Presidential job is very loney - Levy
By Brighton Phiri
Saturday December 01, 2007 [03:01]
THE presidential job is a very lonely one, Zambia’s President Levy Mwanawasa has said. And President Mwanawasa said he knew how painful it was for parents to pay for their children's education in the private institutions. Speaking after watching a play "The home coming" performed by Nkwazi primary school in Lusaka at the institution's main hall on Thursday night, President Mwanawasa, whose daughter Ntembe was one of the cast in the play, said the show reminded him of his good days as a private citizen when he used to freely laugh.
"The politicians' job especially at Presidential and ministerial level is a very lonely job. You find that most of your friends run away. You suddenly become an out person. People who were calling you Levy begin to call you Your Excellency. Even if you tell him that I am not Excellency to you, but I am Levy, he will respond, yes your Excellency I understand," President Mwanawasa said.
" So when you invited me to a function like this I am unable to laugh and it reminds me of the good days when I was a private citizen. I was able to laugh and sometimes sit a reasonable distance away from the security. It is nice to know that my security is somewhere else."
President Mwanawasa said despite feeling the pain of paying for his children's education, he would like to leave behind a legacy that he provided them with good education. He said it was not enough for parents to give their children good clothes, but that they should provide good education for them.
"I have four children who have passed through this institution and I know how painful it has been on my pocket to pay so much on their education. But you see if there is any legacy I want to leave behind for my children is the fact that their father provided good education. It is not enough that I should cloth and feed them with good things," he said.
"When I am able to provide them with good education, I am serving them from poverty, hunger and at the same time I am equipping them to face the national challenges."
President Mwanawasa commended Nkwazi primary school management for providing a conducive learning environment for the children. He said it was important for the learning institutions to provide effective and meaningful tuition.
"What we saw (drama) today was happiness. Happiness indeed is important in the learning process of our children," he said.
President Mwanawasa was accompanied by education minister Professor Geoffrey Lungwangwa, Sports minister Gabriel Namulambe, Community and Development minister Catherine Namugala, Lusaka province minister Lameck Mangani and State House deputy minister Richard Taima.
Labels: EDUCATION
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Parliament's role will fail if govt doesn't act - Milupi
By Lambwe Kachali
Saturday December 01, 2007 [03:00]
Luena member of parliament Charles Milupi has said the oversight role of Parliament will be a failure if the government does not take action over recommendations made by the parliamentary committees on abuse of public resources. Moving a motion in Parliament on Thursday to adopt a report of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on outstanding issues as contained in the report of the Auditor General for the year ended December 31st 2004, Milupi who is committee chairperson said the long list of outstanding issues did not augur well for parliamentary democracy. Milupi said the outstanding issues report needed serious attention.
“Mr Speaker, the oversight role of parliament through your committee systems can only be effective and therefore benefit this nation if there is timely and comprehensive follow up action by the executive on the recommendations of the committee,” he said.
He said it was unfortunate that the government had continued to ignore important reports without proper explanations.
“As may be observed in the report, government did not make considerable efforts in implementing the recommendations of the committee of 2003 accounts in which 60 percent (183 out of 303) issues were addressed and recommended for closure. However, there was a rather worrying downturn on the report of 2004 accounts where only a paltry 14 per cent (28 out of 196) of the queries were addressed,” Milupi said.
He also observed that the delays to implement the recommendations were due to poor record keeping in government institutions.
“Also the inability by the Auditor General to carry out verifications because documents in a number of cases were not available,” Milupi said.
“The Auditor General has been unable to pursue the recovery of the public resources due to lack of vital information and inability to trace some of the companies that accessed credit funds. Because of this, an amount in excess of K70 billion has been lost and has had to be charged against public funds. Seventy billion Kwacha in 1995 was a huge amount. Therefore, the value of opportunities to this country is correspondingly high,” he said.
Milupi urged the Ministry of Finance to ensure that controlling officers that failed to report progress on the recommendations be sanctioned. And seconding the motion, Chipangali member of parliament Vincent Mwale emphasised the importance of record keeping.
Labels: CHARLES MILUPI, PAC, PARLIAMENT
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Prof Kiwanuka urges African govts to build private sector
By Nomusa Michelo
Saturday December 01, 2007 [03:00]
UGANDAN minister of state for finance in charge of investments Professor Semakula Kiwanuka has called on African governments to build the private sector in order to foster development. In an interview, Professor Kiwanuka said African governments had a challenge to build the private sector.
“We speak of a private sector led economy, but the private sector is so weak. We have not built it. We must empower it. For our nationals to be able to build themselves, they must have long-term affordable credit which is not there at the moment,” he said.
“So we must change government policies to make long term affordable credit available either by putting up development banks and capitalise them adequately because if they are not adequately capitalised it means there isn’t enough money for people to borrow.”
And Professor Kiwanuka said there was urgent need to reduce the cost of doing business in Africa in order to attract investment.
“Investors they think the risk factors in Africa are very high. It is partly because they make a lot more money when the come here. When they trade in Africa, the returns are over 30 per cent, in the US its 15 per cent in Europe its 10 per cent but still they don’t come,” he said. “So what else must we do? We must first of all reduce the cost of doing business. The cost of doing business revolves around poor infrastructure or inadequate infrastructure, shortage of energy, electricity.”
He said there was need to invest more in infrastructure such as road railway and power generation to support economic growth.
“Africa the reason why we can’t even trade is because there are no link roads. We cannot even trade with each other. How can you trade with Europe if you cannot even trade with your neighbour and the potential is great,” he said.
“We need to put necessity on developing infrastructure such as road and rail that will go a long way in reducing the cost of doing business and also promote integration. You cannot be integrated unless people can move between countries.”
Labels: CREDIT FACILITIES, ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT, ECONOMY, UGANDA
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Simbao warns contractors over advance payments
By Nomusa Michelo
Saturday December 01, 2007 [03:00]
WORKS and supply minister Kapembwa Simbao has warned contractors and consultants that the ministry will no longer give advance payments on contracts beginning next year. During the
National Council for Construction (NCC) Indaba held at the Mulungushi International Conference Centre (MICC) yesterday, Simbao said contractors and consultants should have the necessary financial resources to meet their contract obligations. He also said the only relationship that will exist between contractors and the government was performance.
“The year 2008 is going to be a different year because the only relationship that will be important between the Ministry of Works and Supply and the contractors and consultants will be performance,” he said.
Simbao said contractors and consultants who were not willing to meet expected standards should not even be in the sector. He also said the ministry will very sparingly give advance payment because in many cases, contractors and consultants did not even do the work they were paid for. Simbao said the government was not prepared to lose large amounts of money because of shoddy work and defaulting contractors. Simbao also said infrastructure development was a critical component for the country to develop.
And Lafarge Zambia managing director Tom Ehrhart said the cement shortage in the country had been as a result of increased construction in the mining sector and industry as well as increase in infrastructure development in the region.
He said Lafarge Zambia was doing everything possible to meet the cement demand on the market.
Ehrhart said with the construction of the company’s Tukule project at Chilanga, it was expected the cement shortage would be addressed by the middle of next year. He also said the coming on board of other cement producing companies would help to address the cement shortage.
And NCC executive director Dr Sylvester Mashamba in his presentation on ‘The shape of the Construction Industry in Zambia’ said one of the challenges in the country’s construction industry was the high local debt to road consultants and contractors, which is estimated at K380 billion.
Labels: CEMENT, CONTRACTORS, CORRUPTION, KAPEMBWA SIMBAO, MINISTRY OF WORKS AND SUPPLY
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Zimbabwe finance minister predicts growth
Last updated: 11/29/2007 20:53:03
ZIMBABWE'S economy is expected to grow by 4.0 percent next year, while inflation should slow, Finance Minister Samuel Mumbengegwi said on Thursday, signalling what would be
the first GDP expansion in nine years.
"The 2008 budget is premised on a real GDP growth of 4 percent due to growth in agriculture (and) the industrial sector," he said in a televised budget speech to parliament. Annual inflation, which measured almost 8,000 percent in September, was forecast to slow to 1,978 percent for 2008. Mumbengegwi urged Zimbabwe to "live within our means". "The 2008 macro-economic framework is premised on a projected real economic growth of four percent, due to the anticipated
growth in the agriculture sector, improved
industrial performance and economic
programmes by the grassroots," Mumbengegwi told parliament in Harare.
He said the current economic woes were enormous but surmountable.
"They require our urgent, committed and determined implementation of agreed policies and measures as enunciated in the People's Budget," said the minister.
"The reality of being under sanctions is that we are on our own, hence, the need for increased self reliance on our own initiatives and resources."
He said despite the drought conditions experienced during the 2006/2007 cropping season, the agricultural sector was also projected to grow by about four percent.
The projected growth would result from "good weather," Mumbengegwi said.
President Robert Mugabe was in parliament listening to the budget proposals unveiled by Mumbengegwi.
Zimbabwe is in the eighth year of an economic recession characterised by an runaway inflation, chronic shortages of foreign currency, fuel and basic foodstuffs such as cooking oil and an unemployment rate hovering over 70 percent.
At least 80 percent of population live below the poverty threshold often skipping meals and walking or cycling long distances to work in order to stretch their wages to the next payday.
Mumbengegwi proposed a clutch of measures to reduce inflation including reducing money supply by the central government.
He however did not announce the October inflation figures "because many items included in the consumer-basket have not been available in the shops."
