CEEC Director of Empowerment, Ricardo Lupenga, said at least 300 projects were approved from over 3000 applicants last year.

Mr. Lupenga told ZANIS in an interview in Kabwe today that out of the over 300 approved projects, 202 projects have been funded.

He said the commission was closely monitoring the funded projects, adding that they were so far doing very well.

He said CEEC will endeavor to provide financial assistance to all activities that support business linkages and growth in Zambia.

Mr. Lupenga further said the commission would ensure that all approved projects utilized its funds wisely and profitably.

Meanwhile, Mr. Lupenga has explained that CEEC approved only a few applications because they were the only ones that had convincing proposals for viable projects.

He has since appealed to the members of public not to shun CEEC programmes because the commission was an entity that was spearheading businesses growth in the country.

Mr. Lupenga also urged youths to make use of the empowerment programmes which the CEEC was offering in order to improve their livelihood.

The Citizens Economic Empowerment Fund (CEEF) was established under the CEEC act number nine of 2006 to support the development of broad based economic empowerment programmes.

The U.K.-based bank raised its end of first-quarter kwacha estimate to 4,300 per dollar from a previous forecast of 4,700 according to an e-mailed note to clients dated today. The currency traded 0.3 percent stronger at 4,420 per dollar as of 2:03 p.m. in the capital, Lusaka, from 4,435 late yesterday.

“The powerful upswing in copper prices is beginning to translate into higher earnings and remittances for Zambia,” Robert Minikin, a senior currency strategist at Standard Chartered, said by telephone. “That underlines our improved profile for modest short-term strength in the kwacha.”

Copper has rallied almost 145 percent since the start of last year on speculation demand for the metal used in electrical wiring will gain as manufacturing recovers in China, Europe and the U.S. Shipments of the metal account for almost 75 percent of Zambia’s export earnings and about 30 percent of the country’s gross domestic product, Standard Chartered estimates.

“The Zambian economy is the most reliant on dynamics in the copper market,” said Minikin.

Zambia’s export earnings from copper rose 4.4 percent in the fourth quarter to $984.6 million from $943 million in the previous three months, Bank of Zambia Governor Caleb Fundanga told reporters in Lusaka today. The country’s economy may expand by more than 7 percent this year due to rising prices for the metal, he said on Jan. 4.

Power Shortage

The kwacha may give up gains in the final three quarters of the 2010 as a shortage of power supply interrupts copper production and “introduces some event risk” for the currency, said Minikin. The currency is likely to slide to 4,450 by end- June and reach 4,400 by end-September before weakening to 4,600 by year-end, Chartered predicts.

Zambia faces rationing of electricity later this year due to increased power demand from mines, Reuters reported Nov. 23, citing Timothy Lungu, acting generation and transmission director for state power utility Zesco Ltd.

Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane said Nava Bharat, which signed an agreement with Zambia, Africa’s largest copper producer, would pay $26 million for a 65 percent stake in Maamba Collieries while 35 percent of the shares would be retained by the state-run ZCCM-IH.

“The mine will be (recapitalised) at an estimated cost of $93 million and a … new 300 megawatts (MW) thermal power plant estimated to cost about $420 million will be constructed,” Musokotwane said during a signing ceremony.

Musokotwane said Maamba mine would aim to reach maximum output capacity of 2 million tonnes of coal per year in the long term. It has 78 million tonnes of known coal reserves expected to last over 70 years and produced 600,000 tonnes coal during peak production in the 1980s.

He said 25 percent of the shares in Maamba Collieries would eventually be listed on the local bourse with a larger share of that coming from the government’s stake once the firm established a track record of profitability.

ZCCM-IH Chairman Alfred Lungu said at the same signing ceremony that the company decided to bring in a strategic equity partner because of the huge investment needed for the recapitalisation of the mine and development of the coal-powered thermal power plant.

