Maravi

ECONOMIC TREASON

Borrow for productive purposes, advises ZSIC
By Kabanda Chulu
Wednesday February 14, 2007 [02:00]

ZAMBIA State Insurance Corporation (ZSIC) pension trust fund has advised people to borrow funds for productive purposes following the continued decline in interest rates. Trust fund secretary Anock Mbambara said the pension institution was currently spearheading the lending of funds to various sectors across the country. “At the moment, I cannot avail you the figures since they are being consolidated but we are doing well and we are now in the forefront in lending to various sectors such as agriculture, tourism and manufacturing,” Mbambara said. “And since interest rates are falling, people should come forward and borrow because we are willing to work and fund any progressive sector.”

He said the trust fund was looking to the Copperbelt Province because of the potential, which currently exists in the area. “Some people say the area has become a ghost town but we do not think so because there is a lot of potential. And we think that the more we lend the more we help companies to develop and consequently make good returns and attain economic growth in the country,” said Mbambara. “Generally the national economy is heading for a boom especially if we rely on the positive indicators that we recorded during the past year.”

And ZSIC’s revised farm pack policy has helped the company to capture 75 per cent of the market share in the agriculture sector. Towards the end of last year, ZSIC revised the policy to include compensation for drought and to cover the hail and wind that usually affects tobacco and cotton farmers. ZSIC head of marketing and public relations Webster Phiri said reviewing of the farm pack policy has resulted in many farmers taking up the policy since it covers various aspects “The initial policy was based on insurance of machinery and crops in stock (warehouses) only but the revised policy covers crops when being cultivated and full compensation when natural conditions such as droughts and bad weather occurs,” Phiri said.

Recently, ZSIC managing director Irene Muyenga said the corporation has no intentions of phasing out the tour pack policy and would soon start implementing it in other regions of the country. “We started with 66 operators in Livingstone, Siavonga and other areas in the lower Zambezi. We did this because we wanted to establish the tour pack product in selected areas and so far we have made K300 million worth of premiums which is good, and we have no intentions of phasing it out but will soon start implementing the product around the country,” said Muyenga. “Yes, people can misunderstand that we have failed since we started with Livingstone and other selected areas of Southern Province but we cannot start doing projects all at once hence doing it in phases and now the focus will be in other regions since we have established ourselves.”



http://www.postzambia.com/post-read_article.php?articleId=22540

Ordinary people should benefit from budget, says Mukalula
By Florence Bupe
Wednesday February 14, 2007 [02:00]

GOVERNMENT should ensure that the positive developments in the 2007 national budget trickle down to the ordinary Zambians, Moores Rowland tax manager Peter Mukalula has said. And Zambia Federation of Employers (ZFE) president Dann Musenge has said government should consider giving incentives to Zambians working abroad aimed at encouraging them to send money back to the country.

During a post-budget discussion, Mukalula said the decisions that were made in the budget to improve the living standards of the ordinary citizens should be implemented and not just end on paper. “We want to see ordinary Zambians benefiting from the decisions taken by government in the national budget,” Mukalula said. “People should have enough money to spend and save.”

He said it was encouraging that government had taken brave steps to address areas that citizens had been calling for, such as the proposed increase on mineral royalties. “This year’s budget is more progressive, and brave attempts have been made to address expectations of the public in various sectors,” he said.

However, Mukalula said there was need to specifically look at small and medium scale entrepreneurship. And Musenge advised government to introduce incentives that would encourage Zambians working abroad to save their money with Zambian banks. “We would like to know how much the country makes through Zambians working abroad. We are also calling on government to come up with incentives to encourage those Zambians working outside to save with local banks and also make investments back home,” said Musenge.





http://www.postzambia.com/post-read_article.php?articleId=22542

Musamba urges govt to release agro funds
By Fridah Zinyama
Wednesday February 14, 2007 [02:00]

Former ZNFU president Aggrey Musamba has urged the government to quickly disburse the K37 billion that has been set-aside for farmers in this year’s budget to improve food production in the country. Musamba in an interview welcomed government’s gesture to set aside some funds for irrigation, as it would go a long way in reducing small-scale farmers’ dependence on mother nature.

“We are happy with government’s commitment to ensuring that food production in the country is improved but government should make sure that they disburse the funds on time,” he said. Musamba explained that farmers had for a long time depended on nature for their production of crops and that this was not good. “For example, if there is a drought, farmers would not be very vulnerable as they would be in a position to irrigate their crops despite the lack of rains,” Musamba said.

He said the irrigation fund would also reduce poverty among the farmers, as they would be in a position to produce maize and cash crops throughout the year. And Musamba warned all suppliers of farming inputs to provide the right quantity and quality. “We are aware of some of the activities that some unscrupulous suppliers are dealing in,” he said. “We would like to warn them that the union would not take kindly to any such activities from them.”

Musamba also called on the Zambia Bureau of Standards (ZBS) to ensure that the fertiliser that the farmers were receiving was the right weight and quality. “ZBS is supposed to monitor the quality and weight of the fertiliser that farmers receive,” he said. Musamba said ZNFU had three years ago submitted some sample of the quality of the fertiliser that farmers were using but that ZBS had not given a report on the matter. “We are concerned about the quality of fertiliser that we are using. If it is not of good quality, the yield produced is not very good,” complained Musamba.



http://www.postzambia.com/post-read_article.php?articleId=22481

ZUFIAW advises govt on FDI
By Kabanda Chulu
Tuesday February 13, 2007 [02:00]

ZUFIAW has advised the government to stop using foreign direct investments (FDI) as a means of giving away the sovereignty of the country. And Zambia Union of Financial Institutions and Allied Workers (ZUFIAW) president Cephas Mukuka said problems of casualisation were much more rampant in government parastatals than in the private sector.

Mukuka yesterday said the government should stop the tendency of staking national assets as collateral whenever they sign loans and development agreements. "It is sad that it is becoming a habit by our government to give away national assets at the expense of those deals," Mukuka said. "And we are advising the government to exercise caution when signing those agreements because FDI should not be used as a means of giving away the sovereignty of this nation."

Mukuka welcomed the establishment of Chambishi district as a Multi Facility Economic Zone (MFEZ) because the creation of employment would help to broaden the tax base. He said the government should now put in place mechanisms that would compel investors to follow laid down procedures.

Labels: CORRUPTION, ECONOMY, SMEs

posted by MrK @ 4:42 PM