The Kwacha can be rescued
Editor's note : Dr Mbita Chitala provides some reflections on the challenges facing the Kwacha and how it can be rescued. In particular, he argues that Zambia should impose capital controls, move away...
View ArticleTransport Developments (Road, Ports, Water)
Transport Minister Yamfwa Mukanga recently commissioned the Kapiri Mposhi weighbridge, which has been rehabilitated at a cost of K31 million. The new bridge has the capacity to clear 1,000 trucks per...
View ArticleStrike Watch (Public Sector)
Countrywide strikes by civil servants are looming as all the ten Public Service Unions of the country have declared a collective dispute with the Patriotic Front (PF) government for failed salary...
View ArticleMining Developments (Production, Revenues, Taxation)
Zambia's copper production is expected to reach 1.5 million tonnes in 2016 due to investment in mining infrastructure and technology. Zambia Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (ZEITI) says...
View ArticleTo nationalise or not to nationalise?
President Michael Sata says nationalisation is an option if KCM does not change its ways :"The mines should be honest. Let me single the mine out…Vedanta and KCM should be honest. The Indians must be...
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Criminal amnesty
This table shows the total number of criminals allowed back on Zambian streets since the PF came to power. President Sata has now pardoned around 4700 prisoners. The latest pardons were on Africa...
View ArticlePEGNet Conference 2014 (September 18-19th)
Editor's note: The Poverty Reduction Equity and Growth Network (PEGNet) will be holding its eighth annual conference on "Employment strategies in the developing world - How to create sufficient,...
View ArticleIMF - Zambia Watch (June 2014)
Editor's note: The latest IMF statement on Zambia released on 6 June diplomatically suggests that Zambia's macroeconomic situation in the country, though potentially promising, is unfortunately a mess...
View ArticleKilling the Kwacha : BOZ Response
A recent statement from the Governor of the Bank of Zambia on the challenges facing the Zambian economy, especially the Kwacha :GOVERNOR'S STATEMENT ON RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN THE FOREIGN EXCHANGE...
View ArticleJustice Watch (Human Rights, Courts, Prisons)
The Human Rights Commission (HRC) wants GRZ to build modern prison infrastructure to reduce prison congestion. HRC is concerned “with the deplorable conditions in Zambian prisons and police cells in...
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Maize Market
This chart (click for clarity) provides a great summary of how the maize market is organised in Zambia at the moment. It is easy to see from where market power lies. The interesting question of course...
View ArticleAnother policy reversal
The Bank of Zambia last week increase the amount lenders can charge for credit. The cap on lending rates rises to 28 percent from 21 percent effective immediately. The PF government introduced maximum...
View ArticleDebtmania Zambia
GRZ is pressing ahead with plans to issue another $1bn international bond specifically targeted for the agriculture sector by the end of this year. Agriculture Minister Wilbur Simuusa says GRZ is...
View ArticleReflections on Sata's Health
There has been much debate on President Sata’s health. This is expected and it is clearly not the first time. Zambians in the past, sometimes led by Mr Sata, have debated matters of presidential health...
View ArticleParlimanent needs to be smaller not bigger
Editor's note: Resident contributor Henry Kyambalesa argues in the article below that the latest calls to increase the size of parliament are totally misguided.In 2010, the National Constitutional...
View ArticlePresidential Uncertainty
"I am not qualified to stand as president because I am excluded by the same amended 1996 Constitution, which excluded Kaunda and excludes, as far as I understand, Given Lubinda and Mulenga Sata. Both...
View ArticlePolitics of Energy Subsidies
A recent article from Economist Magazine provides some interesting commentary on current trends around the world to get rid of energy subsidies. It notes that energy subsidies have wrrecked budgets and...
View ArticleMorality Matters
The Great Wall of China is thousands of miles long, 30 feet high, and 18 feet thick and was built as security against the northern invaders. It is a massive construction, visible from outer space, and...
View ArticleTribe, tribalism and culture
Editor’s note: This article by His Royal Highness Chitimukulu of the Bemba people (“Henry Kanyanta Sosala”) provides important reflections on tribe, tribalism and culture. The article is reproduced...
View ArticleSwiss made poverty?
A telling quote from a recent article on how mispricing and the opacity of commodities trading in Switzerland is contributing to Africa's underdevelopment :Switzerland is a global hub for trade in...
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