Lungu said the investment in the power plant was timely given the power deficit that Zambia was faced with, which had forced state power utility, Zesco Ltd to start to ration power.

Nava Bharat chairman Ashok Devineni also said his company would explore the possibility of building a power plant that could generate more than 300 MW.

“Nava Bharat envisages capital outlay of about $500 million to be funded by a mix of equity and debt on the proposed coal mining project and the 300 MW power project,” Devineni said.

“We foresee no problem once we have a bankable power purchase agreement with Zesco,” Devineni said.

Initially 10 firms, including London-listed Vedanta Resources Plc submitted bids to develop the power station and be an equity partner in the coal mine. Vedanta is already majority shareholder in Konkola Copper Mines (KCM), which has been a major buyer of coal from Maamba.

Musokotwane said at a media briefing in Lusaka on Saturday that Zambia did not intend to reintroduce a 25 percent mining windfall tax because that could force some mining companies to close.

The Chamber of Mines of Zambia, which represents foreign mining companies, said this week Zambia faced an uncertain long-term mining outlook despite a resurgence in copper prices and government assurances of stable mining taxes in 2010.

“The most important thing is stability in taxes at a reasonable level for both the investors and the people of Zambia, which I can guarantee. It should not necessarily be by law,” Musokotwane said.

Musokotwane said most of the mines had invested very heavily in new equipment and needed to be given time to recover from initial losses before they could be taxed.

Musokotwane said although the price of copper had risen, the government would not bring back high mining taxes it scrapped earlier this year because that would neither be in the interest of the country nor the investors.

“If we impose tax on revenue on old mines they will end up closing and we don’t want to head in that direction. We don’t want to create job losses,” Musokotwane said.

Musokotwane said foreign investors need not be skeptical over Zambia’s mining prospects because the country realised attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) was key to development

And DFID says once the single stop becomes operational, delays at Chirundu will fall by 30-50% and that a reduction in waiting times will reduce costs for businesses and increase their competitiveness by ensuring that products reach markets faster.

Helen Mealins, Head of DFID Southern Africa said today in Lusaka in a speech read for her by Liz Winton (Regional Growth and Trade Adviser at DFID Zambia.

She said that DFID’s 100 million pound TradeMark-Southern Africa programme was launched on the 1^st of November 2009 and is scheduled to support work on reducing delays at five other border posts in the region.

“DFID believes that investing in physical infrastructure such as border posts as well as improving the regulatory environment for trade and transport along the North South Corridor, will transform trading and investment opportunities in the region and increase the region’s prospects for generating growth, creating jobs and reducing poverty,” she said.

The DFID head who is based in South Africa noted that delays at border posts along the North-South Corridor are one of the biggest constraints to trade in the region.

She said they increase costs for businesses, making exports uncompetitive and imports more expensive adding that for landlocked countries especially, transport costs are a serious constraint to economic growth.

“As Sub-Saharan Africa’s first one stop border, Chirundu is leading the way forward for creating single border stops, not only for this region, but for Africa as a whole. Indeed, the One Stop Border Post at Chirundu is making a positive and important contribution to the realisation of Africa’s integration ambition.

“This is a milestone of great significance. DFID celebrates the opening of the Chirundu One Stop Border Post and looks forward to seeing further One Stop Border Posts open across the region. The UK is strongly committed to supporting Africa’s drive for regional integration,” she said.

The one stop border post will be officially opened next Saturday

Zambezi Portland recently announced that it has began producing cement at its Ndola plant.

“The development will not only provide increased supply of alternative cement but also help create a competitive environment on the Zambian market. A competitive cement market will entail cheaper prices for the commodity and more choice for the consumer”, said ZCC spokesperson Vaida Bunda in an emailed statement to the Watchdog.

And ZCC Executive Director, Thula Kaira has commended Zambezi Portland on the commencement of production of cement.

Kaira said the competition which will be provided by the new plant is likely to enhance competitive pricing, better bargaining power by some distributors and a steady supply of cement to the growing construction market in Zambia.

