NANCY SIAME, Lusaka
THE Patents and Companies Registration Agency (PACRA) will produce a collateral registry by December this year to enable small-sized enterprises to use movables as security to access finance.

The collateral registry will enable micro, small and medium-sized enterprises to access finance using other forms of property as security other than real estate.
The establishment of the collateral registry follows the enactment into law of the Moveable Property Security Interest Act No. 3 of 2016.

PACRA chief executive officer Anthony Bwembya said in a statement issued by public relations officer Vaida Njobvu yesterday that the agency has already competed the first phase of the procurement process and has since submitted the implementing regulations to the Ministry of Justice.

Mr Bwembya said the registration system for collateral registry will be online and will, therefore, be accessible all the time.

“The registry will be accessible to the public at all times including weekends and holidays,” he said.

He said the enactment of Act No. 3 is a milestone for Zambia as it seeks to broaden the scope of the movable property that can be used as collateral.

“The agency is hopeful that with the establishment of the collateral registry, micro, small and medium-sized enterprises will have easy access to finance,” Mr Bwembya said.

Source: Zambia Daily Mail

TRYNESS TEMBO, Lusaka
THE Lusaka Stock Exchange (LuSE) last week recorded a significant reduction in the number of shares transacted, registering a drop in turnover from over K3 million the previous week to almost K330,000.

A total of 155,524 shares worth K333,899 were transacted in 65 trades last week compared to a total of 1,137,134 shares transacted in 85 trades, resulting in a market turnover of K3,054,920 the previous week.

According to the LuSE weekly report for June 24, of the total turnover Madison, Finance Services accounted for K117, 276, followed by Real Estate Investment Zambia (REIZ), which recorded K68,376, while Copperbelt Energy Corporation (CEEC) and Zambian Breweries registered K59, 891 and K44, 392, respectively.

Other companies which recorded trade activity were African Explosives Limited Zambia, First Quantum Minerals Zambia, Lafarge, National Breweries, Standard Chartered Zambia, Zambeef Products, Zanaco and Zambia Sugar.

On the share price changes, in all the 23 listed firms, there was no change.

Meanwhile, the LuSE all-share index maintained the previous close of 4,780.22 points.

During the week under review, bonds valued at K29, 249,000 changed hands in 19 trades, yielding market value sales of K18,773,000.

This is in comparison with bonds valued at K52,795,000 which changed hands in seven trades, yielding market value sales of K34,212,000 the previous week.

On market capitalisation, the local bourse last week closed at about K60.4 billion maintaining the previous week close.

Source: The Daily Mail

Analysis: RADHE KRISHNA
SINCE prehistoric times, mining has been an integral part of man’s existence. Hence the term ‘mining’ in its broadest context means encompassing the extraction of all naturally occurring mineral substances (solid, liquid and gas) from the earth for utilisation. Utilisation refers to all essential human needs and desires that have been met by minerals throughout the ages.

In fact, most of the cultural ages of man are associated and identified by minerals or their derivatives. These include the Stone Age (prior to 4000 BC), the Bronze Age (4000 to 1500 BC), the Iron Age (1500 BC to 4000 BC), the Iron Age (1500 B.C. to A.D. 1780), the Steel Age (1780 to 1945), and the Nuclear Age since 1945. Many milestones in human history such as Marco Polo’s journey to China, Vasco Da Gama’s voyages to Africa and India, Columbus’ discovery of the new world were achieved with minerals as the prime incentive.

It is also true that minerals and mining have been associated with the dominance of great civilisation of history.

Development of mining technology
Mining began in the Palaeolithic Era some 450,000 years ago. This was in the early Old Stone Age. There are, of course, no records to substantiate the fact, but flint implements have been found in the bones for early man from the Old Stone Age. He extracted these from the earth and learned to shape them by crude techniques. At that time he was satisfied to recover raw material from surface excavations but by the beginning of the New Stone Age he had progressed to underground mining in systematic openings up to one metre height and 10m in depth. The oldest known underground mine believed to be an iron mine in Swaziland is 40,000 years old. Early deep miners employed crude methods of ground control, ventilation, hoisting, lighting and a method of rock breakage. Egyptians attained a depth of 250 metre in underground mines.

Metallic minerals attracted the attention of prehistoric man and initially were used in their native form, probably obtained by washing river sand to get several minerals including gold. However, man discovered how to break a rock easily by smelting thereby reducing ore to native metal or alloy form.

Among the greatest discoveries of humankind and the first technological breakthrough in mining, the art and science of rock breakages are of fundamental importance. No other technological advancement in mining had an equal impact, until black powder.(low explosive – the Chinese discovery) was first used to blast rocks in the seventeenth century.

At the close of the eighteenth century there was spectacular improvement in mining technology, especially in scientific concepts and mechanisation and these improvements have continued to this date. Currently mining is being done more than four kilometres below the earth surface.

Environmental problems and disasters in mines
Environment – It is impossible to extract minerals from the earth without changing the natural environment in some way, as technology improves the adverse effects of mining on the environment will also continue to be reduced.

Disasters in mines
Disasters in mines are naturally a matter of great concern as they seem to be caused by lack of precision or miscalculation. But statistics show that it is much more often by neglect, ignorance or over specialisation. Also, nature has a habit of taking advantage of those who turn their backs on it. Subsurface conditions can hardly be known or predicted accurately in advance. Therefore, decisions are made and cost estimates are based on the best information that can be obtained.