The finance minister admitted the country was facing "enormous economic challenges" blaming the country's woes on targeted sanctions imposed by western countries on Mugabe and members of his ruling party elite. - Reuters/AFP
Labels: SIMBARASHE MUMBENGEGWI, ZIMBABWE
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Govt appreciates African solidarity: Mumbengegwi
Herald Reporter
ZIMBABWE will attend the forthcoming EU-Africa Summit on the understanding that the two continents will meet as equal partners but will not hesitate to defend itself if its bilateral dispute with Britain is dragged onto the agenda. Speaking to journalists after meeting African diplomats in Harare yesterday, Foreign Affairs Minister Cde Simbarashe Mumbengegwi said Zimbabwe hoped the meeting would focus on relations between the two regions.
He called on the meeting to express Zimbabwe’s appreciation towards fellow African governments that solidly supported and showed solidarity with it ahead of the summit.
"We hope the meeting would be a success and the two regions would discuss matters that could improve relations between Africa and Europe," said Cde Mumbengegwi.
He said Zimbabwe would not hesitate to defend itself if any country at the meeting tries to put it on the conference agenda because the summit had nothing to do with individual countries.
"We do not expect the meeting to drag in the discussion on the bilateral dispute we have with Britain but Zimbabwe is more than prepared to defend itself at the summit.
"We have an excellent case to defend and the summit can actually create an opportunity for us to present our case," he said.
Cde Mumbengegwi said Britain and its allies had been enjoying a monopoly on the international media and were able to propagate their views against smaller countries.
"The meeting would definitely give us a chance to present our case as opportunities would be equal," he said.
On threats to boycott the summit by British Prime Minister Mr Gordon Brown if President Mugabe attends, Cde Mumbengegwi said Zimbabwe was not concerned because Britain’s decision to attend or not was entirely its case.
"Countries are voluntarily attending the summit and those who do not want to attend can do so. What is important is that Africa is attending on its entirety and Zimbabwe is going to attend the summit," he said.
Zimbabwe was prepared for dialogue with anyone at the summit.
"Zimbabwe has never refused to talk to anyone. It will engage anyone at the summit because it has nothing to fear or to hide.
"Such a meeting provides countries to undertake informal discussions on the sidelines of the meeting. There are, however, those who even refuse to share a room with us."
Cde Mumbengegwi paid tribute to African countries for standing behind Zimbabwe in its bilateral dispute against Britain.
"We want to express our gratitude to all the African countries who have solidly stood behind us especially through the regional blocs, that is Sadc, Comesa, Ecowas and the Maghreb.
"Their amount of unity and solidarity in support of Zimbabwe is admirable. It is this support which forced Europe to accept the obvious," he said.
He paid tribute to South Africa President Thabo Mbeki and the Sadc bloc for standing by Zimbabwe while facilitating dialogue between Zanu-PF and MDC.
"Europe has recognised that Africa can not be divided. The EU wanted to choose countries to attend the meeting but that arrogance could not be accepted. We have to meet as equals and neither side has the right to dictate who should represent the continent."
Labels: SANCTIONS, SIMBARASHE MUMBENGEGWI
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Lift sanctions against Zim, Wade tells West
By Peter Matambanadzo and Zvamaida Murwira
SENEGALESE President Abdoulaye Wade has urged Western countries to lift the illegal sanctions they imposed against Zimbabwe and called on fellow African countries to solidly support the southern African State. Addressing journalists through an interpreter after laying a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the National Heroes Acre yesterday, Mr Wade said Britain, France and their allies should lift the sanctions forthwith.
"When I go back home, I will ask for the sanctions to be lifted. They are not fair on the Zimbabwean people. They are infringing the people," he said.
At a State banquet hosted in his honour by President Mugabe on Wednesday night, the Senegalese leader said he would lobby other African countries at the EU-Africa Summit in Portugal next week to press for the removal of the embargo.
"I think it is not right because the sanctions against Zimbabwe seem to be very arbitrary. We should find a way to see that these sanctions are alleviated," he said.
Yesterday, Mr Wade expressed confidence in Zimbabwe saying its future was bright and with the support of fellow African countries, it would prosper.
"I am optimistic in the future of Zimbabwe. There are a lot of things about Zimbabwe . . . I am going back home with a feeling, we as African people should help the people of Zimbabwe.
"Zimbabwe deserves more support from African countries. We should rally behind Zimbabwe," he said.
Mr Wade said the Zimbabwean problem was an African problem, which should be collectively addressed by Africans.
He said the ongoing talks between Zanu-PF and two factions of the opposition MDC showed that democracy was alive in Zimbabwe. Mr Wade took a swipe at the Western media for mis-
leading the world and distorting the true situation in Zimbabwe.
"The Western media has distorted what has been happening in Zimbabwe. What’s in the media is not true because they describe Zimbabwe as a country where there is permanent uprising of people. They say President Mugabe is weak and has no support when President Mugabe does have support," he said.
The Senegalese leader described his visit as an eye opener and added that the information he had been supplied by the British Ambassador in Senegal and from the Internet on the situation in Zimbabwe had turned out to be false.
Mr Wade toured the national shrine led by the National Museums and Monuments curator Mr Lovemore Mandima.
Mr Mandima explained to Mr Wade the significance of the national shrine and gave a synopsis of the liberation struggle.
Mr Wade described his tour of the shrine as emotional.
He visited the graves of the late First Lady Amai Sally Mugabe and Vice Presidents Joshua Nkomo and Simon Muzenda.
Mr Wade said he knew Cde Nkomo and had met him and other Zimbabwean and several fellow African nationalists in 1959 when he was in London.
He saluted the nationalists who fought for Zimbabwe’s independence.
Mr Wade returned home yesterday and was seen off at Harare International Airport by President Mugabe, Cabinet ministers and senior Government officials.
Labels: ABDOULAYE WADE, SANCTIONS
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'Govt studying proposals'
By Joan Chirwa
Friday November 30, 2007 [03:00]
Government has received with a lot of interest suggestions that
development agreements with mining companies should entirely be abolished, mines and minerals development minister Dr Kalombo Mwansa has said. And a group of experts has convened in Lusaka to discuss the review of the petroleum exploration and production Act of 1985 in order for the law to be more adequate before any actual exploration and production of oil in the country could be conducted.
Dr Mwansa, in an interview yesterday, said the government was seriously studying proposals for the entire abolishment of development agreements with the mining companies because of the changing economic environment.
He was commenting on Luena independent member of parliament Charles Milupi’s suggestion that the government should not make any changes to the existing development agreements or enter into new ones since they were currently not serving any purpose.
“Yes, government entered into development agreements with the mines to facilitate the privatisation process that time when copper prices were at their lowest and the country needed investments,” Dr Mwansa said.
“But now that things have come back to normal in terms of prices and that there is no other mine to privatise, it is possible to do away with the development agreements.
We are already proposing in the revised mines and minerals Act that government should not enter into a development agreement with new mining investments because all they need to do now is transact like any other investor and pay taxes the way others are doing since the economy is doing fine and the price of copper is high.”
Dr Mwansa said a number of people share views such as those presented by Milupi regarding development agreements with the mines.
“Government is studying this matter and consulting widely to ensure that we find a lasting solution to the tax structures for the mining companies so that the country can also benefit from mineral resources,” Dr Mwansa said.
Milupi on Wednesday said Zambia’s current economic position did not require any development agreements with the mines or an improvement to the existing ones.
There have also been suggestions that the government should present a proposal to parliament to raise royalties to three per cent unlike resorting to the renegotiation table, as this is understood to be a long process.
With a boom in copper prices on the international market, the government decided to review the development agreements with the mines as well as effect an upward adjustment to royalty taxes for already existing and new mining investments.
Compared with other mineral-rich countries in Africa, Zambia’s revenue from royalties and other taxes from the mines accounted for just a smaller fraction than the profits gained by the mining companies.
Recent figures indicate that Zambia earned around K35 billion from mineral royalties during 2005/2006 at the rate of 0.6 per cent while other countries such as Chile have been netting billions of dollars from the same resource.
For example, 17 largest privately held copper mines in Chile, most of the units of large international mining firms, posted a net joint profit of US $3.03 billion (approximately K9 trillion) in the first quarter of this year and contributed about US $1.17 billion to the Chilean government.
The net profit of the 17 largest privately held copper miners in Chile was 15 per cent higher than the US $1.14 billion the same companies posted in the first quarter of 2006. Latest data indicates that Chile earned a total of US $8 billion (approximately K25 trillion - enough to finance Zambia’s annual budget which usually hovers around K12 trillion) from royalties during the 2005/2006 financial year.
During the first quarter of this year, Chile earned a total of US $270 million in copper royalties (approximately K1 trillion) and US $900 million from income taxes (approximately K3 trillion).
And Dr Mwansa said: “We realise the importance of bringing the royalty taxes paid by mining companies to a world average.”
The government proposed in this year’s budget that royalties be raised from 0.6 per cent to three per cent, although it is still renegotiating the changes with the mines before the new rate could be effected.
And during a consultative workshop on the review of the petroleum exploration and Production Act, Dr Mwansa said petroleum resources could change the economic landscape of the country by accelerating social and economic growth and development.
The review of the Act is to facilitate the exploration and production of oil in the country following revelations of positive oil and gas deposits in North-Western Province.
The government recently cancelled the tendering procedure for extensive exploration of oil and gas in the province, saying it had been advised by oil producing countries that the current law was inadequate to guarantee safe operations in the sector.
“The process of tendering will only resume once we are through with the revision of the petroleum exploration and production Act of 1985,” said Dr Mwansa.
