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New cellphone handsets plant on cards

By editor
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The Zambia Association of Manufacturers (ZAM)has disclosed that a new manufacturing plant for cellular phone handsets will soon be launched in the country and is expected to be producing about 70 000 handsets per month.

ZAM president Dev Babbar disclosed that the plant has already acquired new state of the art equipment that has the ability to manufacture hand sets of high standards acceptable on both local and international markets.

In an interview with ZANIS in Lusaka today, Mr Babbar also hinted that the association has already started marketing the plant in other countries in the region, adding that this will make it easy to export the finished product.

He expressed confidence that the new hand set manufacturing plant has the capacity to meet the current local demand for cell phone hand sets in the country.

In addition, he noted that advance marketing strategies are important before exporting a product because it helps in identifying the audience.

“We have already stated marketing this plant in other countries and this will make it easy for us to know the audience that will like our local phones,” he added.

He said the plant will be producing hand sets that will be sold in all Southern Africa Developing Communities (SADC) and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) countries.

He explained that by supplying finished products in the region the Zambian manufacturing sector is also likely to gain recognition adding that this will go a long way towards marketing the country on the world market.

“Our aim is to supply finished products so that we are known in the world and this will also contribute to the economic recovery of the nation,” He said.

However, the ZAM president expressed optimism that the new plant will also help in creating employment opportunities for the local people.

With the current global economic crisis affecting many sectors in resulting in massive job cuts; Mr Babbar said his association is determined to cushion the impact by creating job opportunities in the manufacturing sector.

He disclosed that some local technicians and electricians have already been employed adding that they have being trained to install the new machinery at the plant.

He stated that the manufacturing industry can contribute positively towards the country’s economic recovery, if properly utilised.

He has further called for concerted efforts from all stakeholders and help the association to market the country on the international scene.

“We are calling upon other partners to come on board and help us market the country world wide,” he said.

Finance and National Planning Minster Situmbeko Musokotwane in this year’s budget increased tax on imported Cell phone hand sets from five percent to 15% adding that the move is aimed at promoting the local hand set manufacturing industry.

ZANIS/ENDS/MM/CLM.

editor
editorhttp://www.lusakatimes.com

119 COMMENTS

  5. zo ona ivi vili chabe bwino chifukwa ledio message yanga yakuto. nifuna cell phone yanga so that nitumile ahh zulu ku chipata alete munkoyo na tobwa

  7. 3. Matworld-Nice guy!

    Iwe do not complain. You are by my side.

    On the bottom line this good news!! More jobs and I hope more Zambians will be working there and also paid reasonably!!

  10. Jam@co
    Ndi best ine.

    Now this headline is appearing here for the second time.Hope this one will have a good network pantu uyu Zain nampesha I cant communicate with my Mum for the past two weeks.I want to tell her ati ninsanga uwakupa from chipata kwamene kuja kwabo.Manje No network pa farm sure.Just image or sorry imagine My mum has to climb a tree each time she is speaking to me.

  13. Mwabeleka nobasankwa abasimbi. However, we have heard about his before so please minimise on repeating the exact things you reported before.

    On “He explained that by supplying finished products in the region the Zambian manufacturing sector is also likely to gain recognition adding that this will go a long way towards marketing the country on the world market”, this is a great move.

    My country has a terrible name outside and we need such Imagebuilding. Even the daughter of the Zambian Ambassador to China Chiluchile Mwape is on record as saying that SHE DOESN’T KNOW what Zambia is known for knowadays save that Zambia was known for Copper production in the old days.

  21. Hope it will not end up in papers. Wait a minute! Is it not chinese people who will be making? We want real product please.

  22. I was away watching some beautiful things on “Germany’s Next Top Model” just to find the site flooded with new threads. I’m going back to watch these o-+ o-> o=>

    Goodnight everyone :-h

  23. very interesting news… at least loja loja wandi nalamuposa :-c:-c:-c:-c each time i want to make a call it needs hinting on a table to access the network.

