Wed, 17 May 2017 09:58:13 +0000
Mpulungu harbour doubles export target
By BUUMBA CHIMBULU
MPULUNGU Harbour Corporation handled 38,090 metric tonnes of exports during the first quarter of 2017 compared to 15,931 MT in the same period in 2016.
The harbour is wholly owned by Government and manages the Mpulungu port on Lake Tanganyika.
The port serves cargo traffic destined to Burundi, Tanzania and Democratic Republic of Congo, through the ports of Bujumbura, Kigoma and Kalemie respectively.
Company general manager, Davies Kaluba, said business in the first quarter of 2017 was stable and fair.
“Our handled volumes were 18 percent below our projections, largely due to stock constraints faced by our main exporters and scarcity of foreign exchange in the Burundi market,” he said.
Responding to a press query, Mr Kaluba said the volumes in the period under review were buoyed by competitive commodity prices on the Zambian market and improved availability of trucks.
Mr Kaluba said other factors included quick turnaround by vessels operating on Lake Tanganyika and a preference to do business with Zambia by the ports partners within the Great Lakes Region.
“The port handled 38,090 MT in quarter 1 2017 compared to 15,931 MT in the same period in 2016. Some of the products exported during the period under review were sugar, cement, clinker and explosives,” he said.
He said sugar was the most exported product during the period under review to Burundi to meet its growing demand of the commodity.
He also said the feasibility studies by the consultants at the port were almost complete.
Mr Kaluba explained that the expectation was that the resultant bankable document would facilitate mobilisation of funds for actual construction of new infrastructure.
“The African Development Bank recently facilitated our involvement in the Sustainable Development Investor Marketplace.
“This is an investment vehicle of the World Economic Forum that seeks cheaper investor financing internationally for sustainable development projects such as the modernization of Mpulungu port,” he said.
Mr Kaluba said there were other regional institutional investors interested in financing the modernisation project in the spirit of facilitating regional integration in the COMESA region.
Dairy, juice value chains under SA scrutiny
BY MAILESI BANDA
THERE is need for a sustainable value chain in the dairy and juice industry for the sector to contribute to the economic growth of the country, Tetra Pak managing director for South Africa John Strombald has said.
Mr. Strombald said it was evident that Zambia was currently ‘‘boot-strapping’’ a revitalised economy that placed a premium on developing rural infrastructure, employment creation and other economic opportunities which ‘‘perfectly complements’’ Tetra Pak’s sustainable value chain initiative.
Speaking during a seminar conducted by the company to look at the potential of the industry in Lusaka recently, Mr Strombald said there was need to consider more than the retailers’ needs in the implementation of a sustainable juice and dairy industry.
“The sustainable value chain, be it in the dairy or juice industries, must consider more than producers and retailers to be truly sustainable and inclusive; therefore rural communities must be a part of the beneficiary chain that is a sustainable commitment to ongoing, distributed economic upliftment,” he said.
He said the development of the sector was possible if the Government worked with local businesses to develop both the dairy and juice industries in Zambia.
He explained that the seminar was aimed at helping identify opportunities in the dairy industry, from raw milk production to consumption, as well as recycling including the establishments of the dairy hubs.
He said dairy hubs were aimed at securing long term supplies of local milk while helping smallholder farmers become profitable. He explained that the program’s projects would link farmers in specific locations to a dedicated dairy processor, adding that the processor established milk collection stations with cooling tanks where farmers would deliver milk.
He said while farmers would get access to knowledge and expertise for healthier animals, better production and more profit from secure markets, the processors could tap into a reliable source of raw material.
SA bank clinches landmark Zim power deal
By BUUMBA CHIMBULU
A US$120 million debt package for the rehabilitation of existing power infrastructure at Kariba South hydro power station and Hwange thermal power station has been finalised by Standard Bank South Africa and Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC).
The Standard Bank of South Africa is the largest operating entity of Standard Bank Group, Africa’s largest bank by assets.
Standard Bank is a mandated lead arranger for the financing of the project.