Labels: DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENTS, KALOMBO MWANSA, MINING CONTRACTS, PETROLEUM ACT
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Why MMD after 2011?
By Kombe Ngolwe
Friday November 30, 2007 [03:00]
Prof Clive Chirwa’s intention to take over the MMD presidency is good since the race within the party is still very open. I hope other political parties will also start to identify potential presidential candidates. However, Zambians demand answers on some issues before MMD seeks another term. What does MMD want to achieve after 2011 which has not been achieved since its coming to power in 1991?
Despite the country’s highly publicised economic growth, the majority of Zambians are still waiting for the real impact of that growth on food affordability, transport costs, health care and education expenses. A mere economic growth rate is not a vaccine against poverty and unemployment.
As for the next president, it must be someone who will make the government responsive and accountable to the needs of Zambians first. We are tired of political slogans that deliver nothing.
We need a president and a party that will safeguard unity, promote equity and create opportunities for Zambians, not just for foreigners.
Zambians are hard-working and determined people; but have been let down by unresponsive administrations. Even as we speak, Zambians are establishing homes and businesses; but where is the government to provide public services in those emerging neighbourhoods?
While the government is quick in declaring some settlements as illegal, it is very slow and unresponsive in delivering facilities for public water supply, building police posts or maintaining roads.
I wait to hear why MMD deserves a another term after 2011. The hour has come; change is needed for Zambia.
http://www.postzambia.com/post-read_article.php?articleId=34575
Prof Chirwa's intentions
By Justin Lupele, South Africa
Friday November 30, 2007 [03:00]
The desire by Professor Clive Chirwa to ascend to the MMD presidency has generated a lot of interest. Some MMD cadres such as Lameck Mangani are jittery about his pronouncement.
Some citizens have welcomed Prof Chirwa’s intentions on the assumption that, because he has been successful in his career, he would be a better president for Zambia. The third group (where I belong) has adopted a ‘let us wait and see’ stance.
In my view, how much support Prof Chirwa garners will depend on how he handles the criticism and attacks from the MMD cadres. This is a big test for his political career. If he thinks he can respond to every ranting cadre, he risks taking a myopic and self-destructive path.
Statements such as “… I have reached a point where white people are working for me in my firms. I have controlled whites in most sectors of life…” (The Post, 26th November 2007) are very unnecessary for the job at hand.
Prof Chirwa should know better that there is nothing special about being white when it comes to professional work.
His immediate task is to convince his party – MMD members to vote for him. Then he should come for our votes.
http://www.postzambia.com/post-read_article.php?articleId=34574
Mangani's unfounded fear
By Bwembya Katongo, Kitwe
Friday November 30, 2007 [03:00]
The statement made by Lameck Mangani in relation to Professor Clive Chirwa was made out the fear of the unknown. Perhaps Mangani is right to be afraid of Prof Chirwa because people like him would have no room in Prof Chirwa’s cabinet.
In my view, Prof Chirwa is sure bait for MMD’s survival after 2011. He should not be intimidated.
He is more credible and worthy than 90 per cent of the current leaders in the MMD and he can be ranked much higher than any of the opposition party presidents.
The opposition parties have nothing to offer.
The same opposition parties have failed to unseat the MMD even at its weakest point during the last two general elections.
By the way, why don’t we have a situation where if a party president leads his or her party to defeat in a general election, he or she should resign? Presently, it is like these political parties are personal-to-holder entities.
No wonder some political parties have never had party elections or conventions where their party leaders were elected.
MMD should not lose the opportunity to embrace a person like Prof Chirwa. Otherwise, sooner than later they will regret. Prof Chirwa is a sellable asset to the people of Zambia. He has a clean record - an international one for that matter.
He stands out amongst most of our politicians today. I am very sure his joining MMD has sent shivers in the opposition camps. A lot of them wish that they would have been the ones he joined. Political opportunists in the MMD, please don’t frustrate your saviour.
Labels: CLIVE CHIRWA
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The Post introduces text message opinion poll
By Lwanga Mwilu
Friday November 30, 2007 [03:00]
Post Newspapers Limited has introduced a text message-based interactive opinion poll to get its readers’ views on various topical issues. The opinion poll, to commence on Monday, will feature a topical issue for a particular week with a response option of yes or no. In an interview yesterday, Post managing editor Amos Malupenga said from an editorial point of view, the polls were meant to enhance interaction between the newspaper and its readers.
“The idea is to enhance interaction between ourselves and our readers so that we know their feelings, views and opinions on issues we consider topical and of national interest for a particular week,” Malupenga said.
“We will suggest a topic every Monday that readers will respond to by either stating yes or no. They will be able to send in their responses from Monday to Sunday when the results will be compiled and published the following day in percentage form.”
Malupenga said the results would inform the newspaper and other stakeholders the general public’s feelings on issues of national importance.
“Through the opinion polls, we will be able to have an idea of what people are thinking about a particular issue and this should give a general idea of what the public perception is,” said Malupenga.
“The responses may also create leads for stories because a particular response may make us follow up and investigate reasons for the public taking such a position. Readers that may want to expand on why their response is yes or no will be free to write to the editor through the usual Post bag column.”
And Post marketing manager Chris Chilongo said the newspaper’s expectation is that the opinion poll initiative will create a platform for debate.
“We expect to generate a lot of debate on national issues affecting Zambians. We are taking advantage of the latest advancements in mobile phone technology so the polls will be SMS based,” he said.
“Our readers will be able to type either yes or no in text message form and send it to the short code 4450 and they will get a response advising that their response has been received. The prospective participants will be required to shoulder an SMS charge of K1,500 every time they send their response.”
Chilongo was optimistic that readers would respond positively.
“This will create more interactions and allow the readers’ views to be heard and I think that should excite our readers.
Subscribers on all three networks will be able to access the service eventually although we are starting with Celtel. We are using mobile phones so that readers can conveniently and effectively interact with us ” said Chilongo.
Labels: POLLING, THE POST
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Amended cotton Act vital to sector - Kapita
By Joan Chirwa
Friday November 30, 2007 [03:00]
Agriculture and co-operatives minister Ben Kapita has said the amended Cotton Act that is still being discussed is likely to be approved early next year. During a cotton exhibition held at Alliance Francaise in Lusaka on Wednesday night, Kapita said the approval of the amended Cotton Act was critical to the sector in order to deal with the contentious issues affecting both the farmers and ginning companies.
“There are a lot of issues affecting the cotton industry in this country. There is the issue of side-selling which is affecting both farmers and genuine ginning companies,” Kapita said.
“We have had new entrants in the game of late every pre-planting period. Most of them do not pre-finance the crop but they wait for harvest time so that they can buy the cotton from farmers who were pre-financed by other ginners.”
The current legislation for the cotton industry does not restrict the issue of side-selling, and most ginners say this had stifled the growth of the sector.
Kapita also hoped for good seed cotton prices during the next marketing season.
“Agriculture is now becoming the main economic activity in this country and it is important that cash crops such as cotton are promoted by ensuring a win-win situation between farmers and the ginners,” Kapita said.
“The cotton sub-sector was liberalised in 1996 and this resulted in an increase in the number of cotton farmers from 37,000 to over 180,000 farmers by 2004. It is therefore important to continue supporting this sector so that farmers can produce high quality cotton which can increase the incomes of the farmers.”
About five major ginners have agreed, after meetings with the Cotton Association of Zambia (CAZ), to offer pre-planting prices of around K1,200 per kilogramme of seed cotton during the next marketing season.
This is in view of rising cotton prices on the international market as well as the stability of the local currency against major currencies this year.
A number of cotton farmers last year withdrew from the industry largely on account of the low prices offered during the 2005/2006 marketing season, following the appreciation of the kwacha against the United States dollar.
Labels: BEN KAPITA, COTTON
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Bolivia's Congress raises mining taxes
Fri Nov 23, 2007 10:27pm EST
By Eduardo Garcia
LA PAZ, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Bolivia's Congress approved a reform to the mining tax code late on Friday that will substantially increase taxes on mining companies operating in the South American country. Mining ministry spokesman Alfredo Zaconeta told Reuters the reform means mining companies will have to pay
37.5 percent of their income to the Bolivian state, up from 25 percent in the past. The decision will affect several major global mining companies working in Bolivia, including U.S.-based Apex Silver Mines Ltd. (SIL.A: Quote, Profile, Research) and Coeur d'Alene Mines Corp. (CDM.TO: Quote, Profile, Research) (CDE.N: Quote, Profile, Research).
The tax reform also broadens the scope of the Complementary Mining Tax (CMT) -- which acts like a royalty -- to include minerals that currently do not pay the levy, like indium and wolfram. Zaconeta said the royalty tax will be directly proportional to the price of the mineral in the international market. Currently, it ranges from 1 percent to 10 percent.
The reform also aims to close a legal loophole that grants miners hefty discounts on income tax payments, Zaconeta said. After taking office as the country's first president of indigenous descent in January 2006, leftist President Evo Morales drastically raised taxes on natural gas operations and nationalized reserves of the fuel. He has repeatedly pledged to carry out similar reforms in the mining sector.
The tax hike and efforts to revitalize state-run mining company COMIBOL are at the heart of government plans to tighten the state's grip on Bolivia's vast reserves of tin, zinc, wolfram, lead, silver and gold. (Reporting by Eduardo Garcia; editing by Louise Heavens)
Labels: BOLIVIA, DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENTS, MINING CONTRACTS, TAXATION
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Mining deals should be done away with - Milupi
By Joan Chirwa
Thursday November 29, 2007 [03:01]
Mining development agreements should be done away with instead of making any improvements to them, Luena independent member of parliament
Charles Milupi has said. And United Liberal Party president Sakwiba Sikota has advised the government not to engage foreign experts to renegotiate mining agreements, saying the country had adequate professionals to do the job.
