Zambia Consumer Association (ZACA) World No Tobacco Day 2013

ZACA, PSDA welcomes 2013 national budget

By KELLY NJOMBO and TRYNESS MBALE

ZAMBIA Consumer Association (ZACA) and Private Sector Development Association have welcomed the 2013 national budget saying it will benefit consumers on the low cost of bread and promote local production.

The associations say removing value added tax (VAT) on wheat and bread is a positive move while suspending duty on various equipment and motor vehicles used in the tourism sector will boost the sector.

Speaking in separate interviews in Lusaka yesterday, ZACA executive director Muyunda Ililonga said the VAT measure on wheat products will increase production of wheat as more farmers will be encouraged to grow the commodity thus bring the cost of bread downwards.

“The policy measure to zero-rate bread and wheat for VAT will benefit both farmers and the consumers because this move will lower the cost of bread and other wheat products on the domestic market. And farmers will have to produce more wheat at a much lower cost than before.” he said.
Mr ililonga said there is need for farmers to take advantage of the development by increasing production.
He said the measure will give farmers extra incentives to produce more wheat and expand the sector which has in recent years been growing steadily with this year’s production estimated to be at 266,000 tonnes.

With the Zero-rating of wheat, local farmers will now compete favourably with foreign wheat farmers as previously imported wheat was cheaper due to incentives in the respective countries resulting in Government banning the importation of wheat to protect local farmers.

“We hope manufacturers, producers, millers and bakers will reduce the cost of wheat products because as far as we are concerned this move by Government will reduce the cost of wheat production,” he said.
The Private Sector Development Agency (PSDA) has also welcomed the 2013 national budget because it addresses issues of capacity building and promotes local production.

PSDA chairperson Yusuf Dodia said the 2013 budget has responded to the people’s needs saying Government’s plan to create more jobs is a good move towards reducing the unemployment rate in the country.

Mr Dodia said he is happy that Government considered the budget submissions made by the association with 11 of the 20 submissions being included in the just presented budget.

Government has adopted among other submissions made by PSDA, suspension of duty on various equipment and motor vehicles used in the tourism industry, zero rating import of manufacturing equipment to promote the local manufacturing industry and increasing funding to the education sector.
“The 2013 budget is very good because it is looking at building capacity for Zambians and will encourage local production,” he said.

He also commended the government for suspending duty on various equipment and motor vehicles used in the tourism sector saying it will boost the sector.

Mr Dodia however expressed concern on Government move to placing more emphasis on the promotion of local production by increasing levy on imports saying the development will affect competition.
“Government’s plan to promote local products by increasing levy on imports is not good because it will prevent local manufacturers from growing due to lack of competition,” he said.

The Daily Mail  Newspaper

Consumer bodies hail Zanaco for K2 trillion loan book

By NANCY MWAPE

THE Consumer Unity and Trust Society (CUTS) and the Zambia Consumers Association (ZACA) have commended Zanaco Bank Plc for responding to the financial needs of the Zambians by availing K2 trillion to spur economic activities.

Speaking in separate interviews, ZACA executive secretary Muyunda Ililonga said as an association, they are happy that Zanaco is responding to market demands.

Zanaco Bank Plc’s book loan this year stands at K2 trillion with individual loan and the agricultural sector accounting for a larger funding to be released into the national economy to spur economic activities.
The individual loan potfolio will account for the lion’s share of the loan book at 43 percent and the agricultural sector 27 percent while the remaining sum is to be shared between corporate entities and Government.

“We are happy that the privatisation of Zanaco is benefiting the country, this is one bank before privatisation that never used to give loans to the public,” he said.
Mr Ililonga said with this huge loan portfolio on its books, it was clear that the sale of the bank worked well.

He said the loans especially those targeted at individuals, the private sector and agriculture industry will stimulate economic activities in the country.

“People want to invest in capital projects but lack funding. The loan will boost individuals to engage in economic ventures and create additional jobs in the market labour,” he said.

He said with increased competition in the financial sector, the banking industry is robust and innovative, adding that if this momentum continues, it will boost the Zambian economy.

CUTS chairman Lovemore Mtesa said lending to individuals and small scale entrepreneurs by commercial banks is a direct form of empowering them.

“This is something that should be lauded, we welcome the development and hope that the interest rates offered are affordable. If the cost of money is too high it defeats the whole purpose,” he said.

In August this year, Zanaco launched a new campaign dubbed “Empowering you. Building Zambia” aimed at boosting economic development and generating employment through targeting key segments of the country.

The bank is providing loans at reduced rates to cater for corporate, small-scale entrepreneurs, farmers and individuals.

Meanwhile, Zanaco has invested US$1 million to be spent on adaption of its infrastructure in readiness for the rebased Kwacha to be implemented on January 1, 2013.

