An economist, Prof. Lord Mensah has said that shifting timelines to secure IMF deal is terrible.
According to him, the market relies on management information, so when management information turns out to be uncertain, it does not help.
“It’s a terrible one,” he said in an interview on Joy FM’S Top Story on Friday.
He said that the Finance Minister and team do not appreciate the complexity of the situation [economic downturn or debt situation].
According to him, the analysis of the situation in an article in Financial Times over the debt situation points out that Ghana won’t get a debt restructuring soon.
He cited a case with Zambia.
“Zambia is an African country. Zambia was in debt restructuring limbo for over two and half years before they even switched to default.”
His comments come after President Akufo-Addo earlier disclosed that the IMF staff will present Ghana’s request for a loan programme to its executive board by the end of March.
Also, the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta reiterated that government was hoping to secure an International Monetary Fund (IMF) Board approval by March 2023.
“We are currently working to go to the IMF board in March 2023 and possibly secure the Board’s approval for Ghana’s Programme”, he disclosed on PM Express, Business Edition with host, George Wiafe.
However, the March date elapsed and the country has not been able to get a deal.
Meanwhile, addressing Eurobondholders at an Investors Presentation Forum on Thursday, Mr. Ofori-Atta said Ghana should expect an International Monetary Fund (IMF) Board approval for a programme by the close of May 2023.
According to him, Ghana has made significant progress, hence the need for it to get approval as soon as possible.
But reacting to this, Prof Mensah noted that although there may be verbal commitments from the creditors, it has not been documented for which it can be relied on to determine the timeline.
He added that thecountry would not be able to secure an IMF bailout now until the first quarter ends.
Zambia’s mining sector, a significant contributor to the country’s economy, has made history after appointing its first female CEO to head one of the biggest mining operations there.
Mfikeyi Makayi will head up the copper unit in Zambia for KoBold Metals, Zambia’s presidential office said.
Meanwhile, Zambia is Africa’s second-biggest producer of copper, which is in high demand with the global transition to a low-carbon economy and future transport needs.
“It’s quite a huge task and nerve-wrecking task but it’s also an honour to serve this country,” Ms. Makayi said.
Her rise to the top of the organisation has been a 15-year journey that started out in the mines of the north-western province.
She said her appointment was a significant step in a sector that is traditionally male-dominated.
“It means a lot to people in the sector. It’s a sector that is pivotal to our economy – 70% of our exports are copper.
“It means a lot to myself personally, my family, and the industry. It means that the industry has been opened to women,” she said.
Report says part of her efforts in the new role will be to bring more women on board.
“It’s an ongoing strategy. There’s always been a drive for more diversity, and inclusion. We have it as a metric,” she added.
According to the BBC, the World Bank’s president is worried about some of the loans China has been providing to developing nations in Africa.
The terms and conditions need to be “more transparent,” according to David Malpass.
It happens amid concerns that some nations, including Ghana and Zambia, are having trouble paying back their debts to China.
According to China, all such lending complies with international laws.
Developing nations frequently take out loans from foreign countries or multilateral organizations to fund economic growth-oriented industries like infrastructure, education, and agriculture.
However steep increases in interest rates in the US and other major economies over the last year are making loan repayments more expensive because lots of that borrowing is done in foreign currencies such as US dollars or euros.
It is a particularly acute problem for developing economies who can struggle to find the extra money that is required as the relative value of their own currency falls.
China refutes suggestions that it is exploiting other countries with its financial support.
At a press conference this week Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning said China “respects the will of relevant countries, has never forced any party to borrow money, has never forced any country to pay, will not attach any political conditions to loan agreements, and does not seek any political self-interest”.
Image caption,Ghana’s Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta travelled to Beijing this month for talks on restructuring its debt repayments. The country also got $3bn from the IMF in December.
Mr Malpass said the problems were not unique to Chinese financing but things were improving.
“If you think of the history of Western lending, sometimes it’s not for the full benefit of the people in the countries [being lent to]. Even World Bank loans haven’t always been for the best that could have been done in a country.”
“So what we’re trying to do, and I think everyone should be trying to do, is improve the quality of the lending.
“One of the techniques is to unbundle the loan, meaning if there’s an investment project, let’s say you’re building a train, describe the project and what the cost will be. And then separately, arrange the financing.
“If you bundle them together, it makes it very hard to know, am I getting a good deal on the train or on the financing.”
Food and energy concerns
The outgoing World Bank president is also concerned that higher food, fertiliser and energy prices, as a result of the war in Ukraine, are sapping government budgets in poorer countries. While that could deepen the economic challenges they face there is relief that price rises are now starting to ease.
“The immediate crisis is over but one thing that’s been left is that countries didn’t use enough fertiliser, so their soil is depleted. So the yields are expected to be lower next year than normal.”
“So a farmer that was just making ends meet, she didn’t get fertiliser, and now her land is not as productive. And so where’s the food going to come from for the family and for the community? That’s the big immediate problem. What we’re trying to do is help countries directly with fertiliser [and] with food.”
Image caption,Many of the world’s poorest economies have been hit hard by higher food prices as a result of the war in Ukraine
The World Bank is concerned that these challenges will worsen a first-ever increase in the global extreme poverty rate – people getting by on less than $1.90 per day. As a result of the coronavirus pandemic it rose from 8.4% to 9.3%.
The planet’s leading development body hopes that its upcoming showpiece joint Spring Meetings with the IMF in Washington will help it raise more money to tackle its key mission.
“The ambition is there,” says Mr Malpass, “but the needs are much bigger than the amount of flows” of money coming in.
It is a “double whammy and it means that [economic] growth is going to be slower”, says Mr Malpass.
US-China rivalry
Tackling that challenge and its consequences was one of the main reasons for this week’s visit by US Vice-President Kamala Harris to three African countries. It is a visit that comes with big commitments of financial support to Tanzania and Ghana.
There is a growing rivalry with China for influence in the continent, whose abundance of natural resources include the metals, such as nickel, crucial for the batteries needed for technology such as electric cars.
Speaking in Ghana’s capital, Accra, she said “America will be guided not by what we can do for our African partners, but what we can do with our African partners”.
While highlighting a new nickel processing facility in Tanzania Ms Harris said the project would be supplying the US and other markets by 2026 and that it would “help address the climate crisis, build resilient global supply chains, and create new industries and jobs”.