Milupi, who once served as an electrical and mechanical consulting engineer for the privatised Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines (ZCCM), said Zambia’s current economic position did not require any development agreement with the mines or an improvement to the existing ones.
“We have already finished the privatisation of the mines because the development agreements signed between 1997 and 2000 were put in place to serve that purpose. Investor confidence is not compelled by the development agreements, but this is determined by the country’s political and economic stability,” Milupi said. “We don’t need any improvement to the existing development agreements; they should just be cancelled after talking to these mining companies.
Even marriages are terminated and I don’t think we can fail as a country to agree on this issue surrounding the development agreements and just the amount of money the country has been losing through the collection of low mineral royalties.”
Milupi estimated that the government is losing an average of US $500,000 every day from the mines as a result of the 0.6 per cent mineral royalty charged on mining houses.
“That is the reason why the issue of royalties and proper taxes for the mining companies needs to be tackled to ensure that the country gets appropriate revenue from the mineral resources,” Milupi said. “I am also very disappointed with the government’s delays to adjust mineral royalties to the proposed three per cent. This everybody has agreed to have the mineral royalties adjusted but I wonder why it has taken so long to make changes.”
Milupi noted that an adequate collection of mineral royalties from the mining companies could assist in financing the country’s annual budgets.
“And this idea of engaging foreign experts to come and help us out is not going to work out,” Milupi said. “We have enough well educated people here in Zambia who can do that job.”
But Chamber of Mines chief executive officer Frederick Bantubonse said his institution would not change its position as mining companies have agreed to renegotiate the development agreements with the government.
“The position of the Chamber of Mines is that the mines have agreed to renegotiate. So we can’t be changing positions all the time,” said Bantubonse.
And Sikota said Zambia should not entrust foreign experts to properly re-negotiate development agreements with the mines.
“In October, we had raised questions about government’s intentions to use foreigners to renegotiate mining agreements,” Sikota said. “The first query was on the qualifications of the foreign experts.
There is no system to prove the validity of their documents and experience. Are the foreign negotiators genuinely well qualified and experienced than our own Zambian experts to renegotiate mining agreements?”
While the government has opted for a procedure in the renegotiation process which entails instituting a team of experts – mostly from foreign countries – a number of people view this as a means of exempting mining companies from paying higher royalties in the short term.
There was also a proposal from former finance minister Edith Nawakwi, who signed the development agreements, that the government could table a proposal in Parliament for approval in order to start collecting royalties at three per cent.
In response to Nawakwi’s suggestion, mines minister Dr Kalombo Mwansa agreed that a change to mineral royalties through parliamentary approval was possible, but said that could not happen now because the current agreements were binding based on the old legislation.
University of Zambia development studies lecturer Dr Francis Chigunta said there was no justification for the delay in the renegotiation of the mining agreements if changes to royalty taxes could be made in Parliament.
Labels: CHARLES MILUPI, DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENTS, MINING CONTRACTS, SAKWIBA SIKOTA, ULP
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Mineral royalty renegotiations
By Concerned citizen
Thursday November 29, 2007 [03:00]
Your story (The Post, November 27, 2007) on mineral royalty renegotiations made interesting reading, especially the point from one source who described the exercise as “a deliberate step taken to further exempt mines from paying higher royalties.” After reading that story, I read about
Bolivia's amendments to its mining industry's tax regime.
Under the new mining tax code, the Bolivian government has increased income tax from 25 per cent to 37.5 per cent. This move only started early this year. In Zambia, we are far from concluding this critical matter, which we started last year.
Now, if the government of Bolivia has changed the mining tax regime, with the support of the major miners in the country the code only exempts the locally owned mining cooperatives from the new tax regime for now, why have we failed? Is our government waiting until prices collapse so that the mines can say that the metal prices are unfavourable on the international market? Who is benefiting from the government’s playing to the gallery?
Bolivia had development agreements with the country's mine owners but tax changes were made without unnecessary delays. I think it is time the government stopped wasting time and concluded the matter.
If they do not know how to go about it, Nawakwi has offered to help. I’m sure many other experts would come forward.
http://www.postzambia.com/post-read_article.php?articleId=34521
The blame game
By Chali Chewe
Thursday November 29, 2007 [03:00]
It is interesting to see the blame game going on between finance minister Ng’andu Magande and Edith Nawakwi over whether the government should renegotiate, discuss or take a decisive action concerning taxation vis-a-vis the sale of the mines to foreign investors.
I do not wish to side with Nawakwi but I think she has a point. Magande and his government are in authority now and cannot continue to blame the past government for their failures.
Copper is our God-given asset and the more we delay in making decisions which are beneficial to the Zambians, the poorer this country shall become.
This government must re-draft the agreements which were entered into through blackmail. These international investors are business barons who survive and get away with what they want by arm-twisting and manipulating situations.
If they projected a bleak future for copper so that they could get their hands on it, then I think it’s time we woke up and reclaimed what belonged to us. In Chad, after the government there realised that they had been manipulated into selling off oil fields on unfair conditions. They cancelled everything and started calling the shots with new investors who had to follow conditions as laid down by the government.
We choose governments so that they can correct the past mistakes and forge ahead.
Contracts are not cast in iron or concrete that they cannot be rearranged. Magande must stop complaining of past misdeeds. He is there to sort out that very mess. If he continues crying and telling us why he cannot do his job and correct what was done wrong, then he is just as hopeless as those he took over from and must resign.
http://www.postzambia.com/post-read_article.php?articleId=34520
Zambia's economy
By Kedrick Sikaona
Thursday November 29, 2007 [03:00]
Our economy requires much attention, analysis, monitoring and review. It needs serious attention and periodical reviews. Otherwise, the current trend where politicians play a huge role may leave us with more problems.
May I request our politicians to be alert and avoid making baseless statements? They need to continually consult professionals more than they did in the past. Otherwise, what may be left for us are big ditches without any minerals.
http://www.postzambia.com/post-read_article.php?articleId=34478
Don't resist change
By Phillip Zulu
Wednesday November 28, 2007 [03:00]
While I agree with Neo Simutanyi's analysis of Zambian politics, especially regarding new entrants who want to get to the top at the expense of old members, it must be understood that it is this same trend that has brought misery to the Zambian people.
As he rightly put it, several wise men and women have been rejected in the past because Zambians do not believe in serious talk, but jokes.
The majority of Zambians want people who can make them laugh during rallies and shun leaders who tell them the truth about their future. As long as poverty levels remain high, Zambians will continue voting wrongly.
In my view, Hakainde Hichilema and people like Prof Chirwa can help greatly in reducing poverty in Zambia. President Mwanawasa should embrace these two gentlemen if he needs continuity.
http://www.postzambia.com/post-read_article.php?articleId=34486
Quality leadership
By Munamaimbo D Maimbo
Wednesday November 28, 2007 [03:00]
Prof Clive Chirwa, don’t get distracted by advisors such as Lameck Mangani and Neo Simutanyi. Your credentials are sending shock waves and that’s the reason some people are jittery.
Let us not pretend, Prof Chirwa is the man. Go, go Prof, you’re the uniting factor. We can bank on your rainbow character as easterners have not been tribal in Zambian politics.
We will not allow disgruntled individuals to frustrate well-meaning and capable Zambians because of petty jealousies. I agree with you that some advice is total rubbish.
For example, Simutanyi and Mangani are suggesting that you should not declare your intentions now because it is too early and that you are new in MMD. Come on Neo and Lameck, we still have more than three years before the 2011 general elections.
When somebody declares his intentions early for the Zambians to know him/her, like Chirwa has done, is it wrong? When somebody joins politics late like HH did, is it wrong? Should we choose bad leaders simply because they have been in the MMD for a longer time?
We are interested in quality and that is what I see in Chirwa. In any case, I am sure Chirwa is not suggesting that he will win MMD presidency at all costs. It is up to the people to decide.
Is Neo suggesting that since incumbent presidents have always had an upper hand in choosing successors, then that is the right way to conduct politics, so that anyone interested in a party's presidency should bank on being nominated by the incumbent president?
Please Neo, only a desperate politician will want to do that. If genuine democracy has to be entrenched in Zambia, we need intra-party democracy. It is not right for an academician to advocate for inertia.
There is need to change the way politics are conducted in Africa. Therefore, whether the current president has a say on who succeeds him is not an issue as Chirwa has the right to participate in Zambian politics whenever, and wherever he decides to.
Labels: MINING CONTRACTS
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Forty Acres and a Gap in Wealth
By HENRY LOUIS GATES Jr.
Published: November 18, 2007
Cambridge, Mass.
LAST week, the Pew Research Center published the astonishing finding that 37 percent of African-Americans polled felt that “blacks today can no longer be thought of as a single race” because of a widening class divide. From Frederick Douglass to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., perhaps the most fundamental assumption in the history of the black community has been that Americans of African descent, the descendants of the slaves, either because of shared culture or shared oppression, constitute “a mighty race,” as Marcus Garvey often put it.
“By a ratio of 2 to 1,” the report says, “blacks say that the values of poor and middle-class blacks have grown more dissimilar over the past decade. In contrast, most blacks say that the values of blacks and whites have grown more alike.”
