FNB-ZAMBIA AWARDS EMPLOYEES SALARY INCREAMENT

First National Bank (FNB) Zambia has joined many local financial institutions trying to sustain its worksforce through increament of salaries in th advent of new entrants in the sector.
The Zambian financial sector has continued responding to increases in the cost of living through increased packages for its workforce.

Zambia Union of Financial and Allied Workers (ZUFIAW) President Cephas Mukuka says his union has been advoctating for increased salaries for its members owing to inflationary changes and cost of living. Mr. Mukuka tells the DataBank that the latest institution is FNB Zambia which has nodded to a ZMK 700,000 salary hike across the board.

“I can safely confirm that my union did sign a collective agreement with FNB Zambia on August, 8, 2011 after negotiations,” Mr. Mukuka said.

FNB is the third bank to have awarded its workers a salary hike after Investrust Bank and Standard Chartered Bank which equally gave its employees the same amount.
By Brian Mwale

IS ZAMBIA’S ATTAINMENT OF THE MIDDLE INCOME TARGET MEANINGFUL?

Excitement is in the air among different stakeholders about Zambia’s reclassification into the Lower Middle Income bracket by the World Bank, but a few meters from its central business district of the capital city Lusaka in a place called Chibolya where people are languishing in abject poverty.

The Zambian government has attributed the country’s attainment of the vision 2030 target of becoming a middle income country 19 years earlier to good economic policies. Zambia’s Finance and National Planning Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane at a media briefing in the capital city Lusaka today stated that good policies have allowed increased investments especially in the mining sector which coupled with huge exports have increased earnings.

Dr. Musokotwane said the reclassification of the Lower middle income status means that the Southern African nation will now have access to non-concessional loans which are high value and good for developing the country; a step ahead of the concessional loans which were limited in nature as the World Bank only offers US$ 70,000,000 under t his category.

“The reclassification now allows us as a country to borrow more for investments as we have the capacity to pay back as has been seen from increase earnings from copper exports,” said Dr. Musokotwane adding that “our status now makes the country known to the international community as a hub for good investment.” And when asked about how soon the gap between the rich and the poor will be narrowed, the Minister stated that the poor are a common sight even in the world’s huge economies.

In a Wednesday edition of the United Kingdom-based newspaper The Guardian the World Bank reclassified Zambia as a middle-income country along with Ghana. The World Bank said the upward adjustment in Zambia’s income growth is a result of foreign aid-driven interventions and surging prices of copper in the last few decades.

“Zambia and Ghana are ranked 27th and 28th among 63 countries which the World Bank has reclassified as middle-income countries since the year 2000,” The Guardian newspaper reported. Low-income countries are those with the average gross national income (GNIs) of less than US$1, 005 per person annually. Lower middle-income countries have per capita GNIs of between US$1,006 per year and upper middle-income countries have per capita GNIs between US$3, 976 and US$12, 275.

The middle-income countries now account for most of the world’s population living in absolute poverty and they need aid allocation models which will take account of poor people and deprivation beyond income. On the Millennium Development Goals, the Guardian newspaper states that Zambia and Ghana have done well although the progress to attain the goals is slow.

“However, in both Ghana and Zambia, the number of children in primary school has climbed along with literacy rates and infant mortality has fallen. Even if they are not on track to meet the MDGs, quality of life is getting much better,” it states.
There are only 35 low-income countries remaining out of the countries being assessed by the world.

ECONOMIC POLICIES FOR FOREIGN INVESTMENTS

Zambia’s provide for externalization of profits by foreign investors as a policy aimed at attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). The Country’s Commerce Minister Felix Mutati and Zambia Development Agency (ZDA) have on several platforms stated that foreign investors are free to bring in as much money as they want and take out as much as they want.

This policy has been attacked by many people like independent Economist Robert Sanyikosa who says affects development of the local economy. Mr. Sanyikosa says that owing to control of mines by foreign investors the reclassification of the country as a Lower Middle Income status has nothing to be excited about because people are still wallowing in poverty in most of Zambia’s rural areas.

“The yardsticks that the World Bank is using to reclassify Zambia is copper exports when allnot all earnings from the venture come back home because of the profit externalization policy,” says Mr. Sanyikosa. His sentiments have been supported by opposition Forum for Democracy and Development (FDD) President Edith Nawakwi has called for change of policies. Ms. Nawakwi is an opposition leader who has never run for presidency during elections since formation of her party in 2001 but only endorses other presidents.

By Brian Mwale.

LIBYAN ASSETS HELD BY LEADING GLOBAL BANKS

Some of the biggest and best-known financial institutions in the world held billions of dollars of Libyan state funds, a leaked report has revealed. Principal among them were HSBC, Royal Bank of Scotland, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, Nomura and Societe General, Global Witness said. The banks refused to say whether they held, or are still holding, the funds.

All the assets have now been frozen by the European Union and United Nations. The document, dated June 2010, showed that HSBC held $292.7m (£179.9m) in 10 cash accounts, with a similar amount invested in a hedge fund, while Goldman Sachs had $43m in three accounts. Almost $4bn was held in investment funds and structured products, with Societe General alone holding $1bn.

