In thIs Issue
Crowdsourcing should play a bigger role in inorma-tion gathering – especially during crises – in Zambia(imes 12). Tis is the conclusion o a recently heldCrowd-Sourcing Inormation Workshop, organisedby the World Bank. Te workshop, the rst o its kind in Zambia, waspart o a pilot programme that explores the useo crowdsourcing in climate change adaptation inZambia.Devoted crowdsourcers argue that people on theground oten know better than the socalled experts what they need where and when. According to Wikipedia (in itsel a good example o crowd-sourcing as it allows its user to write and edit entries or its online encyclopaedia) crowdsourc-ing is the task o outsourcing tasks to an undened crowd o people through an open call.One successul example o crowdsourcing is the Ushahidi platorm; a crowd eeding toolthat was ounded during the 2007 election violence in Kenya – Ushahidi means testimony inSwahili – to enable communities to report into the platorm by web submission, SMS, witteror email. Ushahidi has since generated interest in more than 30 countries and 60 projects arebeing run rom electoral monitoring in Burundi to violence reporting in the Congo – and it was used by the World Bank to collect inormation rom Haitian earthquake victims.Crowdsourcing was also used by BP during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gul o Mexico. BP prompted the public or ideas on how to stem the ow o oil ater its own solu-tions had ailed. It received thousands o suggestions. And the Canadian mining company Goldcorp used crowdsourcing to turn around its nancial woes when it was unable to ndgold on its land in northern Ontario. It put all its geological data online, asked or help on where the gold was located and put up 500,000 US dollars in prize money. Eventually itound 3 billion US dollars worth o gold and Goldcorp became one o Canada’s biggest min-ing companies (news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/8788780.stm).Crowdsourcing is usually available at little cost, as people are willing to share their ideas orree, especially because crowdsourcing projects are oten anonymous – which represents theother side o the coin: How to avoid drowning in silly, unethical or lobbying suggestions. Tisis one o the reasons why crowdsourcing has become unpopular with some people like – sur-prisingly –Wikipedia ounder Jimmy Wales.“Te problem with the term is the notion o a crowd - this amorphous crowd has no individ-ual perspective. Tere’s value in mass participation but where possible the people need someexpertise,” Wales said to the BBC.Nevertheless, crowdsourcing can be a very valuable tool, and the workshop in Zambia wasreceived with a lot o enthusiasm. “Tis workshop is an eye-opener. I have learnt a lot oncrowdsourcing tools which I intend to use in my ministry, which is spread all over Zambia,”said chie sheries ocer at the Ministry o Livestock and Fisheries, Harris Phiri.
Wk 46, Volm 1, I 29, 19 novmbr 2010
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If in oubt, ask a crow!
I in doubt, ask a crowd!A sector worth mentioningSweden still making noise over ZambiaQuotesKCM to list in London - and LusakaChinese gunslingers avoid prosecutionRiot in Garden CompoundAdvert: How you look is how you eelLess corruption in Zambia? Tis week’s controversy: ChilubaFootball: Childish problem solving12223344567
Tis season, Zambia has produced2,795,483 tonnes o maize – an unprec-edented bumper harvest. It has been hailedas a major step towards ood security,although critics believe the latter is a mattero better distribution rather than higherproduction. Te national ood balance sheetor 2010/11 indicates that Zambia needs1.3 million tonnes or human consump-tion and 230,000 tonnes or industrial use. Tis leaves Zambia with a surplus o 1.27million tonnes o maize – not including thestocks rom last year. But what are we goingto do with 1.27 million tonnes? Export it?Unlikely! Ater all, the rest o Southern A-rica has also reaped well, since rain does notrespect borders. We also have the problemthat the Food Reserve Agency is buying themaize – so ar it has bought 873,779 tonnes– at a price ar above market price, whichmakes it rather dicult to sell on. Surely,the bumper harvest should not be used tosubsidise the rest o the region? Anyway,this is all speculation based on speculativegures. Te gure o 2,795,483 tonnes o maize is based on orecasts obtained – be-ore the harvest – primarily with the help o questionnaires. Tis week, the government was urged to ascertain the actual quantity o maize in Zambia. It was suggested thatarmers, millers and traders should be com-pelled to declare their maize stocks. Easiersaid than done, but it would make it a loteasier or the government to determine how much maize is needed where. Voila, oodsecurity without having to produce expen-sive, surplus maize!
edior’ oI i i
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Te new Caprivi Link Interconnector, which links the electricity grids o Zambia andNamibia, has been commissioned (imes/Daily Mail 13). President Rupiah Bandaand his counterparts Hikepunye Pohamba o Namibia, Robert Mugabe o Zimbabwe,and Seretse Khama Ian Khama o Botswana took part in the ceremony. Banda said theinterconnector is important because it has opened an alternative north-south powerhighway to the one going through Zimbabwe in the Southern Arican Power Pool(SAPP). Furthermore, it will acilitate the exchanges o power between Zambia andNamibia during emergencies.
