DEVELOPMENT Bank of Zambia (DBZ) board chairperson Noel Nkoma says he has decided to resign from the Energy Regulation Board of Zambia (ERB) to focus on reviving DBZ.

Nkoma announced his resignation on social media, adding that the responsibilities bestowed on him of reviving DBZ were enormous and required total commitment and focus.

“Upon being appointed as Board Chairman for the DBZ, I had no doubt in my mind that the responsibilities bestowed on me were enormous and required my total commitment to purpose and focus. Consequently, I took a conscious decision to seek an audience with the Hon Minister of Energy to tender my resignation. We agreed that I stand down when my replacement is appointed. I am now pleased to announce that my tour of duty at ERB officially ended yesterday,” he stated.

And in an interview, Nkoma said when the country restored its relations with international capital markets and Brentwood institutions, it would be guaranteed of long term capital financing.

“There is a lot of work that needs to be done there. So I think focus will be more on trying to fix the structural issues at DBZ and get the Bank back to lending again. We are more than committed to our intent and the process. So there is no doubt about that. The moment Zambia restores its relations with international capital markets, the Brentwood institutions, then we can be guaranteed of cheap money flowing in the economy. As a result of that, we should get the benefit as a country to source cheap capital, long term capital,” Nkoma said.

He said he learnt a lot during his stint as ERB board member.

“I have learnt a lot, I have come to understand how the Petroleum Industry operates, how it is regulated. What we need to do as a country going forward, is learning from the best practices in the region as well as globally. So to me, having served on the Zesco board years back, I have served on the regulation board which regulates petroleum as well as electricity and oil sub sectors. It has been very fulfilling,” said Nkoma.