“Start Quote
All the banks refused to make any public comment on the funds they received and managed on behalf of the Libyan Investment Authority, citing client confidentiality”
Robert Peston Business editor, BBC News

• Peston: Where Libya invests $53bn
Japanese bank Nomura and Bank of New York also held $500m each. A much larger proportion of Libyan Investment Authority's assets - $19bn in total - were held by Libyan and Middle Eastern Banks, the document revealed. It also showed that the Libyan Investment Authority (LIA) holds billions of dollars in shares in global corporations such as General Electric, BP, Vivendi and Deutsche Telekom.
It had already been widely reported that the fund held stakes in UK publishing group Pearson, Italy's Unicredit bank and industrial group Finmeccanica, as well as Canadian oil exploration group Verenex.

'Economic sanctions'
"It is completely absurd that HSBC and Goldman Sachs can hide behind customer confidentiality in a case like this," said Charmain Gooch, director of campaigning group Global Witness.
"These are state accounts, so the customer is effectively the Libyan people and these banks are withholding vital information from them." Established in 2006, the LIA holds about $70bn of assets and is the 13th largest sovereign wealth fund in the world, according to the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute. The fund, built on Libya's oil wealth, scores two out of 10 on the institute's transparency ranking.
Earlier this month, the EU extended its economic sanctions against Libya to include the LIA and the country's central bank. It had already frozen assets of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and some members of his family. It did not initially target the LIA as there was some debate about whether its assets belonged to the Gaddafi family or the Libyan people, analysts said.

Source: BBC.

ZAMTEL INTEGRATES CALL CENTRE FACILITIES

With only a few months after taking over Zambia’s public owned telecommunication firm ZAMTEL, Lap-green Networks of Libya has embarked on intensive transformation of the local call centre through unleashing of a lot of packages out of the bag.

The company has announced that it is integrating its call centre facilities as part of the company’s strategy to deliver improved customer facilities across its three brand portfolios.

ZAMTEL Senior Manager for Corporate Communications Kennedy Mambwe says this caters for the company’s converged telecommunication solutions such as fixed lines, GSM mobile and data services as it has an internet service provider license. Mr. Mambwe adds that ZAMTEL has equally employed more personnel to handle the anticipated surge in call volumes from customers across the country.

He further disclosed that in the telecommunication firm plans to build an ultra modern call centre in the near future.

About ZAMTEL
ZAMTEL is part of the LAP Green Network, which has a footprint in six African markets to more than 4 million active subscribers. Lap Green owns 75% shares in the company with management control, while 25% shareholding is retained by the Zambian Government.

By Brian Mwale

ZAMBIA FINALLY SIGNS CAADP COMPACT AFTER TWO POSTPONEMENTS

The Zambian agriculture story is set to record further growth as the country finally signs the long awaited Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program (CAADP) Compact.
After postponing the signing on two occasions in 2008 and 2010, the Rupiah Banda led government has appended its signature to an agreement which now compels it to allocate at least 10% of the annual budget toward development of the agriculture sector and work toward a sector growth target of 6%.
Launching the signing ceremony in the Zambian capital Lusaka today, (January, 18, 2011) Republican President Rupiah Banda through his vice Gorge Kunda says the CAADP Compact is in line with the country’s policies.
Mr. Banda says the country has deliberately created the Livestock and Fisheries Development Ministry which supports growth of the sector. “We are increasing the quality and quantity of livestock by products being exported as the current levels are not good enough,” says the Mr. Kunda.
And the Zambian Head of state says despite the country having recorded consecutive bumper harvests, many challenges still need to be addressed. He says poor road network, storage facilities, and lack of adequate funding and research have to be addressed in order for the country to go beyond its current production levels.
Comesa sentiments on CAADP
The Common Market for East and Southern Africa (COMESA) has expressed delight with Zambia accenting to the CAADP Compact.
COMESA Secretary General Sindiso Ngwenya says Zambia has signed at the right time when it has showed its agriculture potential through consecutive bumper harvests in the agriculture sector. He says this in the midst of the country having recorded a 2.8million metric ton maize bumper harvest in the 2009-2010 farming season an increase from the 2008-2009 farming season which saw Zambia’s staple food hitting a 1.9million metric ton bumper harvest.
“Zambia signing the CAADP Compact brings the number of countries in the COMESA region that have signed to eight which is a good indication,” Mr. Ngwenya reveals.
He says his organization and Zambia’s Ministry of Agriculture are working together to solicit for some technical support from the Food and Agriculture Organization –FAO-. Meanwhile Agriculture and Corporative Minister Bradford Machila says the CAADP Compact fits in Zambia’s Vision 2030 target of becoming a middle income country.
Mr. Machila says the program will be in line with government National Development Programs –NDPs- such as the current Sixth National Development Plan –SNDP- which runs from 2011 to 2015.
Finance and National Planning Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane signed on behalf of Zambia alongside his Agriculture Minister Counterpart Eustakio Kazonga and Zambia Association of Manufacturing –ZAM President Chance Kabaghe singed on behalf of the private sector.
About CAADP
CAADP is an initiative that aims at accelerating Africa’s development by using agriculture as the engine to drive such development.
The CAADP was formulated by African government under the African Union/New Partnership for Africa’s Development (AU/NEPAD) in 2003. In this regard, an annual agriculture growth target of 6% was set, which would be realized in part by allocating at least 10% of the country’s total annual budget to the sector.
The Zambian government in collaboration with COMESA has been engaged in the process of accelerating the implementation of the agriculture development agenda in line with the Comprehensive Africa Development (CAADP) framework.
CAADP’s four fundamental pillars
1. Extending the area under sustainable land management and reliable water control systems,
2. Improving rural infrastructure and trade related capacities for market access,
3. Increasing food supply and reducing hunger
4. Agricultural research, technology dissemination and adoption.

