President Mwanawasa has called for the revival and diversification of the mining sector in a bid to enhance the growth of the national economy and employment creation in the country.

Mr Mwanawasa says his administration will remain committed to creating a conducive
environment which will attract increased investment in the mining sector.

He was speaking at the ground breaking ceremony of the construction of the Munali
Nickel mine in Mazabuka today.

Mr Mwanawasa said the conducive mining environment created by his administration
since 2002 has resulted in increased foreign investment in Zambia and has also helped in employment creation for the local people.

He noted that his government has put the mining sector on its development agenda because of the role it plays in the economic development of the country.

President Mwanawasa pointed out that his government will strive to put in place prudent policies which will translate into increased investment in all the key sectors of the national economy.

He called on Mines and Minerals Development Minister Dr Kalombo Mwansa to step up
the ministry’s mining and gas geological exploration to attract more mining investors into the country.

Earlier, Mines and Minerals Development Minister Dr Kalombo Mwansa said the opening
up of the Munali Nickel Mining plant in Mazabuka district was a clear demonstration of the great importance the MMD government attaches to the mining sector.

Dr Mwansa said his ministry will continue putting in place policies that will attract increased investment in the mining sector and also contribute significantly to oil and gas exploration in Zambia.

Speaking at the same function, Southern Province Minister Joseph Mulyata commended
government for putting in place policies, which have translated into economic development of the province.

Mr Mulyata said the development projects initiated by the new deal administration
have helped to raise the people of southern province from the shackles of poverty.

And Albidon Zambia Limited Managing Director Dale Rodgers said his company will
invest US$100 million in the development of the Munali Nickel Mining Plant.

Rodgers pointed out that the US$100 million investment into the Munali Nickel Mining
Plant will result in employment creation as well as contribute positively to
sustainable development of Zambia.

ZANIS

After months of negotiations, government has finally, handed over the management of the Zambia National Commercial Bank (ZNCB) to Rabobank of the Netherlands.

The deal was sealed in Lusaka today after government agreed in principle last December that Rabobank should buy 49 per cent shares in ZANACO.

Commerce, Trade and Industry permanent secretary Davison Chilipamushi disclosed during a press briefing that Rabobank’s assumption of the  management of ZANACO was
in line with the agreement on the partial sale of the bank.

As part of the sale and purchase agreement entered into by the bank and the Zambian
government, both parties agreed that Rabobank takes over management rights of ZANACO while government will retain its representation in the bank at board level.

The new board includes three members from Rabobank , two government representatives  and one representative to be appointed by  board members.

These are Mark Wiessing, Arnald Kuipers , Jan Dijkstraa , Chintu Mulendema and
Getrude Akapelwa.

Mr. Chilipamushi said the take-over of the bank today marked the end of the long
process of partial privatization of 49 percent sales in ZANACO which he said has been conducted in a transparent manner.

Mr. Chilipamushi said ZANACO’s partial sale will enhance economic development in the
country.

He added that the sale was also done in accordance with the provisions of the law as stipulated in the Banking and Financial Services Act.

He however could not state the sale value of the bank saying government through the
minister of commerce will inform the nation after the evaluation process is completed.

Mr Chilipamushi said the value of the bank’s assets has increased over the years compared to 2004 when ZANACO  was offered to Rabobank hence the need to revalue the assets.

The permanent secretary said 25.8 percent shares would be offered to the Zambian public so that they have a say in the running of the bank.

Mr. Chiliupamushi who is also past chairman of the board thanked board members and
the staff of the bank for their contribution during the privatization process, which he said has helped to increase the value of the bank.

And speaking at the same function, new ZANACO managing director Mark Wiessing said
the vision of his team was to take the bank to another level.

Mr. Wiessing said ZANACO has built a strong foundation and has the largest rural branch and ATM network.

He said the vision of Rabobank was to build on the achievements and move towards a more customer focused organisation.

“We need to capture the market share of ZANACO as we are look for a sustained
profitability in the long term so that the bank can recapture the share it lost on the market.

The bank will in the next three months present a new business plan to indicate the future of the bank.

The managing director said the bank would also seek new opportunities of expanding
its   corporate presence in agriculture, mining and public sectors.

Mr Wiessing said ZANACO will maintain its presence in rural areas, adding the bank has a plan of expanding its branches network to cater for both urban and rural
areas.

On fears of  job losses, Mr Wiessing said the bank had no masterplan of retrenching  workers  saying the philosophy of the bank was to grow the business .