The message here is that it is time to examine the differences between black families on either side of the divide for clues about how to address an increasingly entrenched inequality. We can’t afford to wait any longer to address the causes of persistent poverty among most black families.
This class divide was predicted long ago, and nobody wanted to listen. At a conference marking the 40th anniversary of Daniel Patrick Moynihan’s infamous report on the problems of the black family, I asked the conservative scholar James Q. Wilson and the liberal scholar William Julius Wilson if ours was the generation presiding over an irreversible, self-perpetuating class divide within the African-American community.
“I have to believe that this is not the case,” the liberal Wilson responded with willed optimism. “Why go on with this work otherwise?” The conservative Wilson nodded. Yet, no one could imagine how to close the gap.
In 1965, when Moynihan published his report, suggesting that the out-of-wedlock birthrate and the number of families headed by single mothers, both about 24 percent, pointed to dissolution of the social fabric of the black community, black scholars and liberals dismissed it. They attacked its author as a right-wing bigot. Now we’d give just about anything to have those statistics back. Today, 69 percent of black babies are born out of wedlock, while 45 percent of black households with children are headed by women.
How did this happen? As many theories flourish as pundits — from slavery and segregation to the decline of factory jobs, crack cocaine, draconian drug laws and outsourcing. But nobody knows for sure.
I have been studying the family trees of 20 successful African-Americans, people in fields ranging from entertainment and sports (Oprah Winfrey, the track star Jackie Joyner-Kersee) to space travel and medicine (the astronaut Mae Jemison and Ben Carson, a pediatric neurosurgeon). And I’ve seen an astonishing pattern: 15 of the 20 descend from at least one line of former slaves who managed to obtain property by 1920 — a time when only 25 percent of all African-American families owned property.
Ten years after slavery ended, Constantine Winfrey, Oprah’s great-grandfather, bartered eight bales of cleaned cotton (4,000 pounds) that he picked on his own time for 80 acres of prime bottomland in Mississippi. (He also learned to read and write while picking all that cotton.)
Sometimes the government helped: Whoopi Goldberg’s great-great-grandparents received their land through the Southern Homestead Act. “So my family got its 40 acres and a mule,” she exclaimed when I showed her the deed, referring to the rumor that freed slaves would receive land that had been owned by their masters.
Well, perhaps not the mule, but 104 acres in Florida. If there is a meaningful correlation between the success of accomplished African-Americans today and their ancestors’ property ownership, we can only imagine how different black-white relations would be had “40 acres and a mule” really been official government policy in the Reconstruction South.
The historical basis for the gap between the black middle class and underclass shows that ending discrimination, by itself, would not eradicate black poverty and dysfunction. We also need intervention to promulgate a middle-class ethic of success among the poor, while expanding opportunities for economic betterment.
Perhaps Margaret Thatcher, of all people, suggested a program that might help. In the 1980s, she turned 1.5 million residents of public housing projects in Britain into homeowners. It was certainly the most liberal thing Mrs. Thatcher did, and perhaps progressives should borrow a leaf from her playbook.
The telltale fact is that the biggest gap in black prosperity isn’t in income, but in wealth. According to a study by the economist Edward N. Wolff, the median net worth of non-Hispanic black households in 2004 was only $11,800 — less than 10 percent that of non-Hispanic white households, $118,300. Perhaps a bold and innovative approach to the problem of black poverty — one floated during the Civil War but never fully put into practice — would be to look at ways to turn tenants into homeowners. Sadly, in the wake of the subprime mortgage debacle, an enormous number of houses are being repossessed. But for the black poor, real progress may come only once they have an ownership stake in American society.
People who own property feel a sense of ownership in their future and their society. They study, save, work, strive and vote. And people trapped in a culture of tenancy do not.
The sad truth is that the civil rights movement cannot be reborn until we identify the causes of black suffering, some of them self-inflicted. Why can’t black leaders organize rallies around responsible sexuality, birth within marriage, parents reading to their children and students staying in school and doing homework? Imagine Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson distributing free copies of Virginia Hamilton’s collection of folktales “The People Could Fly” or Dr. Seuss, and demanding that black parents sign pledges to read to their children. What would it take to make inner-city schools havens of learning?
John Kenneth Galbraith once told me that the first step in reversing the economic inequalities that blacks face is greater voter participation, and I think he was right. Politicians will not put forth programs aimed at the problems of poor blacks while their turnout remains so low.
If the correlation between land ownership and success of African-Americans argues that the chasm between classes in the black community is partly the result of social forces set in motion by the dismal failure of 40 acres and a mule, then we must act decisively. If we do not, ours will be remembered as the generation that presided over a permanent class divide, a slow but inevitable process that began with the failure to give property to the people who had once been defined as property.
Labels: HENRY LOUIS GATES JR, LAND REFORM
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On land, poor can rise; landless, they sink
Forty Acres and a Gap in Wealth
We condense this op-ed from the New York Times (November 18, 2007). The writer is a professor at Harvard and author of the forthcoming “In Search of Our Roots”. by
Henry Louis Gates Jr.At a conference marking the 40th anniversary of Daniel Patrick Moynihan’s infamous report on the problems of the black family, I asked the conservative scholar James Q. Wilson and the liberal scholar William Julius Wilson if ours was the generation presiding over an irreversible, self-perpetuating class divide within the African-American community.
“I have to believe that this is not the case,” the liberal Wilson responded with willed optimism. “Why go on with this work otherwise?” The conservative Wilson nodded. Yet, no one could imagine how to close the gap.
In 1965, when Moynihan published his report, suggesting that the out-of-wedlock birthrate and the number of families headed by single mothers, both about 24%, pointed to dissolution of the social fabric of the black community, black scholars and liberals dismissed it. They attacked its author as a right-wing bigot. Now we’d give just about anything to have those statistics back. Today, 69% of black babies are born out of wedlock, while 45% of black households with children are headed by women.
How did this happen? As many theories flourish as pundits -- from slavery and segregation to the decline of factory jobs, crack cocaine, draconian drug laws, and outsourcing. But nobody knows for sure.
I have been studying the family trees of 20 successful African-Americans, people in fields ranging from entertainment and sports (Oprah Winfrey, the track star Jackie Joyner-Kersee) to space travel and medicine (the astronaut Mae Jemison and Ben Carson, a pediatric neurosurgeon). And I’ve seen an astonishing pattern: 15 of the 20 descend from at least one line of former slaves who managed to obtain property by 1920 -- a time when only 25% of all African-American families owned property.
Ten years after slavery ended, Constantine Winfrey, Oprah’s great-grandfather, bartered eight bales of cleaned cotton (4,000 pounds) that he picked on his own time for 80 acres of prime bottomland in Mississippi. (He also learned to read and write while picking all that cotton.)
Sometimes the government helped: Whoopi Goldberg’s great-great-grandparents received their land through the Southern Homestead Act. “So my family got its 40 acres and a mule,” she exclaimed when I showed her the deed. Well, perhaps not the mule, but 104 acres in Florida.
It was rumored that freed slaves would receive land that had been owned by their masters. Such reforms were floated during the Civil War but never fully put into practice. Lacking such justice, we’ve reached the point today where, according to a study by the economist Edward N. Wolff, the median net worth of non-Hispanic black households in 2004 was only $11,800 -- less than 10% that of non-Hispanic white households, $118,300.
If there is a meaningful correlation between the success of accomplished African-Americans today and their ancestors’ property ownership, we can only imagine how different black-white relations would be had “40 acres and a mule” really been official government policy in the Reconstruction South. People who own property feel a sense of ownership in their future and their society. They study, save, work, strive and vote. And people trapped in a culture of tenancy do not.
The historical basis for the gap between the black middle class and underclass shows that ending discrimination, by itself, would not eradicate black poverty and dysfunction. We also need intervention to promulgate a middle-class ethic of success among the poor, while expanding opportunities for economic betterment.
Perhaps a bold and innovative approach to the problem of black poverty would be to look at ways to turn tenants into homeowners. Sadly, in the wake of the subprime mortgage debacle, an enormous number of houses are being repossessed. But for the black poor, real progress may come only once they have an ownership stake in American society.
JJS: The Union Army did give Confederate President Jefferson Davis’ plantation land to former slaves. After learning to manage the entire operation, they did quite well -- until the Army returned North. Then whites took back the land -- for its rent. To spread ownership, it’d help to focus less on titles, more on the flow of rent. Where owners owed rent to their community, there they had little motive to hold vast acreage in abstentia; instead of hoarding the surplus output, owners had to pay it over as rent. Indeed, every jurisdiction that taxed land value -- Denmark, California, Australia, Taiwan -- whittled down huge estates into numerous family farms that prospered, providing the underpinning for national development. Undoubtedly, the public recovery of site rent would work today to spread property and prosperity across other borders, too, whether race or class.
---------------------
Jeffery J. Smith runs the Forum on Geonomics.
Labels: HENRY LOUIS GATES JR, LAND, LAND REFORM, MIDDLE CLASS
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Delay in negotiating mining deals unjustified - Dr Chigunta
By Joan Chirwa
Wednesday November 28, 2007 [03:00]
THERE is
no justification for the delay in renegotiating the development agreements of the mines if changes to royalty taxes can be made in Parliament, University of Zambia development studies lecturer, Dr Francis Chigunta has said. And a working group of parliamentarians and chiefs has observed that the
mining development agreements are a tool for tax evasion and
not necessary any more for Zambia’s economy.
