Zesco should be unbundled
By Mubanga Luchembe
Saturday April 26, 2008 [04:00]
I make reference to one of the main news items on ZNBC TV on April 21, 2008 in which the Zambia Business Forum suggested that Zesco should be unbundled into three components namely, generation, transmission and distribution for the purpose of making the corporation operate efficiently. Since the merger of Kariba North Bank and Zesco a few years ago, the latter has become too big, bloated, slow and inefficient.
In all fairness, the call by the Zambia Business Forum is timely because Zesco has painfully let us down. However, I wish to add that generation and transmission on the national grid could be retained by Zesco because the company has the infrastructure and resources in place.
The distribution aspect could be handled by third parties like city and town councils or private companies like Copperbelt Energy Corporation. Better still, quasi government companies could be formed to distribute power using a similar business model like the water and sewerage companies that the Ministry of Local Government has formed and is spearheading in both urban and rural provincial centres.
The new electricity distribution companies that may result from the local government deployment could acquire the electricity distribution rights, infrastructure and resources from Zesco.
The issue at hand is to make Zesco lean, mean, and efficient such that it can react to national power generation and transmission problems that the nation may face to swiftly resolve them.
Zesco’s focus should be on national power generation and transmission only and nothing else. In this way, the company will become efficient.
On the other hand, the electricity generation in isolated areas could initially, be handled by rural town councils who could set up electricity mini-grids from renewable energy-based sources for power generation and eventually be connected to the national grid. It is quite possible that this could be done.
The incumbent ministers of energy, commerce and local government have the essential background, experience and skill regarding the subjects of electricity, business models and councils respectively. They could make such a venture workable if only they got the clearance, put their heads together and seek for assistance from cooperating partners both within and outside Zambia.
It is quite disheartening that Zambia is now experiencing power outages or load shedding on a daily basis when the country has so much wind, sunlight, streams, so many rivers and waterfalls which can be used to generate electricity.
My appeal to our government is to start the process of unbundling Zesco immediately and let town councils and other third parties take up the distribution of electricity.
Besides, town councils in the past were distributors of electricity up to 1973 when Zesco was formed. Its formation resulted into town councils losing the electricity revenue base.
In the recent past, again councils lost the house rental revenue base when the government directed councils to sell all their housing stocks to the sitting tenants. If the suggestion of using the council to handle electricity distribution is implemented, councils will have a lucrative alternative revenue source and solve most of their financial problems they are currently facing.
Let us wisely utilise the resources that God has given us and ensure that the nightmare of power outages and load shedding due to Zesco’s incompetence becomes a thing of the past.
Labels: ZAMBIA BUSINESS FORUM, ZESCO
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Business Forum joins fight against corruption
By Joan Chirwa
Friday April 11, 2008 [04:00]
ZAMBIA Business Forum (ZBF) has partnered with the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) in the fight against corruption while promoting economic development in the country. In a press release, ZBF chief executive, Reginald Mfula stated that the partnership was an indication that ethical leaders in both business and the government shared a common objective of promoting Zambia as a corruption-free and business friendly environment, which was open to safe investment and fair trade.
“By demonstrating our shared commitment and common resolve to fight corruption, business and government will be establishing an ethical framework for all transactions between representatives of our two institutions,” Mfula stated. “ZBF, and its member associations, believe that working with ACC will support our overall goals of promoting the economic growth and development of the nation.”
The emerging “Public-Private Partnership Against Corruption” will be codified in an agreement expected to be signed by the ACC and ZBF at a national forum scheduled for early May this year.
A nationwide survey of business leaders is currently being conducted where ZBF and the ACC are collecting data from different business institutions.
Among the institutions earmarked for the provision of information on effects of corruption on business include Zambia National Farmers Union, Bankers Association of Zambia, Chamber of Mines, Tourism Council of Zambia, Zambia Association of Manufacturers, Zambia Chamber of Small and Medium Business Associations and the Zambia Indigenous Business Associations. Based on the tabulated results, a programme of activities be developed and presented at the national forum.
And ACC director general, Nixon Banda praised the business community for its willingness to join the government in a Public-Private Partnership Against Corruption.
“This partnership reflects the new maturity of Zambia, where business and government share a common purpose of promoting transparency, integrity, fairness, and justice for all. Business leaders are honorable men and women,” stated Banda.
“We welcome them as our allies in this battle against corruption, a battle which our nation must wage with great conviction, using the combined resources of government and business.”
Labels: ACC, ZAMBIA BUSINESS FORUM
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Formulate policy to improve investment, EAZ urges govt
By Staffer
Thursday May 24, 2007 [04:01]
THE Economics Association of Zambia (EAZ) has urged government to come up with a policy that will help improve investment in Zambia. On Tuesday, the Zambia Business Forum (ZBF) revealed that the country only received one per cent of foreign direct investment compared to the other countries found in the Eastern and Southern African Region.
EAZ chairperson Dr Mwilola Imakando said, Zambia was still a less attractive destination than Tanzania, Mozambique, Botswana and Namibia despite the record high mining prices.
“Indications from Zambia Business Forum (ZBF) presentation show that there are no grounds for complacency about investment in Zambia,” Dr Imakando said.
He said foreign direct investment was still predominantly in mining and investment was still not enough to produce the growth Zambia needed.
“The main task of the investment policy is to change this scenario and fast,” Dr Imakando noted.
He explained that it was important for government to realise that encouraging investment did not mean letting investors have huge profits, pay poor wages to workers and damage the environment.
“Investment means assuring a decent return on investment, a reasonably stable and predictable regulatory environment, minimal corruption, sensible sectoral policies and a government reasonably friendly to business,” Dr Imakando said.
He added that government should help to de-politicise investment and business policy by concentrating on the big picture.
“Let the system deal with the crooks and loonies, policy makers should concentrate on making sure the basic system is operating well,” Dr Imakando said.
He said the government should discourage negotiating incentives with individual companies every time a pledge was made.
“What is needed are incentives that can be accessed by any one company that meets the criteria and performance benchmarks,” said Imakando.
Labels: EAZ, ZAMBIA BUSINESS FORUM
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Zambia gets 1% of FDI from Southern, Eastern Africa - ZBF
By Fridah Zinyama
Wednesday May 23, 2007 [04:00]
THE Zambia Business Forum has revealed that the country only gets one per cent of the Foreign Direct Investment that comes into the Southern and Eastern African region. According to ZBF, Zambia received about US$ 259 million foreign direct investment in 2005 and recorded a marginal increase in 2006.
“If this trend is to improve, government should consider putting in place policies that will help to attract investment into the country,” ZBF stated.
ZBF indicated that government should also update the commercial law and ensure the enforcement of contracts.
“Government should also consider working with the private sector and put in place mechanisms of promoting linkages between foreign and local enterprises and address the number one constraint of starting and expanding business by local enterprises,” ZBF stated.
ZBF emphasised the importance of government in ensuring that both foreign and local investors were given good incentives for them to invest in Zambia. “One constraint that local investors have been experiencing is the lack of access and cost of finance,” ZBF stated. “Coupled with lack of incentives local investors have had a hard time investing in their own country.”
ZBF stated that local investors had been facing a number of problems and constraints and as a result had been unable to effectively and efficiently participate in economic development and job creation. “The major problem facing entrepreneurs in Zambia to start and grow their enterprises is access and cost of finance,” ZBF noted.
ZBF suggested that government comes up with specific measures to address the problem, especially for the small and medium enterprises.
Labels: FDI, ZAMBIA BUSINESS FORUM
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