SITUATE AFRICAN SUFFRAGETTES IN THE HISTORY BOOKS

By Brenda Zulu 

The Justina Mutale Foundation has called for the recognition and documentation of African Suffragettes.

Speaking in a press release, the Foundation made the call during the ongoing United Nations 62^nd Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW62) in New York, which saw the launch of a traveling exhibition titled: “African Suffragettes: A Journey of Africa’s Hidden Figures Through the Decades”  

“The African Suffragettes will be a travelling exhibition to celebrate and bring to the fore a greater recognition of African women’s contribution to national governance, leadership and political activity” said Ms Justina Mutale, President of the Justina Mutale Foundation.  

The Launch Event of the African Suffragettes highlighted Africa’s iconic women from various backgrounds in Africa, who for centuries have fought for the rights of women and girls, and the rights of their people as they engaged in acts of resistance and liberation struggles.

“It is imperative that we recognise and bring to the history books the major contributions made by the African women during colonisation, the struggle for independence, and the development of Africa”, Ms Mutale reiterated.

The launch took place during a CSW62 Side Event held at the African Union Permanent Mission to the United Nations and was officiated by Vice President of the Republic of the Gambia, Her Excellency Fatoumata Jallho Tambajang.

“African Suffragettes have already done the hard work for us through their struggles.  It is now up to us to take the mantle forward”, said Her Excellency Fatoumata Jallho Tambajang, Vice-President of the Republic of the Gambia

Other VIP speakers included the Minister of Health, Solidarity, Social Protection and Gender of the Comoros Islands, Dr Fatima Mohammed Mbarak; and Liberia’s female Presidential aspirant, Ms Macdella Cooper.

“The suffragettes set a good foundation for women’s participation in politics. We need more women at high-levels of decision-making process in politics, business and other public office”. Said, Dr Fatima Mohammed Mbarak Comoros Islands Minister for Gender

The Suffragettes Journey is expected to make is debut during the Commonwealth Women’s Forum, which will be held in the wings of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in London.  The exhibition is aimed at providing a narrative that young women and girls of African origin can identify with and to instil confidence for them to participate with ownership in the 100 years Suffragettes campaign in the UK.

“Zambia has the potential to become a disability champion in the African region” – UN expert

By Brenda Zulu

“There are good opportunities to achieve the realisation of rights of persons with disabilities in Zambia,” today said United Nations Special Rapporteur Catalina Devandas, while urging the Government to fully implement a number of well-formulated and well-intended policies and strategies.

“Zambia has the potential to become a disability champion in the African region, provided that the Government makes it a priority to implement the policy and legal framework on disability,” Ms. Devandas said at the end of her first official visit* to the country to assess the level of enjoyment of the rights of persons with disabilities. 

In  a press release, the UN expert highlighted numerous initiatives by the Zambian authorities to improve the protection framework for persons with disabilities, including the strengthening of the Zambia Agency for Persons with Disabilities, the production of a National Disability Survey, and the significant efforts undertaken to make its social protection framework inclusive of persons with disabilities.

In that regard, she encouraged the Government to continue advancing in the areas of accessibility, education, health, and employment, through the adoption of the necessary measures required to ensure the implementation and enforcement of the Persons with Disabilities Act and other relevant policies.

  

On the other hand, the Special Rapporteur also identified urgent challenges to be addressed, such as the stark disparities between rural and urban areas in relation to accessibility and availability of services. In addition, Ms. Devandas highlighted the situation of persons with albinism, who live in constant fear of being attacked and killed for their body parts, and urged the authorities to protect women and girls with disabilities, who are at heightened risk of sexual and gender-based violence.

The human rights expert also drew attention that the situation of persons with psychosocial or intellectual disabilities is of particular concern: “Deprivation of liberty on the basis of disability remains an accepted practice in Zambia,” she said pointing at the widespread assumption that persons with psychosocial or intellectual impairments have no legal capacity due to the lack of ‘mental capacities’.

During her stay, the Special Rapporteur visited the Chainama Hills Hospital in Lusaka and the psychiatric unit of the General Hospital in Ndola. “I was particularly appalled by the conditions of the psychiatric unit in Ndola, where persons with psychosocial disabilities are deprived of their liberty without their informed consent, are subjected to seclusion and forced treatment, including forced sterilization of women with disabilities,” she explained.

While she welcomed the efforts undertaken to draft a new Mental Health Bill, she urged the Government “to close the mental health settlements where persons with psychosocial disabilities are confined in remote areas of the country, and to invest instead in adequate and comprehensive community-based supports services.”

Other major challenges encountered by the independent expert are in the area of access to justice. “Complaints of abuse and discrimination by women and girls are mostly overlooked, and the majority of court buildings are inaccessible,” Ms. Devandas said. “Deaf persons are denied access to justice on equal basis with others, as sign language interpretation is not provided in courts.”

The UN Special Rapporteur visited the cities of Lusaka and Ndola, where she met with a variety of senior Government officials, and held discussions with persons with disabilities and their representative organizations, other civil society actors, the UN system, and international cooperation actors.

The UN Special Rapporteur will present a report to the Human Rights Council in 2017 on the main findings of her visit.

(*) Check the Special Rapporteur’s full end-of-mission statement: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=19890&LangID=E 

GOVERNMENT PARTNERS WITH MINING HOUSES TO DEVISE CONSISTENT SECTOR POLICIES- Cape town

By Brenda Zulu

GOVERNMENT says it is engaging mining companies to consider different options so that the two parties could come up with consistent and predictable policies for the mining sector.

And mining houses in Zambia have hailed the Zambian Government for its continued commitment to finding lasting solutions facing the sector.

In a Press Release, Gemfields Plc, 75% owners of Kagem Mine, and Vedanta Resources Plc, owners of Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) have said that they appreciated the openness with which Government was approaching the various efforts that have been tabled so far in order for the parties to arrive at a mutually beneficial set of policies.

Minister Yaluma making his presentation at the Country Case Study on Zambia session at the 2016 Mining Conference in Cape Town on 10th February.