Image caption,US Vice-President Kamala Harris was warmly welcomed in Ghana’s capital, Accra, by Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia as she sought to strengthen economic ties
That collaborative approach was praised by Mr Malpass who said the competition between the world’s two biggest economies was “maybe healthy for developing countries” as it provided different options.
“What I encourage strongly is that they be transparent in their contracts. That’s been one of the problems; if you write a contract and say ‘but don’t show it to anybody else’, that’s a minus. So get away from that.”
There was also a warning that “for governments in Africa, they shouldn’t be offering collateral as an inducement to make a loan, because it locks it up for generations. That’s been happening with China.”
Beijing has become one of the biggest sources for loans to developing economies in recent years. A new study led by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy shows that globally China lent $185bn (£150bn) in bailouts to 22 countries between 2016 and 2021.
On Friday March 31 2023, during a trip to Zambia, the final stop on a continental tour, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris reaffirmed her appeal for a “quick finalization” of the country’s enormous debt restructure.
The U.S. has been pushing for creditors, including China, to ease the country’s estimated $17.3 billion foreign debt. Zambiadefaulted in 2020 amid the Covid pandemic.
“We will continue to advocate for the speedy completion of Zambia’s debt treatment and restructuring,” Harris said at a press conference after a meeting with Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema in Lusaka.
“The international community must help countries like Zambia get back on their feet. So I will reiterate the call that I have made many times to all bilateral creditors to make significant debt reduction.
Ms. Harris’ visit comes a few months after that of U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. The US is seeking to assert its presence on the resource-rich continent in the face of Chinese investment.
The U.S. has accused China, the largest creditor of many African countries, of dragging its feet since Lusaka requested assistance under a G20 mechanism for restructuring the debt of the poorest states.
“Our priority as a country is to rebuild our economy. What is holding us back is debt,” Hichilema said.
Kamala Harris, the first woman and first person of color elected to the U.S. vice presidency, arrived in Lusaka Friday after visiting Tanzania and Ghana.
She had already visited Zambia in her youth to visit her maternal grandfather who worked there. In Lusaka, she stopped briefly at the place where he lived in the 1960s. “My grandfather was one of my favorite people,” the oldest of her grandchildren told reporters.
The opposition Patriotic Front (PF) has warned Zambabians against organizing anti-gay rights demonstrations while US Vice-President Kamala Harris is visiting the nation.
According to the international media, the party intends to demonstrate before the democracy summit, which will be held in the capital city of Lusaka.
Kamala Harris is set to speak at the summit, which is being co-hosted by Zambia, the US, Costa Rica, the Netherlands, and South Korea, and is anticipated to arrive in the southern African nation on Friday.
The gathering is allegedly a part of a plan to force gay rights on Zambians, according to approximately 50 members of parliament.
Amnesty International Zambia has urged the administration to defend LGBTQ rights vehemently and to prevent demonstrations from delaying the summit.
According to Security Minister Jack Mwiimbu, the government would not tolerate lawlessness at the conference.
The US government has pledged to give five countries in West Africa $100 million to help fight potential extreme terrorism.
The countries include Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Benin, Guinea, and Togo.
This is in line with the US initiative to boost it eliminate violence and propel stability in areas vulnerable to conflict. US commits $100m to help combat terrorism in coastal West Africa
This was announced by US Vice President Kamala Harris during her visit to the Jubilee House in Accra.
She was hosted by President Akufo-Addowhere they both held pertinent discussions of mutual interest.
“Today I am pleased to announce $100 million in support of Benin, Ghana, Guinea, Cote d’Ivoire and Togo,” she said on Monday.
“Last week President Joe Biden announced a strategic plan for coastal West Africa as part of the United States strategy to prevent conflict and promote stability.”
She expressed hope that the funding will help implement the policy outlined by US President Joe Biden in the strategic plan. US commits $100m to help combat terrorism in coastal West Africa
Madam Harris is currently embarking on a one-week tour which will see her visit Ghana and two other African countries – Tanzania and Zambia.
The second-largest producer of cocoa in the world, Ghana, as well as other African nations, will benefit economically from stronger links between the United States of America and those countries, according toUS Vice President Kamala Harris.
Her visit to Ghana, since becoming the Vice President of US, comes at a time when Ghana is facing an economic crisis.
Ghana secured a Staff-Level Agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a $3 billion Extended Credit Facility to support the country’s economic recovery and put it on a sustainable path of growth.
Kamala, who was welcomed by Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, Vice President of Ghana, amid traditional drumming and dancing and cheers from some schoolchildren on Sunday, said, her visit was to promote economic growth and food security in Ghana and other African countries.
“On this trip, I intend to do work that’s focused on increasing investment here on the continent and facilitating economic growth and opportunity, specifically in the areas of economic empowerment of women and girls, empowerment of youth entrepreneurship, digital inclusion and support the work that must be done to increase food security,” Harris said in a short speech after her arrival at the Jubilee Lounge, Kotoka International Airport.
She said she would build on previous meetings with President Akufo-Addo, to deepen democracy and good governance, promote peace and security, build long-term economic growth, and strengthen business ties.
She said, “I also look forward to, during this visit, meet with entrepreneurs, students and farmers to witness, first-hand, the extraordinary innovation and creativity that’s occurring on this continent and inspiring the world.”
She said the US saw the visit to Ghana, Tanzania, and Zambia as a further statement of the long and enduring important relationship and friendship between her country and Africa.
“We (Ghana) see the visit of Kamala Harris as a very important one obviously because of the times in which we are, where the world is facing a lot of economic challenges,” Mr Jefferson Sackey, Deputy Director of Communication at the Presidency said in an interview with the media.
“She’ll be visiting Ghana, Tanzania and Zambia, and the key focus of this particular visit is to find ways and means of helping each of these countries and find ways of addressing a lot of our economic woes,” Mr Sackey added.
As part of her three-day visit to Ghana, Kamala would hold talks with President Akufo-Addo, and meet with female entrepreneurs as her country seeks partnerships and investments in entrepreneurship.
After spending three days in Ghana, she would go to Tanzania for two days, before stopping over for a night in Zambia, as her country deepens its relationship with Africa. The highlight of her trip to Ghana, will be the delivering of a speech at the Black Star Square on Tuesday, March 28.
Harris would also visit a recording studio, and visit the Cape Coast Castle, Central Region, where enslaved Africans were once loaded onto ships for America.