“We have always advocated for entry of more players in the cement sector. The rivalry that competition brings about is what changes the strategic and innovative focus of market players in the economy as well as afford consumers to have the best deal from the market”, he said.

The current demand for the commodity has led to shortages of cement in some cases and ZCC hopes that with increased production by the new cement plant, such shortages will be curtailed.

FNB, which was granted an operating license in November 2008 by the Bank of Zambia, said it had opened three branches in the country, including one in the capital Lusaka and one in the Copperbelt area. It plans to open another two branches in 2010.

“Despite the current global economic climate, Zambia provides an investor friendly environment and is a low political risk country,” Michael Jordaan, FNB’s chief executive said in a statement.

“One of our key strategic focus areas is to deliver innovative banking services to all our customers in Africa by further expanding outside of South Africa.”

FNB will provide retail, business, commercial and corporate banking services in Zambia, Africa’s biggest copper producer.

The retail bank already operates in Namibia, Botswana, Swaziland, Lesotho and Mozambique, and said in January it was considering expanding into Tanzania, Angola, Uganda and Ghana.

Rueters

Zambia’s kwacha will lead the gains, appreciating 14 percent to 4,095 per dollar by end-2010 on an advance in copper, which accounts for about 70 percent of the country’s exports, Absa predicts. The currency has strengthened 3.2 percent in 2009 to 4,640 per dollar yesterday after declining 19 percent in 2008. Tanzania’s shilling may gain 8.1 percent as gold climbs.

“The story of Africa is still the story of commodities,” Ridle Markus, a sub-Saharan Africa strategist at Absa, owned by Barclays Plc, said by phone from Johannesburg. “African currencies might show a surprise recovery next year if the global economy recovers and the commodity cycle continues to show upside.”

African currencies from Nigeria’s naira to Angola’s kwanza slumped last year as the global recession eroded demand for commodities. Crude prices have gained 60 percent in 2009 while copper has doubled and gold, which accounts for 32 percent of Tanzania’s exports, according to Absa, reached a record high. Economic growth in Africa is expected to rebound to 4 percent in 2010 from 1.7 percent this year, the International Monetary Fund said Oct. 1.

The shilling of Tanzania will appreciate to 1,210 per dollar next year, from 1,308.50 at yesterday’s close of trading. The currency lost 12 percent last year. Gold prices have increased almost 20 percent since December.

Uganda, Nigeria

Uganda’s shilling may appreciate 6 percent in 2010 to 1,800 per dollar by year-end as investment in newly discovered oil deposits in the east African nation boosts the currency, Markus predicts. London-based Tullow Oil Plc said Oct. 2 it expects to produce about 150,000 barrels of oil per day in Uganda within five years.

“There’s a lot of investment coming into Uganda because of the oil story,” said Markus. “In a small frontier market that can have a big influence on the currency.”

Nigeria’s naira has “stabilized” and is likely to end next year at about 145 per dollar, 1.6 percent stronger than 147.25 yesterday. The naira has lost a fifth of its value since November 2008 when the central bank began limiting supplies of dollars to commercial lenders following a slump in oil revenue.

Kwanza Weakness

“We see the naira trading sideways for the foreseeable future, unless the there’s a significant improvement in the oil price,” said Markus. Absa expects oil, which reached a record $147.27 per barrel in July 2008, to average about $84 a barrel in 2010, compared with an average $57.54 a barrel so far this year, Markus added.

The only African currency that faces “significant” depreciation is Angola’s kwanza, which may decline “toward the black-market rate” of 100 per dollar by the end of this year, said Markus.

The kwanza slumped 9.1 percent to 85.08 per dollar through yesterday after an Oct. 2 decision by the central bank to abandon the currency’s peg due to a drop in oil earnings. Oil prices are still down 52 percent from their record reached in July last year.

“There’s potential for further weakness in the kwanza because there’s still a shortage of dollars in the market,” said Markus.