Vedanta Resources Plc Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Tom Albanese, said during a ‘Country Case Study’ on Zambia at the on-going Mining Conference in Cape Town today that his company was proud of what the negotiating team had achieved with the Zambian Government in getting round the challenges facing the sector.

He said KCM respected the “owners of the resources in Zambia” because they realised the pivotal role that the company played in the lives of Zambians.

Germfields Plc Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Ian Harebottle said his company had all the confidence in the Zambian Government which had continued making the country “an excellent investment destination.”

The two were part of a panel discussion which also comprised Zambia’s Minister of Mines and Minerals Development Mr. Christopher Yaluma, Deputy Finance Minister Mr. Christopher Mvunga and ZCCM-IH Holdings Chief Executive Officer Dr. Pius Kasolo. 

The session was also attended by Deputy Minister for Mines and Minerals Development Mr. Richard Musukwa, Zambia’s High Commissioner to South Africa His Excellency Mr. Emmanuel Mwamba, several multi-national mining investors, and business executives from various sectors.

And Mr. Albanese disclosed that KCM has made tremendous progress in repositioning itself in the last two years and could comfortably say that it was now able to withstand the current low copper prices.

“We are hopeful that there will be positive trends soon and the copper business will start coming round this year although this will not be in the range of 6 to US$8, 000 per tonne.”

He said Vedanta Resources understood the current problems, such as the energy shortage, that the Zambian Government was grappling with and would like to be part of the solutions.

On the developing consistent policies to guide the mining sector, Mr. Mvunga said Government was alive to the fact that mining was a long term investment for which owners needed to be able to plan ahead without difficulties.

“We are in constant dialogue with the mines to arrive at a consistent and predictable tax regime. We realise that there is need for a certain form of certainty as these are long term investments,” he said.

Mr. Mvunga said Government, just like many other players in the sector, realised that mining had moments of “troughs and crests”. He said Government was glad that there was still a show of optimism from the mining houses themselves.

He reminded mining companies to look at the ‘Remission rule’ governing the operations of mines in Zambia so that they could put it to use in troubled times as the current scenario.

Dr. Kasolo pointed out that trends in the mining business were of cyclical nature and that these occurrences were beyond the control of any government. 

And responding to a question from the audience, Mr. Yaluma assured the mining sector that Government was not considering reintroduction of the Windfall Tax until such a time when conditions dictated so.

Mr. Yaluma said Zambia had been through a period of depressed metal prices and that Government was confident that the country would emerge out of the current one victoriously.

He said Government, the industry and all other stakeholders had their roles to play in order to reverse the downturn.

The Minister told the audience that in order to ensure growth and sustainability of the mining industry during all financial scenarios, a clear and articulate policy that sought to create a competitive, thriving and sustainable mining industry had been adopted.

Mr. Yaluma noted that Government had also adopted the revised Mines and Minerals Development Act of 2015 which was enacted to bring the law in line with international best practices.

The new law addresses among other things; the unnecessary bureaucracy in the issuance of mining rights; inadequate tenure of mineral processing licences; Mineral royalty rates, and promoting good governance, transparency, adherence to the rule of law and regular dialogue with stakeholders.

Let’s empower women to fight cervical cancer – Kasese-Bota

By Brenda Zulu

Zambia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Her Excellency Dr Mwaba Kasese-Bota has called for concerted efforts to empower women with knowledge and skills to protect themselves against cervical cancer.

In a Press Release,Ambassador Kasese-Bota said this in a statement read on her behalf by Zambia’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ms. Christine Kalamwina, during an event organized by Missions of Zambia and US to the UN, and ‘Every Woman Every Child’ to mark World Cancer Day at UN HQ in New York.

Ministry of Community Development and Social Welfare Permanent Secretary Dr Davy M. Chikamata delivering Zambia’s national statement at the 54th Session of the United Nations Commission for Social Development at UN HQ in New York on 5 February 2016. With him is Zambia’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Ms. Christine Kalamwina, his Ministry’s Director of Planning Mr. Simmy Chapula and First Secretary (Social, Cultural and Humanitarian Affairs) Mrs Hellen Chifwaila. PHOTO | CHIBAULA D. SILWAMBA | ZAMBIA UN MISSION

Ambassador Dr Kasese-Bota said efforts must be made to increase screening opportunities, early recognition of signs of cervical cancer and ensuring that healthcare was sought without delay for the affected women.

She called for increase in the vaccination of young girls to prevent infection with the human papilloma virus, which is the main cause of cervical cancer.

“The growing cancer burden across the globe calls for the international community to remain committed to the World Cancer Declaration, which outlines the steps needed to reverse the global cancer crisis by 2020,” Ambassador Kasese-Bota said. “There is need for the global community to allocate adequate human, financial and other resources towards the management of cervical cancer, especially in the developing world.”

She said there was urgent need for national governments to consider allocating adequate financial resources to ensure that early detection, treatment and regular follow-up of cervical cancer was made available to all women.

“Recently inherited statistics show that Zambia has the second highest rates of Cervical Cancer in the world and is the second most common cancer among women. According to the estimates by the World Health Organisation an estimated number of 1300 women die of cervical cancer out of the 1900 diagnosed each year, despite the fact that Cervical Cancer can be treated, if diagnosed early,” Kasese-Bota said. 

She said the Zambian Government has been very responsive to fight cervical cancer, as evidenced through the implementation of the Cervical Cancer Prevention Programme in collaboration with development partners like the US Government.

“These Free Cervical Cancer Screening Clinics are located in all the 10 provinces of Zambia,” said Ambassador Kasese-Bota. “The Zambian Government has also partnered with the US Government and the George W. Bush Institute to launch the Pink Red/Red Ribbon Campaign which builds on existing healthcare programme to integrate Cervical Cancer prevention.”

Approximately 86 per cent of all cervical cancer cases occur in developing countries. For Sub-Saharan Africa, Cervical Cancer is the most common cancer among women, where at least 35 cases are diagnosed for every 100, 000 women.