Leader of the largest opposition party in Zambia, Patriotic Front (PF), Given Lubinda, has expressed concern over attempts by the westerners to impose acceptance of LGBTQ activities in the southern African country.
PF leader Given Lubinda, referenced a presidential memorandum and an executive order issued by US President Joseph Biden on promoting equality for LGBT persons on Wednesday March 22, 2023.
“As Patriotic Front, we beseech Zambians not to allow the US to impose its values in Zambia. We must defend ourselves,” Mr Lubinda said.
“Since both bilateral relations and foreign assistance of the US are tied to LGBTQ rights, Zambia might have to review its relationship with the US,” he added.
He urged Zambians not to “abandon our norms, national values, religious and cultural standing to please the Americans”.
The party’s remarks come days ahead of the planned visit by US Vice-President Kamala Harris to the country next week.
On 14 March, President Hakainde Hichilema pledged to uphold Zambia’s laws that criminalise homosexuality and termed as falsehoods claims that his government supported gay rights.
During her nine-day tour of Africa that starts on 26 March, Ms Harris is also due to visit Ghana and Tanzania, where same-sex relations are illegal.
In Uganda, lawmakers on Tuesday approved an anti-gay bill which imposes harsh penalties for anyone who engages in same-sex activity.
From March 25 to April 2, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harriswill visit Accra, Ghana; Dar es Salaam, Tanzania; and Lusaka, Zambia.
The trip would build on the recent U.S.-Africa Leaders Meeting that President Bidenconducted in Washington in December 2022.
The trip will strengthen the United States’ partnerships throughout Africa and advance our shared efforts on security and economic prosperity.
Throughout the trip, in partnership with African governments and the private sector, Mrs Harris will advance efforts to expand access to the digital economy, support climate adaptation and resilience, and strengthen business ties and investment, including through innovation, entrepreneurship, and the economic empowerment of women.
The Vice President will meet with President Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana, President Samia Hassan of Tanzania, and President Hakainde Hichilema of Zambia.
They will discuss regional and global priorities, including our shared commitment to democracy, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, food security, and the effects of Russia’s unprovoked war in Ukraine, among other issues.
The Vice President will strengthen people-to-people ties and engage with civil society, including young leaders, business representatives, entrepreneurs, and members of the African Diaspora.
Four infants from the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo are allegedly being tried for trafficking by the four Croatian couples.
Following their rearrest last week while attempting to flee the country of Southern Africa, eight Croatians charged with child trafficking in Zambia were granted bail on Tuesday.
The four couples allegedly conspired with a Zambian immigration official on December 7 of last year to attempt to smuggle four kids out of the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The group claimed that they had legally adopted the one- to three-year-olds, but Zambian authorities have charged them with trafficking in children.
The prosecution had opposed the bail application, arguing that the eight were flight risks.
But magistrate Jennipher Bwalya said nothing excluded them from seeking bail if all conditions were met.
“I am inclined to grant the application as there is nothing in the law that stops foreigners from being granted bail,” Bwalya said on Tuesday in the northern city of Ndola, 300 kilometres (180 miles) north of the capital Lusaka.
They were ordered to pay 20,000 kwacha (about $1,000) each in bail fees and offer two sureties from reputable organisations.
The trial is set to commence on March 1. Nothing has been said in court about the whereabouts or status of the children.
The Croatians facing charges include Zoran Subosic, 52, a guitarist in a well-known band Hladno Pivo, or Cold Beer, Immovic Subosic, 41, an administrator, Damir Magic, 44, an electrical technician, Nadic Magic, 45, a technician, Ladislav Persic, 42, a medical doctor, Aleksandra Persic, 43, a hair salon attendant, Noah Kraljevic, 40, a programme director, and Uvona Kraljevic, 36, a dog handler. Zambian immigration official Gloria Sakulenga, 36, is also facing the charges.
The case has sparked a fierce public debate in Croatia and thrust international adoption into the spotlight in the Balkan nation, where potential adopters vastly outnumber eligible children.
The girl, who recently graduated with high marks, was arrested for wearing a miniskirt that allegedly caused several male police officers to become distracted and nearly led to a traffic accident.
The aunt was arrested for not advising her niece to dress more modestly.
The case was set to go to trial on Wednesday, but a state prosecutor informed the court that the prosecution had received instructions from the Director of Public Prosecutions to discontinue the matter.
“There was no case to start with. Because there is no dress code in Zambia. We have freedom of expression, we are Constitutionally protected. Everybody can wear anything. Miniskirt is not indecent,” she said.
According to the Chinese government, Washington should stop pressuring Beijing to reduce Zambia’s debt and instead concentrate on preventing a domestic government default that might have an impact on the world economy.
“The biggest contribution that the US can make to the debt issues outside the country is to cope with its own debt problem and stop sabotaging other sovereign countries’ active efforts to solve their debt issues,” the Chinese embassy in Zambia said in a statement on Tuesday.
The US government has a cap of $31.4 trillion on how much it can borrow, and it reached that limit on Thursday.
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen implemented “extraordinary measures” to ensure the US government can continue paying its bills in the short term and then travelled to Africa. On a visit to Zambia, she said it was crucial for the country to address its heavy debt burden with China.
The country failed to make a $42.5m bond payment in November 2020, becoming Africa’s first sovereign nation to default during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s taken far too long already to resolve this matter,” Yellen said on Monday.
Washington is trying to woo African nations as the influence on the continent of its rivals Russia and China grows.
During her visit to Africa, which also included Senegal and South Africa, Yellen pushed to expand US trade and business ties.
“The United States is all in on Africa, and all in with Africa,” Yellen said on Friday in Dakar as she touted the fruits of a new “mutually beneficial” US economic strategy towards Africa.
In responding to Yellen, China zeroed in on the battle between Republican lawmakers and Democratic President Joe Biden’s administration over raising the US debt limit to allow more borrowing to keep the government running.
“Even if the US one day solves its debt problem, it is not qualified to make groundless accusations against or press other countries out of selfish interests,” the Chinese embassy statement said.
Chinese development banks have emerged as major lenders to poor countries around the world for natural resources, transport and power projects although that lending has fallen sharply and steadily since 2016, according to Boston University’s Global Development Policy Center.
New loan commitments dropped to eight projects totalling $3.7bn in 2021, down from a peak of 151 projects worth $80bn in 2016, according to data compiled by the centre.