Electricity:Zambia has been linke to Namibia
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Qo
Almost 46 percent of the diplomac
rvic i o profioal. tr i o
problem with the president appoinnga few of his polical cronies but a situ
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aon where such a high percentage is
profioal i accpabl.
UPND MP David Matongo (Post 13).
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Manufacturing:
A sector worth menoning
Zambia has attracted investments worth 3.4 billion US dol-lars rom January to October 2010 – exceeding the 3 billionUS dollars target or the whole year. As a result, 25,704 jobshave been created, explained Minister o Commerce, radeand Industry, Felix Mutati – o which the manuacturingsector accounted or 13,786 jobs (imes/Daily Mail 12).He attributed the development to the improved investmentclimate and stability in major macroeconomic indicatorsarising rom prudent economic management and businessreorms – ater all Zambia’s economy emerged as one o the best perormers during the globalnancial crisis. And the government intends to “continue to provide a avourable investmentenvironment by continuing to reduce the cost o doing business”, said Mutati (imes 17).In order to sustain growth and development achieved over the past decade, government willsoon launch the Sixth National Development Plan (SNDP) with a ocus on strengtheningand widening the manuacturing sector. Te aim is to add value to Zambia’s natural resources. Te major challenge in the manuacturing sector is the high cost o doing business, which thegovernment wants to address with “vigorous business and licensing reorms”.Despite the challenges, new manuacturing companies have set up base in Zambia, includingVarun Beverages (Pepsi), Universal Mining and Chemical Industries Limited, MM Mobile,El Sewedy Limited and MM Integrated Steel Mills Limited. And a number o establishedmanuacturing companies such as Zambia Sugar plc and Zamanita Limited have expandedtheir production capacities.Other projects in the pipeline include a 400 million US dollars cement plant to be built by Dangote industries o Zambia.
W wa [prid] Rpia, [vic-
president] George Kunda and [worksand supply minister] Mike Mulongo toknow that they will not get away withwhat they are doing. The PF in govern
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ment will reinstate secon 37 of the
ACC Ac i or law ad r a o
public ocer is allowed to enjoy prop
-ry a y cao xplai.
PF president Michael Sata on the con-troversial abuse o oce clause – section37 (Post 12).
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More than 2,000 subscribers:Business leaders, decision-makers, diplomats and the Zambian Diaspora.Zambia Weekly reaches your target market!Contact the editor or urther details.
Adverse in Zambia Weekly
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At the end of the day, we as govern
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ment leaders will come and go, but
Zambia rmai, ad wavr w dow m r a w kp ir- of Zambia.
ourism minister Catherine Namugalaurging Zambians to demand account-ability rom their leaders (Post 18).
“”
Sweden is demanding more accountability o its aid – all due to Zambia. Te acting direc-tor general o Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, Charlotte PetriGornitzka, who has just visited Zambia, said that Zambia should not look at Sweden as atroublemaker or questioning the nancial irregularities at the Ministry o Health but ratheras a critical and supportive riend: “It’s our conviction that i we don’t put corruption issueson the table, poor people will sufer in the long run,” she said (Post 15). Her predecessor,Anders Nordström, was red in June with particular reerence to Zambia’s corruption record.Now, Sweden has decided not to pledge 85 million US dollars or 2011 to the Global Fundor AIDS, uberculosis and Malaria ollowing concerns o nancial misappropriation inZambia, Cameroon, Mauritania and Mali. Zambia stood or about 13 o the 25 million USdollars misapplied unds. Nordström, who is now Sweden’s AIDS ambassador, said “[t]here isa certain pattern here and we would like to see how the Global Fund is handling these cases”.Sweden had since demanded to be paid back beore considering the resumption o unding(Te Lancet in the Post 18).
Sweden is sll making noise over Zambia
If yo av marrid a lady ad yo ar
making her suer, forget about promo
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on. You should look aer your wives
ad cildr bca a ma wo aa abl om i alo abl o prform
highly at work and they are more pro
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ducve.
Zambia National Service commandantMajor General Anthony Yeta on spouseabuse to ZNS ocers (Sunday Post).
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t Bak wi o dr i r-
served apology to your client for anyembarrassment or damage that might
av b cad a a rl of
unauthorised release of condenalcustomer banking informaon.
Finance Bank in a letter to PF presidentMichael Sata’s lawyer on a transactionused to accuse Sata o unding Fr Bwa-lya’s Red Card Campaign against theMMD government (Post 18).
