further informed the participants that the Government of Zambia offered various incentives ranging from zero percent customs duty on capital equipment and machinery for a period of five years which can be extended, accelerated depreciation on capital equipment and machinery, and protection from nationalisation.

Meanwhile, two foreign companies operating in the Zambian energy sector have observed that the country has huge energy potential which could help improve the country’s social and economic standards if exploited.

Agualmara Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Kristian Haneberg told the Forum that despite challenges that included shortages of foreign exchange which led to delayed project completion, his company still believed that Zambia was well positioned to become a significant player in the energy industry on the African continent.

Africa GreenCo Chief Executive Officer, Ms. Ana Hajduka told the meeting that the benefits of investing in Zambia included the fact that the country was uniquely geographically located with connection to the Southern Africa Power Pool (SAPP) and the Eastern Africa Power Pool (EAPP), it had multiple other interconnections, abundant renewable energy potential and economic diplomacy benefits on regional scale.

Ms. Hajduka noted that Africa GreenCo was supporting Zambia’s vision to become a regional power trading hub pointing out that Zambia will benefit as this will harness the country’s renewable energy potential to drive economic growth at cheaper tariff and lower the fiscal burden. It will also contribute to the creation of a diversified energy mix and increase energy security.

She said that as a reliable and affordable seller of renewable energy, GreenCo sells power through long-term contracts to utilities and private buyers; it also executes shorter-term trades through the SAPP.

And Zambia’s Ambassador accredited to the Nordic and Baltic region, Her Excellency Ms. Rose Salukatula pointed out that the Embassy was delighted to have had a diversified group of major players in the Norwegian energy sector participating in the event.

The Ambassador added that the energy industry was one of the priority sectors that the Government of Zambia has, in line with its Seventh National Development Plan (7NDP), identified as one that had the potential to spur sustainable development across all other economic activities of the country.

Ambassador Salukatula advised the participants that they would be taking the right decision by making Zambia their next investment destination as the country had a wide range of business-friendly policies and was endowed with an abundance of natural resources that supported investment in the energy sector.

She assured the participants that the Embassy would remain open to engage entities or individuals in a more detailed approach on their specific areas of interest and facilitate linkages with the appropriate institutions in Zambia.

NABA Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Eivind Fjeldstad said his organisation was delighted to host the event with the Embassy and that he was positive that this would open up avenues through which business entities could collaborate.

Secretary to the Cabinet Dr. Simon Miti has called for strengthened partnerships with cooperating partners, civil society organisations, academia and other non-state actors in the formulation and execution of the Eighth National Development Plan (8NDP).

Speaking at the one-day virtual special meeting of the National Development Coordinating Committee on priority setting for the eighth National Development Plan (8NDP), Dr. Miti said the Zambian Government wishes to work closely with all stakeholders including cooperating partners, the private sector, civil society and the academia in the development of the 8NDP to ensure that there is ownership by all stakeholders during its implementation.

“We are desirous to strengthen partnerships with all stakeholders and leverage on all available opportunities to support the implementation of development programmes contained in the Plan. This is because the implementation of the national development plan will require financial resources beyond the national treasury and human capital beyond the government system,” said Dr. Miti in remarks delivered on his behalf by Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet (Administration) Mr. Patrick Kangwa on Friday. “National development plans in our context are plans to be formulated and executed jointly by the Government, development partners and non-state actors. That is why as a government, we involve all stakeholders throughout the process of formulation and implementation of the National Development Plans because we are cognizant that through our combined efforts, we can go an extra mile in achieving our national development goals.”

He reminded the participants about the treasury’s constrained fiscal position and the need to formulate a Plan that will foster economic recovery.

Dr. Miti explained that at the commencement of the preparation of the 8NDP, the Cabinet guided that the Plan should be “reform and recovery focused”. He said this was keeping in mind the key pending reforms that need to be fully implemented to address the bottlenecks to development and unlock the development potential of the country.

Dr. Miti further said it was imperative to pay attention to the macroeconomic framework because it will define the economic environment in which the 8NDP will be implemented.
He said the proposals for inclusion in the 8NDP should be realistic, credible evidence-based planning anchored on key statistics and attainable within the projected resource envelope during the period 2022 to 2026.

Speaking during the same meeting, development partners who included the United Nations, the European Union, the African Development Bank, Private Sector, Civil Society Organizations, and the Academia among others all pledged to support the implementation of the 8NDP by providing suggestions that will enrich the 8NDP, prioritize economic recovery and provide all inclusive development.

Representatives of the Cooperating Partners, the private sector, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and Academia commended the Ministry of National Development Planning for coming up with a realistic and well-thought-out strategic areas of focus for 8NDP.

The stakeholders commended the Ministry and the Government leadership in general for being inclusive in their consultative process in the formulation of the 8NDP.
And in registering the United Nations’ support in the formulation and implementation of the 8NDP, UN Resident Coordinator Dr Coumba Mar Gadio said the UN’s Country Programme Documents (CPDs) will be based on the National Development Plans to allow for a developmental system that is harmonized with the country’s development agenda to foster a stronger, reliable, accountable and an effective partnership in achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. Dr. Gadio assured the Zambian Government of the organisation’s continued support for the country to attain its development objectives.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) country manager Ms. Mary Monyau and World Bank country manager Dr. Sahr Kpundeh pledged their institution’s assistance to actualise the progressive objectives of the national development plan.