At present, 22 low-income African countries are either already in debt distress or at high risk of debt distress, according to the UK-based Chatham House. Chinese lenders account for 12 per cent of Africa’s private and public external debt, which increased more than fivefold to $696bn from 2000 to 2020.
Washington has repeatedly expressed concern in recent weeks over Beijing’s alignment with Moscow as Russia wages its invasion of Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin in December said he expected his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, to visit in 2023. If it were to take place, analysts say the visit could be interpreted as a public show of solidarity amid the war in Ukraine.
He also blamed the US for the deterioration in relations between the world’s two largest economies, saying Beijing has “firmly rejected” Washington’s “erroneous China policy” of applying pressure on trade and technology and criticising China over human rights and its claims to a broad swath of the Western Pacific.
Zambia’s finance minister says China has shown “optimism” in negotiations to ease the country’s debt, a day after US treasury secretary said Beijing was a barrier to ending the crisis.
The country is straining under an immense debt burden and became Africa’s first nation to default on its debts during the pandemic, when it failed to make a payment in 2020.
Talks to try to ease Zambia’s debt have been dragging on – with China being blamed by some.
But Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane, soon after meeting Secretary Janet Yellen in the capital, Lusaka, told the BBC’s Newsday programme that he was encouraged by the last meeting with the creditors:
Quote Message: I don’t want to accuse anyone… but there is an internationally constituted common framework which governs how countries should be able to access debt relief.
I don’t want to accuse anyone… but there is an internationally constituted common framework which governs how countries should be able to access debt relief.
Quote Message: What encourages me is that from the last meeting of the official creditors, there seems to be optimism – including the Chinese.”
What encourages me is that from the last meeting of the official creditors, there seems to be optimism – including the Chinese.”
He added that talks on restructuring the debt could be completed by the end of March.
A hearing to decide whether 140,000 women and children from Zambia can file a class action lawsuit against the mining corporation Anglo-American is currently underway in the High Court of South Africa.
Residents of the town of Kabwe, the alleged victims, assert that after nearly 50 years of metal mining and smelting operations by the company, they have experienced extremely high levels of lead pollution.
They contend that children living in one of the world’s most polluted areas have suffered serious brain damage.
A study in 2020 found average levels of lead in the blood to be nine times above internationally accepted thresholds.
Anglo-American contests the claim, which it calls opportunistic. It says it’s not responsible for lead poisoning.
27 bodies, suspected to be migrantsfrom Ethiopia, have been “dumped” by the side of the road in the Ngwerere region, north of Zambia’s capital Lusaka.
According to Police Spokesperson Danny Mwale, they most likely died from suffocation while traveling.
A victim who was discovered “gasping for air” has been sent urgently to a nearby hospital, he said.
Most migrants traveling to South Africa come through Zambia, primarily from the Horn of Africa.
Mr Mwale said residents of Ngwerere found the bodies on Sunday at 06:00 local time (04:00 GMT).
He said the police believe the migrants are Ethiopian nationals based on the identity documents found on them.
“Our preliminary investigations indicate that a total number of 28 persons,all males aged between 20 and 38, were dumped in Meanwood Nkhosi along Chiminuka road in Ngwerere area by unknown people,” the police said in a statement.
The bodies have been taken to Zambia University Teaching Hospital mortuary.
In neighbouring Malawi, the authorities discovered 25 bodies of Ethiopian migrants in a mass grave in October.
The police there said they had evidence to link the stepson of Malawi’s ex-President Peter Mutharika to the grim discovery.
Zambia has demanded answers over the death of a student who was fighting for Russia in Ukraine.
Lusaka has asked Moscow “to urgently provide information on the circumstances” surrounding Lemekhani Nyirenda’s death.
The 23-year-old, a student at the Moscow Engineering Physics Institute, had been serving nine years in jail for a drug offence.
His family has unanswered questions and wants to identify the body in Russia.
Mr Nyirenda died in September but Russia has only just informed Zambia’s government.
The Zambian embassy in Russia established that Mr Nyirenda’s body had since been transported to the Russian southern border town of Rostov-on-Don in readiness for repatriation to Zambia, Zambia’s Foreign Affairs MinisterStanley Kakubo said on Monday.
“As minister, I have been personally in touch, and will maintain contact with the family of the deceased in order to provide an update on more details surrounding their loved one’s death,” Mr Kakubo commented.
The student was working as a part-time courier when an unknown person handed him a package containing drugs, his father Edwin Nyirenda told Reuters news agency.
The father also said “we don’t know” who conscripted his son from prison, and added that the family only “received a message from a man we do not know in Russia who told us that there was a will, which our son left, and we should travel to Russia”.
Zambia has traditionally sent students to Russia to study on scholarships, as was the case with Mr Nyirenda.
The circumstances of his release from prison are unknown, but Russia has offered freedom to some prisoners in exchange for fighting in its war in Ukraine.
Zambia has taken a neutral position on the Russia-Ukraine war, as many other African countries have, but says it condemns any form of war.
The appointment aims to enhance and expand the company’s activities in the markets where it already operates while also centralizing Prudential’s operations in Africa.
“Africa is a strategic growth driver for our group, building the talent and capacity to drive the next level of business growth is key and will foster greater efficiency and effective decision making to help us deliver on our purpose of helping people in Africa get the most out of life by making healthcare and financial security more accessible and affordable,’’ Solmaz added
Currently Mokobi is the Regional Chief Executive Officer for two regions: East and Central, as well as West and Southern Africa.
“Mokobi is a well-known industry veteran, with more than 29 years of experience of commercial leadership in Africa.
“His past experience includes turning around businesses on the African continent, moving Prudential to the number one market position in some of our countries, and gaining recognition as an innovative player.
“Over the years, he has nurtured employees and created room for talent to thrive.
“Africa is a continent with great potential. Data from Swiss Re Institute ranks the continent as the second-fastest growing insurance market in the world after Latin America, with a total value of $68 billion.
“Yet, Africa has a large uninsured population as reflected in the low insurance penetration levels currently at 2.8 per cent. This points to significant headroom for expansion of the underwriting market, also given the population is expected to double to 2 billion by 2050.
“As a purely Asia and Africa-focused business, we are investing in people and technology to build the capacity to serve more customers on the continent. Today, Prudential serves over 1.7 million customers in Africa through a distribution network of more than 13,000 agents and 600 bank branches. Since we started our Africa journey in Ghana in 2013, we are now present in eight countries – Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Togo, Uganda, Zambia and Nigeria.