Ghana’s cedi, which has weakened more than 12 percent this year to 1.4525 per dollar, may extend the decline to 1.50 by the end of 2010, Absa predicts.
(Bloomberg)

According to a press release issued to the Watchdog, other speakers at the conference will represent  Celpay International BV, Zain, MTN Zambia, Net One, The Communications Authority of Zambia, The Bank of Zambia, Multichoice, Stanbic Bank (Zambia), Mobile Transactions Zambia Ltd and many others.

The two-day conference will be held in Lusaka from the 16^th to 17^th September, during which mobile technology and banking industry leaders from across the SADC region will unite to pave the way for the future of mobile payments.

“The conference will provide a wonderful new opportunity for industry players to learn and debate a wide spectrum of issues including regulatory, technological and supply issues. With the continuing boom in the cellphone market, the SADC region needs to prepare ourselves for the next wave of opportunities,” says  Celpay International BV Chief Executive Office Lazarus Muchenje.

Celpay will host the conference that has been fully endorsed by the Zambian government,. It will  highlight new technologies, strategies and approaches to mobile banking.

The participating countries include Tanzania, South Africa, DRC, Zimbabwe and Zambia and Namibia.

According to the press release, application forms for the conference can be downloaded here: www.zm.celpay.com

According to Reuters, the introduction of a 25 percent windfall tax and other taxes in 2008 was backed by the World Bank to help Zambia raise funds required to build schools, roads and provide health and education services in the southern African country. Mines and minerals development minister Maxwell Mwale said the government would not reintroduce the tax, which was scrapped in January, as it could scare away foreign investors. “We believe that the government policies should not be determined by short term conditions such as the price of copper,” Mwale told Reuters, a week after the Chamber of Mines of Zambia said investors wanted stable policies in mining. “We realised that windfall tax was an addition to the cost of production and that it was discouraging investment,” he said. Mwale said following increased production by many copper producers, most of the estimated 12,000 employees who lost their jobs because after the fall in the prices of metals in 2008 could be re-employed. Zambia said two weeks ago it will not refund foreign mining coIn a bid to boost foreign mine investment, Zambia said on Tuesday it will not reintroduce the controversial windfall tax it applied when copper prices rose last year, despite the current rally in metals prices. The introduction of a 25 percent windfall tax and other taxes in 2008 was backed by the World Bank to help Zambia raise funds required to build schools, roads and provide health and education services in the southern African country. Mines and minerals development minister Maxwell Mwale said the government would not reintroduce the tax, which was scrapped in January, as it could scare away foreign investors. “We believe that the government policies should not be determined by short term conditions such as the price of copper,” Mwale told Reuters, a week after the Chamber of Mines of Zambia said investors wanted stable policies in mining. “We realised that windfall tax was an addition to the cost of production and that it was discouraging investment,” he said. Mwale said following increased production by many copper producers, most of the estimated 12,000 employees who lost their jobs because after the fall in the prices of metals in 2008 could be re-employed. Zambia said two weeks ago it will not refund foreign mining companies the millions of dollars they paid in taxes when the controversial tax was in force, but could revise existing taxes. Last year, Zambia introduced a 15 percent profit variable tax, 25 percent mineral windfall tax and raised corporate tax to 30 percent from 25 percent and mineral royalty to 3.0 percent from 0.6 percent, upsetting foreign mining firms. Copper mining is Zambia’s economic mainstay and the mines are a major employer for many of its 12 million people.mpanies the millions of dollars they paid in taxes when the controversial tax was in force, but could revise existing taxes. Last year, Zambia introduced a 15 percent profit variable tax, 25 percent mineral windfall tax and raised corporate tax to 30 percent from 25 percent and mineral royalty to 3.0 percent from 0.6 percent, upsetting foreign mining firms. Copper mining is Zambia’s economic mainstay and the mines are a major employer for many of its 12 million people.