The pillars are deemed critical to sustainably accelerate agricultural production and productivity in countries on the continent.

By Brian Mwale

MALAWIAN MAN CUTS OFF HIS GENITALS TO SELL

“Genitals for Sale” is what seems to be the writing on a Malawian man’s forehead after he cut his luggage to sale to witchdoctors.
Malawi Police confirmed that a man cut off his own penis and testicles with a sharp knife last week.
According to police, Pilirani Lazaro of Dowa is hospitalised at Kamuzu Central Hospital after he cut his genitals which he wanted to sell.
KCH are keeping the genitals and doctors say they could not reattach his genitalia.
“Pilirani Lazaro had indeed severed his own testicles,” a police spokesman for central region John Namalenga said.
Nyasa Times reporter found Lazaro ay on the hospital bed, muttering incomprehensible phrases. “I feel pain all over my body,” he groaned
Issues of cutting genitals have become very common in Malawi .
Mzimba police spokesman Sub Inspector George Kondowe said recently that police arrested four people who attacked Joseph Nyirenda to chop off his genitals with “sharp knives.”
Private body parts of human beings are on a high demand by the witchdoctors and it is believed that people sell the penis and testicles abroad where they fetch a lot of money.
One case of this nature was concluded by the High Court in Blantyre which sentenced Peter Chakuamba to 20 years imprisonment with hard labour for cutting private parts of a fellow man.
Courtesy of Charles Kufa, Nyasa Times

CHINESE OFFICIALS SHOOT, WOUND 13WORKERS AT COLLUM COAL MINE

While officials were working on rescuing miners trapped underground in Chile, in Zambia trigger happy Chinese mine managers were busy shooting at workers at Collum Coal Mine in Sinazongwe District in the Southern Province.

Two Chinese Managers at Collum Coal Mine in Sinazongwe District, Southern Province who allegedly shot 13 miners are still scot free while three alleged master minders of the protest remain in custody. Collum Coal Mine workers on Friday October, 15th 2010 protested over their delayed salaries but two Chinese supervisors opened fire at them using a shotgun hence dotting their bodies with pellets.

As of Saturday more than 24hours after the incident the miners who were admitted at Maamba Hospital still had pellets in embedded in their bodies. Some had as many as nine pellets in their bodies while the doctor was nowhere to be seen. Ward Sianaini of the victims complained that such incidents would not go far because the Chinese officials are in the habit of bribing government officials.

“Even with this situation government will not do anything because the officials (Chinese) say they are above the law because they pay government,” Ward said. However, Sinazongwe District Commissioner Oliver Pelete said justice will prevail and culprits if found wanting will be brought to book.

“I will not say much because the provincial minister has already issued a comment and don’t want to look like I am overriding his authority,” Mr. Pelete said.

And when the DataBank reporter followed the DC and some Chinese officials including one of the mine’s shareholders who had come to visit the patients to the mine, it was discovered that the two alleged shooters were still walking scot free enjoying the nice summer warmth while the three alleged protest ring leaders were in custody.

The DC, mine officials and workers’ representatives went into a meeting that lasted about four hours but still the DC tried to be difficult in issuing a statement.
“I can only confirm that the police officers have recorded a warn and caution statement from the two Chinese managers,” said Mr. Pelete, but when asked about the correct way of doing things whether recording the statements from their premises or the police station, Mr. Pelete said he could not speak on behalf of the police.

Efforts to get a comment from the mine’s shareholder Lui Yao Ping almost proved futile as the DC was protective. However, Mr. Lui confirmed that the matter had been amicably dealt with by all stakeholders but refuted reports of him saying he is above the law.

“We have finalized, all is well, police officials and us as good now…….no no one is above the law, even the president has to respect the law,” he said.

Government speaks out on the shooting
Information Minister and Chief Government spokesperson Lt. Gen. Rev. Ronnie Shikapwasha shocked the country when he bluntly stated that the Chinese governments need no apologies over it because Zambians have been arrested before in that country.
The Minister was responding to some opposition United Party for National Development (UPND) and Patriotic Front (PF) Pact youths who went to lodge in a formal complaint at the Chinese embassy demanding for an apology and subsequent discussions on Zambia’s labour laws with Chinese investors.

The two opposition leaders could however not manage to pitch in their petition because they were manhandled by tens of police officers who were clad in heavy riot kits.

By Brian Mwale.