Privatised mining industry drives growth and development

By Brenda Zulu
Zambia’s modern copper growth story really started around the turn of the century, in 2000, with the privatisation of the country’s copper mines, says Nathan Chishimba, president of the Chamber of Mines.

Speaking at a media conference today, Chishimba says available statistics show a dramatic improvement, from 2000 to 2011, of key indicators not just of the mining industry itself, but the economy in general.

“The newly privatised industry was able to invest and modernise, and so take maximum advantage of the steadily rising demand for copper coming out of China,” he says. 

This drove Zambia’s development, spurring GDP growth and helping the country achieve annual growth rates of 7% to 10%. 

“In the first decade of the new century, the mining industry has ploughed more than US $10 billion into new mining ventures. It has trebled the country’s annual mining output to around 800 000 tonnes and increased employment fourfold to more than 80 000. This mining growth has been key in taking government tax revenue from less than half a billion in 2000 to a peak of K8 billion ten years later,” Chishimba says.

In addition, the mines were able to invest heavily in CSR and socio-economic development in local communities. These include the funding and operation of schools and hospitals; the building of roads, houses and community infrastructure; and the funding of scholarships at school and university level.

High costs are costing Zambian mines money

By Brenda Zulu
The high cost structure of many Zambian mines means they are losing money, and finding it hard to complete in the global marketplace, says Nathan Chishimba, president of the Chamber of Mines.

Speaking to the media in Lusaka on today, he explains that many mines are producing copper at $5 000-$7 000 per tonne, which is higher than the current copper price of around $4 600 per tonne. The difference represents the loss made on each tonne of copper sold. This can run into millions of dollars a month, depending on each mine’s monthly production figures.

Important reasons for the Zambian industry’s high operating costs, particularly for the older mines on the Copperbelt, are that they are deep ore bodies, which means the copper is harder to find. He added that they are also low grades, which means you get less copper from each tonne of ore mined.

Low productivity, which means you have to do more work overall to produce a tonne of finished copper; and erratic power supply, which makes it difficult to keep operations running efficiently and safely.

In addition, regulatory and policy issues affect the mines high rates of royalty tax, based on turnover, which has to be paid irrespective of whether the mine is making money;  and changing policy regimes, which make it hard for mines to plan for the long term, and deter investors from starting new mines or expanding existing ones.

Chishimba says: “This issue is critical because many mining companies in other parts of the world can produce copper with lower costs, raising the risk of higher-cost producers being squeezed out of the market.”

Zambian mining industry to drive ‘strategic consensus’ for long-term economic growth

All Zambia conference planned to broaden economy beyond mining 

By Brenda Zulu

Reeling from the worst crisis it has faced this century, and losing millions of dollars a month in a depressed copper-price environment, the Zambian mining industry is to push for a long-term strategic consensus to promote the growth not just of the mining industry, but of the entire country.

 “As an industry, we carry the weight of an entire nation on our shoulders in terms of investment, jobs and foreign exchange earnings,” said Chamber of Mines President, Mr Nathan Chishimba, speaking at a media conference in Lusaka on Wednesday 16^th December.

Since 2000, on the back of rising copper demand from China, the Zambian copper mining industry has led the nation’s development, spurring GDP growth and helping to achieve annual growth rates of 7% to 10%. The industry has ploughed more than US $10 billion into new mining ventures, trebled the country’s annual mining output to around 800 000 tonnes and increased employment fourfold to more than 80 000. This mining growth has been key in taking government tax revenue from less than half a billion Kwacha in 2000 to a peak of K8 billion ten years later.

“We are the basket which holds all the proverbial eggs. Working together we have to create a high-growth, diversified economy which spreads risk and opportunities across the economy, creates more jobs and widens the tax base,” said Chishimba. “As we are seeing in the current crisis, Zambia should not be relying only on mining for its future.”

As a measure of the industry’s unity of purpose, the Zambian Chamber of Mines media conference was attended by senior executives of First Quantum Minerals (FQM), Konkola Copper Mines (KCM), Mopani and Barrick Lumwana and other senior industry figures. These are Zambia’s four largest copper mining companies, accounting for around 70% of the country’s annual output.

The objective, according to Chishimba, was to provide context and understanding for the slump facing Zambian and global copper miners after a reduction in demand in the past five years from China, the world’s largest consumer of copper (45% of world production). It has led to a five-year slide in the copper price, which is around 60% off its 2011 peak – triggering production cutbacks and layoffs in all of the world’s major copper-mining nations, from Zambia, Congo and Chile to Australia, Canada and the United States.

The conference also heard that the Zambian mining industry faced specific local constraints such as a debilitating power shortage that has reduced production capacity, increased costs and, in certain cases, forced the closure of operations, with the loss of many jobs.

“We suffer from both production challenges, such as old mines, deep ore bodies, low grades, low productivity, and regulatory challenges – for example, a constantly changing policy and tax environment.  The effect is twofold: our copper is expensive to produce, and investors are reluctant to start new mines or expand existing ones.”

On the long-term prospects for the global mining industry, Chishimba said there had always been demand for copper on the back of industrialisation and modernisation of the world economy, and nothing suggests that this is about to change.  However, for Zambia to benefit from that continued demand, the Zambian mining industry needs to become more competitive.

“There are new, low cost mines coming on stream in other countries that can thrive in this low price environment. Unless Zambia takes action now to address our challenges, so that we can compete with these other countries, our future as a copper producing nation is in peril,” he said. 

Chishimba said the challenge is for both the industry and the country to learn the lessons of the past and present.

“This national crisis poses long-term questions over Zambia’s economic development, which cannot be avoided.  We all need to come together and agree the conditions which best promote the growth both of the mines and the broader economy. As an industry, we are ready to create dialogue on this vital strategic issue on which the future of our nation depends.”

Mr Chishimba concluded by saying that the Chamber of Mines, with the full weight of support of its members, would engage with stakeholders on this topic in the coming year. It is the industry’s intention to host an ‘All Zambia’ conference next year, as part of the drive to reach long-term consensus on economic diversification.

