Zambia Roundup: Fuel scam, foreign exchange, blackouts

Fuel scam

Lusaka City Council's internal audit revealed a fuel scam worth $46,927 involving unauthorised fuel withdrawals and non-runner vehicles. The audit found 23,470 litres of fuel drawn without authority, amounting to $46,927, and $3,666 worth of fuel drawn by non-runner vehicles. The purpose of the fuel drawings was not stated on the fuel coupons, reports News Diggers.

Foreign exchange regulations

Zambia's Finance Minister Dr. Situmbeko Musokotwane has clarified that the news draft foreign currency regulations do not mean a return of foreign exchange controls. He also stated that the use of cheques has reduced drastically and is being proposed to be phased out for local financial transactions. The proposals are being presented to stakeholders for consultation by the Bank of Zambia, according to News Diggers. “Both matters pertaining to the draft foreign currency regulations as well as the phasing out of cheques, are draft proposals that are being presented to stakeholders for consultation by the Bank of Zambia (BOZ)," the minister said on Thursday, July 11.

Prolonged blackouts

Zambia's mobile network operators face difficulties due to prolonged blackouts caused by severe climate challenges. The outages, some lasting up to 12 hours, impact the quality of service the telcos offer. DCD reports that the country's power utility, ZESCO, has been implementing rolling blackouts, leading to increased fuel and generator maintenance costs for the operators. Climate change has also led to a significant drop in water levels at Lake Kariba, affecting electricity output for both Zambia and Zimbabwe. South Africa has also suffered from lengthy outages, leading carriers to invest in infrastructure and renewable energy sources to combat the blackouts.

Young farmer discovers the potential of aquaculture in Zambia

Thirty-year-old Aubrain Lyavuka, initially a farm labourer, aspired to transition into fish farming. His chance came when he saw an advertisement for aquaculture training from Zambia’s Solwezi Department of Fisheries. He attended the course, which was part of the Opportunities for Youth in Africa (OYA) Programme. This initiative, developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) in collaboration with the African Union Commission, aims to train African youth for careers in agriculture, focusing on agribusiness and entrepreneurship development, Perishable News reports.

Parametric solution for Zambian farmers

One Acre Fund and Global Parametrics, a CelsiusPro Group company, have teamed up to offer financial protection to smallholder farmers in Zambia and Malawi against the economic impact of crop loss due to drought. By utilizing data collected and verified by One Acre Fund from individual farmers, they created a water-balance index to determine payouts. This index, which uses weather data from independent third parties, assesses the balance between rainfall and evapotranspiration over a specific period, providing a measure of water availability for crops, highlights Reinsurance News.