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Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) is about to become the rst min-ing company in Zambia to be listed on the London Stock Exchange.KCM advisory group representative Patrick Chisanga described theoccasion as a “proud moment” (Daily Mail 18) and the governmentsaid it was “delighted”. “[]his landmark transaction highlights therole o Zambia as the leading Arican copper producer and one o the world’s premier mining destinations,” minister o nance andnational planning, Situmbeko Musokotwane, said (imes 17). Teowner o KCM, Vedanta Resources plc, intends to list its Zambianmine through a holding company called Konkola Resources plc. Oncethe London listing is completed – where shares will be ofered toinstitutional investors only – Vedanta will pursue a listing o shareson the Lusaka Stock Exchange and allocate shares to employees. TeMine Workers Union o Zambia (MUZ) and National Union o Miners and Allied Workers said it would empower many Zambians:“Te company has now opened up to the public. It will be obliged topublicise its operations, and it will create a sense o ownership amongits workers, said MUZ president Rayord Mbulu. KCM intends touse the proceeds o its global ofer – expected to exceed 1.1 billion USdollars – to und its capital expenditure programme, repay loans romand liabilities to Konkola Resources’ existing shareholders and orgeneral corporate purposes.
KCM to list in Lonon – an Lusaka
Te Citizens Economic Empowerment Commission (CEEC) will “soon” be reviewed to “improve its perormance and ser- vice”, said Minister o Commerce, rade and Industry, FelixMutati. Te CEEC assists local entrepreneurs with loans, men-torship and capacity building. Since it was launched in Novem-ber 2008, the CEEC has approved 515 projects, o which 362have been unded at a total cost o 121 billion kwacha. Projectsinclude Kauba and Luwaka vegetable arms o north-westernprovince which employ 50 people, Kechas General Dealersthat manuacture corrugated iron sheets in central province (27 jobs), Jazz Company o Lusaka that makes engineering equip-ment (16 jobs) and the Western Cashew industries which areexpected to create 205 jobs.
Cizens to receive more empowerment
Te two Chinese managers who shot and wounded 13 work-ers at the Collum Coal Mine will not be prosecuted. All the13 workers have chosen to instead receive compensation o between 20 and 45 million kwacha. Te mine has also increasedthe minimum basic monthly salary rom the statutory 286,000kwacha to 450,000 kwacha and introduced ood, housing andtransport allowances (imes 18). Te 13 miners were woundedduring a protest or improved working conditions.
Chinese gunslingers not to be prosecuted
When the mines were bought by the current owners, the copperprices stood at around 1,500 US dollars per tonne. oday theprices exceed 8,500 US dollars (Andrew Sardanis in Post 12).
This week’s gures
BP Arica Limited has sold its75.0000002 percent shareholdingo BP Zambia plc to Puma En-ergy (Ireland) Holdings Limited(Post/Daily Mail 16). Te wholedeal, which is worth 296 millionUS dollars, also includes the saleo 100 percent o BP’s operationsin Botswana and Namibia and 50 percent o operations in Malawiand anzania.Puma Energy (Ireland) Holdings Limited is a wholly-owned sub-sidiary o Swiss-based Puma Energy International B.V., which is asubsidiary o ragura Beheer B.V. ragura is the world’s third-larg-est independent oil trader – and it does come with a history. Earlierthis year, ragura was ound guilty o illegally exporting toxic wasterom Amsterdam to Ivory Coast, where more than 10 people died andthousands got sick. Te company was also linked to the Oil-or-oodIraq scandal (Post 15). Te sale in each country is subject to regulatory approvals and itis expected that the sale o BP Botswana would be the rst to becompleted in 2010 with the other countries ollowing suit in 2011. Te deal does not include BP’s rening and marketing businesses inMozambique and South Arica. BP is cash-strapped especially con-sidering that estimates o expenditure or the Gul o Mexico oil spillhave been revised to 40 billion US dollars.Puma Energy chairman Pierre Eladari said the deal marked a signi-cant milestone in the growth o the company’s business, positioningPuma Energy as one o the largest independent downstream compa-nies operating and investing in the region today. Puma Energy’s joint venture partner, Sonangol, Angola’s state-owned petroleum company, will take a 10 percent stake in the acquired businesses.
BP becomes Puma
Te switch rom analogue to digital broadcasting in theSouthern Arica Development Community (SADC) is beingheld up by arguments over which standard to use. Te South-ern Arican Digital Broadcasting Association (SADIBA)strongly recommends adopting Digital Video Broadcasting(DVB- and possibly DVB-2), while Brazil and Japan arepushing or Integrated Services Digital Broadcasting (ISDB),a Japanese standard. MultiChoice Arica head o regulatory afairs, Mgqibelo Gasela, said Japan was putting pressure onSADC countries like Zambia, whose state-owned ZNBCalready has received broadcasting acilities based on ISDB.All countries are supposed to move to digital broadcasting by 2015 in line with guidelines rom the International elecom-munication Union, an UN agency which regulates inormationand communication technology. Gasela appealed to ministersmeeting in Lusaka on 24 November 2010 to make the rightdecision which “puts SADC orward” rather than succumbingto pressure rom Japan which, he said, would hurt technologicalgrowth in the region (Post 15).
The - important - ght about digital standards
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