Growth the answer to Zambia Mining crisis

By Nathan Chishimba, President: Chamber of Mines

It’s easy to be despondent in the current economic crisis facing the country, what with power shortages, a depreciating currency, a sluggish economy, and a mining industry battling shrinking demand, declining profitability and job losses.

But it’s precisely at times like these that we, as a nation, need to focus and learn the lessons from the current crisis, because it need not be permanent.  There’s a saying which argues that being broke isn’t a big deal – it just means you’re short of cash. It’s a temporary situation, and can be remedied by the right measures.

We in the mining industry have been restructuring our operations, lowering our costs and contemplating investments which improve our efficiency and try to keep people in work. But what are the right measures when we’re dealing at the level of an entire country? Is there a magic bullet?  All the research available on how countries get rich and stay rich suggests that there is – and it’s economic growth.

No country has ever lifted itself out of poverty other than through economic growth. Economic growth creates wealth; and wealth creates jobs, disposable income and tax revenue. 

Economists like to talk about the “The Rule of Seventy”, which says that if you divide 70 by a country’s annual growth rate, you get the number of years it takes for the economy to double in size. So with a consistent growth rate of say, 7% (which Zambia has easily achieved before), a country’s economy would double in size within 10 years – in other words, the average citizen would be twice as wealthy.  After another 10 years of 7% growth, the economy would double in size again; and so on.

China has set the standard in recent times. With its average growth rate of 10% a year for nearly four decades, its economy has grown more than 30 times since 1980. People like to talk about the Chinese miracle; but, it’s no miracle – it’s just economic growth.

Perhaps the biggest surprise about economic growth is that any country can achieve it. This emerges in an interesting study, Habits of Highly Effective Countries. It was published in 2006 by the South African Law Review Project to help that country’s policymakers. The study doesn’t advocate particular policies, but merely notes, empirically, which ones are correlated with high economic growth.

It concludes that “the outlook for a country’s economy is dependent on factors within its direct control, and not on such variables as natural resources, climate, size, race, culture or arable land; nor is it dependent on extraneous [factors] like foreign aid or tariff-free access to foreign markets.”

In support of this counter-intuitive statement, the study lists the 20 highest-growth economies over periods of 5 and 10 years respectively, and notes that they cover “the full range of possibilities”, from poor to rich, small to big, formerly capitalist to formerly socialist, resource-rich to resource-poor, countries that were until recently colonised and countries that were not, and which cover a wide range of religions, races and cultures. African colonies feature both among the highest- and lowest-growth countries, and none of the world’s colonisers appear in either [category].

“This reaffirms the evidence suggesting that any country is likely to prosper, regardless of its circumstances or history, if it implements policies that are associated elsewhere with prosperity,” the study notes.

In all fairness, it is only reaffirming what numerous other studies have shown over many years: economic growth is no accident, but the direct result of policy.

This basic truth is tremendously encouraging for us in Zambia, for it tells us that despite the serious situation we currently find ourselves in, there is a way out. This explains why we, as an industry, are calling for a national strategic consensus among all stakeholders to promote the growth not just of the mining industry, but of the economy in general.  The long-term objective is a diversified high-growth economy in which the mining industry is no longer the sole contributor, but simply one of many industries selling products and services, creating jobs, and generating wealth for Zambia’s people and tax revenue for Government services.

It requires tremendous political leadership and courage to implement such policies, for they invariably upset the status quo and create short-term challenges for some even as they generate gains for others.  Recent public pronouncements by His Excellency, President Edgar Lungu on the absolute necessity for a growing, diversified economy are encouraging, and show the government is alive to the need for such a transformation. As an industry, we stand ready to work with government, and all other stakeholders, to help make this a reality. 

Economic growth is not a short-term fix; it’s a long-term imperative. These are policies which must take us not to the next Budget, or the next set of corporate financial statements, but 30 years and more into the future, to the economy that our children and grandchildren will inherit. 

Whether Zambia’s economy will have grown in size several times by then, or merely stagnated, will depend directly on the policies which we have the courage and foresight to implement today.

Power shortage makes a bad Mining situation worse

By Brenda Zulu

The power shortage in Zambia has made a bad situation worse by placing additional constraints on the mining industry, says Nathan Chishimba, president of the Chamber of Mines.

Amplifying a key point made in his media presentation in Lusaka on 16^th December, he says this makes Zambian mines even less competitive in the present crisis relative to their counterparts in other copper-producing countries.

“In all countries, mining is a very energy-intensive business, requiring steady and reliable supply to ensure that equipment and machinery is operated efficiently, and that the safety of workers is not compromised.”

The main effect of the power shortage has been to force mines to operate at reduced capacity. This results not just in lower production, but idled workers and lower productivity. Meanwhile, mines have fixed costs, which have to be met.

Emergency power has to be sourced – whether through generators or imports – and this is invariably more expensive than the traditional supply. In some cases, expansion plans have had to be put on hold, and operations have had to be closed or put on care and maintenance, resulting in layoffs and retrenchments.

“This is the most unfortunate aspect of the power shortage, because it adds to the pressure on jobs already caused by the global crisis and the slowdown in demand for copper,” says Chishimba.

Operationally, the net effect is to push up the costs of production, making Zambian copper even more expensive to produce.  “A low copper price and a serious power shortage are probably the worst possible combination, both for the mining industry and for the country,” says Chishimba.

How China’s growth stumble affected Zambia

By Nathan Chishimba, President: Zambia Chamber of Mines

There’s a well-known saying in the banking business which goes something like this: if you owe the bank $100, it’s your problem; if you owe the bank $1 billion, it’s the bank’s problem.

Similarly, if a single country consumes 10% of the world’s copper production, it’s not a problem; but if a single country consumes 45% of the world’s copper, then it’s a big problem. Why? Because if that country should suddenly run into economic difficulty and cut back on its copper consumption, then the world’s copper mines would face a serious and sudden drop in their business. 

That, simplistically speaking, is exactly what has happened in the world copper market in the past five years. China is the world’s largest consumer of copper, accounting for some 45% of world production. Barely 10 years earlier (2004), China’s consumption was only 21% of world production; and 10 years before that (1994), it was a mere 8% of world production.