“We are confident that the Africa business will continue to thrive under the stewardship of Mokobi.”
The World Bankhas approved US$275 million in assistance to help Zambia recover from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and deal with the fallout from the war in Ukraine.
The money is to help Zambia, which is “over-indebted”, return to sustainable fiscal and debt levels and promote private sector-led economic growth, the World Bank (WB) said in a statement on Thursday.
The funds are made available by the International Development Association (IDA), a subsidiary of the World Bank that helps vulnerable countries through grants or credits at zero or very low interest.
In 2020, Zambia became the first African country to default on its external debt – estimated at $17.3 billion – since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Lusaka had already received approval in September from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the WB’s sister institution, for a total of $1.3 billion in financial support to help restructure its debt.
The accession to the presidency of Hakainde Hichilema, who was elected in 2021 on promises to root out rampant corruption and resuscitate the economy, has improved Zambia’s relations with its creditors and international donors.
the country’s debt had exploded under his predecessor, Edgar Lungu, who was criticized for taking out massive loans to finance a spate of infrastructure projects during his six-year presidency.
According to the latest IMF data, Zambia, which is one of the world’s largest copper producers, has seen its economy grow by 4.6% in 2021 after the 2.8% GDP contraction recorded in 2020.
The World Bank has approved a $270 million (£232 million) loan to Zambia to assist it in recovering from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, the economic impact of the Ukrainian war, and managing its debt crisis.
In late 2020 Zambia became the first African country since the onset of the pandemic to default on its debt.
In August, the International Monetary Fund approved a $1.3bn loan to help Zambia – a major copper producer – restructure its debts.
The president of the World Bank has urged other creditors to help reduce Zambia’s debt.
Apostle Elijah King, the leader of the Fire Nation Arena Ministries in Lusaka, Zambia has made some interesting predictions about the flagbearer race of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
In a sermon in his church that has been in circulation on social media, Apostle Elijah King disclosed that there will be instances of backbiting and betrayal from some of the candidates.
According to him, one of the leading candidates who will fall victim to the scheme will break away from the NPP and set up his own party.
This person, he claims will win the general elections and set the country on the path of autocracy and military rule.
“The Lord shows me that there will be confusion in the present government of Ghana. There will be confusion in the NPP and they will end up fighting each other and setting each other up. There is this race of the next presidential candidate. I won’t go into details but there is one particular man amongst the candidates that the Lord focused on and spoke to me about.
“I saw that the man will be set up and betrayed by the party. Out of the betrayal and anger, he will walk away and set up his own political party. He will buy people and Lord says, he will rule like a military government. Whatever he says will become final,” he said.
The three leading candidates in the NPP race are Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, Trades, and Industry Minister, Alan Kyerematen, and Assin Central MP, Kennedy Agyapong.
Though the first two names are yet to officially announce their interest in the race but Kennedy Agyapong has announced his, detailing his plans for the primaries and the national election.
A 19-year-old Zambian woman has been arrested on charges of faking her own abduction.
The woman, whose identity has been withheld by police, is alleged to have told her uncle that she had been abducted by unknown people as she was going to church.
Zambia police spokesperson Rae Hamoonga says the woman left home on the pretext that she was going to church, but instead went to her boyfriend’s house where she allegedly falsely claimed to have been abducted.
Her uncle was called by the “abductors” who claimed that she had been injected with an unknown substance and was being held captive at a secret place.
The “abductors” further demanded a ransom of 50,000 Zambian kwacha ($3,100; £2,800) otherwise they would harm her.
Policethen investigated the claim which they say turned out to be false, and were able to retrieve the woman from her boyfriend’s house.
She has since been charged and arrested for the offence of cheating, which is against Zambian law.
If found guilty, she could be fined and sentenced to prison for up to three years.
She hasn’t been able to comment on the allegations, but is set to appear in court soon.
Abductions are not common in Zambia, but recently, police arrested two suspects responsible for the abduction of 13 women and girls who had been held captive for varying periods up to six months.
Source: BBC
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Zambia‘s national prayer day has been marked with an unusual occurrence – there were thousands of empty seats at the main stadium in the capital, Lusaka, where the main event was held.
Launched in 2015 by former President Edgar Lungu, the annual event became a big draw for tens of thousands.
Even though attendance has been falling in recent years, the empty seats on Tuesday were shocking in a country which, by constitution, is a Christian nation.
A lawmaker in Zambia has been suspended from parliament for a month after saying MPs were adults “who shaved their pubic hair”.
Cutting pubic hair for adults is a custom in Zambia, as people with uncut public hair are considered unhygienic. However, talking about cutting the hair in public is considered inappropriate.
Munir Zulu was on Wednesday incensed after Jamba Machila from the governing United Party for National Development party referred to him as a “young man” during a parliamentary debate about the abolition of district commissioners.
“Everyone of us here shaves their pubic hair… we are elders.”
The remarks drew sharp reactions from other lawmakers who called speaker Nellie Mutti to compel Mr Zulu to withdraw the statement.
The MPs said they felt insulted.
In the ensuing heckling, an MP was heard referring to Mr Zulu as a “rat”.
Mr Zulu later told the BBC he saw no offence in using the phrase “pubic hair” because it was used in a metaphorical way to describe adults.
He says he has been given the chance to prove that he did no wrong “but before this matter could go to the privileges committee as per procedure, I have been suspended,” he said.
“This suspension is petty, vindictive and unprecedented,” he continued.
“What kind of parliament are we having where I can be referred to as a rat and nothing is done yet I am asked [about] my pubic hair remarks?”
Mr Zulu, who is Muslim, is not new to controversy. He has previously been barred from parliament for wearing a thobe – an ankle-length garment that is often worn in the Middle East and North Africa.
Zambia’s female boxing sensation, Catherine Phiri, has been slapped with a two-year ban from the sport after failing a doping test.
The country’s national broadcaster, the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC), reports that the suspension comes after her samples tested positive for prohibited drug Furosemide on February 26 in the aftermath of the World Boxing Council (WBC) title fight, which she lost to Zimbabwe’s Kudakwashe Chiwandire.
The suspension has been meted out by the regional anti-doping organization, according to the report.
It was announced by the Zambia Professional Boxing and Wrestling Control Board and the National Olympic Committee of Zambia in Lusaka today.
