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.

ZAMBIA: Minimum wage leads to steep food price rises

LUSAKA, 27 September 2012 (IRIN) - The euphoria that greeted the government’s imposition of minimum wage increases has quickly soured, with prices of food and other essential commodities escalating as higher wage costs are passed onto consumers. 

In July 2012, President Michael Sata’s government upped the minimum monthly salary in line with the 2011 election promise of “more money in the pocket” for poorly paid workers. Wages for domestic workers increased from US$30 to about $105, while general workers such as office orderlies, shop assistants, sweepers and farm workers saw their monthly earnings more than quadruple from $50 to $220.
 
In the past month, the cost of 25kg bag of the staple ground maize meal has increased by $1 to $8.50, while other farm produce prices have also risen.
 
“Everything at the market is now very expensive, and it is like they are being increased every day. Last month, we were buying a bunch of rape vegetables at 2,000 Kwacha [$0.40], now it is 3,000 Kwacha [$0.60]. And a kilo of beef, which was 21,000 kwacha [$4.20] - now it is 27,000 kwacha [$5.40]. This is too much for us the poor people,” Mwamba Kasonde, a housewife in the capital Lusaka, told IRIN.
 
“I think the only solution for us is to forget about eating nice, fresh food. We will be buying dry foods; dry fish, dry kapenta [sardines] and soya chunks [processed dry soya]. Chicken and meat should be for special occasions or only for the rich people,” she said.
 
Stress on the poor 
Daniel Mutale, social conditions programme manager for the Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflections (JCTR), a local faith-based think tank, said the sudden cost increase in basic food items was putting additional stress on the poor. About 64 percent of Zambia’s 13 million people live on $1 or less per day, according to Zambia’s Central Statistical Office.
 
The JCTR publishes the Basic Needs Basket, a monthly survey of food prices and basic commodities required for a family of six in Zambia. “The substantial rise in the cost of basic food items counters the purpose of policies like the recently adjusted minimum wage to foster decent living conditions among the disadvantaged workers,” Mutale said.
 
“We call on the government to put in place immediate measures to curb the increase in mealie-meal prices [maize-meal] and other essential commodities.” 

The instability of food prices acts as a disincentive to having a productive economy

Hanford Chaaba, spokesperson for the Zambia Consumer Protection and Competition Commission, told IRIN the sharp increases will make Zambian companies vulnerable to external competition, “which will, in the long run, put them out of the market.”
 
“The instability of food prices acts as a disincentive to having a productive economy. Therefore, any increment in prices on food items results in reduced disposable income for the consumers, and this works to the disadvantage of successful economic growth,” he said.
 
Apart from food prices skyrocketing, the cost of other essential commodities and services, such as electrical goods and building materials as well as transport fares, are also on the up. 

Increase in transport costs 
Ishmael Kankhara, a local businessman who owns 200 passenger minibuses, the largest fleet in Lusaka, recently announced he would raise the fare charges for his buses by $0.15 to ensure he pays all drivers a minimum wage of $220. He currently pays his drivers about $100 a month.
 

If I pay the [new] minimum wage to all my drivers at the moment, I would run bankrupt within one month

“If I pay the [new] minimum wage to all my drivers at the moment, I would run bankrupt within one month, and there would be no more Flash Buses on the roads anymore. So, while a 600 kwacha [$0.15] increment may not be enough, at least it would go some way in cushioning the impact of this law,” Kankhara told IRIN. 

Executive director of the Zambia Consumer Association Muyunda Ililonga told IRIN the minimum wage increases have backfired on the poor. “You can’t have more money in the pocket when the cost of living is skyrocketing. This rise in the cost of consumer goods and services is detrimental to consumer welfare.
 
“The PF [Patriotic Front] government can only successfully show they are different from previous governments if they can lower the cost of living through workable policies. It shouldn’t be coming up with conditions to benefit only a few people, such as the minimum wage revision. They should go for policies to benefit all citizens, such as reducing VAT [value-added tax],” he said.
 
“If our VAT was reduced to, say, 14 percent [instead of the current 16 percent], it would reduce the cost of food items in the country and, ultimately, the cost of living. Many people, even the unemployed would benefit from reduced VAT,” Ililonga said.
 
Kennedy Sakeni, the information minister and chief government spokesperson, has condemned employers for passing on the costs of the new minimum wages and vowed that the government would soon “crack the whip”. 

“We want to see to it that prices stabilize soon and are reachable by a majority of our population. We want to ensure these prices do not go beyond the reach of average Zambians because the majority of our people are unemployed. They don’t even get any salaries to survive on,” he said.
 
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Zambian government should enact strong laws that will impact on tobacco companies

By Brenda Zulu

The Zambian government should enact strong laws that will impact on tobacco companies like Australia where parliament has enacted laws on cigarette packaging.