So over the course of the past 15 years or so, particularly since the turn of the century in 2000, China has been like a giant industrial glutton, literally gobbling up much of the world’s copper. Its voracious appetite has been caused by the country’s spectacular economic growth, fuelled by the market reforms initiated in 1979 by the Chinese leader, Deng Xiaoping. Concerned with the depth of poverty in then communist China, Deng astonished the world by permitting free-market practices and the profit principle to operate in the country. 

He said: “It doesn’t matter if the cat is black or white, so long as it catches mice.” This deliberate and strategic policy decision unleashed the spirit of enterprise of the Chinese people, attracted billions in foreign investment and made the country a magnet for the world’s leading manufacturers and industrial companies. Since 1980, the country’s economy has grown more than 30 times, and China has lifted more than 700 million people out of poverty – a feat unequalled in history.

Today, China is the world’s largest manufacturer, the world’s largest exporter, the world’s largest car market, the world’s largest retail market, the world’s largest user of the internet and the world’s leading producer of industrial patents.

This decades-long growth spurt meant the country became a key consumer of industrial minerals like copper and steel. That’s because copper is used in all the areas that one would associate with a growing economy: construction, power transmission, industrial machinery and transportation (cars, trains, planes). Copper wiring and plumbing is also an integral part of household appliances, heating and cooling systems, and telecommunication devices such as cell phones.

Businesses expand to meet demand, and the world’s major mining companies, from Zambia to Chile, expanded production and invested in new mines to be able to supply China’s appetite for copper. Zambia’s newly privatised mining industry caught this wave in about 2000,and expanded massively over the next decade, investing more than $10 billion, trebling employment in the mining industry to around 70 000, and boosting copper production nearly threefold to around 800 000 tonnes.

But about five years ago, in 2011, growth in the Chinese economy began to slow, resulting in a contraction in demand for copper, steel and other industrial metals. After years of double-digit annual economic growth, which reached levels of 14%, the country’s growth rate slowed to around 7%. That’s still spectacular, but the fall was enough to cause a prolonged decrease in demand in copper consumption. 

The resulting oversupply of copper on the market as a result of all that mining investment during the boom years means the price has fallen steadily, from a high of nearly $10 000 a tonne in 2011 to around $4 600 today. From Peru and Zambia to Australia and the United States, copper mines have felt the effect on their operations – shrinking revenue, rising costs and declining profitability. The world’s copper mines have been rocked by retrenchments, layoffs and mines being put on care and maintenance.

The current period of crisis is being used by the world’s copper mines to review the efficiency of their operations, cut their costs, and in many cases automate aspects of their operations to produce copper more cheaply. We in Zambia are in the same boat, and hope to emerge from the present crisis in better shape. It’s the world’s strong, competitive copper mines which will be the least immune to future price shocks.

Nobody doubts that the upturn will come, as it always has in the past; but at this stage, no one is prepared to say when.  The bottom line is that China has not stopped buying our copper; it is still buying increasing quantities of the metal – but just not at the same phenomenal rates as before. For now.

Impact on trade Liberisation and Privatisation in Zambia

By Brenda Zulu
Despite the copper price being at peak at the London Stock Exchange the profits in the mining sector have not trickled down to the ordinary Zambia citizen.

In an interview with the Civil Society Trade Network of Zambia (CSTNZ) Linda Banji Kalima said based despite the Mines and Mineral Act specifying that mineral royalties should be at 3% for those holding large scale mining licenses, the rate negotiated by most mining companies was 0.6% of the gross revenue of the mineral produced in the mining area.

She said according to the report “For whom the wind falls “ the agreement allows companies to avoid paying a good deal of corporate tax by carrying forward assets for period of between 15 and 20 years. She added that massive unemployment and retardation of local manufacturers have been the order of the day due to domination of not only foreign investors but also South African investors.

She explained that between 1997 and 2000, Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines (ZCCM) was split into seven different units and sold off. The units were initially bought up by seven multinational mining companies, including Anglo- American which chose to exercise its pre-emptive rights, taking on 65% of KCM, a package which included the right and expectation to develop the massive new Konkola Deep Mining Project (KDMP).

Kalima said the Anglo America only waited until 2002 for the copper price to rebound before deciding that it was not going to and there was not as much money to be made in the short term from the KDMP as they had hoped. Anglo, along with other minority investors in KCM- the Commonwealth Development Corporation (CDC) and World Bank’s International Financing Corporation (IFC) completely pulled out of Zambia, handing the mine back to state ownership and in the process, threatening to bring a halt to production at the country’s biggest asset.

Kalima explained that Zambia’s industrial sector has undergone a major shift since the government instituted the structure adjustment programmes in the early 1990’s. The copper mining sector was not spared. Copper mining industry has played a major role in infrastructural development especially on the Copperbelt province. The Zambian Copper Mining industry has gone through three major phases. From their establishment to 1969, the mines were in the private hands under the control of Roan Selection Trust (RST) and Anglo-American corporation (AAC). In the period after 1969, the mine were first nationalized and then merged to form ZCCM. Although ZCCM was a state enterprise, Anglo-American through its subsidiary Zambia Copper Investment (ZCI) continued to hold 27% of the shares and a pre-emptive right to buy back share that the government offered in ZCCM at a later date before they were offered to anyone.

It was however clear that through advocacy on Development agreement was done by CSO and resulted in the Mining Bill of 2008. The development agreements had been kept secret 1990’s to 2006 agreements now availed to the public and accessible.

Kalima said there is no tax holiday campaign as result 2008, tax on all mining companies have been revamped.

