Wed, 15 Feb 2017 10:42:26 +0000
Govt should ban importation of chicken portions – PAZ
By MAILESI BANDA
GOVERNMNET should ban the importation of chicken pieces as it has negatively affected the local poultry industry, says Poultry Association of Zambia (PAZ) vice chairperson, Veronica Machungwa.
Ms. Machungwa said even after a law prohibiting the importation of chicken pieces from other countries was enacted in 1994, the trend had resurfaced.
She said there was need for the Government to fight for the growth of the local poultry industry.
“The importation of chicken pieces has resurfaced in the background and there is need for the Government to support the industry to attain growth and contribute to the economic growth of the country,’’ she said.
She said Zambia should learn from how the local poultry industry in South Africa had been affected because of allowing into the country pieces of chicken from Europe.
She said the industry in South Africa was not flourishing due to the market being flooded by imported chicken pieces.
“There is need to protect the poultry industry because we have a large number of people involved in the business in the country and a lot of their livelihoods depend on the success of the poultry industry,’’ she said.
She appealed to Government to consider allocating a portion of maize from the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) for stock feed production to enable poultry farmers access cheap feed.
She said if the feed manufacturers bought cheap maize for their production the farmers would get good returns on their investments and contribute to the gross domestic product (GDP) of the country.
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Zambia, others land US$13m WB funding for agriculture
By BUUMBA CHIMBULU
THE World Bank has disbursed US$13.45 million for agriculture productivity programme in Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique and other Southern African countries.
The project, called Regional Agricultural Productivity Programme for Southern Africa (APPSA), was expected to end in 2020 and has a total cost of US$90 million, with the World Bank contributing US$30 million. So far only US$13.45 has been disbursed.
The bank is using a regional integration approach to support the three countries to increase productivity through improved agricultural technologies.
Regional integration has proved to be an effective strategy that could allow groups of countries facing common research challenges to increase the efficiency of their investment in the sector.
According to the World Bank Zambia project profile, the project was also being implemented in collaboration with Centre for Coordination of Agricultural Research and Development for Southern Africa (CCARDESA).
APPSA is set to reduce duplication by allowing a single regional institute to undertake research on behalf of the participating countries.
It was also expected to increase payoffs to research by facilitating dissemination of improved technologies across national borders.
The project would also mitigate the isolation that frequently occurs in small, fragmented research institutes by creating effective mechanisms for facilitating knowledge exchange and technology transfer.
About 6, 100 Zambian farmers are expected to benefit from the APPSA.
So far, participating farmers had benefitted from 113 technologies which included improved varieties of maize and rice, among others.
The project status as of September 2016 indicated that lead farmers reached 5,303 direct programme beneficiaries, translating to 87 percent pf the end target.
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New insurance Bill to protect consumers,industry on the horizon-ZISC
By BUUMBA CHIMBULU
THE new insurance Bill, once enacted into law, will protect consumers and the industry due to the innovative provisions in it, says Zambia State Insurance Corporation (ZSIC).
ZSIC general insurance managing director Charles Nakhoz said in an interview that the new Bill would enable insurance companies operate in a smooth way especially with regards to brokers who were difficult in remitting premiums for customers.
“There are some difficult brokers who do not remit premiums to the insurance company. This means that if they do not receive the premium and yet they are supposed to pay claims then it becomes difficult.
“In the new law, it should protect consumers and the industry. There have been cases where brokers do not remit the premium but by law, we are obliged to pay the claim so that is another input we have put in there,” he said.
Mr Nakhoz said insurers had proposed that the Bill should contain compulsory policies such as employer liability to improve insurance uptake and penetration.
He said the insurers had also proposed that the Bill should try and make insurance a cash basis.
“As the law stands now, if your premiums is paid to the broker, it means that insurance will be paid to the insurance company, now sometimes we have problems with some brokers,” he said.
Mr Nakhoz said insurance companies were currently having difficulties in operating as they only collected 40 percent of premium from the total written over 100 percent.
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Savings culture can help propel economy
By BUUMBA CHIMBULU
A CONSISTENT savings culture can have positive impact on economic growth while providing liquidity to the banking sector, says Stanbic Bank Zambia head of personal and business banking, Mukwandi Chibesakunda.
Ms Chibesakunda observed that more needed to be done in raising awareness of the positive impact a good savings culture could have on economic growth.
She was commenting on the bank’s recent move to open a new branch in Kabwata.
“Stanbic Bank strongly believes in serving all the Zambian people. This includes businesses, corporates and small and medium enterprise (SMEs) alike, as reflected in our investments and loan portfolios.
“Our commitment to drive Zambia’s growth is evident in our undertakings, and the fast-growing middle class gives us an opportunity to provide customer-centric and innovative banking solutions to individuals and businesses,” she said.
She also said the bank could deliver a full range of universal banking services to clients across various emerging sectors of the economy, having built a strong in-country advisory and wealth management capabilities.
Ms Chibesakunda explained that it was for this reason that Stanbic Bank continued to position itself as the leading bank in Zambia through its operations across the 10 provinces.
She said the bank could contribute to Zambia’s progress with Government’s continued support and that of its stakeholders.
“Furthermore, we are looking forward to introducing new banking solutions for various industry sectors to support local infrastructure development and economic activities this year,” she said. She said the bank remained optimistic in adding value to the banking sector and the Zambian economy through the provision of comprehensive and more meaningful financial services.