  24. this is just another cheap indian money making skeme probably this phones might be gonars but lets hop nili ma original imwe bantu i dont usually speak nianja so forgive my rubbish vanacular

  25. hey wat can i say am 13 and i love technology i just hope these phones have bluetooth and mp3 and camera and also internet:d:d:d so mates enjoy the phones and let zambia make its way on the world chart and be known not only for vic falls and riots and rubbish znbc:d:d:d:)

  26. How do you catch a monkey? You place something bright in a long necked gourd. Black people will always be trapped by ‘bling’. We do not need cell phones. We need real development.

  27. i am reliably informed that the 3310 manufactured here will have camera facilite:d…so bbulaza na ku wedding munga tenge ma picture na ka 3310!

  28. Celphone made in ZAMBIA! That will be good.
    Maybe we will even start moving with our necks higher.
    Proud Zambians!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    The Law Firm

  29. #22 Nine Chale

    sleep well mudala!! Am also watching “Germany’s top Model” na ba mayo ba Heidi Klum!! Ine nomba ni

    |-)|-)

  30. This sounds good and this is the kind of investment that we need.When manufacturing companies are being opened its a very good thing for the economy. But lets not be too execited because we dont know yet how the quality of those phones is going to be until we see them.And also when he talks of job creation we dont know yet the number of people they will employ.It does not make sense for 5000 people to loose their jobs,and then these cellphone manufacturer create 100 jobs and you say employment awe. Lets first wait and see,besides the investors who have been coming to Zambia are just interested in making money and run away.

  32. Cell phone handsets plant in Zambia? Great news! Especially that in my country (Zambia) we have the much needed raw materials for the production of the hand sets: Aluminum, iron and copper. synthetic- organic materials with polymeric structures(plastics) are not a problem. Its just a matter of strategically locating the plant -bearing in mind the costs on the transportation of the raw materials to the plant and the distance to the market for the finished products. This would have been one of government’s bigest project! unfortunately, we had to wait for some one from outside! Sad!

  33. I only pray that the investor has not just come to exploit our resources. GRZ would have implemented this.( I’m not against this type of investment. Its beneficial!)

  37. Fi Cellphone fya pa Zedi FI dobo Sana.
    Innovation is badly needed /lurking in here.
    Hope these te fyi double/duplicate DOBO’s.. :)>-:-c:-c:-c:-c:-c:-@:-j

  39. But is this the second plant? Early last year or the year b4 last there was news that a group of Zambian investors are teaming up with Malaysian investors to start manufacturing mobile (Cellular phones). Explain to us if this is the same venture.

    HOWEVER, this such investments is what Zambia needs and 1 would hope that the agreement with grz is such that the technology and skills will be transfered to Zambians. And in the near future the same company will also start manufacturing computers…

  40. one thing for sure more jobs for ba malonda the rest of the workers will come from china. But 1 positve thing is that we shall earn something as a nation

  41. Wait and see…what brands, competing with who on the world market, Nokia, Samsung, Ericsson etc. How much is invested in this development and how long for…what are the opportunities? Realistically speaking, the viability of this initiative does not looking promising……….! 😕

  42. …This is a technology company and I am sure the grz has indicated (in the contract) that when the company is up and running it should adopt at least one university’s technological section or school. The adoption would enable passing on of state of the art technoloy to graduating students.

  43. …The grzt should also be a step firther in its plsnning to encourage and support other finished/semi-finished products to feed the mobile phone company in terms of 4ne components. The company must also sponsor at university degree level such courses as Embedded Systems as the course is directly linked to the business venture.

  44. Sounds so good.Will the phone be named under a City in Zambia?Will it be called vic falls?Zambezi?Lsk?Carry a zambian flag or motto/logo?hahaha market zambia .
    These guys must be so fast.When did they build structures of there company in Zambia?Or just like shoprite and others use our tax free and then run away after profits or change names?Where is there plant anyway?
    We need two more so they can compete on the market and that consumer get protectected from exploitation

  45. …I like the marketing stratey the company has taken of advertising even before they study producing the phones. The potential market should really know about their presence, prior to commencement of the business.

