SECRETARY to the Treasury Fredson Yamba has announced that K5.2 billion of the K8 billion COVID Bond has so far been issued through the Bank of Zambia. And Yamba has disclosed that the Ministry of Finance has released K30 million to clear arrears for ex-employees of TAZARA, ZAMTEL and former Railway Systems of Zambia. In...

ACTIONAID Zambia has commended government for cancelling its Double Tax Agreement (DTA) with Mauritius, saying such treaties have been found unbalanced and a source of tax evasion by most multinational companies. A Double Tax Agreement is a legally-binding agreement between states, which governs the taxation of cross- border activities, such as investments by a resident...

THE International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) announcement that it is discussing an economic programme with Zambia offers the country a glimmer of hope that will come with numerous benefits, says economist Chibamba Kanyama. And Kanyama says the engagement of French firm, Lazard Frères, to manage the country’s debt may be the pivotal development that has encouraged...

LUSAKA Mayor Miles Sampa, in collaboration with other council officials, has withdrawn trading and liquor licences and closed down Chicago’s Reloaded, Grandaddys Pub, Drill Beat Pub in Chilenje and MS Liquor at Chilenje for operating as bars, defying the Presidential directive that bars and nightclubs remain closed as cases of COVID-19 keep rising. The erring...

ZESCO Limited has announced the rolling out of smart meters that will enable the power utility to regulate the usage of electricity by switching off certain appliances in customer’s homes. And Zesco has announced that load shedding will reduce to level two, which is four to eight hours, in October when the first machine at...

KONKOLA Copper Mines (KCM) Plc’s provisional liquidator Milingo Lungu’s claim that Copperbelt Energy Corporation (CEC) Plc agreed to have the mining company’s debt paid following a pending sale is misleading, says the power utility’s chief legal counsel Julia Chaila. Reacting to Milingo’s argument that KCM and CEC agreed to have the embattled mine’s US $144...

THE Bankers’ Association of Zambia (BAZ) has welcomed the creation of the K8 billion COVID-19 bond, but has warned that it may cause liquidity challenges in the short-to-medium-term. And the Association says interest rates on loan facilities linked to the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) have been reduced by a margin of the corresponding 225 basis...

THE annual rate of inflation has decreased to 15.9 per cent in June, down from 16.6 per cent recorded in May, mainly triggered by price decreases in food items, according to the Zambia Statistics Agency (ZSA). Announcing Zambia’s annual rate of inflation for the month of June, ZSA Interim Statistician General Mulenga Musepa said that...

BANK of Zambia (BoZ) Governor Dr Denny Kalyalya says transactions via the mobile money wallet account platform have grown exponentially, posting an annual average growth of 126 per cent in value from K2.07 billion processed in 2015 to K49.45 billion in 2019. Speaking during the launch of the Zambia Digital Economy Diagnostic Report in Lusaka,...

INTERNATIONAL Trade economist Trevor Simumba has challenged Energy Minister Mathew Nkhuwa to make public the Statutory Instrument by which he declared all transmission and distribution lines in the country, including Zesco’s, as Common Carrier. In an interview, Simumba said he was both shocked and intrigued to hear the minister boldly make such a statement when...