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A thumbs up!
Moody's last week issued a first public rating assignment to Zambia as it expands its rating of African economics. It has assigned Zambia a fairly strong rating of B1 (still far from investment grade...
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A Foolish Obsession
Government obsession with establishing a national airline continues. Tourism D Minister David Phiri says the tourism sector would not progress without one :The question of connectivity is a central...
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Corruption Watch (REA, Prisons)
Recent corruption allegations. The ACC is investigating rampant financial abuse worth billions of Kwacha at the Rural Electrification Authority (REA). This follows revelations from Auditor General who...
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List of Prominent Zambians For A "Windfall Tax" On Mining
This post is regularly updated with quotes from leading analysts and public figures urging the government to reintroduce the windfall tax. Please scroll to the bottom to see the latest contributor...
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Timber License Suspension
Government recently suspended all timber licences "to protect the depleting forests around the country". Ministerial statement is embedded below. During the suspension period, no indigenous logs, cants...
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Monitoring Revenues
GRZ is pressing ahead with the proposal in the 2013 Budget to make it mandatory for ministries, provinces, spending agencies and revenue collecting statutory bodies to deposit all collections in form...
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Is the Government subsidy to maize millers benefiting consumers?
The powerful graphic from this recent IAPRI paper clearly shows the answer is NO. Very little of the treasury costs involved in selling grain to millers at abnormally low prices are benefiting Zambian...
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How do we solve this problem?
A friend has raised the question of why "open defecation" has been going up, even though improvements have been noted elsewhere. Answers on the post card please!
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A Problem of Immunity
By Chola MukangaThe First Draft Constitution provides specific provisions on presidential immunity. Article 96 states: (1) Civil proceedings shall not be instituted or continued against the President,...
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What are the most problematic factors for businesses?
From the recent Global Competitiveness Report 2012-2013. No surprises there because the challenges of finance are well known. In rural areas the issues are largely down to lack of tenure security which...
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The Scandal that never was
An interesting development occurred earlier this month when the courts concluded that the highly publicised scandal was not a criminal scandal. After another expensive investigation and prosecution...
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Zambia Plundered!
The much talked about new documentary of the plunder of Zambia copper by multinationals is available on You Tube. Two things struck me. First, how pivotal the death of Mwanawasa was for the mining...
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No tourist visas?
Sylvia Masebo MP (Tourism Minister) recently signalled that Government may soon abolish Visa fees for "tourists" visiting Zambia. The proposal will be tabled before Cabinet, following appeals by some...
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Securing Zambia's lost gemstones
By Chola MukangaGemstones are among the most lucrative minerals in the world. They are also stones that Zambia has in abundance. It has the second largest deposits of emeralds in the world and accounts...
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How reliable are our GDP numbers?
One of the questions we get often relates to Zambia’s GDP. Recently someone asked : are the GDP growth figures a true reflection of Zambia’s economic performance?The simple answer is no because GDP has...
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Constituency Development Funds, 4th Edition
Miles Sampa recently revealed via Facebook that the CDF budget has increased, "after strong submissions from all MPs in general; my Minister has Heard and adjusted the Constituency Development Fund...
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Merry Christmas and Happy 2013!
Dear Friends,As is customary since this website was founded, I will be taking 1 month off to recharge the batteries. Over the years I have come to value this period and I hope you agree that it has...
View ArticleYour Companies
A comprehensive list of companies that you own (and some that you, through those you have entrusted to run them on your behalf, have failed to manage properly – so they are currently under...
View ArticleBondmania
The success of the $750m Eurobond is leading to various public sector bodies to consider more bond debt to finance various infrastructure. ZESCO has been on the road looking to acquire $2 billion debt...
View ArticlePoverty of CSR
"Though multinational firms in the mining industry have been preaching elaborate Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programmes, some of these initiatives are cosmetic and fail to satisfy the local...
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