Minister of Infrastructure and Public Works from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Willy Ngoopos, has visited Zambia and conducted a physical tour of the construction site for the Luapula bridge and the Kasomeno-Mwenda toll road in Luapula province.

Mr. Ngoopos, who arrived in the country through the Kashiba border post in Mwense district, was welcomed by Luapula Province Minister Nickson Chilangwa.

Mr. Ngoopos, who is also that country’s Vice Prime Minister, explained that President Felix Tshisekedi sent him to Zambia to show commitment to the bilateral project that the two countries want to develop.

He said his coming to Zambia is also President Tshisekedi’s assurance to President Edgar Lungu that the DRC is willing to execute the project.

He added that the Kasomeno- Mwenda toll road is one of President Tshisekedi’s priority projects that he intends to deliver with Zambia during his first term in office.

“I have been sent here by President Felix Tshilombo Antoine Tshisekedi. I have come to see the actual construction site of the Luapula river bridge and the Kasomeno-Mwenda road. The President (Tshisekedi) before he left for Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) where he has assumed the African Union chairmanship gave me strict instructions to be here and assure his brother President Edgar Lungu that this is our project and we want it now,” he Ngoopos.

And Mr. Chilangwa said the arrival of Mr. Ngoopos for the tour is a huge boost towards the implementation of the project.

Mr. Chilangwa, who was accompanied by his Permanent Secretary Charles Mushota, said he is hopeful that early works on the project earmarked to start in March this year will proceed.

He said President Lungu and his Congolese counterpart have given their full support to the project and that no more delays are expected.

Mr. Chilangwa has since thanked the Congolese government for the warm reception during a Zambian ministerial delegation’s recent visit to Kinshasa.

“Let me take this opportunity on behalf of our President (Lungu) to thank you Honourable Minister for electing to come and tour the construction site of this important project. Please accept our heartfelt gratitude for giving us your warm reception when we visited DRC. We met President Tshisekedi to discuss the project and we are grateful,” Mr. Chilangwa said.

Mr. Ngoopos has since left Zambia for Kinshasa.

The Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) has announced it will ban the exportation of a cocktail of goods including vehicles, household items and groceries through Victoria Falls Border starting on 1 March.

The decision is expected to hit hard especially on residents of Zimbabwe’s Victoria Falls town who before the lockdown relied on buying groceries, electrical gadgets, second-hand clothes (salaula) among other things from Livingstone, Zambia.

Clearing agents based in Victoria Falls are also fretting over the drastic policy measure as there will be no more imported vehicles entering Zimbabwe through Victoria Falls border.

Residents and Zambian hawkers also used to cross the border to buy or sell various goods without any restrictions.

In a statement, ZRA released restriction of points of exit for exportation of selected commercial goods by road.

It said 16 categories of goods listed in the seventh schedule to Statutory Instrument 115 of 2020 (Customs and Excise Ports of Entry and Routes) which came into effect on 1 January 2021, will not be allowed to leave that country through Victoria Falls border by any other mode of transport other than rail.

Goods carried by rail go through thorough check at departure and in transit unlike those by road where many are smuggled.

“This notice serves to inform all customs clearing agents and exporters wishing to export goods listed in the seventh schedule to Statutory Instrument 115 of 2020 that they should effect the exportation of their goods through the customs ports and aerodromes set out in the eighth schedule to the attached Statutory Instrument 115 of 2020.

“Further, note that goods for export through Victoria Falls border post shall only be transported by rail only effective the 1st of March 2021,” read the SI.

The SI specifies that goods to listed under SI 115/2020 are edible oils, bulk fuels, oils and other hydrocarbon oils, tobacco and tobacco products, motor vehicles, alcoholic beverages and non-alcoholic beverages.

Electrical goods such as TV sets, radios, refrigerators, air conditioners, bulbs, cables, computers and other electronics, as well as used clothing and shoes, tyres, furniture, batteries, hardware, floor and wall tiles, pipes, bath tubs, toilet pans and timber add to the list.

Maize meal and other maize products, wheat flour, groceries, sweets, biscuits, soups and canned foods, bakery and bread, meat and sea food, snacks and crackers, cereals and other breakfast foods, pasta and rice, milk powder and other dairy products, oils, sauces, salad dressing and condiments complete the list.

Victoria Falls is one of the many borders including Chirundu which Zambia and Zambia share.

The listed goods will now be expected to go via Kazungula border.

Amos Mateyu, a clearing agent in Victoria Falls said the development will put many of them out of business.

“Tough times are coming and our town will be dead soon,” he said.

The Zambian taxman has been at loggerheads with clearing agents in the neighbouring country, and last December, 34 were suspended over a transit fraud scheme amounting to K96 313 164 following removals in transit and forgery offences.

Upgrades to Kariba Dam, the main source of electricity for Zambia and Zimbabwe, have been set back by at least two years because of technical challenges and supply disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the Zambezi River Authority said.

A meeting of ZRA Council of Ministers from the two countries last week cited delays in contracting works, unforeseen technical challenges and supply constraints for the delay, the authority, which regulates water usage, said.

ZRA Council of Ministers comprises Zimbabwe’s Finance Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube, Energy and Power Development Minister Zhemu Soda and their Zambian counterparts — Finance Minister Bwalya Ng’andu and Energy Minister Matthew Nkhuwa.

The Ministers approved a budget of $71.3 million
for 2021 that will be financed through a combination of internally generated funds, amortized loans and grants sourced from the World Bank, African Development Bank and the European Union.

The Zambezi River Authority also stressed that the Kariba Dam rehabilitation project remains a complex and essential project with the objective of improving safety and increasing its lifespan.

