February 2008 - Zambian News

Zambia has asked foreign mining companies for alternative proposals following their criticism of planned tax changes, officials said on Friday, according to a Reuters story. "As a committee, we believe the government has done its research worldwide on which they are basing their proposal," Godrey Beene, chairman of a Zambian parliamentary committee dealing with mining issues, told the state media. "We have therefore given mining companies time to go and prepare a counter proposal which they should submit to us any time this week."

Zambia Vacation Special Virtuoso Two Night Offer at The Royal Livingstone 2 Nights Standard Double Room Priced From $416 USD Valid Dates Jun 1, 2006 - Nov 30, 2007 Travel Dates Jun 1, 2006 - Nov 30, 2007 Promo Code:V-11827 The Royal Livingstone Hotel stretches luxuriously along the banks of the Zambezi River. The Hotel consists of a series of 17 colonial-style buildings, with deep verandas, set amidst indigenous trees and plants. The main hotel is a sequence of thatch-roofed buildings, most African in their influence, and incorporates the lounge, restaurant and bar. A classic swimming pool visually links the waters of the river with the terraces of the hotel, with a sweeping timber deck planted in the swirling water of the Zambezi. Only footsteps from the Zambezi River, the rooms and suites offer a tranquil retreat from the unconstrained beauty of their surroundings.

Fred Williams-Bowen, Pluckley, writes Having just returned from a holiday in southern Africa that finished with three nights in Zambia, I think you should warn other travellers that Zambia has increased its tourist visa fees for British passport holders to US$140, which must be paid in cash at the point of entry. Fortunately our tour operator told us of the charge, but others on our flight didn't know about it and didn't have enough dollars to pay on arrival. They were either taken by officials to a bank to withdraw cash or told to pay the money to their hotel before regaining their passports. We noticed that holders of passports from other EU countries only had to pay $50 for the visa. Why do Britons have to pay more? Incidentally, we also had to pay a further $50 "departure tax" to get out of the country. Gill Charlton replies On January 25, Zambia's finance ministry announced it was abolishing the visa waiver facility enjoyed by tourists from most Western countries and introduced, with immediate effect, these new charges for British citizens: £75 for a single-entry visa and a whopping £240 for a multiple-entry visa. Other EU countries pay $50 for a single-entry, $80 for a double-entry and $140 for a multiple-entry visa. The high charges for British citizens are said to be in response to the UK's high fees for visiting Zambians: £63 for a single-entry visa. The political tit-for-tat is likely to damage the country's tourism industry, according to the African Travel and Tourism Association. "We are extremely concerned by the imposition of these huge visa charges," said ATTA's spokesman. "Our members had no warning, which has caused many problems [in connection with] contacting customers and explaining the situation to those who thought they had already paid for their holiday in full." ATTA has protested to the Zambian government about the charges and lack of notice. "Visa charges are now reciprocal," said a spokesman for the Zambian tourism ministry in London. "For example, the Irish don't pay for visas because they don't charge us for visas. So far there's been no indication that the new charges are deterring UK visitors." Visitors to Africa should also note that health officials are demanding yellow fever certificates on arrival. I was asked for my certificate at Kilimanjaro airport in Tanzania last month after flying in from Nairobi. An ATTA official who flew to Johannesburg from London via Nairobi, where he was in transit at the airport for just two hours, was forced to submit to a yellow fever jab because he did not have his certificate with him.

Metorex, which depends heavily on copper earnings, continues to be sold down by investors while dozens of other listed copper stocks around the world continue a dazzling upwards rip. On January 24 Metorex took the unusual step of publishing an announcement dealing specifically with the activity in, and decline of, the stock's share price. Investors were told that "the fundamentals of the Metorex Group have never been as positive or robust as they are at present, which has not been borne out in the recent decline in the share price". Over the past three weeks the Metorex stock price has been hammered once again, falling by more than any of 38 selected copper stocks listed around the world. Across the border, the Zambian government remains intent on extracting more taxes from its mainly copper mining sector, also creating a perception that investments in the country have been sold off. Equinox, with interests exclusively in Zambian copper (with a significant potential uranium byproduct), has posted a price gain of 24% in the past three weeks. First Quantum, which operates in both Zambia and the DRC, has posted a 22% increase in its stock price over the past three weeks.

As one of the first African players to play in Europe and Mexico, Kalusha Bwalya was a pioneering figure during his exceptional playing career. Zambia's most-capped player and all-time top scorer represented his national team from 1983 to 2004, and played for Cercle Brugge and PSV Eindhoven in Belgium and Netherlands respectively before later enjoying stints with Mexican duo Club America and Necaxa. He has also coached the Zambian national team and was a member of FIFA Technical Study Group for the 2004 Olympics and 2006 FIFA World Cup™. Yet despite his many achievements on the field and in the dugout, it is in an administrative role that Bwalya is now attempting make changes in football from the top down in his position as vice-president of the Football Association of Zambia (FAZ). "The fact of the matter is," he told FIFA.com, "of course I miss the day-to-day interaction on the ground, but I think my challenge is more outside of the football pitch." More specifically, the 44-year-old says that he feels that he "can make a big influence, not only for Zambians but for people around the world who love football".

Zambia and foreign owners of its copper mines agreed a 35 percent power tariff increase effective January this year, and authorities have warned of possible power cuts to the mines due to a power generator fault. "All the mines have accepted the proposal to raise tariffs by 35 percent and we are just waiting for ZESCO Ltd to sign the agreement. The increase will be with effect from January 1 this year," Copperbelt Energy Company (CEC) chairman Hanson Sindowe told Reuters in an interview on Wednesday. CEC buys power from state power utility ZESCO and distributes it to the mines.

The United States has signed an agreement designed to promote the role of the private sector in helping southern African countries overcome the energy crisis caused by aging infrastructure and growing demand. Zambia has suffered three nationwide blackouts, outages are a common problem in Zimbabwe and now, of course, also in SA, where supplies to mines have been reduced after the country was hit by rolling blackouts.

One of the largest banks in Nigeria with a capital of $1.4 billion has announced plans to start operations in Zambia by June this year. ACCESS Bank PLC Group Managing Director, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede said the Nigeria Government has already given the Bank the go-head to expand to Zambia . ZNBC's Joshua Jere who is in Nigeria reports that Mr. Aig-Imoukuede announced this in Lagos when a Zambian delegation of officials from the ministry of Commerce visted the bank's head office.