Ms. Monyau emphasised the need for private sector involvement and the important role that women, the youth and gender equality play in development.

Ms. Monyau said the AfDB recognises the need to support the development of industrial clusters and role that the agricultural sector plays in the development.
Head of the European Union delegation Jacek Jankowski encouraged the prioritization of educating the girl child saying the future depended on equal access to education and gender equality which will, in turn, create well educated and self-confident women. He further emphasised the need for efficiency in enforcing policies and resource mobilization for the implementation of the plans that will be outlined in the 8NDP.

Zambia Private Sector Alliance (ZPSA) Chairperson Mr. Chabuka Kawesha said the private sector is concerned about the education system and called for it to be revisited to bring on board what is relevant in to-days world, to produce industry-ready graduates in all sectors. Meanwhile, Civil Society Representative and Civil Society for Poverty Reduction (CSPR) acting Executive Director, Mrs. Christabel Ngoma, said the civil society organisations and citizens, in general, have insisted on the need to expand social protection programmes to adequately respond to the poverty and vulnerabilities resulting from emergencies such as droughts, floods and the Covid-19 pandemic. Mrs Ngoma said these reforms must further be accompanied by the enactment of the Social Protection Act and based on up to date statistics on poverty.

On behalf of the academia, the Zambia Centre for Accountancy Studies (ZCAS) Vice-Chancellor Dr Kelvin Kayombo advised the Government to prioritise vocation education and technical training programmes that encourage entrepreneurship and self-employment.

Meanwhile, a youth representative echoed the need for encouragement of entrepreneurship through empowerment and skill training to encourage self-employment among young people.

Anti-Voter Apathy Project Zambia (AVAP) has urged political parties to use other alternative media houses following the abolishment of public rallies.

AVAP Executive Director Richwell Mulwani has implored political parties and candidates to use social media and the mainstream media to sell their political ideologies to enhance voter participation ahead of the August 12 general elections.

Mr Mulwani advised political parties and candidates to adhere to COVID-19 health guidelines and use other platforms to sell their party manifesto to the public.

“When political parties and candidates are communicating using the media such as radio and television and social media platforms such as Facebook and twitter, they can still reach out to the masses,” he said.

Mr. Mulwani stated that the electorate need to be provided with information on the various political candidates in order to make an informed decisions.

“Information is critical, therefore, it is important that people are given information they need for them to vote for a political party of their choice,” he said.

Mr. Mulwani noted that AVAP understands that it is challenging for political parties to do their campaigns without holding rallies but that political parties should use other mechanisms so that Zambia does not have a huge amount of spoiled votes.

“We have seen that in the past elections the country recorded about 85,000 spoiled votes and so in this time of COVID-19 where political polities are advised to do the door to door campaigns, the situation is likely to repeat itself,” he said.

Mr. Mulwani has further appealed to political parties and independent candidates to take advantage of the approved permit from the Ministry of Health and meet in small groups with strict adherence to the COVID-19 health guidelines to enhance voter participation.

“People are waiting to see political parties campaign for them to get the message that is critical to the electorate,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mr. Mulwani has challenged political parties to avoid engaging in violence as they conduct their door to door campaigns.

Fr. Benedict Ngandwe has been ushered into office to serve as the new MISA Zambia Chairperson following an elective Annual General Meeting (AGM) held on Friday at Golden Peacock Hotel in Lusaka.

Others elected into office include Jean Ndayisenga, Dr. Basil Hamusokwe and Fr. Barnabas Simatende as Committee Members to serve in the National Governing Council (NGC) of MISA Zambia.

Fr. Ngandwe who is also Radio Icengelo Director replaces Hellen Mwale who served in that position as the first female candidate and has contributed to the growth and development of the Zambian chapter of MISA.

Fr. Ngandwe thanked the outgoing Board for their work and called for unity for the development and growth of MISA Zambia.

The MISA Zambia NGC is responsible for providing policy direction to the institution thus rendering it a true democratic membership driven organisation.

The new board will serve for a term of three years.

Meanwhile, -A media trainer, Herbert Macha has urged journalists to acquaint themselves with the Electoral Process Act to avoid false reporting during this year’s general elections.

Mr Macha said Section 84 of the Electoral Act makes it illegal to publish false statements in respect of the candidate.

He said journalists should have vital information on the Act as it is a tool that will guide them on how to provide accurate news on the entire electoral process up to the declaration of results.

“During elections journalists should by all means avoid the use of abusive editorial comments which might insight violence,” he advised.

Mr Macha said this during media training on investigative reporting hosted by Free Press Initiative (FPI).

He stated that interviews should be conducted with fairness, adequate time, and treatment should be given to all the participating candidates in the elections.

Mr Macha further said the importance of knowing the legal requirements, statutes and ethical issues to consider during the process of investigative journalism will help journalists with the dos and don’ts on investigative reporting.

He added that journalists should always get information from credible sources and should by all means avoid attributes on anonymous sources at all times as this does not give credibility to the investigative story.