Business News

Tue, 27 Jun 2017 14:29:52 +0000

Govt pledges to cut cost of doing business

By MUKOSELA KASALWE

GOVERNMENT, working with the private sector, is committed to creating an enabling environment and reduce the cost of doing business, says Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry Margaret Mwanakatwe.

Mrs Mwanakatwe said Government values the private sector partnership as it was a conduit for job creation, industrialisation and small and medium enterprise development.

Speaking at the official opening of the 60th Zambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry annual (ZACCI) general meeting in Lusaka on Friday, whose theme was “Improving the business environment for sustainable business growth”, the minister said the private sector was an engine of growth and Government would ensure the business and investment climate remained conducive.

The minister said Government was cognisant of the challenges that the business community faced such as high cost of borrowing, inadequate skills, access to markets and an influx of cheap imports.

“I wish to reiterate Government’s commitment to continue working with the private sector in improving the business environment for private sector growth,” she said.

Ms. Mwanakatwe said Government was revising the Control of Goods Act to ensure that it was responsive to the country’s industrialisation agenda.

And ZACCI president Geoffrey Sakulanda thanked Government for putting in place appropriate policies and pledged that his organisation will continue to dialogue with the State.

Mr. Sakulanda commended the Zambia Revenue Authority on its amnesty initiative and asked Government to extend it to December this year to allow more business houses to comply with their taxes as the electronic platform had proved to have some challenges.

He said ZRA should take advantage and extend the amnesty as it had enabled them collect ample revenue within a short time.

Earlier, ZACCI members expressed concern that the K25,000 limit on the amount of money to be paid by cheque was too little but Bankers Association of Zambia president Leonard Mwanza said the move would ensure banks owned up and kept their word to pay promptly.

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State in $1.7 bn to jack up aviation sector

BY MAILESI BANDA

GOVERNMENT has spent USD 1.7 billion to improve the aviation industry in Zambia, Minister of Transport and Communications Brian Mushimba has announced.

The minister said Government had positioned the aviation sector as a catalyst to spur growth in many economic sectors including tourism, horticulture, mining and manufacturing.

And Mahogany chief executive officer Jim Mbelemu said the airline would resume operations on 17th July 2017 with local flights.

Speaking during the launch of the Mahogany Airline, he said it was encouraging to see a Zambian registered airline that once suspended its operations in 2014 due to operational challenges making a comeback to operate in the domestic airline market as a fully-fledged competitor.

“I wish to congratulate Mahogany Air and its management team for being resilient and focused on working to turn around the airline that nearly went under three years ago,“ he said.

He said Government was creating an enabling environment for the entry of multiple airline operators by creating a competitive environment which would benefit the aviation industry by reducing the cost of air tickets and air travel.  He explained that over 1.6 million passengers entered Zambia through its airports in 2016, indicating an over 2.3 percent growth with international traffic growing at 4.4 percent compared to 2015. International passengers accounted for over 80 percent of the total passenger traffic using Zambian airports in 2016 while domestic passengers accounted for 20 percent.

He said the majority of this traffic was controlled by foreign carriers who collected revenue in excess of US $1 billion per annum which ended up being externalized off shore.

He said if the earnings were returned in Zambia they would significantly contribute to the appreciation of the Kwacha against foreign currencies.

And Mahogany chief executive officer Jim Mbelemu said the airline would resume operations on 17th July 2017 with local flights.

He said they would build their success from their failures and contribute to the growth of the aviation industry.

“I am happy that Mahogany Airlines is back and we are ready to fly. We are offering domestic, international and chartered flights and we have taken safety and reliability as our focus,“ he said.

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ZRA nets K1.3m in 3 months using Airtel Money

By BUUMBA CHIMBULU

THE Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) has in three months collected K1.3 million worth of taxes through the Airtel Zambia Money platform following a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the two institutions.

The two companies last week officially signed a MoU aimed at simplifying the process of paying taxes by using mobile phones.

According to ZRA commissioner general, Kingsley Chanda, statistics indicated that the number of clients using Airtel Money platform for payment of taxes had increased to 622 as of 22nd June 2017 from 6th March 2017, with a value of K1.3 million already made in payments.

“This platform uptake already demonstrates the willingness by our taxpayers to move from more complicated processes to convenient, user-friendly and cost effective methods of doing business,” he said.

