FINANCE MINISTER, CHIKWANDA RULES OUT WIND-FALL TAX RE-INTRODUCTION

Finance and National Planning Minister, Alexander Chikwanda has reiterated that there are no plans to re-introduce windfall tax.

Amid calls for the re-introduction of the respective tax, the mines sector had expressed concern over public demands over the controversial tax measure.

The wind fall tax was previously introduced but later abolished in 2009.

And now, Mr Chikwanda has stated that re-introducing the respective tax measure could could harm mining operations and negatively impact the economy.

The minister has explained that It would be unwise for the government to introduce a windfall tax when metal prices are unstable and are usually trending downwards.

In next year’s national budget, Mr Chikwanda has however doubled mineral royalty tax from 3 to 6 per cent, a measure which has received accolades from interest groups.

ZAMBEEF POSTS POSITIVE GROWTH IN WEST AFRICA OPERATIONS

Multi-national agro-producing and processing Zambian company, ZAMBEEF has posted 54 per cent increased profits in its West Africa operations, claiming 11.5 billion kwacha.

The firm says it now operates 3 and 2 outlets in Nigeria and Ghana respectively, in a partnership with South African supermarket chain stores, Shoprite.

This is in addition to 4 outlets it solely operates in Nigeria.

And ZAMBEEF has plans to increase stock-feed exports to Zimbabwe, which during the year under review totalled 3,000 metric tonnes.

Meanwhile, on the whole, ZAMBEEF has posted a 44.5 billion kwacha net income, up by 125 per cent against a gross of 923 billion kwacha for the financial year ending 30^th September 2011.

Among the outstanding business decisions made in the period under review was the 46 million dollars acquisition of Mpongwe Farms, whose legume output is set to feed into the oil processing Zamanita.

ZAMBEEF has further reported a 62.3 billion kwacha gross profit at Zamanita, a company it bought out 3 years ago.

ZAMTEL CLAIMS SUCCESSFUL FIRST 12 MONTHS AMID ITS PRIVATISATION CONTROVERSY

LAP Green Network has claimed a 3,000 per cent growth in the fixed broadband customer base in its Zambia operation, ZAMTEL.

The Libyan multi-national telecommunications group also says the ZAMTEL mobile phone service share market has grown from 3.5 per cent to 10.5 per cent.

This is according to what ZAMTEL has described as a very successful first 12 months after LAP Green bought a 75 per cent stake in the company.

Among other achievements, ZAMTEL claims o have made in its first year of operation under a new brand, are reduced staffing costs from 80 per cent to 23 per cent as well as reduced operational costs from 431 billion kwacha to 190 billion kwacha.

Meanwhile, ZAMTEL has, this year, projected a 19 per cent EIBTDA margin, it says will be a first positive in the last 4 years.

The former parastatal telecommunications firm has recently become centre stage of the new Zambian government’s investigations into alleged corrupt dealings of the previous MMD government.

The investigation has in fact revealed that ZAMTEL was under-valued and sold to the Libyans, liability-free, but at a less than actual price.

Amid LAP Green insisting that the controversial transaction was legal against adduced information that there were glaring irregularities surrounding the respective partial sale of ZAMTEL.

Among those deemed to have personally benefited from the transaction are former Education Minister Dora Siliya, but then in charge of Transport and |Communications, Vice President George Kunda’s legal firm, former President Rupiah Banda’s sons, through whom ZAMTEL assets evaluators and later transaction advisers, R.P Capitals, were procured.

PRESIDENT SATA RECEIVES APPEAL FROM CZECH COUNTERPART OVER DETAINED

Czech President Vaclav Klaus has written a letter to his Zambian counterpart, Michael Sata over the three detained Czech citizens in Lusaka.

According to the Czech media, Mr Klaus’s personal letter to Mr Sata was conveyed by a special envoy, Foreign Minister, Vladmir Galuska, in which he stated that the detained nationals did not plan any crime.

The three Czech men, Jiri Cetl, Jan Coufal and Michal Veber, who came into Zambia as tourists, are alleged to have been caught taking photographs in a prohibited locality however they have been detained on charges of espionage.

But the Czech reports that Mr Klaus now hopes that the case will be assessed quickly and justly.

And Mr Galuska has confirmed that he delivered his president’s personal letter to President Sata, further stating that his countrymen are in good health and he is optimistic that the matter will amicably be resolved.

The Czech tourists, who were photographing military barracks and an air base in Lusaka in October face up to 25 years in prison, if found guilty of espionage charges, which they however deny and they have since been released on bail.

GLENCORE PLANS REDUCED SULPHUR EMISSION FOR ITS ZAMBIAN SMELTER

It will not be until next year when mining company, Mopani will be able to capture sulphur dioxide emissions at its Mufulira smelter.

Despite this measure coming after 81 years of operations, amid emissions of these toxic gases, company Chief Executive Officer, Danny Callow says the plans are within the time schedule.

Government had tasked Mopani copper mines to reduce sulphur dioxide emissions by year 2015 but the company has averred that it will finish this project in 2013, 18 months ahead of the set time frame.

Mr Callow has explained that currently Mopani is capturing almost half of the emissions, which it has been converting to sulphuric acid since 2006.

He has disclosed that upon completion of project, 97 per cent of sulphur dioxide emissions will be captured at the Mufulira smelter, a feat Mr Callow says will be of world class standard.

The Mufulira smelter is Zambia’s oldest copper ore processing plant with operations have started in the 1930s.

Mopani Copper mines, which owned by the Swiss-based Glencore group, has invested at least 2 billion dollars to re-develop its Zambian assets since the year 2000 after privatisation.