Commenting on the debate surrounding mineral royalties and government’s attempt to review development agreements for mining companies, Dr Chigunta advised the government to put an end to the low royalties being paid by mining companies by adopting the changes to the mining tax system through Parliament.
“I wonder why there has been so much delay in the whole process of renegotiating mining agreements if it is possible for the changes to be made in Parliament,” Dr Chigunta said.
“Government should therefore quickly effect new royalty taxes the parliament way for mining companies to be adequately taxed as opposed to the 0.6 per cent royalties they are currently paying, even when prices of copper on the international market have gone up dramatically.”
Dr Chigunta suggested that a reasonable amount of pressure be put on government so that a proposal for a change in mineral royalties is presented to Parliament before the current sitting adjourns.
“It doesn’t make sense for experts to be engaged for this renegotiation process when we have got a Parliament that makes laws. I totally agree with what Forum for Democracy and Development president Edith Nawakwi said with regard to taking a proposal to Parliament for an increment to royalties,” Dr Chigunta said. “Our country should learn from what other countries such as Chile did for them to get higher mineral royalties.”
And the chiefs and parliamentarians observed during a workshop to discuss the review of the Mines and Minerals Act of 1995 that it was not necessary for the government to continue entering into development agreements considering that the country’s economy was now performing better than it was at the time the mines were being privatised.
“Development agreements were entered into that time to encourage investors to invest in the country because the economy was not doing very fine. But now that the economy is okay, we believe that the encouragement of investors is as a result of the stability the nation and not because of the development agreements,” the committee observed.
“You can have the best development agreements in the world but they will not attract the much needed investments if there is no stability in the country. No investor can put his or her money in a country where there is no political or economic stability.”
The committee also noted that Zambia was currently known to be one of the risk free investment destination in Africa; hence the need for the government to stop entering into development agreements as a way of offering incentives to the mining companies.
“We were in dire stress that time when we decided to enter into development agreements with the mines but now that copper prices are hitting over US $9,000 per tone, it is important for the country to strategically position itself to benefit from the mineral resources it has,” the committee stated.
“These development agreements were also put up to facilitate the privatisation process and now that there is no other mine to privatise, we don’t need to start entering into agreements with mining companies any more.”
And UPND Copperbelt Province chairman Joe Kalusa said Nawakwi should not be the only one explaining about the signing of bad development agreements with the mines since the decision was collectively made by cabinet at the time.
“There are a lot of people that need to explain and apologise to the Zambians for making the country come up with development agreements that have swindled the country out of millions of dollars,” Kalusa said.
“Actually, the whole cabinet of Frederick Chiluba’s administration needs to explain to us why they bowed down to the pressure of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank for us to privatise the mines and later on offer unimaginable incentives to investors.”
Kalusa said the government should increase royalties in the same way that domestic and other taxes are raised whenever required.
“When government thinks of increasing domestic taxes, I don’t think we are consulted. All we hear is an announcement during the presentation of the budget that some taxes have been revised.
Why then should mineral royalties require experts to convene and discuss this whole thing?” Kalusa asked. “Is it because it is mainly the foreign investors involved in this that they want to use the other procedures of adjusting taxes than what government uses on its people?”
Mines and minerals development minister Dr Kalombo Mwansa on Monday said it was possible for the government to increase royalties to three per cent through parliamentary approval but could not do so because the current agreements were binding based on the old legislation.
Dr Mwansa was responding to Nawakwi’s suggestion that the renegotiation of development agreements be discontinued, but that government should instead take a proposal to parliament to increase royalties from the current 0.6 per cent to three per cent.
And the working group of parliamentarians and chiefs further recommended the strengthening of corporate social responsibility programmes undertaken by the mines for the investments to effectively benefit the local communities.
It was noted that as much as some mining houses were actively involved in assisting communities where they have invested, there was need for enhanced participation of investors in the welfare of Zambian citizens as a way of paying back the profits gained from copper resources.
Labels: DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENTS, MINING CONTRACTS
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'Most trade policies have caused poverty'
By Nomusa Michelo
Wednesday November 28, 2007 [03:00]
CIVIL Society Trade Network of Zambia (CSTNZ) national coordinator Savior Mwambwa has said most trade policies implemented in the country have led to food insecurity. Speaking after a dissemination workshop for the Food Basket Study at Cresta Golf View Hotel yesterday, Mwambwa said trade arrangements signed by the government have taken people back to poverty.
“Most of the trade liberalisation policies that we have been implementing as a country, and also have been negotiated under the World Trade Organisation have led to loss of food security,” he said.
“Most people have gone back into poverty. When you look at maize, before we did not import so much maize, but now we importing maize so even those farmers who grow maize at a small scale cannot sell their maize.”
Mwambwa said despite measures such as the maize floor price issued by the government, small-scale farmers are still exploited.
“And now what will happen with the new Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs,) if they are signed in the current form, they will open up our markets and we will have to compete with cheap European products,” he said.
“But you see, the standards are different. It means I won’t be able to export my products at a cheap price because I am small-scale, my goods will be too expensive.”
And presenting the findings of the study, Dorothy Nthani said the playing field for trade within the country and across borders is still uneven.
“Zambia, especially the rural areas have poor infrastructure hence cannot compete favourably on the international market,” she said.
She said owing to the high tax rates pertaining in Zambia, Zambian products tend to be expensive. Nthani also said the wide availability of products works negatively of innovation in terms of developing local industry.
“Sustainable development must work in tandem with active participation of local people in creating local industries in order to reduce poverty,” said Nthani.
Labels: CSTNZ, EPAs, NEOLIBERALISM, TRADE
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Prof Chirwa links road traffic jams to collapsed rail system
By Chibaula Silwamba in Livingstone
Tuesday November 27, 2007 [03:00]
ROAD traffic congestion is the consequence of the complete collapse of railway system in Zambia, UK based automotive engineer and University of Bolton lecturer Professor Clive Chirwa has said. And Road Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA) road transport manager Robert M’tonga said 55,000 vehicles were registered last year alone in Zambia. Making a presentation dubbed,
‘Road congestion: What are the business challenges?’ during the Zambia Institute of Marketing (ZIM) annual conference on Saturday, Prof Chirwa said road traffic congestion affected delivery of services, products and disturbed production and in turn disrupt economic growth.
“Every time I come to Zambia, I don’t see a single locomotive moving on these railways. Where I come from, every minute, I see a train moving from A to B,” he said.
“The most important thing is to develop rail infrastructure. I have gone to the minister of transport and we had discussions to see how we can revive the railway system and push the railway system to what it is supposed to be.”
Prof Chirwa said the government should come in to revive the system and not depend on the private sector. He said that roads today move most products that were moved by rail. He said to make matters worse, roads were still colonial in nature and suggested the construction of more roads to suit a modern society.
Prof Chirwa said that the solution to the roads congestion had to be found now and not later in 10 or 15 years time.
“Five thousand cars in the colonial days to millions of cars today on the roads means you cannot maintain the same roads which you had 43 years ago,” he said. “We also need toll system to protect roads and bridges.”
He proposed coming up with a congestion charge on motorists ‘wandering’ about on busy roads as it was done in other countries.
“Every single time you want to make a movement into that area, you need to have control. We don’t need to have, for example, many people who are just visiting or just coming from other towns to pass through the city centre.
They can go round the city centre in order to create a clear flow, but you find that most of these vehicles are coming through the city centre and creating congestion,” he observed.
“So those people who have got no business to do in the city centre are the ones who can be charged to pay congestion charge. That would control congestion. This happens in all big cities around the world and London is a good example. When you go to Westminster you will pay a pound as congestion charge. What they are trying to do is to let people who have business in there go free of charge and move faster.”
He further suggested the use of rivers for transportation of goods.
“The rivers in Zambia do nothing apart from people moving from point A to B on small canoes. We can bring barges, barges are ships which sink less and therefore can carry the goods,” he said. “We can move goods from the Copperbelt Province all the way to Solwezi and come to Livingstone.”
“We must look at that in depth in order to understand how we can use the rivers to transport goods. These are ideas which people need to look at. You can move all the copper on the river,” Prof Chirwa said. “Therefore the river and railway transport become extremely important for a landlocked country. If you don’t have these infrastructure then you are doomed, there is no development that can take place.”
Prof Chirwa said some time back an engineer proposed the construction of circular roads in Lusaka but his suggestion was rejected on the basis that it was expensive.
“We could have done that and it was cheaper that time but now it has become difficult and expensive,” said Prof Chirwa.
And M’tonga said the increase in vehicles was good but most drivers had no licence.
“We are having a lot of accidents and many young people who can contribute to the growth of this economy are dying in road accidents,” he said.
M’tonga suggested that companies make different times at which employees report for work.
“Those are some of the initiatives that are being implemented in societies where congestion has been a problem,” said M’tonga.
Road Development Agency corporate affairs manager Kasote Singogo said some billboards on roadsides were a nuisance and lead to accidents.
Labels: CLIVE CHIRWA, INFRASTRUCTURE, RAIL, ROAD DEVELOPMENT AGENCY, ROADS
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Mangani urges MPs to lobby for development
By Christopher Miti
Monday November 26, 2007 [03:00]
CHAIRPERSON of members of parliament from Eastern Province Lameck Mangani has challenged his colleagues in the province to take keen interest in lobbying for development. Reacting to chief Madzimawe’s accusation that some members of parliament in Chipata were doing nothing, Mangani who is also Chipata Central member of parliament and Lusaka Province minister urged his colleagues to make well calculated moves to their constituencies in order to foster development.