  46. #45 …this is why I kind of question the validity of this venture. It sounds good an idea on paper but a simple SWOT analysis reveals alot of issues. 😕

  47. This is good develpment.I hope some company will come in for Computer manufacturing.This will make such thing cheaper

  49. :)This is good news for Zambia though’ it has come very late. We should be seeing more and more industries emerging in steel manufacturing; electrical component and many more value added garget and components

  50. Is it an assembling or manufacturing plant. If manufacturing, it is great news for Zambia. We need more of such industries. LT, when you give us such stories you should provide more details to give us a clear picture of what type of phones wil be manufactured and where the plant will be located

  51. I think is also great news, but, manufacturing or assembling?
    Atleast a few jobs will be created, think in such lines RB, not Malawi growing more maize for us.

    Matworld my friend ati how?

    Its Friday !!!

  53. Imwe mwe banthu,on the front page of the post newspaper i have seen the picture of Rb and Catherine Namugala.Sitted very close to each other.Catherine looking straight into RB,s eyes and wispering.

  55. u know wat guys? lets wait and see if this will work. we don’t have to be against the move of cell phone making, but lets give ideas. Do u want to be importing phones? Sometimes mwebena Zambia mulansekesha, someone comes up with an idea imwe ninshi mwamumwenamo. Lets change and develop our country. Don’t wait for foreigners to do it for you, that’s why u’ll continue to be slaves.

    “Your own mind is a sacred enclosure into which nothing harmful can enter except by your permission.”

  56. This is good development, it will enable the ordinary Zambians to buy and own brand new cellphones there more revenue, maybe the country BOP which is always on the negative will come to positive.

  58. Look here you folks!! This is a scandal. When I read about duty on cellular phones going up by 10 % I was wondering what in world and who was going to manufacture them locally. I did not know that some folks had lobbied top GRZ officials, how the deal happened, someone has to explain. Who received what in the process? If these are geniune phones with export quality, then why protect them from imported ones by slapping that much duty on them? Let them compete since they are of international standards. WE’VE BEEN CONNED ONCE AGAIN!!! Think about this, barely a few weeks after the budget, some folks surface and reveal what they did. How sad?

  63. LT, is it very difficult to tell your readers where this plant is or will be located and which brand of phones will be produced there?

  64. :)] ngri ngri ngriiii mu munzi ni zeee bakaamba! welcome move pa village. but where will the plant be situated. I am looking for job as a guard. can i send CV to LT???

  65. Ring, ring,ring ni love ya pa cell phone Zed style….this is good news. But not clear whether first handsets ready this year. Maybe that’s why the import duty is up.

  66. as far as products of zambia are, so mukamona utu maphone tu ma gong’a; like the ones from china which cannot connect to the internet when the need arises.

  68. **== good news! we’ve got start from somehere… who knows we might be assembling cars again like the good old fiat days! lets go Zambia lets go….

  72. Zambians like foreign staff… the may not buy these phones. This phones might soon be given names like GONGA, CHINA etc.,
    :)]:)]:)]:)]:)]:)]:)]:)]:)]

  73. i will be the first zambia to buy the Zedian phone… call it gon’ga or choncholi i wil still buy it. lol proud home grown zambia, based in chilenje south muramba road lusaka.

  76. #57,
    Ba Mumbi ati bwanji?
    ati tyani pela?
    Kaleza kaning’ambe? kang’aning’ani sure?
    tell me its a lie, napali Zefe!! :)>-:-j8->8->

  84. CUTLEY /WIFEY # 76

    KALEZA NJAZI its true they are calling it peri urban food voucher.

    They will be giving food vouchers ,na unga wa yamba kushota

    Have a nice day and happy v…..

  87. Good start, Zed we will have to reach the MDG by 2015 as planned during the Magande term of office.
    The plan is to have a cell phone call from the remotest area to LSK as they are also working on the optic fibre cables to enable users blog on the net especially from Shangombo to Singongo village via Mongu to LSK.
    Viva new technology pa Zed :d

  89. **==Quote for the Day**==

    ” History will remember you not by how many things you destroy but by how many things you build.”

    Barack Obama

  92. This is just talk. The way the man is explaining things is as if the plant will be in a market stall.
    I do not belive this will materalize, just like the 4 mordern stadiums that were to be built.
    manufacturing or even assembling cell phones is a specialized job that GRZ should have been commited to.