In a joint communiqué after the 38th meeting held virtually last week, ZRA said delays in various contracting works had been compounded by technical challenges and constraints brought about by the global Covid-19 pandemic.

They were meeting to receive progress reports on the preparatory activities for the implementation of the Batoka Gorge Hydro-Electric Scheme, the ongoing Kariba Dam rehabilitation project and to approve the 2021 ZRA budget, among other issues.

The Ministers noted that the authority had continued to carry out various planned projects under the Zambezi Valley Development Fund.

“This is being done as part of an ongoing effort to improve the well-being of the communities that were displaced during the construction of the Kariba Dam. Various projects have been implemented in the areas of irrigation, water supply, health facilities and education which included housing for teaching staff and health workers,” reads the communiqué.

The ZRA council of ministers also noted the significant progress made at Batoka Gorge Hydro-electric Scheme.

“The public disclosure process for the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment study was completed and the updating of study has commenced whereby a revised report will be submitted to Zambia Environmental Management Agency and Environmental Management Agency (Zimbabwe) by mid-March 2021.” They approved ZRA’s 2021 annual budget of US$71,2 million. The budget shall be finalised through a combination of internally generated funds and amortised loans and grants sourced from cooperating partners of the World Bank, African Development Bank, European Union and the Swedish International Development Agency.”

Outgoing ZRA Chairman Minister Soda handed over the rotational chairmanship to incoming chair and Zambian Energy Minister Mathew Nkhuwa.

Zamtel Chief Executive Officer Sydney Mupeta says the state-owned telecommunications firm is now poised to be a dominant player in the digital space has developed and rolled out a number of digital solutions in the Zambian market.

Mr Mupeta said Zamtel has in the recent past focused its attention on coming up with innovative products and services which are relevant to the needs of the customers.

He cited the launch of new products such as Velocity, a home super-fast-unlimited internet which he said has revolutionized the user experience for home internet in Zambia.

Mr Mupeta was speaking recently when he opened a Zamtel Customer Service Centre at Makeni Mall in Lusaka.

He said the opening of the Service Center is in line with Zamtel’s new strategic direction of taking service-access closer to its customers.

“Over the years we have realized that one of the challenges our customers face is access to our products and services. This Service Center, therefore, will provide convenience to the people of Makeni, Lilayi, Chilanga, Chawama, and surrounding areas. I therefore would like to appeal to our customers who live around the Makeni area to take advantage of this new Service Center by walking in and purchasing a velocity router for their home use,” Mr Mupeta said.

He said Zamtel has now rolled out 68 Mini-Shops countrywide targeted mainly in the high-density communities as well as in the rural areas in an effort to bring services closer to customers.

Mr Mupeta said the opening of the Makeni Service center brings the total number of our Service Centers to 38, excluding Mini-Shops

The management of Access Bank Plc says its Zambian subsidiary has completed the acquisition of Cavmont Bank Limited.

The bank said the acquisition followed the fulfillment of key conditions, including regulatory approvals.

Access bank made this known in a disclosure notice sent to the Nigerian Stock Exchange recently.

In July, Access Bank in Nigeria announced plans by its Zambian subsidiary to acquire Cavmont Bank Limited, a subsidiary of Cavmont Capital.
The bank said at the time that it had “entered into exclusive discussions” with Cavmont Capital Holdings Zambia Plc regarding the potential transaction between Access Bank Zambia and Cavmont Bank Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cavmont Capital.

“The merger of Cavmont into Access Bank Zambia will emerge as a stronger and well-capitalised banking franchise with improved scale and capacity to deliver sustainable and best-in-class financial services in the Zambian market,” the notice read.

“Growing our presence in Zambia remains a strategic priority for Access Bank and with the conclusion of the proposed merger with Cavmont, the bank looks forward to realising the synergies from the transaction and achieving further growth of the combined platform to the benefit of all stakeholders.”

Finance Minister Bwalya Ng’andu says Zambia is not looking to take over more mining companies, nor is the government planning to nationalize the industry.

The government has acquired Glencore Plc’s and Vedanta Ltd.’s local operations in the past two years.

Remarks by President Edgar Lungu in December that Africa’s second-biggest copper producer wanted to take “significant stakes” in unspecified mines led to fears of a fresh wave of nationalization.

“We are at this point in time not looking at any other specific mining operations that we want to go into a relationship with,” Dr Ng’andu said in an interview.

“In some quarters the president’s statement was misunderstood to mean that Zambia is contemplating taking over other mining firms by force or nationalizing mining companies. We are not in that business at all.”

The minister’s comments may ease concerns among investors in companies including First Quantum Minerals Ltd. and Barrick Gold Corp., which operate the southern African nation’s biggest copper mines. It also follows a series of clashes between mining companies and government over taxes, retrenchments and electricity pricing.

Zambia last century had a painful experience with mine nationalization, which bled the treasury and saw production plummet, ultimately leading to the state reversing the policy in the 1990s. Output more than tripled after the operations were privatized.

Copper prices that dropped during nationalization and rose after mines were sold also played a role, according to economists including Grieve Chelwa at the Institute on Race and Political Economy at The New School in New York.

The country has learned lessons, Dr Ng’andu said.

The government can also use examples from other nations including Chile, where the state plays a significant role in copper mining, he said.

“We have to make sure we run these as proper businesses without interference in their operations,” Ng’andu said.

Zambia will also get a better understanding of mining taxation and royalties from running operations like those previously owned by Glencore.

“We never seem to get it right,” he said. “We feel we are not getting sufficient return from the exploitation of our resources.”