He said the Airtel Money platform would enable Small and Medium Entrepreneurs (SMEs) make electronic payments without any difficulties.

Mr Chanda said the authority had accelerated the implementation of its modernisation programme to ensure all tax transactions were captured electronically.

Mr Chanda said this measure would enhance overall efficiency in the payments process and further mitigate malpractices.

He said ZRA believed that the cost of tax compliance would be minimised through the partnership with Airtel to enable taxpayers pay their dues at their convenience.

“I am grateful to Airtel for accepting to work with ZRA in our efforts to improve service delivery and operational efficiency aimed at optimising revenue collection,” he said.

And Airtel Zambia managing director, Peter Correia, said ZRA, using their platform, would be able to collect the much needed revenues to finance development without difficulty.

Mr Correia said the new service that had been introduced would help people pay their taxes using Airtel Money in the comfort of their homes or offices instead of visiting ZRA offices.

“What we are signing today is testimony that our country is moving towards being technologically proficient by finding ways to fully adapt and innovate services to benefit the community at large,” he said.

Mr Correia said the platform would leverage on digital technologies while expanding financial services to both the formal and informal sectors.

Meanwhile, Bank of Zambia director for banking, currency and payment system, Lazarous Kamanga, said such initiatives promoted the collection of money which would then be circulated in the economy.

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ZESCO plans 15 mini-hydro power plants

By BUUMBA CHIMBULU

ZESCO is currently undertaking feasibility studies for the implementation of 15 mini-hydro power projects across the country at an estimated cost of US$52 million.

The projects, expected to generate 19 megawatts of power, will cost about US$40 million for a 15 megawatt project and about US$12 million for a 4 megawatt project.

Zesco senior manager, Mundia Simainga, said the development was aimed at increasing the power generation capacity, saying Zambia currently had a deficit of 1000 megawatts.

Mr Simainga said Zesco had an on-going programme that was aimed at ensuring that there were projects ready for implementation at every stage in the process of power planning.

He was speaking in an interview at the just-ended seventh Zambia International Mining and Energy Conference (ZIMEC) in Lusaka held under the theme: ‘‘Mining and Energy Development in Zambi – Increasing Economic Activities’’.

“We are currently doing feasibility studies for 15 hydro power projects across the country; we have an ongoing programme that will ensure that at every stage in the process of power planning you have projects ready for implementation.

“The projects are varying: the smallest projects we are planning is 4 megawatts and it will cost about US$12 million and the largest among these projects is 15 megawatts which will cost about US$40 million,” Mr Simainga said. He said Zesco was currently drafting reports for the 10 projects, saying reports for five of the projects had been completed so far. “For power projects you don’t start when you need power, you plan way ahead so that at a time you need power the implementation process should be advanced,” he said.

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Uranium projects to cost US$160m

By BUUMBA CHIMBULU

THE three uranium projects expected to commence soon in Southern Province will cost US$160 million, GoviEx Uranium chief executive officer, Daniel Major, has disclosed.

GoviEx Uranium, a Canadian mineral resource company, has acquired three mining licenses to mine the commodity in Chirundu, Muntanga and Kariba Valley.

Mr Major said the company would be producing 2.5 million pounds of uranium per annum once operational while creating about 300 jobs.

He said he was hopeful that uranium prices would be costing about US$35 to US$36 a pound by the time the projects would commence production.

He was speaking in an interview on the sidelines of the just ended 7th Zambia International Mining and Energy Conference and Exhibition (ZIMEC) held under the theme “Mining and Energy Development in Zambia.”

“Uranium is about US$20 per pound on the market and that is our constraint, but the fundamentals of the sector are pretty good, but they are very simple projects. That is the key for why we got here and why we compete globally. It is a very simple mining operation.

“Within the uranium markets, there are two different prices. Uranium prices historically have been dropping. Today US$80 million is being spent on construction on top of that US$160 million. We are trying to keep the cost down as much as we can,” he said.

Mr Major said the company was confident that the projects would attract long-term contracts whose prices ranged from US$10 to US$20 higher on the spot market. He explained that uranium customers purchased the commodity in large quantities through long-term contracts with a period of 10 to 15 years.

“I am waiting for the price spot to move then our potential to get higher prices is built into that as well,” he said.

Mr Major assured the surrounding community that strict measures had been put in place to ensure that they were not negatively affected by uranium mining.