According to ZNBC, the tests revealed that Phiri used a prohibited drug called Furosemide, which is not a performance-enhancing drug but a loop used in the management of body swelling conditions.
Phiri has since apologized to her fans saying she took the drug without knowing it was on the list of banned substances.
The authorities in Zambia have charged a former health minister with corruption.
Chitalu Chilufya is accused of conspiracy to defraud the state $17m (£15m) over the supply of health kits when he served as minister in the last administration, according to a statement by the anti-corruption commission.
He was charged alongside former permanent secretary Mulalelo Kakulubelwa and three directors of a local pharmacy.
They were among prominent personalities arrested on Wednesday over various alleged offenses.
Opposition politician Kelvin Bwalya Fube was arrested by the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) for alleged failure to report a suspicious transaction, contrary to money-laundering laws.
Journalist Margaret Musonda was arrested for being in possession of property worth over $1.1m suspected of being proceeds of crime.
They have not pleaded to the charges and were released on bond.
Months after going missing, thirteen young women who were kidnapped in Zambia by unidentified individuals have been found.
The women, aged between 17 and 28, including a mobile money booth operator who became the face of the abductees after a video in which she appeared to be beaten with a metal rod while pleading for mercy went viral about six months ago.
But on Monday, one of the abductees managed to scale a wall of the house where they were being held in the capital, Lusaka’s Chalala residential area.
She then alerted neighbours who broke in to rescue the rest of the women.
Robby Chitambo, who was the first to respond to the distress call, mobilized his friends to break into the house, and narrated graphic details of what he saw.
He said he found a casket, used condoms, and sanitary pads in the house before calling the police who later arrived at the scene.
“We helped the ladies by taking them out. One of them is pregnant. We found a casket and a shrine inside the house. There were also charms, pads, and condoms everywhere,” he narrated.
The former president of Zambia, says he is prepared to go to jail if he was caught stealing while in office.
Mr. Lungu is dissatisfied that he has been under investigation for crimes allegedly committed while he was president, together with his former government officials and family members.
He was particularly displeasedthat state investigators on Thursday went to a piece of land that he owns to carry out investigations.
Mr Lungu has since appealed to his successor Hakainde Hichilema to start the process of removing his constitutional immunity from prosecution so that he can clear his name.
“He who alleges, must prove and we will defend ourselves,” he later told members of parliament and supporters from his Patriotic Front party who visited him.
“My urge is that may the president institute the lifting of my immunity by going to parliament to lay a case so that he can eventually prove what crimes I committed,” he said.
Mr Lungu, who last year lost power to Mr Hichilema, has previously denied many allegations of corruption during his time as president.
Former Zambiapresident Edgar Lungu says he is ready to face the law if he stole during his term.
Mr Lungu is unhappy that he, as well as his former government officials and family members, have been subjects of investigation for crimes allegedly committed when he was president.
He was particularly displeased that state investigators on Thursday went to a piece of land that he owns to carry out investigations.
Mr Lungu has since appealed to his successor Hakainde Hichilema to start the process of removing his constitutional immunity from prosecution so that he can clear his name.
“He who alleges, must prove and we will defend ourselves,” he later told members of parliamentand supporters from his Patriotic Front party who visited him.
“My urge is that may the president institute the lifting of my immunity by going to parliament to lay a case so that he can eventually prove what crimes I committed,” he said.
Mr Lungu, who last year lost power to Mr Hichilema, has previously denied many allegations of corruption during his time as president.
Former Zambia President Edgar Lungusays he is ready to face the law if he stole during his term.
Mr Lungu is unhappy that he, as well as his former government officials and family members, have been subjects of investigation for crimes allegedly committed when he was president.
He was particularly displeased that state investigators on Thursday went to a piece of land that he owns to carry out investigations.
Mr Lungu has since appealed to his successor Hakainde Hichilema to start the process of removing his constitutional immunity from prosecution so that he can clear his name.
“He who alleges, must prove and we will defend ourselves,” he later told members of parliament and supporters from his Patriotic Front party who visited him.
“My urge is that may the president institute the lifting of my immunity by going to parliament to lay a case so that he can eventually prove what crimes I committed,” he said.
Mr Lungu, who last year lost power to Mr Hichilema, has previously denied many allegations of corruption during his time as president.
Zambia’s Football Association (Faz) has opened an investigation into allegations of sexual abuse in the women’s game following various claims on social media.
The news comes just two months after the highs of Zambia qualifying for the Women’s World Cup for the first time in the team’s history.
Faz says it has received no official complaint as yet but has launched an inquiry in a bid to address any possible issue.
“Although we have no record of official complaints from anyone on the allegations, we consider these allegations very serious and have opened an inquiry into the matter,” Faz General Secretary Adrian Kashala said in a statement.
“We shall collaborate with the Zambia Police Service and other relevant stakeholders in dealing with this matter.”
“We have since written to the Zambia Police to invite anyone with evidence to help with investigations. The nation shall be notified of the outcome of the inquiries once concluded.”
“Until then, we shall provide no further comment on this matter.”
Kashala added that preparations for the 2023 Women’s World Cup ‘remain on course’, with a friendly on 6 October against the Netherlands in Breda unaffected.
Women’s football in Zambia has been on the rise in recent years, with the women’s team playing at the Olympics for the first time last year before reaching their first Africa Cup of Nations semi-finals in July.
This achievement came with automatic qualification for next year’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
Earlier this month, the team won the Cosafa Women’s Championship for the first time in its history, with recently-recalled Barbra Banda scoring 10 goals in just five games.
Local football authorities has requested that anyone with any information that can help with the inquiry should ‘come forward and report either to Faz or law enforcement agencies.‘
Zambia is the third African country to probe sexual allegation claims in the last 12 months.
Earlier this year, five individuals were arrested, with some later released, over allegations of paedophilia in Gabon while Sierra Leone suspended its women’s football coach last year as it investigated abuse claims.
This month, a former Zimbabwe Football Association (Zifa) official was banned from football for five years for sexually harassing three female referees.
Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA) is leading extensive beach and river clean-ups across the African continent this month as part of the International Coastal Clean-up initiative to remove plastic waste from the environment and raise awareness of the need to recycle.
Teams of volunteers supported by CCBA have rallied across Ghana, South Africa, Namibia, Mozambique, Zambia, Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia to collect plastic waste.