“A mere visit by an MP to the constituency cannot bring development but MPs should ensure that they make well calculated visits that can help foster development, what is important is to see that development is trickling into our areas,” Mangani said.
He said that members of parliament from the province were scheduled to meet on Saturday to discuss developmental issues.
“We are meeting today (Saturday) to discuss a number of issues concerning the province because we want to see how we can coordinate and attend to problems affecting our constituencies,” Mangani said.
Luangeni member of parliament Angela Cifire asked her colleagues to remain focused on development.
“As members of parliament from Eastern Province, we sat to chart the way forward because we want to see development in our area, so we should remain focused all the time,” Cifire said.
Chipangali member of parliament Vincent Mwale said words from chiefs should be taken as an advice.
“I normally become tongue tied to comment on what chiefs say but I would take what the chief said as an advice,” Mwale said.
Three weeks ago chief Madzimawe accused some members of parliament in the district of doing nothing.
Chief Madzimawe said members of parliament should not hide in ministerial positions for them not to visit and foster developmental programmes in their respective constituencies.
“At first we gave them time to settle but now one year has passed there is nothing on the ground. They should know that time for honeymoon is gone, when you talk to them they say they are supposed to get permission from the President but they should not hide in that,” chief Madzimawe said.
Labels: DEVELOPMENT, LAMECK MANGANI, MPs
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From marriage partners to business partners - a couple who made African food a commercial success
Lloyd and Adwoa Mensah-Hagan are an inspirational couple who demonstrate the entrepreneurial spirit that has motivated many Africans in the UK to set up in business with their ‘other half.’
Deborah Gabriel
The idea for Jollof Pot, a catering company specialising in food from Ghana came about from the fact that both Adwoa and I really enjoy hosting dinner parties.
Lloyd and Adwoa Mensah-Hagan are an inspirational couple who demonstrate the entrepreneurial spirit that has motivated many Africans in the UK to set up in business with their ‘other half.’
Aged just 28 and 29, Lloyd and Adwoa, who recently appeared on the BBC2 show The Restaurant are from Romford in East London and run a catering company called The Jollof Pot, in Hackney. The couple, who are enjoying their own wedded bliss cater for weddings, aniversaries, private parties, birthdays and corporate functions. Adwoa is a self-taught chef who started cooking aged eight. She was brought up on traditional Ghanaian food and East African food and lived in Uganda and Kenya for 10 years with her parents when her father was stationed there.
Lloyd was brought up on a mixture of traditional Ghanaian food and English food. He was born in London and would eat English food at school and Ghanaian food at home. A favourite dish is his mum’s ampesi (a mix of boiled yam, plantain and sweet potato) with grilled red snapper and red stew. The couple have catered for some very high profile customers including TV presenter, June Sarpong, Joe Wright, soul singer Alexander O’Neal and DJ Lisa I’Anson, but like most successful businesses, this has culminated from hard work, dedication and destermination.
Lloyd told Black Enterprise: “The idea for Jollof Pot, a catering company specialising in food from Ghana came about from the fact that both Adwoa and I really enjoy hosting dinner parties. Both Adwoa and myself are of Ghanaian descent, so we had the idea of starting the first mainstream Ghanaian restaurant.” However, when the couple realised the costs involved they decided to put the idea aside, until they eventually began with a market stall in Broadway Market, Hackney, where they sold stews served with plain or Jollof rice.
“The early days were quite challenging as Ghanaian food is not particularly popular, so people were quite reluctant to give it a try,” Lloyd explained. “We had to make an extra effort with our marketing - handing out flyers and offering free samples. This eventually got people to try the food.” Fortunately, most people became repeat customers after their first taste of the food. Keeping the business growing was hard work, as both Lloyd and Adwoa were working full time in IT jobs, but they finally took the plunge after deciding that the only way to grow the business was to devote more time to the project. Lloyd quit his job and the couple opened a second stall at Exmouth Market in Islington and then set about looking for commercial premises.
Lloyd told Black Enterprise: “The business has gone from strength to strength and we now have a third site in Portobello Market and a catering business and are now looking forward to opening our restaurant next year.”
Labels: CATERING, GHANA, RESTAURANTS
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Same plan, different approach
The new administration appears to be very committed - more than Obasanjo – and, if they make an effort, I believe they will deliver. Paul Ihediwanma, Executive Director of the International Center for Youth Development
The former president, Olusegun Obasanjo, created the NDDC in 2001 after a three-year survey and research the federal government adopted a 'master plan' in 2004. The current plan is not fundamentally different, but since his inauguration in May President Yar'Adua has pursued a policy of transparency and accountability and he has impressed some activists in the region. "The new administration appears to be very committed -- more than Obasanjo – and, if they make an effort, I believe they will deliver," said Paul Ihediwanma, executive director of the International Center for Youth Development in Umuahia, Abia State.
Others remain cautious. "We're all just watching," said Sofiri Joab-Peterside, a research llow at the Centre for Advanced Social Science in Port Harcourt. "It's about the level of sincerity in implementation." Previous plans fell victim to politics, said Willie Okowa a lecturer at the University of Port Harcourt. "One of the key problems is that most of the implementation is left for the authorities other than the NDDC," he told IRIN. Some 83 percent of spending and operations comes from local, state and federal governments who have failed to live up to their promises in the past.
"Forcing implementation is very difficult. The NDDC cannot compel the state government [to comply]," Okowa said. In October, NDDC managing director Timi Alaibe alleged that since 2001 the government and oil companies have failed to release 224 billion naira (about $1.8 billion) in funding. But for Ledum Mitee, president of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People, the NDDC is part of the problem, often awarding contracts to cronies. Stories of 'white elephant' in the Niger Delta abound, including schools without desks, hospitals without medicine and road projects left half-completed.
"You have an organisation that is supposed to be interventionist that is now loaded by all these structures which are calculated to take from one hand and give to the other hand," Mitee said in an address to the Niger Delta Stakeholders. On 4 November, Vice President Goodluck Jonathan inaugurated a committee to ensure that projects and funding are not duplicated and money is not wasted. The vice president is also leading a host of negotiations with community and militant leaders ahead of a Niger Delta summit intended for later this year.
Labels: DEVELOPMENT, DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENTS, MINING CONTRACTS, NIGERIA
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(BLACK BRITAIN) Nigerian president promises master plan to tackle violence and poverty in the Delta
Nigerian president promises master plan to tackle violence and poverty in the Delta
Our strategy is to nibble continuously on the oil industry until they are crippled.
MEND spokesman Jomo Gbomo
The government of President Umaru Yar'Adua says it is serious about tackling the root causes of violence and poverty in Nigeria's troubled Niger Delta with a ‘master plan’ to develop the region and provide basic services. Yar'Adua’s new budget proposal for 2008 commits 69 billion naira (US $566 million) to the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) for 2008, more than twice last year's federal budget allotment for the commission. "[The Niger Delta will become] Africa's most prosperous, most peaceful and most pleasant region by 2020," according to Davies Okarevu of the NDDC, which is charged with implementing the master plan. Representatives from the commission met with representatves from the region in southeastern town of Calabar in mid-November.
In the next 15 years some US $50 billion will be spent by federal, state, and local governments, as well as oil companies and private foundations to improve the region's infrastructure, environment and economy. The plan is based on three five-year phases which include specific projects to build roads, sanitation systems and support businesses. This would be a transformation for a region where currently seven out of 10 people lack basic amenities.
Since oil was discovered in the Niger Delta in 1956 the region has been the seat of the nation's massive wealth, yet the more than 1,500 communities that have become host to oil facilities are some of the poorest in the country. Many are crippled by oil spills and other environmental problems. Two decades of frustration have spawned an array of militant groups who claim to be fighting for the welfare of the region's 31.2 million inhabitants. Attacks on oil facilities and the kidnapping of oil workers have slowed oil production, costing multi-national companies and the Nigerian government billions of dollars in revenue
In recent weeks one of the leading militant groups, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), has stepped up attacks on installations in the industry with the aim of deterring investors. "Our strategy is to nibble continuously on the oil industry until they are crippled,” MEND spokesman Jomo Gbomo, explained by e-mail. "Our wealth should be used to develop and not oppress us," he said. The current master plan is the fifth attempt since Nigeria's independence in 1960 to tackle poverty in the Niger Delta region.
Labels: MINING CONTRACTS, NIGERIA
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Farmers struggle to access extension services
By AShwert Kugara
SOME farmers are finding it difficult to access critical extension services at a time when such support is essential owing to inadequate resources and unattractive conditions of service for field officers. The acting director of Agriculture Research and Extension Dr Joseph Gondo told Herald Business that lack of technical information on farming would cripple efforts to effect a speedy turnaround of the economy through agriculture.
He said that farmers might have fertile land, adequate inputs and tillage but without expert guidance, they might fail to produce as expected.
Dr Gondo cited mobility problems as one of the major obstacles hindering the effective discharge of duty by field officers.
"The department received cars and bicycles to cater for our service delivery but they were not adequate basing on activities that we are going to carry out on the ground," he said.
He said that transport shortages have seriously hampered services delivery especially among newly resettled farmers who rely heavily on these services.
Extension officers have failed to attend to farmers’ problems on time.
"Cars were distributed at district level and not all districts benefited. Although bicycles are helping us at the moment, they are ideal in mountainous and sandy areas," he said.
Dr Gondo said the current situation of two officers operating per ward was far from satisfactory. Four officers are ideal per ward.
He attributed the shortage of workers to unattractive conditions of service.