Gender at a glace - Zambia

By Brenda Zulu

Millenium Development Goal (MDG) number 3 ensures the promotion of gender equality and empowerment women. In March 2000, the Government of the Republic of Zambia adopted the National Gender Policy which serves as the blue print for gender and development activities. The Policy has put in place measures to address the critical areas of concern as outlined in the Dakar and Beijing Platforms for Action.
The 2007 Civil Society MDG report shows that Zambian Government is currently pursuing means of ensuring that the Performance Appraisal System takes into account gender to ensure that all officers in the public service are accountable in gender and development activities. To this effect, Government has embarked on the process of reviewing the job descriptions of Gender Focal Points.
The Director, Head of Planning Department in the Ministry or Government Department has been the designated Gender Focal Point with the job description reflecting key result areas and principle accountabilities on gender mainstreaming. This is to ensure that gender mainstreaming functions are performed effectively on a continuous basis without creating additional posts in the public services.
The Government has embarked on the process of engendering the national budget by training all gender focal points in line ministries and other government departments. The training focused on the incorporation of activities in the Strategic Plan of Action (SPA) in their respective annual budgets. Government, in collaboration with National Institute Public Administration, has developed a capacity build programme for gender focal points and their respective sub-committees in order to develop their gender analytical skills. It is hoped that this training will eventually lead to improved gender analysis of government policies and programmes.
There are, however, some challenges in implementing the SPA. Though Government adopted the National Gender Policy, it was silent on the affirmative action and implementation of women empowerment principles which could have developed benchmarks against which to measure the country’s progress in terms of gender mainstreaming. To this effect, Government has directed all ministries and parastatals to ensure that their annual national and sector budgets should take into account the activities outlined in the SPA.
Gender disaggregated data is essential but currently absent or very limited in Zambia. In this regard, Government has embarked on the process of mobilising resources for collection of gender disaggregated data in sector ministries for easy monitoring and evaluation of gender equality programmes. The collection of gender disaggregated data will facilitate the formulation of appropriate policy interventions in line ministries.
There is weak institutional mechanism for implementation of the National Gender Policy as result of lack of appropriate legislation. To this effect, there is need for appropriate legislation which will give clear guidelines for institutional arrangements for implementation of the National Gender Policy. The appropriate legislation will enhance the co-ordination and accountability mechanisms currently in place.
The Government has embarked on the process of developing capacity building programmes which will develop technical capacities for mainstreaming gender in all government policies, programmes and plans. The capacity building programme should also attempt to address institutional weaknesses in gender mainstreaming.
There is a high turn-over of Gender Focal Points in line ministries and government departments due to promotion, transfers, replacements and other reasons. This has affected continuity in terms of implementing the gender and development programmes. In order to redress this problem, Government has embarked on the process establishing Gender Sub-Committees in all line ministries, provincial and district administration in order to address the observed gaps in gender mainstreaming which has been a result of the non-institutionalisation of Gender Focal Points. In regard, the Gender Sub-committee will act as the link between the Gender in Development Division (GIDD) and the various institutions in order to enhance gender mainstreaming in various institutions.
Strategic Plan of Action for the National Gender Policy
Subsequent to the adoption of the National Gender Policy, Government approved and adopted the Strategic Plan of Action (SPA) for the implementation of the National Gender Policy in January 2004. The Strategic Plan of Action which covers the period from 2004 to 2008 is aimed at operationalising government’s vision on gender. The SPA is a tool for operationalising the National Gender Policy and is aimed at achieving full and equal participation and benefit of both females and males in the socio-economic and political development of Zambia.
The SPA intends to achieve government vision on gender by mainstreaming gender into macro and sectoral policies and programmes such as the Public Service Reform Programme (PSRP), Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP), the Transitional National Development Plan (TNDP) and the new FNDP including economic policy instruments like the Medium Term Economic Framework (MTEF) and the national budget.
The SPA takes into account global and regional instruments and development programmes such as the Beijing Platform for Action (BPA), Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). The Southern African Development Community (SADC), Gender Declaration and the Common Market for East and Southern Africa (COMESA) Gender Policy. The SPA further takes into account the opportunities and challenges brought about by among others the New Economic Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), and African Union (AU).
Implementation Mechanisms for the SPA
Government has, through the adoption of the National Gender Policy (NGP) and it’s implementation plan, the Strategic Plan of Action (SPA), committed itself to addressing gender issues and concerns at all levels of national development. The National Gender Machinery for Zambia; GIDD at Cabinet Office is responsible for co-ordinating, monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of the National Gender Policy and the SPA. The role of GIDD in the implementation of the SPA is therefore to provide leadership in the co-ordination of gender and development programmes and activities of all stakeholders in Zambia

All line ministries, provincial and district administration, other organs of government, the private sector, religious groupings and NGOs will implement specific and relevant policy measures and interventions of the SPA.
The consistent adverse experience felt disproportionately by females in the education, employment and health sectors culminates in a situation in parliament where despite some improvements in 1991, only 6 % of the members of parliament were female.According to a report by Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflections (JCTR) on the cost of meeting MDGs in Zambia (2005) the total cost for gender interventions is estimated at US$22.9 million in 2005 rising marginally to US$ 30.1 million in 2015.

Constraints
Africa Social Forum (ASF) Gender Focal Point Sara Longwe observes that despite the many efforts for improvements it has been found that most of the gender programmes lack in depth analysis and adequate resources. Measures to alleviate and reduce poverty have not fully addressed differential impact of poverty on men and women. Gender differentials have persisted at all levels of these programmes, suggesting that social and cultural factors, which play a stronger role, are not taken into account during the design and implementation of the programmes.

The lacks of gender specific targeting programs influence women and men’s life and opportunities. They may not be male biased designs, but could well be male biased by omission of a gender disaggregated data required for such assessment and the lack of recognition of women’s role and skills in poverty reduction programmes. At the same time, there has been lack of effective co-ordination among various institutions involved in poverty alleviation, leading to reduced impact on the intended target group.

Conclusion
Zambian government is committed to promoting women’s participation in decision-making at all levels to promote sustainable development. Zambia recognises that full participation of women and men in development is cardinal to achieving sustainable development. This recognition is founded in the empirical realisation that restricted participation of women in socio-economic activities has had a negative impact.
Government is therefore committed to making deliberate efforts to facilitate the removal of existing gender imbalances.

Reparations of debt in Zambia

By Brenda Zulu
Reparations of debt in Zambia have not improved the lives of Zambians as many still have problems in accessing basic services.