  94. Its goog news as long as they dont start manufacturing Gong’a phones…..they may as well provide employment to the few and i might get my grandma a phone if they will be GENUINE.

  98. The Idea is good but the increase in duty for the imported ones defeats the idea of benefiting from the localy manufactured ones.What I mean is this,if before the increase of duty the imported set costed me K200,000 the local set would have costed me less e.g K150,000.but what they have done is increase the cost of the imported set to e.g K300,000 and then put the local set at K200,000 where the imported one was.where is the benefit in tames of costs?

  99. Only a few years ago ZAM, a settler led lobby, was in the forefront of spearheading the crusade that GRZ should not protect any enterprise in the interest of free trade and competition. Several parastatal companies that were in manufacturing went under. Now because the plant is owned by settlers they have lobbied for government protection and have actually got it ahead of the plant being operational. Perhaps, apart from corruprion, Zambia’s economic problem is the fact that the economy is largely owned and controlled by settlers whose principal acounts are held overseas. They have no interest in promoting development except so long as they get profits to repatriate to Europe, India and USA

  100. lets see what comes out of that plant. if its gonga’s then we don buy. if its standard products then we support local team. simple as that! :-w

  102. But Pa Z, our Leaders sometimes want to swallow a pill they know will not dissolve in the stomach and then latter create a problemm to them when they want to answer the call of nature.inreasing the cell phone duty. who is producing them Locally any way. will our Children ever buy phones? They first bought themselves expensive Camera phones and then hicked taxi. Let them initiate a manufacturing Phone company. if not the taxi ivasion they are running away from on beer will now be on impored phones. simple. i dont know where we are heading to.

    J. Lee Solwezi

  106. oh great – lets tax the importation of more things before the business is in place to replace those imported items- seriously who is in charge of making this rediculous decision? can you say – goverment appointed monopoly?

  107. What i know is it a company called M-Mobile the plant is just outside Lusaka.In other words it within the vincinity of Lusaka(technically)

    Good news this will surely help in recoverying the Zambian economy. The products will be of a high quality. Though the owners are actually Chineese. Its genuine stuff. they had invested $200 million dollars for this plant.

    Its a good development we have to give compliment where its due.

  110. people keep talking about more jobs being available to Zambians. How many zambians have skill in assembling cell phones? Are the investors willing to train people here if they already have a work force ready and waiting(in China)? Lets not be narrow-minded or short-sighted, please.

  111. :o:o:o:oI am not clear Handset, as navumukati or just ma-casing.Cell phone made in MATERO its a joke….will wait and see,anyway I ve a brand name for it ‘Zokia’:o:o:o:o:o

  112. $-)$-)$-)$-)$-)$-)$-)$-)$-)$-)$-)$-)$-)$-)$-)$-)$-)$-)$-)$-)$-)$-)$-)$-):-c:-c:-c:-c:-c:-c:-c:-c:-c:-c:-c:-c:-c:-c:-c:-c:-c:-c:-c:-c:-c:-c:)):)):)):)):)):)):)):)):)):)):)):)):)):)):)):)):)):)):)):)):))

  115. # 98,importers will find it expensive to import and clear with ZRA so they will stop bringing cellular phones. The idea is to discourage them so that you will be forced to buy local phones only. Is it clear?

  116. # 99, Zero, so you have decyphered the game too. Thats corruption at its best. Someone “TOBELADI” even before the budget was presented and must be building a house before the first Gonga is produced. Sad, have you seen how folks are unable to see through deceipt like I have seen here. This is why Zambians always discover Crooks at the last minute. Please folks, wake up, its a reap off. This phone thing is a scam, a hoax, corruption and will never work. People will be smuggling real phones into the country to avoid embarrasment of carrying gongas in public. Its not real!!! If we can fail to make a needle, all of a sudden we will be manufacturing phones? Assembling maybe?

  117. The most damaging stories about zambia have been posted by zambians,if zambians sit abroad and criticise the country,they lack moral right to do so.The difference would be made if those exposed to the most cultivated driving culture relocate home and mentor others on driving.if we dont act now, they would be no history to tell.
    **==**==:x

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