Labels: FARMERS, ZIMBABWE
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SA unveils multiple entry permit for Zim traders
Herald Reporter
ZIMBABWEAN cross-border traders intending to travel to South Africa for business may now be eligible for a 12-month multiple entry permit as long as they belong to a bona fide association or a body representing small and medium-scale enterprises. They must also have proof of sufficient financial means equivalent to R2 000, and a passport valid for not less than 30 days after the expiry of the permit.
Each visit should not exceed 30 days for permits valid for entries of more than 12 months. If all the stipulated requirements are met, the permit may be acquired within five working days. Before this arrangement, cross-border traders were being treated as ordinary visitors and would find it difficult to conduct their business. But this multiple entry permit gives them a status better than that of an ordinary visitor.
Principal chief immigration officer Mr Clemence Masango yesterday said he received official confirmation from their South African counterparts last Tuesday, informing them about these conditions.
"As immigration officials, we are, however, yet to meet the South African officials to discuss the implementation modalities of this cross-border traders’ facility," he said.
A letter written by Ms Mofokoane of the South African National Immigration Branch to Mr Masango reads in part: "Please be informed that in consultation with head office (National Immigration Branch in Pretoria, South Africa), it has been agreed that the following requirements will suffice to issue permits to members of the Zimbabwe Cross-border Traders’ Association and/or SMEs (small and medium enterprises).
"In the absence of proof of membership (of the Cross-border Traders’ Association or an association of SMEs), every person in the street will declare themselves as ware traders. In order to curb abuse of this dispensation, please furnish us (South African Embassy) with a list of names and membership numbers.
"Your register should collate with records to suit the embassy."
This development follows talks between the two countries a fortnight ago under the Joint Permanent Commission on Defence and Security in South Africa.
During the talks, the two countries deliberated on the stringent requirements for Zimbabweans intending to travel down south to have a letter of invitation, pay visa fees, provide proof of ability to sustain oneself there and security deposit fees.
In October last year, South Africa tightened its visa requirements and announced that Zimbabwean travellers needed to pay a security deposit in Zimbabwean dollars depending on the destination, have travellers’ cheques amounting to R2 000 and produce a letter of invitation from the person or organisation inviting them to that country, among other requirements.
Applicants were also required to submit an affidavit and copies of identification documents of the persons inviting them to South Africa.
The security deposit, which would be refundable at the expiry of the visa or once one returned to Zimbabwe, used to be applicable to first-time visitors only, but had been extended to all travellers.
Labels: SOUTH AFRICA, TRADE, ZIMBABWE
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Government snubs McKinnon, Tsvangirai
Herald Reporter
GOVERNMENT has once again snubbed fresh calls by outgoing Commonwealth secretary-general Mr Don McKinnon for Zimbabwe to rejoin the club until Britain is prepared for equality and scoffed at MDC faction leader Mr Morgan Tsvangirai’s call for the grouping to help in the Sadc-initiated talks between political parties in Zimbabwe.
Reacting to Mr McKinnon’s statement prior to the Commonwealth Heads of State and Government Meeting in Kampala, Uganda, last week, the Minister of Information and Publicity, Cde Sikhanyiso Ndlovu, said the Government’s position remained the same as long as Britain treated Zimbabwe as an unequal partner.
"Our position is clear. What made us withdraw from the group? We can only think about that if Britain changes its attitude towards Zimbabwe and treats us as an equal partner," he said.
Mr McKinnon --- who has since been replaced by Mr Kamalesh Sharma of India --- last week urged Zimbabwe to reconsider its withdrawal from the group, urging South African President Thabo Mbeki to talk to President Mugabe on the position.
The former secretary-general in September shocked the European world when he made a sudden climb-down admitting that Cde Mugabe was a hero in Africa while urging the European Union to ensure that Zimbabwe is invited to next month’s Africa-EU Summit in Lisbon, Portugal.
He said then that he had visited a number of African countries across the continent where "(President) Mugabe is still very much of a hero".
However, Cde Ndlovu said the British have continued to unnecessarily bully Zimbabwe because of the land reform programme, which saw Zimbabweans being resettled on vast tracts of land that was once occupied by a few minority whites.
"The British are bullies who do not want to treat us as equals. They treat the Commonwealth as a political tool to settle their colonial scores and agendas. They treat countries in the Commonwealth as if they are still their colonies and still maintain that mentality, but we are saying no to that kind of treatment, hence our position still remains," he said.
"We ceased to be a British colony after the Union Jack was lowered, folded and sent back to England, but the British were shocked by the land redistribution exercise and our efforts to economically empower our people and acquiring majority stakes in local companies," he said.
He added that Government efforts to economically empower its people had pushed the British to impose illegal sanctions against Zimbabwe.
Cde Ndlovu described the Mr McKinnon as the country’s arch-enemy shedding crocodile tears after calling for economic sanctions that continued to hurt the ordinary Zimbabweans.
"The Commonwealth is actually under pressure from member countries to persuade President Mugabe for Zimbabwe to rejoin the group because their meetings have become dull without the President, but our position still remains," he said.
He, however, called on the group of former British colonies to convince the British and its Western allies to remove the illegal sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe.
Cde Ndlovu also dismissed opposition faction leader Mr Tsvangirai’s call for the Commonwealth to help in the talks currently being held between the ruling Zanu-PF and the two MDC factions.
Labels: MDC, MORGAN TSVANGIRAI, ZIMBABWE
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It's possible to increase royalty taxes through Parliament, says Dr Mw
By Joan Chirwa and Amos Malupenga
Tuesday November 27, 2007 [03:00]
IT is possible to increase royalty taxes to three per cent through parliamentary approval although the current agreements are binding based on the old legislation, mines and minerals development minister Dr Kalombo Mwansa has said. And a source close to the consultancy team on the renegotiation process has said
the government had the power to impose appropriate taxes on the mining companies since it was an autonomous body.
Meanwhile, Forum for Democracy and Development president Edith Nawakwi yesterday advised finance minister Ng’andu Magande not to use emotions in order to run away from the real issues she had raised.
Commenting on Nawakwi’s statement that the government did not need to engage experts to renegotiate the mining agreements because they only needed to make changes to the law through Parliament, Dr Mwansa said the legal aspect of the development agreements necessitated the current procedure of renegotiation taken to increase mineral royalties.
“She (Nawakwi) is right to some extent, but the agreements on the other hand are binding based on the old piece of legislation. We have the agreements which were signed and are binding and that is the reason why we had to find a vehicle for discussing the changes,” Dr Mwansa said.
“Otherwise for new investments in the mines, the development agreements will have the three per cent royalty and not the 0.6 per cent that is stipulated in the previous development agreements for already existing mines.
Even from the procedure the government has decided to take to renegotiate the development agreements with the mines, we are very determined to ensure that we get reasonable returns on mining investments for the country to carry out developmental projects.”
And a source said the government had the power to impose windfall taxes on mining companies in view of the huge profits being made from escalating copper prices on international markets. However, the source said the current procedure taken to renegotiate was “a deliberate step taken to further exempt mines from paying higher royalties”.
“This process is going to take so long and I know that this is a game being played. It is all a deliberate step taken so that these mines can continue paying royalty taxes at very low rates unlike the proposed three per cent which is a world average,” the source said.
“Government has the power to tax. Just like the way it increased the income and corporate tax, it is also possible to impose a windfall tax on mining companies through consultation in Parliament. I know there is too much corruption going on and the whole scam is to delay as much as possible before the mines could start paying royalties at three per cent.”
The source also agreed with Nawakwi’s suggestion that government could take a proposal to Parliament on the current plans to increase royalties and review development agreements for the mines.
And Nawakwi yesterday advised Magande to be level headed when dealing with national and professional matters. She said she was shocked with Magande’s emotional reaction to her humble suggestion for the government to properly tax the mines for the benefit of Zambians.
“You see, sometimes success has a tendency of making a fool to look even wiser,” Nawakwi said. “Magande is boasting that he is successful as finance minister, that the economy is doing well.
But he is forgetting that he is successful on the foundation left by others.”
Nawakwi said she was surprised that Magande was being personal when she did not dwell on personality in her suggestion. She said the real issue is for Magande to collect enough tax for the development of the country.
“What we are saying as his advisers is that we need as a country to correct all the past anomalies because the economic situation has changed for the country,” Nawakwi said. “So there is no need for Magande to be trivial because he is not my mulamu and I was not talking about that.
He is talking about me being a woman and a housewife because he wants to belittle my professional capacity. Tell him to find something else because he will not manage. There is desolation around him and he can’t see.”
Nawakwi said some people, like herself and Katele Kalumba who signed those agreements were still alive so they could help Magande go round the issues if he required help. She said even today, there were some agreements which were concluded under Magande’s hand.
Meanwhile, Dr Mwansa said government expects sufficient flexibility after the change of the mining fiscal regime during the peaks and lows of the commodity prices.
Speaking at a workshop held for parliamentarians and selected chiefs from different provinces in Lusaka yesterday, Dr Mwansa the mining fiscal regime would continue to be weighed against government if it was not revised.
The one-day workshop was called to discuss the review of the Mines and Minerals Act of 1995. The government is trying to revise Act to make room for provisions such as the creation of a platform that could facilitate economic empowerment of Zambians in the mining industry.
Among other things included in the reviewed Act includes the replacement of tax holidays and other tax incentives by tax credits for expenditures made by mining companies on developing infrastructure and other items that fall under public capital expenditure.
Labels: CORRUPTION, DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENTS, EDITH NAWAKWI, MAGANDE, MINING CONTRACTS, TAXATION
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