The bank says that it is on track in its preparatory works to ensure smooth adoption of the new Kwacha.

ZAMBIA CSOs DEMAND ENACTMENT OF TOBACCO LAW

Press Release

A group of civil society organizations that campaign on public health are demanding action from the Minister of Health. They want him to “move” on the stagnated process of enacting a comprehensive tobacco control law in line with the country’s international commitments. Zambia ratified the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) in May 2008 but has not domesticated the treaty since. Early this year, the PF government through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs undertook to domesticate all treaties to which Zambia is a party.

“As civil society groups we welcomed this announcement by government. We were excited that government was keen to fulfill it’s commitments to the international world but now we are dismayed because not much is happening in terms of actualization of those lofty pronouncements” said Brian Moonga, Secretary General for the Zambia Media Network Against Tobacco (ZAMNAT).

The group that recently held a mentorship meeting in Lusaka expressed regret that the Ministry of Health has been dragging its feet on a matter that has been outstanding since 2010. “We are not happy, repeated correspondence with the office of the Minster on this subject has gone unattended to.  This is not healthy, government needs to respond to the concerns of citizens and we want progress on this issue” added Raphael Makowane of Zambia Anti- Smoking society. The group says there is no justification whatsoever to continue delay on the legislation because the health,  economic and social consequence of tobacco use are well known and documented. Disease and death caused by tobacco use, once a problem manly in high- income countries, have become a large and increasing part of the burden of disease in developing countries. According to the WHO, the huge death toll associated with tobacco use is rapidly engulfing low and middle income countries, where most of the world’s 1.2 billion smokers live.

“But the course and pattern of this epidemic can be changed” said Muyunda Ililonga, Executive Director of Zambia Consumer Association, “The FCTC to which Zambia is party provides a road map to a common framework to move ahead. It promotes evidence-based measures that are effective yet cost- effective in combating tobacco use. Politicians committed to public health can place tobacco-a risk factor to several non-communicable diseases (NCDS)-on top of the health agenda and save lives and future of our children. Nations are taking bold steps to protect the lives of their people from premature death caused by tobacco use. We cannot continue with our slow match while other nations are moving forward. We must act now to protect the health of our people. The world is watching us,” added Ililonga.

New packaging for tobacco

By Nancy Handabile
IT is a fact that tobacco is extremely harmful to health. However, this does not seem to deter many people from smoking.
 
The tobacco problem is a global challenge and because we are living in a global village, trends in one country will most likely spread to others.
Recently, the Australian government came up with a law to enforce plain packaging on cigarette packets.
 
The law stipulates that all cigarette packets regardless of the brand be packaged plainly but with images of the various ailments, which tobacco causes.
These ailments range from mouth cancer, lung diseases, and respiratory problems, among others.
This did not go down well with the tobacco companies that argued that the value of their trademarks would be destroyed if they were no longer able to display their distinctive colours, brand designs and logos on packets of cigarettes.
They took the government to court but the Australian High Court recently upheld the Government’s decision to introduce plain packaging.
Thus, in December, packets will instead come in a uniformly drab shade of olive and feature dire health warnings and graphic photographs of smoking’s health effects.
The government, which has urged other countries to adopt similar rules, hopes the new packs will make smoking as unglamorous as possible.
Zambia has a law that stops smoking in public. However, stricter measures are needed especially that many smokers start in their teens.
Many countries are now facing the pressure of following Australia’s route and Zambia is no exception.
 
Zambia Consumer Association (ZACA) executive director, Muyunda Ililonga has encouraged the Zambian Government to follow suit.
 
According to Mr Ililonga, “the ruling in Australia is a landmark victory for public health globally. It sends a strong message that the industry can be defeated.”
The new law will now make it illegal, for example, for the cigarette manufacturers to market cigarettes in ‘slim’ packages to women to promote the belief that smoking is a way to stay thin and control weight.
 
The tobacco companies have opposed plain packaging more ferociously than any other tobacco control measure because they know that plain packaging would have a major impact on smoking in Australia – and in other countries that might follow Australia’s lead.
 
“The cigarette companies hate nothing more than laws that restrict their ability to sell more cigarettes,” says Mr Ililonga, adding that “their legal challenges are destined to fail because the courts accept that more cigarette sales mean more sickness and more deaths, and that governments have a duty to act to reduce these harms.”
 
Mr Ililonga advised that a Government determined to protect its people would always succeed regardless of obstacles.
 
“We feel the Government must follow the pioneering journey undertaken by the Australian government in standing up against tobacco.”
 
His sentiments that the attractive packaging is one of the ways in which the tobacco industry advertise their deadly products are echoed by Charlie Mumba (not his real name).