Services such as health, education, clean water and shelter are still a problem of many Zambians as before repapration of debt it was thought to have been a problem because of the strain put on the government by debt servicing. Poverty is also an issue with women being the most affected as many of them are unemployed.

Millennium Development Goal (MDG) number eight talks about to develop global partnership for development. One of the targets is to deal comprehensively with the debt problems of developing countries through national and international measures in order to make debt sustainable in the long run.
Debt
The 2007 MDG Civil Society Zambia report explains that in 2002 to 2004, the debt service ratio had increased but remained constant in Zambia. Things changed when Zambia attained the Highly Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) completion point in 2005.

Zambia had its US$7.2 billion external debt slashed to about $500 million, as a reward for sticking with economic reforms under the HIPC initiative by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank.

However, recently the Government announced that the country’s external debt stood at $643 million since the HIPC completion point in April 2005 and that the Government has contracted eight loans totaling US$110.21 million.

The Government stated that negotiations for these project loans had started before the attainment of the completion point. This includes debts contracted earlier, but which were not part of the debt relief as they were outside the cut-off dates of December 2003 and December 2004.

It should be noted that Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have been against the government taking non-concessional loans that carry normal interest rates and conditions. CSOs prefer concessional borrowing which offers poor countries more generous terms.

“This free-riding borrowing is very unhealthy, where a country begins to borrow just after receiving debt relief. Government is risking the country’s ability to have a sustainable debt, and we stand a high probability of falling back into unsustainable debt, especially if the contracted loans are from non-concessional sources. It is a threat to Zambia’s future debt solution. Years of high levels of debt servicing meant Zambia could afford minimal social expenditure, but with debt relief the government promised investment in priority areas like education and health as part of a poverty alleviation plan,” said Muyatwa Sitali of the Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflections
(JCTR).

Meanwhile, the government stated that it would continue to borrow.

We shall borrow “for right reasons, to promote development… we don’t qualify for low-interest loans from the International Development Agency (the World Bank’s lending arm), as we are no longer regarded as highly indebted poor country, therefore we have to borrow, but we shall only be contracting concessional loans, as opposed to non-concessional loans,” stated Finance Minister Ng’ande Magande.

Although 15 percent of the 2007 national budget has been allocated to education, and 10 percent to health, critics said little would be invested because much of the budget was donor driven.

Most of the money from China was being spent on developing infrastructure like road networks and providing power in rural areas.

“Social funding was still minimal because more priority and resources are allocated to maintaining non-social issues like State House and supporting international trips than promoting social protect, and money continues to be misapplied. Even if there is allocation of funds or savings from debt relief, very little trickles down to the poor people. The whole country suffers when funds are misapplied because we still have to pay, even if there is nothing to show for what the loan was used, at expense of improving hospitals, education and our roads,” said Saviour Mwambwa, from the Civil Society for Poverty Reduction (CSPR).

The Auditor General’s reports are famously known to contain numerous reports of misuse, miss-allocation and theft of public funds. A recent report by Auditor-General said misapplication of public funds was rampant in Zambia, and about $1 million in HIPC funds was unaccounted for by the Ministry of Community Development in 2005 alone.

Where is Zambia coming from?
It is important to put the scenario for poverty reduction in proper perspective.
In the case of Zambia, the interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) was submitted to the Bretton Woods institutions in July 2000 and the full PRSP was submitted in March 2002, approved and launched in June 2002 to cover the period 2002 to 2004. On the part of the Zambian government, the goal of reaching the completion point by December 2004 to achieve debt relief was the most important activity.
The completion point was however reached only in April 2005, extending the anxiety of debt relief and therefore becoming the dominant development discourse in Zambia between 2002 and 2005. Zambian CSOs set up Civil Society for Poverty Reduction, an NGO specifically meant to allow Zambian CSOs participate in the formulation, implementation and monitoring of poverty reduction strategies.
The significance of the HIPC process is underscored by Zambia’s own reality: The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) report states that at the time of independence in 1964, Zambia was a middle income country with a per capita income of US$ 1,500. Since then it has experienced one of the most dramatic declines into the category of the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) with a per capita income of US$ 380 (2003) as compared to Canada’s US$ 23,930 (2003).
Zambia ranks 177 out of the 190 countries covered by the United Nations Human Development Indicators. 73% of the population lives below the poverty datum line and it is estimated that 20% of the adult population is living with HIV/AIDS virus. Zambia declined into a heavily indebted country with a debt stock of US$ 7.2 billion and an estimated scheduled debt service repayment of US$ 600 million; well beyond its export means and therefore requiring significant debt relief which earlier debt relief mechanisms had been unable to address.
Being a severely indebted low income country with a per capita income of US$ 350 and a per capita debt of US$ 220 in 1999 Zambia had no choice but go through the HIPC process in order to secure the necessary debt relief. At decision point in late 2000, Zambia looked forward to a debt stock reduction of US$ 3.8 billion from a debt stock of US$ 7.2 billion and a reduction in debt service from roughly US$ 600 million to US$ 165 million at completion point. With much struggle, which included policy slippages, Zambia finally reached the HIPC Completion Point in April 2005 securing bilateral debt relief promised at the time of the decision point.
The Gleneagles G8 Summit of June 2005 brought further hope as the IMF announced in December 2005 that Zambia would be granted debt relief through the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI) reducing the overall Zambian Debt Stock to US$ 500 million and therefore an overall annual savings of US$ 500 million. The importance of the PRSP in relation to debt relief was realized by the Zambian government. It maintained the required fiscal discipline especially during 2004.

In terms of content, the Zambian PRSP, covering the period 2000 to 2004 drew up programme of action to redress the evident poverty which had deepened to cover 73% of the population by 1998 as noted above. The main purpose of the PRSP was to promote sustainable economic growth and to improve social services and infrastructure. The PRSP identified HIV/AIDS, Gender and the environment as crosscutting issues and good governance and improved public sector management as providing an enabling environment for implementation of the PRSP. There were clear intervention strategies in various sectors for achievement of PRSP objective of poverty reduction.