As lead arranger for the facility, Standard Bank has partnered with the Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank (PTA Bank) to deliver the financing. The transaction was a continuation of a previous funding arrangement with ZPC, which went towards their contribution into the 300 MW expansion at Kariba South hydro power station. The bank’s regional head for investment banking, Tandiwe Njobe, said the proceeds would be applied to significant capital expenditure which would increase capacity and improve efficiency of the power stations.
Ms Njobe said the funding would assist in improving access to power for Zimbabwe and Namibia, and in the medium to long term, benefits of improved power supply and reliability will also extend to other Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) members such as Zambia. “This is a landmark transaction in which we could leverage our sector and technical expertise in both markets, as well as our understanding of the regional power dynamics and local regulatory environments, to deliver value to ZPC and Namibia Power Corporation, (NamPower),
“To make this transaction work we engaged with four regulatory bodies and key policy makers in four ministries in Namibia and Zimbabwe,” she said.
She said without reliable access to power, industry and economic growth were negatively impacted.
“It was important for us to support the regional power sector through this loan facility. The facility is significant in its contribution to increasing power generation in a region which has an on-going deficit and a clear need for dependable and sustainable power supply,” she said.
StanChart signs MoU over e-NAPSA platform
By BUUMBA CHIMBULU
STANDARD Chartered Bank Zambia has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the National Pension Scheme Authority (NAPSA) to enhance the pension contributions of its clients through the newly introduced eNAPSA digital platform.
E-NAPSA is a new online platform for submission of pension contribution returns.
Standard Chartered Bank Zambia head of global banking Emmanuel Banda said the bank’s clients would now be able to make on-line eNAPSA payments through Standard Chartered Banks’ platform, Straight2Bank.
Mr Banda said the partnership had come at a time when the bank was investing in digital banking capabilities in Zambia and across Africa.
“This partnership is a testament to our continued commitment to enhancing efficiency and effectiveness for our clients, whilst supporting Government initiatives aimed at improving revenue collection and service delivery,” he said.
He said the bank’s human resources department was the first employer to remit eNAPSA contributions through Staight2Bank following the successful implementation of the integration between NAPSA and Standard Chartered Bank.
Mr Banda said the partnership would contribute to the improvement of the pension’s administration in general.
And NAPSA director general, Yollard Kachinda, said the eNAPSA platform had been implemented to improve management of contributions, enhance compliance and to promote effective customer service charter.
Mr Kachinda said the commitment displayed by StanChart management to complete the online integration with eNAPSA in a record time was highly commendable and should be emulated by other banks.
He was speaking in a speech read for him by NAPSA director of finance, Chishala Tembo.
Mr Kachinda also said NAPSA looked forward to more innovative ideas from the banking sector to assist the authority in implementing solutions that would resonate with its members in the informal sector.
“The launch of eNAPSA and its ultimate integration with three banks so far is a landmark achievement. We know that the fully fledged eNAPSA will play a significant role in providing payment solutions to the members,” he said.
Insurance might be taught in school – IAZ
By MAILESI BANDA
THERE are plans to introduce insurance as part of the business subjects at secondary school to help inculcate the use of insurance products by children from a tender age, Insurance Association of Zambia (IAZ) consumer and education officer Kambole Chituwo has announced.
Mr. Chituwo said teaching children the importance of insurance from a tender age would help them grow with the saving culture.
Speaking in an interview with the Daily Nation, he said the number of people that utilized insurance products remained low at 3 percent.
“We are trying to get more information on insurance products at the school level because definitely we believe that if people get the information from schools it will be difficult for them to forget about the importance it has to people’s lives and businesses,“ he said.
He said currently the number of people taking up insurance products was low, adding that Zambia still remained among the countries with the lowest use of insurance products.
He said while the number of people purchasing insurance products was low more people were beginning to learn about it and others were embracing the use of insurance products.
He said the organization was intensifying the campaign to educate people on the importance of insuring their products, health and life to prepare themselves for unforeseen calamities.
He said people were slowly learning and hoped that more people would embrace the use of insurance products.
He explained that while the use of insurance products could not be looked at as among the most important on a person’s needs list it helped in the event of calamity and should be viewed as a priority.
