ZAMBIA AIRPORT CORPORATION LIMITED FINED OVER ABUSE OF DOMINANCE.

The Consumer Competition and Protection Commission (CCPC) has fined the Zambia Airport Corporation Limited 3 percent of its annual turnover for violation for violation of section 16 (1) and (2) (C) CCPC Act for the abuse of dominance when it denied another company called ZEGA access to CUTE network, a facility for load control, and charging them US 300 each time they attended to client airline.

The corporation was fined by CCPC following a compliant from ZEGA on 12th and 17th August 2015 that it denied access to the CUTE network which an an essential facility for loading control via ZEGA offices and installations, a system required for purpose of determining weight and balancing aircrats.

It is also alleged that ZACL was accused of charging Ramp Access Fee of close to US 300 each time it attended to a client airline and that ZEGA had an option of either transferring the cost to the airline or internalizing it making its operations expensive.

The corporation is accused of having sought to impose restriction on the use of check in counters for load control and sought to impose a charge on ZEGA after limiting from 6 check-in counters to 4.

It is further alleged that the corporation did not handle cargo themselves and that when they were awarded a tender to handle an airline, they sub-contracted the cargo component and that it only gave the cargo element to NAC 2000 limited which might have been a breach of tender regulations.

ZEGA believed that ZACL had given KLM airline a two year contract of ground handling free of charge, a move that amounted to applying dissimi;ar condition to equivalent transactions.

 And CCPC executive Director Chilufya Sampa said after having considered that fats and findings of the case, the board of commissioners at its 20^th board meeting for adjudication of cases held this month decided to slapped a 3 percent fine of its annual turnover for violation of section 16(2) (C) allegations of abuse of dominance on the Zambia Airport Corporation Limited.

In a letter to the Airports Corporation Managing Director, Mr. Sampa warned the corporation to desist from abusing its dominant position of market power and from issuing threats to operators in the market.

He further directed the corporation to normalize the charges and trading conditions to both client ah-Jites and ZEGA Limited to a manner that does not affect trade or result in discrimination.

Mr. Sampa further revealed that Board observed that ZACL was dominant and had market power and its ability to apply differential rates to airline clients and ground handlers for equivalent transactions was a violation of Section 16(1) and Section 16(2)(c) of the Act.

Its observed that threats to withdraw concessions from Zambezi Airlines though now dysfunctional and the application of excessive charges to ZEGA Limited for water and the handling of Emirates airlines constituted an abuse of dominance as it had an effect on how these enterprises trade and the economy in general.

ZAMBIA IS LOSING 3 BILLION DOLLARS ANNUALLY TO ILLICIT FINANCIAL FLAWS!

The 5th Zambia Alternative Mining Indaba is concerned that Zambia is said to be losing an estimated US$3 billion (approximately K36 billion) annually to Illicit Financial Flaws.

According to the National estimates of the percentage of the population falling below the poverty line conducted by the Central Statistics Office stands at 60.5%.

And 2016 ZAMI Chairperson Cleophas Lungu is calling on government to conduct a cost benefit analysis of all existing Double Taxation Agreements with the intent to re-negotiate the terms so that they benefit the country.

Last year Minister of Finance Alexander Chikwanda announced a total budget of K51.3 billion which was around 6.5 billion dollar at the time indicating that IFFs in Zambia are 70 per cent of the national budget.

Father Lungu said if these funds are tracked they could be used to finance the provision of public services such as health and education, as well as critical national development projects such as roads, railways, bridges and power infrastructure which are all key to Zambia’s industrialization.

Presenting the 2016 ZAMI Declaration, Fr. Lungu noted that government needs to review or terminate tax incentives given to mining companies, especially those proven to engage in tax dodging tactics, as well as domesticate international policies and treaties that are aimed at curbing the current tax competition.

The Indaba also noted with concern that the continued dependence of the country on copper mining as a main economic activity, adding that has Zambia continued to rely on the sales of raw products that yield very little returns in terms of revenue.

Fr. Lungu further said that there is also need to introduce policies that will support Diversification into other non-traditional exports, specifically focusing on agriculture and tourism.

Pupils in rural zambia

Meanwhile the Zambia Council for Social Development (ZCSD) said Zambia should develop a system that will help track financial flaws in order to maximize tax collection.

ZCSD Executive Director Lewis Mwape says there is a serious need to address the loopholes in order enhancing tax revenue on behalf of government.

Meanwhile Mr. Mwape has accused some officers at Zambia Revenue Authority of being reluctant to block the loopholes because they are beneficiaries of the scheme.

HASH ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT HAMPERING DIRECT FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT, FQM.

First Quantum Mineral Limited has warned that Zambia risks losing much-needed foreign direct investment, along with associated employment and wealth creation, if roadblocks are not addressed.

First Quantum Mineral is Zambia largest mining company operating Kansanshi and Sentinel mine at Kalumbila employing about 1,700 workers.

The company says the high cost of doing business and a difficult enabling environment are contributing to the country’s loss of competitiveness and prompting companies to consider investing elsewhere.

The company says the cost of power and load shedding still present a further risk to business, with the company seeing its electricity bills increase from 5 percent to 20 percent of its total costs, despite transmission costs being met by the mine.