Tele health can help bridge brian drain in the health sector

By Brenda Zulu
Less than 10% of doctors trained in Zambia since its independence in 1964 are still in the country: the other 90% have migrated, mainly to Europe and the United States indicates press reports.

Lack of financial resources for the health sector and policies of some developed countries have caused a mushrooming of doctors and nurses in the west, hence exacerbating the problem of brain drain. It is evident that the US and UK receive the highest number of medical practitioners from Africa, who often migrate for search of greener pastures, oblivious of the dent they leave in their own countries.

The health sector in Zambia is one of the highest hit in terms of brain drain followed by the education sector. The health sector continues to loose it’s most tresured human resource to developed countries.

What should be the role of government in the health sector as regards the issue of brain drain. Not only do people in the health sector spend a lot of time to be moulded into what they are now they also should think about their patriotism to offer their delegate services in their own African Countries. Who is to blame for this brain drain?

When have we felt the need for better health in Zambia? Is it when we have had people die in big numbers because of lack of being attended to by a doctor or is it when we see wealthy Zambians flying to London and South Africa to be attended to by the same doctors who left because of shoudy wages. The situation is a replica of what is also happening in other African countries.

“How can the people in government care about the health situation of the local people when they can afford to go out for treatment to hosiptals abroad and overseas? If indeed they care about the situation in the health sector they should have cared a long time ago as the problem of brain drain has been ongoing,” asked Mercy Mukabila a student of Business Studies.

The causes of the brain drain are among the push factors where we have low and eroding salaries, social unrest and political conflict, including wars, unsatisfactory living conditions, such as lack of housing and transport. Also contributing factors are the lack of research facilities and funding, discrimination in academic appointments and promotions especially when it come to the education sector.

The pull factors, mostly perceived as being offered in the West, are the reverse: higher wages, political stability, intellectual freedom and better career opportunities, among others.

“As African countries we have have been subsidising foreign governments by sending our people to work outside. Our governments have failed to prioritise the plight of health workers who, consequently have gone to seek greener pasture in the developed countries,” observed Thandiwe Daka a widow and mother of four children.

She noticed that health workers in Zambia have not been fully motivated and that this has also affected their attitude towards work. “Some nurses are hostile torwards women especially in reporductive health where the numbers of women who die are quite high in Zambia,” said Thandiwe.

Many rural hospitals are headed by Clinical Officers and have been without doctors for a long time. For this reason Zambia is poised to develop a tele-health initiative in Africa that would ensure that the health system and health care is inter-connected via computers to cater for the ailing populous. Tele-health is simply the use of information technology to deliver health services and information from one location to another. The concept of tele-medicine is a multimedia system using voice, video and data to deliver medical services remotely.

But the new technology overcomes the limitations of the telephone and fax to ensure that patients are diagnosed from remote locations. Tele-medicine has its pros and cons though it meets government needs for bringing health care as close to the family as possible, the need for medical workers will also diminish. It has the potential to bridge the gaps created by Africa’s brain drain as health professionals seek greener pastures in developed nations.

Challenges in integrating Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) in the health sector outlined in the National ICT Policy include the need to improve ICT infrastructure to support basic communication systems and specialised applications such as tele-medicines.

Inadequate ICT awareness and skills among health professionals to effectively utilise the ICT tools and services, inadequate support services for installed ICT equipment especially in rural areas and incorporating and priotising ICT in the core business of health care delivery are all challenges to e-health delivery.

The National ICT Policy states that the potential of ICT in contributing to the effective performance of the health sector is very high especially in remote diagnosis and treatment.

It sees timely collection, management and dissemination of critical information has significant bearing on the performance of the sector in general and to this extent, the health sector has embarked on reforms that include development of health management information systems at various levels.

Equally important is the Telemedicine programme being initiated as a deliberate effort to maximise the services provided by the few but highly experienced medical personnel whose services can only be extended through technologies such as Telemedicine. Therefore, connectivity of medical institutions to services such as telecommunication and Internet is an important milestone in the use of ICTs in the health sector.

Telemedicine also can be used to provide both basic and continuous skills transfer to health professionals. This would help mitigate isolation of health professionals in rural areas. The dissemination of medical information through ICTs will facilitate informed decision- making particularly in hard to reach areas.

To improve access to quality healthcare as close to the family as possible through the deployment and exploitation of ICTs and other modern technologies, the Government of Zambia is committed to invest in ICT based healthcare systems to increase the opportunity for Zambians to have access to adequate and appropriate modern health services irrespective of time, distance and location.

The Government shall also facilitate the development and implementation of a national telemedicine programme to efficiently and effectively utilise scare human resources and to further improve human capacity in the healthcare delivery system.

The Government shall also partner with private sector and civil society in the development and utilisation of ICTs in the health sector and develop a legal regulatory and ethical framework for effective use of the Health information and implement security measures to safe guard the privacy of patient information inherent in health care records. The Government will also mainstream ICTs in the management and treatment of HIV/AIDS and other pandemics.
In 2001, African leaders meeting in Abuja committed themselves to dedicating 15% of their countries' annual bugdets on the health sector. This emcompasses training of more health workers to counteract the current shortages of medics in Africa. Unfortunetly, six years down the line, the committment remains under the ceiling.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) report for 2006 states that although there is universal health worker shortage, it underlines that Africa is the only continent where the total number of health worker shortages(817,992) exceeds the existing number of health care workers(590,198). Consequently Africa has more health workers working outside Africa than any other continent.

Meanwhile, a Lusaka Citizen noticed that, while all this brain drain is still happening, Zambians continues to die from many diseases that can be prevented, managed and treated. How can our government account for the deaths of thousands of its people when health is not a core priority? Asked Thom Mayowe.

Figures from WHO indicate that an estimated 40 million Africans have died from health related conditions. A failure to reverse the health worker shortages within the next 4 to 6 years means that all of Africa's 2010 Universal Access targets for prevention, treatment and care for HIV/Aids, tuberculosis and malaria will not be met. Could we then say that brain drain is also caused by lack of developed countries to train their workers?