Every year, on the third Saturday of September, volunteers around the world take part in the world’s biggest coastal clean-up, International Coastal Cleanup Day.
“Food and beverage packaging is an important part of our modern lives, yet the world has a packaging problem, which we as CCBA, together with the Coca-Cola Company, have a responsibility to help solve,” said Tshidi Ramogase, CCBA Chief Public Affairs, Communication and Sustainability Officer.
“To encourage more people to recycle more often, we’re investing to help people understand what to recycle, how to recycle, and where to recycle. As part of International Coastal Cleanup Day, we are working with local communities and NGOs across Africa to highlight this critical issue.
“These clean-ups help shift attitudes towards littering and recycling, encourage environmentally responsible waste-management habits and motivate communities across the continent to recycle,” Ramogase said.
In Namibia, Coastal Cleanup Day coincides with a national clean-up day so the whole country is involved, as well as the Ministry for the Environment. CCBA will be doing clean-ups over September in Windhoek, Otjiwarongo, Keetmanshoop, Walvis Bay and Oshakati.
In South Africa, there are clean-ups in Enseleni, Richards Bay, Durban, Gqeberha, East London and Port Shepstone.
In Ghana, CCBA subsidiary, Voltic partnered with the University of Ghana Plastic Recycling Project and Miniplast Limited to clean up Laboma Beach.
In Zambia, CCBA partnered with the Siavonga City Council to conduct a clean-up exercise at Lake Kariba.
In Ethiopia, CCBA joined forces with a youth-led organisation called Green Rotaract Concept and cleaned up the Little Akaki River in Addis Ababa.
The team in Mozambique not only held a volunteer clean-up but also had an educational workshop with well-known environmentalist, Carlos Serra, to help increase awareness of the need to develop good recycling habits.
Ramogase added: “While increasing recycling rates and using more recycled content in packaging is key, it is equally important to dramatically increase the collection of post-consumer waste and prevent it from ending up in rivers and oceans.
“This requires a mass awareness campaign to shift consumer behavior. We’re bringing people together through programmes like beach and river cleanups and other ongoing local activities.”
CCBA aims to help make the world’s packaging problem a thing of the past, working in partnership with Coca-Cola Company which launched a sustainable packaging initiative called World Without Waste in 2018.
CCBA aims to help collect a bottle or can for everyone it sells by 2030, to make all its packaging recyclable and have 50% recycled content in its packaging by 2030, and make 25% of its packaging reusable by 2030.
The honor was established to remember Komla Dumor, a BBC World News presenter who passed away unexpectedly in 2014 at the age of 41.
Buyoya follows in the footsteps of Victoria Rubadiri, Solomon Serwanjja, Waihiga Mwaura, Amina Yuguda, Didi Akinyelure and Nancy Kacungira.
The runner-up for this year’s prize is Ivory Coast’s Lindsay Aida Guei, who presents her own talk show on Canal+ Elles, an Africa-focused TV channel.
The Zambian reporter will spend three months working with BBC News teams in London across TV, radio, and online. He will also receive training and be mentored by leading BBC journalists.
As part of the placement, he will travel to a country in Africa to report on a story that will be broadcast to the BBC’s global audiences.
“Finding out I’d won the BBC News Komla Dumor Award is one of the best things to have happened in my life,” Buyoya says.
“I have a huge admiration for Komla’s prodigious work. I’ve always wanted to be a journalist and I’d watch back Komla’s news reports, inspired by his powerful storytelling and his dedication to covering Africa authentically.
“I’m truly grateful to be part of Komla’s legacy.”
“We’re looking forward to welcoming Buyoya to BBC News. We’re excited by his journalistic talent, and seeing him flourish during his BBC placement,” says BBC Africa head Juliet Njeri.
“His dedication to ensuring important news stories from Africa are told in a compelling and engaging way, makes him ideal to help to continue Komla’s legacy – sharing nuanced and comprehensive stories about the continent.”
The BBC’s Komla Dumor had a charismatic presenting style
Zambia is getting a new US ambassador years after the last one was forced out following a diplomatic row over his remarks on gay rights in the country.
The newly appointed ambassador, Michael Gonzalez, is expected to arrive in the country next month following his confirmation by the US Congress.
In 2019, the US recalled its then ambassador Daniel Foote after he said that he was “horrified” that a judge had sentenced a gay couple to 15 years in prison.
Zambia accused Mr Foote of trying to dictate policy, and the president at the time, Edgar Lungu, declared him persona non grata.
A three-member delegation from the National Assembly of Zambia is in Ghana for a five-day study visit of Ghana’s Parliament.
The delegation, led by Madam Princess Kasune, Deputy Government Chief Whip, National Assembly of Zambia, is accompanied by Mrs. Cynthia Nkyeraa, a Senior and National Relations Assistant and a Principal Clerk.
The visit is intended to deepen the relations between Ghana’s Parliament and Zambia’s Legislature.
Mr. Alban Bagbin, Speaker of Parliament, in his opening address for the House on Tuesday in the Second Session of the Eighth Parliament of the Fourth Republic of Ghana, introduced and welcomed the delegation.
He called for the necessary and related learning assistance to the delegation to make their study trip worthwhile.
Parliament resumed sitting on Tuesday after the legislators took a break for the Christmas and New Year holidays.
The Second Session of the Eighth Parliament will see the passage of bills and agreements, including the contentious Electronic Transaction Levy (E-Levy) Bill.
Parliament was compelled to adjourn its sitting to January 25, 2022, without passing the controversial 1.75 per cent E- Levy.
The Bill was brought after the House reconvened on December 21, 2021, following the abrupt suspension of sittings by the Second Deputy Speaker, Mr. Andrews Asiamah, after a scuffle during the voting on the levy.
Zambia’s state investment group is considering buying more shares in Mopani Copper Mines, which is controlled by Glencore.
It comes despite tense relations between the mining giant Glencore and the government in Lusaka over the running of Mopani.
The state investment group already owns 10% of the copper mining business, but the Zambian mining minister, Richard Musukwa, says the government will negotiate with Glencore to increase its stake, although he did not reveal by how much.
In April Zambia threatened to revoke Glencore’s licences, after the company announced plans to put Mopani into care and maintenance, industry jargon for suspending production.
The global miner wanted to close the copper operation for three months, because of low commodity prices and the coronavirus pandemic.
