Caritas Zambia has appealed to the Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry to patent local foods like Chikanda and Chibwantu to benefit local people.

Speaking on Friday, 16th October, 2020 when he made a presentation at the 2nd National Food and Seed Festival in Lusaka, Caritas Zambia Executive Director Eugene Kabilika said just as multinational companies have patented their productions like seeds and plants, the government of the Republic of Zambia through the relevant ministry should also patent local foods that are now being produced at commercial level.

Mr. Kabilika cited Chikanda and Chibwantu as some of the foods that should be patented and royalties so as to benefit royal establishments.

He said the royalties can help improve the lives of the local people.

Meanwhile Caritas Zambia says the global shocks the world is experiencing today highlights the urgent need to support agro ecology.

Agro ecology is a people centric system of sustainable agriculture and social justice movements driven by local farmers and other food producers to maintain power over their local food systems, protecting their livelihoods and communities, and defending every right to nutritious and diverse food.

Speaking at the 2nd National Food and Seed Festival in Lusaka, Caritas Zambia Executive Director Eugene Kabilika said climate change, economic downturn and widespread disease threaten African food systems.

“Climate change, economic downturn and widespread disease threaten African food systems. However, agroecology enables food producers to develop sustainable farms, bustling local markets, and small innovative enterprises that bring security, resilience and prosperity to African livelihoods in the face of global or regional shocks,” Mr. Kabilika said.
He added that agro ecology is the stronger economic and ecological alternative to the failing industrial agricultural system.

“Food sovereignty is the solution to food security. Agro ecological systems can sustainably feed more Zambians than industrial agriculture by keeping power over [local people’s] seeds, markets, diets and profits in the hands of the local community,” he said.

Mr Kabilika further said that agro ecology protects health, safeguards public health by providing nutritious foods to communities and rejecting toxic pesticides and fertilisers that poison farmers, agriculture workers and consumers.

The Caritas Zambia Executive Director furthermore noted that agro ecology protects bio diversity on farm eco-systems and localising sustainable food systems, agro ecology while defending Africa and the world from future out breaks and pandemics spurred by human development of forests, industrial animal agriculture and wildlife trafficking.

Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection (JCTR) has said the Zambian Government chose to ignore the many indicators of a debt default that have characterised Zambia’s debt discourse since the issuance of Zambia’s first Eurobond in 2013.

In a statement released to the media and attributed to Father Alex Muyebe, S.J. JCTR Executive Director, JCTR said that even the recent credit FITCH Ratings downgraded Zambia’s credit rating to ‘C’ from ‘CC’ warning of a high risk of a missed debt payment, Government chose to ignore the warning and gave the assurance that it will continue to make debt service payments on outstanding Eurobonds if an agreement is not reached.

JCTR said that the admission to likely default is, therefore, a reversal from the Finance Minister’s assurance last month that Government had budgeted for Eurobond coupon payments next year to avoid default in the event that holders rejected the Government’s standstill request.

JCTR urged the Government to seriously reflect on the debt problems that Zambia faces and resolve to walk the talk in addressing Zambia’s debt crisis.

Below is the full statement

Less than a month since the Minister of Finance, Dr Bwalya Ng’andu presented to parliament the 2021 National Budget, Government has admitted that it will likely default on external debt service if a favourable agreement with creditors is not reached. On September 22nd 2020, Government applied to holders of its US$3 billion in Eurobonds to defer debt service payments for six months while it works on a debt-restructuring strategy. This period covers the upcoming three coupon payments due on 14 October, 2020, 30 January, 2021 and 20 March, 2021, on the respective bonds. Zambia becomes the first African country to ask for debt suspension on its Eurobond. The Government has further gone ahead to ask all creditors for similar relief, after some non-commercial creditors agreed to a payment freeze under the G20 Debt Suspension Service Initiative (DSSI). China in particular, has given a one-year grace period and suspension and rescheduling of three years of repayment amounting to US$225million, US$426.3million and US$428 million for 2020, 2021 and 2022 respectively.

The Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection (JCTR) wishes to remind the nation that Eurobond holders are due to meet on Oct 20 to vote on the proposal to suspend Zambia’s debt service payments. Before then, about US$42.5 million payment on $1 billion of dollar bonds due in 2024 is scheduled for Oct 14 2020 which must be honoured within 30 days before it’s deemed to be in default.

JCTR is concerned that Government chose to ignore the many indicators of debt default that have characterised Zambia’s debt discourse since the issuance of Zambia’s first Eurobond in 2013. Most recently, on 25th September 2020, FITCH Ratings downgraded Zambia’s credit rating to ‘C’ from ‘CC’ warning of a high risk of a missed debt payment. Government however gave assurance that it will continue to make debt service payments on outstanding Eurobonds if an agreement is not reached. The admission to likely default is therefore a reversal from the Finance Minister’s assurance last month that Government had budgeted for Eurobond coupon payments next year to avoid default in the event that holders rejected the Government’s standstill request.

JCTR urges Government to seriously reflect on the debt problems that Zambia faces and resolve to walk the talk in addressing Zambia’s debt crisis. Under the Patriotic Front administration, Zambia’s external debt ceiling increased by 700% from K20 billion in 2011 (as guided by Statutory Instrument (SI) 53 of 1998) to K160 billion in 2016. This exponential increase was not backed by increased economic performance evidenced through growth in real Gross Domestic Product numbers. The raising of the external loan ceilings followed the issuance of Zambia’s three sovereign bonds. As far back as 2016, the Minister of Finance could not explain how the money would be paid back. Many stakeholders questioned the capacity of Government to pay back the loans and warned of an impending debt crisis if Zambia continued on the same trajectory. This was on the basis of strong indications that the country was drifting into a debt distress.

By February 2020 at an exchange rate of K14.7 to the US dollar, external debt amounted to K164 billion, K4 billion above the threshold. Today, Zambia’s total debt stock (external and domestic) is estimated at $US18.5 billion as at end of June 2020. Of this, US$11.97 billion is external. Thus, eight months later at an exchange rate of K20.13 this translates to K240billion, K80 billion above the prescribed threshold of K160 billion (the Loans and Guarantees (Maximum Amounts) Order No. 27 of 2019).
JCTR reiterates that Government must be committed to reining in on debt contraction. Government must provide evidence that it has slowed down on debt contraction. In the 2021 resource envelope, 44.9% of the budget will be financed through borrowing compared to 32.2% proposed in 2020. JCTR implores Government to ensure that debt sustainability is operationalized.

Attribute statement to Father Alex Muyebe, S.J. JCTR Executive Director

For further clarifications contact the Social and Economic Development (SED) Programme at the Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection (JCTR) on 0955295881 and 0954755319. Email: [email protected] and [email protected]. Martin Mwamba Road, Plot 3813 Martin Mwamba Road, Olympia Park – Lusaka. P. O. Box 37774 Lusaka – Zambia