He however pointed out that there will be changes in the staff mix depending on the outcome of the new business plan.

He said Rabobank has 110 years experience in banking and is ranked 20th in the world
in asset base and equity.

“We bring to Zambia expertise in retail and agriculture gained in 110 years of banking,’ the said.

Following the partial sale, Government will now have 51 percent shares while Rabobamnk intends to sell four percent shares to the farmers out of its 49 percent shares.
ZANIS

President Mwanawasa has lashed out at politicians bent on frustrating government efforts in fostering development in the country.

Speaking when he officiated at the ground breaking ceremony of the construction of the Albidon Zambia
limited Nickel mine in Mazabuka today, Mr Mwanawasa said some politicians had alleged that the mining company had disadvantaged Zambians.

Mr Mwanawasa who had earlier toured the resettlement
site said he was impressed with what he saw as villagers were being built a house each and were given two animals.

He said villagers were happy and were looking forward
to move to the site.

”Who are you speaking for when you say Zambians are
being disadvantaged. We have been independent for 43
years, why didnt you develop the nickel project,” he said.

Mr Mwanawasa urged critics to stop wasting government’s time.

He noted that he was happy that the mining company had
invested U$ 100 million in the development of nickel.

Mr Mwanawasa also said the pace at which the company
had moved from discovery to exploration underscored
the commitment of Albidon.

He said the investment would generate employment and
would result in wealth creation not only for the Mazabuka community but for the country as a whole.

The president said the theme of the ground breaking
ceremony was ‘Revival and diversification of the mining industry in Zambia.”

He noted that over U$4 billion has been invested in the mining industry which has seen the production of copper doubling from 250,000 metric tonnes in 2001 to 500,000 metric tonnes in 2006.

Mr Mwanawasa said with the coming in of new investments, copper production was projected to rise
to 1 million tonnes per annum by 2011 which would push the country back among the major global copper producing countries.

”We are now seeing diversification in the mining sector itself. We however want to see more development in the country as it is under explored,” he said.

He said the exploration and mapping project undertaken
by the ministry of mines will cover the remaing 45 percent adding that this would enable the country to do more mining activities.

Mr Mwanawasa said his goal was to see to it that the private sector establishes one mine in each province
with significant ownership being placed in the hands of Zambians. 

And speaking earlier when he toured a house of one of
the evicted families, Mr Mwanawasa said he had received complaints that the displaced villagers were being exploited and that the investor had taken away their land.

Mr Mwanawasa said contrary to the reports, he was happy with what he had seen on the ground.

He said it will be retrogressive for some politicians to fight development as innocent people would suffer just because selfish politicians want to champion their cause.

Mr Mwanawasa said it was important for people to realise that the project was being taken to their area because government was interested in fostering development.

”The important thing is that people should realise that these are projects of the party and government and people should grasp this. It will not do for us to start fighting development,” he said.

And one of the resettled villagers Robert Chilobya told
the President that each of the resettled villagers has
been given two cows and that the mine management would
provide fertiliser for the initial year. He said the
construction of the rest of the houses was still in
progress.

Mr Chilobya said before he was resettled he had 10
hectares and noted that he now has an additional five
making it fifteen hectares.
ZANIS

Zambia is still grappling about its dual membership of belonging to both the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and Southern Africa Development Committee (SADC) ahead of the SADC summit set for August this year.

Commerce, Trade and Industry Permanent Secretary Davidson Chilipamushi said here Monday that the government is actively studying a report by stakeholders on the matter.

Chilipamushi said the nation would be informed about Zambia’s official stance after the consultative process has been exhaustively concluded.

Early this year, Chilipamushi had said the government would make its position known by the end of last month after consultations with various key stakeholders.

SADC and COMESA members that subscribe to both regional bodies are faced with a tough decision to make a stance on which body to continue their membership in light of duplication and intertwined trade issues.

Zambia belongs to both SADC and COMESA, and the two regional bodies are keen on establishing customs unions.

Among the many thorny issues is that according to the World Trade Organization (WTO) rule, no member country should belong to two customs unions.

COMESA wants to turn its Free Trade Area launched on Oct. 1, 2000 into a customs union in 2008 while SADC plans to have a customs union of its own in 2010.

Plans are also afoot that SADC’s customs union be followed by a common market by 2015 and an economic and monetary union by 2018. Similarly, COMESA intends to introduce a central bank and a single currency at the same time framework.