A health consultant Sikwanda Makono said tobacco smoking was a major cause of morbidity and mortality. “Apart from being a global hazard tobacco causes unnecessary illness and deaths which is something that should be stopped,” said Makono at a tobacco mentoring workshop in Lusaka held at Pungwe Lodge on 30^th August 2010.

He called on all public and private institutions to work together to stop the hazards caused by tobacco.

It is estimated that one third of regular smokers will die prematurely due to the impact of smoking. Losing 20-25 years of life of their life expectancy. Cigarette content contains over 4,000 chemicals and over 50 chemicals cause cancer  As for active smoking It was estimated that 40% of Zambian males smoke compared to less than 10% among women of which at global level almost one billion men and 250 million women smoke. There exists no safe number of cigarettes consumed per day or week. The lower the age at smoking initiation, the higher the risk of cancer and other related diseases.

The risk of cancer increases with the number of cigarettes smoked. Cancer resulting from smoking can affect lungs, esophagus, laryorgs, bladder, stomach, pancreas, cervix, colon and rectum, breast, Kidney and many other organs.

There are various diseases related to smoking.  These include coronary artery diseases, heart attack, stroke, infertility, impotence, miscarriage, fetal growth retardation, still birth, birth defects, sudden instant death syndrome, failing to thrive, poor performance in school, high blood pressure and chronic inflammatory intestinal disease.

Environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) is hazardous to health. Short term exposure to ETS can cause eye irritation, sore or dry throat, cough, chest congestion, shortness of breath and asthmatic attack.

Zambia has instituted public health acts that prohibit smoking in public places. Currently the following are smoke free premises, all health facilities, all government buildings, major towns and cities, public transport services, public utility premises including bars, restaurants, hotels, schools, colleges and universities.

Zambia does not have figures related to tobacco and health. By 1990 over 25,000 deaths were tobacco related and the economic cost exceeded R 2.5 billion. Between 1990 and 1996 the price of bread increased by 145% while a packet of cigarettes rose by 127% in Cape Town, South Africa in 2000. 

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

 Simon Ng’ona, Consumer Activist

Not a day passes when one does not come across news of defective and substandard products/injury and other consumer related violations which hinge on the welfare of consumers. One then gets a sense of déjà vu, because you have already read it before on several occasions. And if you are a right thinking person, you wonder why these things happen again and again. There are laws in place and regulations, but action to prevent such undesirable happenings seems scarce in most sectors- whilst in others, progress is being made.

Since the early 90s, when Zambia has experienced fundamental changes in its trade and economic policy in the spheres of economic activity. The drastic changes which has had a deep implication for the country’s industry, investment and trade policies, necessitated the development of a competition law to ensure a healthy and fair competitive environment evolves to stimulate enhanced private sectorgrowth and also protected the interest of consumers.

Competition and Fair Trading Act of Zambia was enacted in 1994. However, despite this Act coming into force, it did not live up to its expectation owing to its structure and limited provisions to comprehend with the new dynamic changes in the competition front. The Act was also weak on consumer protection as it had only one section to deal with consumer protection issues. This is unlike in other countries where consumer protection is given much prominence and to some extent enacted as a separate law. However the idea to bring both competition and consumer protection in once law was essential , taking into consideration resources challenges for an country like Zambia as having two separate laws might entail having to separate institutions to manage to manage them.

Attempts at addressing these deficiencies saw the enactment of a new law, the Competition andConsumer Protection Act, 2010. The new law aims, among other things, reinforcing the objectives of the previous Act and addressing some of the deficiencies of the previous Law.

 However, for it to be effectively enforced there is need for all key stakeholders in competition enforcement to also effectively playing their part. This seems to have been largely wanting in the process of enforcement of the earlier legislation. Knowledge about the role which these players can play in Zambia seems not to have been disseminated as it should have been. The judiciary, legal fraternity,trade unions, media and parliamentarians are among the stakeholders who need to play a key role in ensuring that a healthy competitive culture prevails and consumers significantly benefit from the process. Sector regulators and Civil Society also play an important role in ensuring effective enforcement of the competition and consumer protection law.

On the other hand, consumers are also ignorant of their rights; hence being subjected to continuous abuse. This knowledge gap has cultured a situation where a number of violations go unnoticed and unearthed. This to a greater extent has made the regulatory process difficult. It is therefore quite apparent that there is a risk that the objectives of the new law might not yield the intended results owing to this non-inclusive approach, a fate suffered by the previous Act. Therefore  ladies and gentlemen, let’s take an in interest  in our respective capacity to ensure that this law is effective vis a vis ensure that our welfare as consumers is protected.