And the company says changes in mining tax legislation had further contributed to uncertainty for investors such as FQM, discouraging further investment, he added.

Making a presentation during the Zambia International Mining and Energy Conference in Lusaka on June 23, First Quantum Minerals Director of Operations Matt Pascall explained that Zambia needs massive job creation to absorb its ever-growing population. 

But Mr. Pascall notes that real jobs can only be created by private sector investment which demands a conducive environment to flourish and expand their operations.

“This investment needs to be encouraged and enabled in mining, commercial farming, industry, tourism and other sectors. For this, the country needs to reintroduce stable, predictable and competitive taxes. It also needs to reduce the unnecessary and restrictive bureaucracy, and improve the supply and price of electricity,” said Mr Pascall.

Focusing on the risks and rewards of investing in the country, Mr. Pascall set out some of the challenges faced by First Quantum Minerals, which has invested more than US$6 billion in its Kansanshi mine in Solwezi and Sentinel mine at Kalumbila and is the country’s largest tax payer.

On the positive side he highlighted the impact of the mining sector on the nation’s economic growth and job creation since privatisation, along with more than US$3 billion of tax payments paid by Kansanshi alone in addition to the infrastructure development and community development projects funded by the mine in education, health and farming.

That benefit was at risk, however. Citing a recent change in legislation that has stalled production at the mine’s US$2 million sawmill, Mr Pascall explained that the timber cleared as it expands its mining footprint may now have to be burned rather than processed into timber and made into furniture at the company’s Sentinel mine because of delays in obtaining a licence to process and export the timber. 

The 120 workers at the new sawmill also face losing their jobs as a result of the problem.

Mr Pascall also explained how First Quantum had spent US$95 million to install more than 600km of electricity power line to the mine but that despite completion in September 2015 the supply had yet to be switched on by ZESCO.

 “First Quantum is a significant contributor to Zambia’s economy and to the prosperity of the nation and its people. Reducing the costs, challenges and risks to our business would go a long way to instilling the confidence we need to invest further and continue to generate those benefits by helping to unlock Zambia’s mineral resources,” said Mr Pascall.

ZAMBIA's LEADING NEWSPAPER POST NEWSPAPER CLOSED.

THE ZAMBIA POLICE in Lusaka have tear gassed Post Newspaper employees who were selling Wednesday Edition of the paper outside their premises on Bwinjifumu road. The employees were denied access to the premises following the closure by the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) closed the paper yesterday. And Media Institute of Southern Africa Zambia officials this morning toured the closed Post Newspapers officers and interacted with the newspaper management to get an update on the situation. MISA Zambia Chairperson Hellen Mwale and Director Austin Kayanda revealed that the media body toured the Post Newspaper to ascertain the situation and show solidarity. Speaking shortly after touring the Post Newspaper this morning, Ms. Mwale has since called on the Zambia Revenue Authority to immediately reconsider its actions to shut down the newspaper. She has questioned the move to close the Post and the lack of due process as the move was clearly politically motivated.

Post employees outside the offices

And the country's Human Rights Board the Human Rights Commission has appealed to the State to reconsider the decision to close down the Post Newspapers and save throwing hundreds of workers into unemployment thereby adversely affecting the welfare of their families.

Commission Chief of Information, Education and Training Mweelwa Muleya says the Commission appreciates the fact that the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) exhausted the legal process leading to their action to close the Post Newspapers but the decision was ill timed.

Mr Muleya says it is also a matter of human rights law that the State is entitled to enforce such laws as it deems necessary to secure the payment of taxes or other contributions.

And the leading opposition party the United Party for National Development leader Hakainde Hichilema has condemned the closure of The Post newspaper by the PF Government in the strongest terms. Mr Hichilema said this is a blatant attempt to manipulate and suffocate any remaining free-thinking media ahead of elections in 50 days’ time.

Hakainde Hichilema 

“President Lungu should know that a free press is a vital lifeline in any country. Where people are unable to see different views reflected or debated in the public sphere, levels of frustration in society will only escalate further. The deep concern we have now, and what we have already started to see happening, is that when the people feel there is no verbal outlet of expression or representation of their views then physical action quickly becomes more commonplace. While the last truly independent voice among our print media-The Post – has been hounded over the past 18 months and now closed on account of its tax obligations, the outstanding ZRA and statutory debts of the various pro government media outlets such as ZNBC, Daily Mail and Times of Zambia continue to go ignored,” Mr Hichilema said.

And the Forum for Democracy and Development FDD has called on the Zambia Revenue Authority to re-open the Post Newspapers which was closed down yesterday following what it says is a suspicious move.

FDD Spokesperson Antonio Mwanza says closing down a media house will only enhance corruption, abuse of authority in the country and that it will not strengthen the country’s democracy.

But Youth Governance Alliance Information Officer Lonely Tatila says the closure of the post newspaper is a timely move as this would serve as a deterrent measure against private firms that are not remitting tax to government.

Mr. Tatila says the post should instead pay up the money owed to government.

And the post newspapers proprietor Fred Mmembe in his post said "They have thrown their last arrow, we still have a few in our court. Where there is a crucifixion, there is a resurrection...it is not taxes they are after".