Mopani had been expected to produce between 50,000 and 70,000 tonnes of copper this year, but it has struggled because of problems in Zambia.
The government in Lusaka will be aware that squaring off against an international mining giant, which is ready to play hardball, could damage the Zambian economy.
Glencore has a record of leaving unprofitable resources in the ground, for example in 2015 it cut its annual production of zinc by a third.
Zambia depends on copper mining for revenues and it needs to make payments on loans, as the country’s foreign debt has soared.
The Zambian government should do more to protect schoolgirls who are being married off because learning institutions have been closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, the director of an umbrella civil society body dealing with womens’ rights and gender issues has told the BBC.
Engwase Mwale from Gender Organisations’ Coordinating Council (NGOCC) blamed a lack of stringent laws to protect girls.
“There is therefore need to strengthen laws that will stop this scourge. Partly, child marriages have been on the increase because of the conflict in the laws,†Ms Mwale said.
Her comments follows a story in state-owned Zambia Daily Mail quoting Chief Chikanta of the Tonga tribe in Kalomo in the southern region, saying girls between the age of 13 and 17 were being married.
“With the closure of schools due to COVID-19, we have seen a lot of girls trying to go into marriages, they are instead abandoning school and choosing marriage. Just in the past four days, I have received about three elopement cases,†Chief Chikanta said.
The traditional leader said he was engaging the affected families to ensure that the practice is stopped to allow the girls to focus on education.
Zambian President Edgar Lungu has asked Chinese President Xi Jinping for debt relief in a telephone call between the two leaders on Monday.
President Lungu cited the country’s reduced revenues due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to a statement from his office.
“President Lungu called for debt relief and cancellation in light of reduced revenue due to the negative impact of the pandemic, as well as competing needs for the country, to secure adequate resources to fight the pandemic and to stimulate the economy,” said the statement.
The leaders agreed to enhance co-operation between the two countries.
Police in Zambia have warned that they will take stern against a group of young people who are streaming a banned anti-corruption protest online.
“We are also aware that they are streaming from some bush around Chalala, (in the capital, Lusaka),” Inspector General of Police Kakoma Kanganja said in a statement.
In anticipation of Monday’s protest in Lusaka’s city centre, Home Affairs Minister Stephen Kampyongo had deployed the police, warning the protesters to stay away or “risk being dealt with”.
MP Tutwa Ngulube from the governing Patriotic Front had also urged the police “to break their bones if possibleâ€.
Some pictures of the police deployment have been shared online:
One day the people will ask…. why were the police on the streets of lusaka with guns? And then the story will be told about how the young people of this country mobilised the police to march on their behalf. Thank you Bwana Officers for joining us in the protest. venue loading pic.twitter.com/ZuZfIqE0f6
Zambia’s Information Minister Dora Siliya has said that most of her contacts have been tested after she was diagnosed with Covid-19.
The minister, who announced her test results via Twitter on Saturday, had urged everyone she had come into contact with to cooperate with health officials to keep everyone else safe.
Ms Siliya said she was asymptomatic and was self-isolating with close monitoring by medics.
She had been participating in public education on coronavirus prevention before she tested positive.
The minister said she had followed all regulations but still tested positive and has urged the public to adhere to safety measures.
In her latest update on Twitter, she lauded health officials:
Former Ghana coach Goran Stevanovic says his biggest challenge leading the Black Stars was after the team’s defeat to Zambia in the semifinals of the Nations Cup in 2012.
Stevanovic popularly referred to as Plavi in Ghana, was hugely criticized after the defeat as Ghana finished fourth at the tournament in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.
The 53-year old was subsequently sacked after the competition but reveals he enjoyed his time with the Black Stars.
“I’m very happy to coach the black stars of Ghana, it was a big challenge in my coaching career and I must say it was a pleasure leading such a great country as a coach to the highest level,” he told Ashh FM.
“My biggest challenge as a coach for the Black stars was after our game against Zambia at the Afcon 2012 when we lost that game that brought up my dismissal, all Ghanaians wanted the victory but unfortunately we couldn’t make amends and that was the most challenging moment as a coach,” he added.
The Black Stars lost 1-0 to the Zambians after missing an early penalty to take control of the game.
Zambia went on to win the Nations Cup in 2012 after beating Ivory Coast on penalties.
Former Ghana coach Goran Stevanovic says his biggest challenge leading the Black Stars was after the team’s defeat to Zambia in the semifinals of the Nations Cup in 2012.
Stevanovic popularly referred to as Plavi in Ghana, was hugely criticized after the defeat as Ghana finished fourth at the tournament in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.
The 53-year old was subsequently sacked after the competition but reveals he enjoyed his time with the Black Stars.
“I’m very happy to coach the black stars of Ghana, it was a big challenge in my coaching career and I must say it was a pleasure leading such a great country as a coach to the highest level,” he told Ashh FM.
“My biggest challenge as a coach for the Black stars was after our game against Zambia at the Afcon 2012 when we lost that game that brought up my dismissal, all Ghanaians wanted the victory but unfortunately we couldn’t make amends and that was the most challenging moment as a coach,” he added.
The Black Stars lost 1-0 to the Zambians after missing an early penalty to take control of the game.
Zambia went on to win the Nations Cup in 2012 after beating Ivory Coast on penalties.
Churches in Zambia have called on citizens to act to lower the country’s divorce rate.
Infidelity, drunkenness, gender-based violence, difficulty conceiving, weight gain, and lack of access to marriage counselling were among key factors cited by the more than 20,000 couples who divorced last year.
More women than men initiated divorce, and the average age of couple was between 25 and 45.
Other reasons for divorce quoted in a report published by the state-owned Zambia Daily newspaper included the failure of some men to support their families and “the abuse of social media”.
“Those statistics are disappointing and defeat the biblical principles on marriage which says ‘only death should do us part,’” said Reverend David Masupa, president of the Independent Churches of Zambia.
Noting the prevalence of couples reporting adultery in their grounds for divorce, Rev Masupa said people needed to be reminded that “adulterers will not inherit the Kingdom of God”.
Zambia is wrestling with a devastating drought caused, according to experts, by a dramatic shift in weather patterns.
Temperatures in parts of Southern Africa are expected to rise by twice the global average as a result of climate change, and the UN is calling for urgent action.
In Zambia, more than 2 million people are now in need of food aid, following 2 years of poor rains and failed harvests.