Future of mining
Mineral deposits are a wasting asset and are irreplaceable. Despite this fact, the long established dependence of man on this mineral heritage will continue indefinitely. Requirements of technological progress will place increasing demands upon the mineral industry to produce more and greater variety of elements.
Progress in technology will make ore out of many rocks which are considered useless today. Methods will change as a way to make mining safer as well as reduce environmental impairments.

The art and science of mining began with the early man and is changing rapidly. It is certain that mining will continue as long as man lives on earth.
The author is a professor at the University of Zambia, School of Mines, Department of Mining Engineering.

Source: Zambia Daily Mail

By Timothy Kitundu
Dar es Salaam — Malawi Government has given an order to the Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA) to move 48 million litres of petroleum products in the next 12 months, starting July 2016.

The order was communicated at a meeting between TAZARA and a delegation of 11 officials from the Malawi Government headed by Estelle Nuka, Board Member of the Malawi Energy Regulation Authority.

TAZARA Managing Director Eng. Bruno Ching’andu assured the Malawi delegation that with the new leadership TAZARA had the best management team to compete with any in the world and was fully geared to take the firm to another level.

“Our shareholders have recently appointed me and my deputy, and between us we have vast engineering and business experience. Together with the rest of our management, we have the best team that can compete with any in the world and are well prepared to handle the cargo you will be bringing to us,” Eng. Ching’andu said.

TAZARA is also in discussion with the Zambian Government and another private firm to begin transporting at least 14 million litres of fuel per month from the Port of Dar es Salaam to Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo within the month of July 2016.

Since joining TAZARA in April 2016, Eng. Ching’andu has instilled discipline in the railway operations, with the firm now registering consistent and shorter transit times in freight trains as well as passenger trains, an impediment that tended to drive clients away in the past.

The new Managing Director has also ordered his Management team to be customer-centric, giving maximum respect to the clients and being responsive to their needs.

In another development, Eng. Ching’andu has laid out his vision to the employees, calling on every worker to be customer-centric in order to turn the Authority into the best transport organization in the region.

Speaking last week to over 500 Dar es Salaam – based employees, Eng. Ching’andu said he wants to preside over a workforce that is proud to work for TAZARA, paid handsomely and competitively and operating in a safe environment, with plenty of opportunities to learn and grow.

“I dream of a TAZARA whose workers are proud and happy to be working for this company. I want us to be customer-centric, giving maximum respect to our clients and contributing to the growth of the economies of Tanzania and Zambia by paying taxes and dividends to the shareholders,” he said.

The Managing Director challenged the workers to show commitment by giving him maximum support, working as a unified team with one common goal in order to eliminate the divisive tendencies that pulled the Authority backwards.

At the different forums he addressed the workers, the Managing Director made the employees shout in unison after him “One TAZARA, One TAZARA, One TAZARA”, a thematic orientation he has demanded every employee to adopt in order to foster unity in the organization.

Eng. Bruno Ching’andu has further urged employees to discard the begging mentality and begin to perform because the Authority has everything it requires to raise output and revenue generation.

He said he left a well-paying job in South Africa to join TAZARA because he knew it was possible to turn-around the Authority and begin to earn sustainable revenue, enough to pay employees’ salaries, taxes and dividends to the shareholders.

“This company has everything it needs to make money. The Chinese came, built the infrastructure and handed it to us to manage, some of them losing their lives in the process.

They gave us fishing rods and taught us how to fish, but immediately they left we also went back to sleep, threw away the fishing rods and started to beg for fish,” the Managing Director lamented with disgust.

He said he would not be part of the begging culture and neither would he want to manage beggars, urging every employee to stop asking for handouts and instead focus on being productive in order to earn their salaries.

The Managing Director said that as a step towards revitalisation, it was important to acknowledge that the current performance of TAZARA was a huge disappointment to the founders of TAZARA, who worked tirelessly to ensure the realization of a railway that connected Zambia to the Eastern Coast of Africa.

“You may argue about the timing of the funding and the quantities in which it was granted, but it is undisputable that a lot of money has been poured into TAZARA over the years by the governments of China, Tanzania and Zambia and everyone expects us to show appreciation by performing,” he said.

Source: allAfrica

By Maimbolwa Mulikelela
THE World Bank has completed the Mineral Investment and Governance Review (MInGov) on Zambia aimed at easing investor decisions before they could invest.

The diagnostic tool measures each country’s governance and stability in the mining sector which has a direct impact on investment in resources rich countries.

World Bank country manager for Zambia Ian Ruthenberg said his organisation had just completed MInGov review on Zambia stating that the country remains attractive to investors.

Ms Ruthenberg said it collects and shares information on the mining sector governance, its attractiveness to investors, and how it contributes to national development.

The key findings of the review show that Zambia is an attractive place for investment due to favourable geology, its long history of mining, its political stability, low risks of expropriation, high levels of security and a relatively favourable economic environment.

Ms Ruthenberg said this at the just ended 6th Zambia Mining and Energy Conference (ZIMEC) in Lusaka.

“However, there are areas of potential improvement. Also, despite the different views of different stakeholder groups, the review highlights areas where there is consensus,” she said.

Ms Ruthenberg said this was helpful to identify the low hanging fruit and areas to build trust.

“It is important for players in the mining and energy sector working together with all transparency because if the sector continues to operate in a fragmented manner, a downward spiral in Zambia mining sector will continue,” she said.

Most of the investment decisions were largely influenced by the manner in which countries governance was structured.

Source: allAfrica