LAP Green, a Libyan parastatal company is to pay $257 million for the 75% shares it now holds in ZAMTEL. This was disclosed by Finance and National Planning Minister Dr Situmbeko Musokotwane at the handover ceremony at the ministerial headquarters in Lusaka on Saturday, July 10, 2010. This figure is broken down as follows:- $117.7 million will go towards employee benefits and liabilities; $64 million will be injected into the company; $32.7 million will be used to settle external ZAMTEL liabilities, while $42.6 million will go to the national treasury. Due to this development, the $75 million guarantee government has... Continue Reading
By Nawa Mutumweno – With power deficits hitting many countries in the region and beyond, a number of projects are springing up locally and across frontiers to alleviate the problem which has a devastating effect on development. One massive project that cuts across frontiers is the ZIZABONA project involving Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana and Namibia with strides currently at environmental impact assessment (EIA) level. The project, an acronym for the four countries, is a $225 million transmission project that will develop new transmission lines to link the four neighbouring countries. Committed to the success of the project are the Zimbabwe Electricity... Continue Reading
Over 10 000 jobs are to be created in addition to the present 3 800 at Lumwana, the copper mine that has changed the face of one of Zambia’s cinderella regions, North-Western Province. This follows the government’s decision to sign a Statutory Instrument (SI) allowing Lumwana Mining Company (LMC) to operate the Lumwana Multi-Facility Economic Zone (LMFEZ). According to the company managing director Adam Wright, the recently-launched economic zone is ‘’aimed at benefitting the local economy and not Lumwana as a company directly.’’ The company was projecting that up to$50 million will be invested into the zone by various local... Continue Reading
Growth in foreign and local direct investment, wealth creation, poverty alleviation, employment creation and the ease of doing business are the fruits of a private sector-driven economy. It is this realization that prompted Government to launch the Private Sector Development Reform Programme (PSDRP) in 2004 with a view to reducing the cost of doing business in the country and encouraging competitiveness. The rationale for the setting up of the PSDRP was to lay a strong foundation for faster, sustained and private sector led growth by implementing a comprehensive action plan for enhancing the investment climate and restoring investor confidence. PSD... Continue Reading
Exports of sugar from Zambia Sugar to the European Union (EU) have increased from 30 000 to 135 000 tonnes following the removal of the quota trading system. The commissioning of the K1 trillion Nakambala Sugar Estate Expansion Project has resulted in increased production by 100 percent. The expansion , that started in April 2007, included upgrading of the existing factory, construction of roads and canals as well as planting sugarcane on over 10 000 hectares of additional land. Beginning April 1, 2009, the factory commenced full production from the previous 246 000 tonnes to 440 000 tonnes with 135... Continue Reading