Times of Zambia

Nigerian fine beings renewed hope for improved quality of telecom service

By Michael Malakata ,
3 Jun, 2012

After being hit by heavy fines for poor services in Nigeria, the region's largest telecom operators have promised to make investments in their networks, spurring hopes for an improvement in quality of service.

Nigeria seems to have opened the way for improved telecom services after the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) fined Airtel, MTN, Glo Mobile and Etisalat a total of US$7.4 million in the last two months for poor quality of service.

All four operators issued a joined statement last week in which they claimed they were committed to providing high quality of service to their customers by continuing to invest in and build networks. The operators said however, that fines will not bring about the desired improvements overnight or offer a lasting solution but will merely deplete essential resources that would otherwise be deployed for network rollout.

"We are concerned that the regime of sanctions could create an atmosphere of anxiety and regulatory uncertainty which is unattractive to investment," said the operators in a joint statement.

The operators said they were equally frustrated and concerned about the failure to meet customer expectations and needs. They blamed the absence of a reliable power supply as one of the causes of the failure to meet quality of service levels. Every single site, they said, is powered throughout the year by two diesel generators and requires a regular supply of diesel as well as security protection.

Poor service provision by operators is generally considered to be a result of lack of investment in network upgrades and has become a source of concern in many African countries where customers are losing money on uncompleted calls.

Dropped phone calls, network congestion and a widespread lack of network availability are problems that plague African mobile phone customers. Several countries in the region, including Zambia and Uganda, are moving to protect subscribers from exploitation by developing laws that will impose heavy fines on operators for poor service levels.

In Nigeria, the four operators said they have in the last 10 years invested 1 trillion Nigeria naira (over $6 billion) and would this year alone invest 400 billion Nigerian naira. The operators pointed out, however, that in the telecom industry such investments do not yield the requisite improvement in the quality of service until well after 12 months.

The operators said they are actively competing against each other on quality of service to win the loyalty of existing customers and attract new subscribers. The operators also claimed that they have been subject to indiscriminate closure of sites by government ministries and agencies as well as state and local governments in pursuit of multiple taxation of telecom infrastructure.

The Uganda Communication Commission (UCC) has warned operators providing poor quality services of heavy fines by the end of the year once legislation to allow the government to fine operators for low-quality service is passed.

In Nigeria, the NCC, not the country's government, is responsible for fining operators for poor quality of service.

The Zambia Information and Communication Technology Authority (ZICTA), the country's telecom sector regulator, has developed a code of conduct that imposes stiff penalties on operators that provide poor services. Zambia Consumer Association Executive Director Muyunda Ililonga said, "the code will help bring sanity in the telecommunication sector as operators will fear being punished."

Computer world

Zambian telcos could face penalties

By Michael Malakata, 

Mobile telecommunications operators in Zambia that provide poor service could face stiffer penalties imposed by the Zambia Information and Communication Technology Authority (ZICTA), before the end of this year.

This follows the development of a code of conduct by ZICTA, the country's telecom sector regulator, aimed at protecting customers from abuse by service providers. The code seeks to regulate all players in the ICT sector in order to ensure customers are not exploited anymore.

ZICTA acting manager for consumer protection, Edgar Mlauzi, says the country's ICT Act empowers ZICTA to prepare a code of conduct for operators. The code, yet to be published, was arrived at after ZICTA's consultation with service providers and members of the public last year, according to Mlauzi.

It followed numerous complaints from customers that service providers, especially mobile operators, were exploiting them by subjecting them to poor networks and services.

Dropped calls, network congestion, network outages, poor customer service, lack of confidentiality and a widespread lack of network availability are problems that people have with the operators, says Muyunda Ililonga, executive director of the Zambia Consumer Association, a consumer watchdog.

Ililonga believes “the code will help bring sanity in the telecommunication sector, as operators will be forced to improve their services for fear of being punished”.

Airtel Zambia MD Fayaz King said last month the company's network was set to improve with a planned $1.5 billion investment by Airtel Africa in infrastructure and network upgrades in Zambia and other African countries in which it operates. Airtel Zambia customers staged several network boycotts last year over the company's continued poor service provision.

However, Mlauzi says the code will require service providers to supply information that should include the availability of information for weighing alternatives, and protection from false and misleading claims in Zambia's seven major languages.

“Services, rates and performance information such as rates, terms and conditions for all services, should be available in print and electronic.”

Additionally, Mlauzi says the code requires that service providers state the quality of service, initial connection and complaint resolution time.

Other consumer rights espoused by ZICTA, explains Mlauzi, include safety by protecting them from hazardous goods and services, as well as lawful personal privacy with no unauthorised access to conversations and personal information.

Last month, ZICTA directed Airtel Zambia to remove a complaint blocking machine from its call centre. According to Mlauzi, consumers should have the right to voice concerns which should be handled in a simple, expeditious administrative procedure. 

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