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BLOG – The E Voucher restructuring – Towards a SMART 2018:19 Farming Season

The agriculture sector is the fourth largest contributor to GDP (8.7 percent) and the largest contributor to employment. The sector is critical for achieving diversification, economic growth and poverty reduction in Zambia. One major component of the agriculture sector is the e-voucher programme, which was allocated K1,785,000,000 in the national budget (Farmer Input Support Programme – FISP budget line). The e-voucher system has had its challenges and with the intervention of the Smart Zambia, there could be light at the end of the tunnel.

The Government in June, 2018 did announce that some farmers would this farming season of 2018/19, be reverted to the conventional FISP to enable Government resolve challenges associated with e-voucher administration. About 55 districts are earmarked to be captured translating to about four hundred thousand farmers of the one million targeted farmer beneficiaries. Some of the challenges faced last farming season in the administration of e-Voucher especially in rural parts of the country included among others: poor network connectivity, delayed card activation, lack of capacity by agro-dealers to stock enough inputs to meet demand and long distances covered by farmers to the nearest agro-dealer.

The 2018/ 2019 farming season commences on 1st of September 2018. In partnership with Smart Zambia, it is therefore prudent that we analyze and give an update on how the e-voucher will be rolled out. Smart Zambia Institute has indicated that three (3) modes of administering the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP) will be used. These are;

  • Card less mode.
  • Use of electronic voucher (e-voucher) cards with Government engaged banks.
  • Use of electronic voucher (e-voucher) cards with a proxy bank.

It is important to note that all the 3 modes are still electronic and differ slightly from the old conventional FISP which involves the use of paper in addition to farmers being required to append signatures on hardcopy registers.

Card less mode.

Government through the Zambia Integrated Agriculture Information Management System (ZIAMIS) hosted by Smart Zambia has developed a new module, which will enable farmers to access inputs without use of the electronic voucher (e-voucher) cards. This measure mostly targets FISP beneficiary farmers in areas that had network problems and were affected by lack of input availability and long distances to the nearest agro-dealer.

Government has specifically procured fertilizer which has been stored in sheds across the targeted 55 districts where this program will be implemented. To access the fertilizer, farmers will first need to collect the Authority to Deposit (ATD) codes from the office of the District Agriculture Officers (DACOs) after which farmers will then be required to deposit their  K 400 contribution at any bank engaged by Government to roll out the program. Once the deposited money reflects in the Government account, DACOs will then issue farmers with the Authority to Collect (ATC) codes which enables these farmers to collect fertilizer at any of the Government sheds nearby in the districts under consideration. Government fertilizer sheds are using a Biometric system to verify farmer records through ATC Codes. The Biometric system has an advantage of being operational even in areas without internet connectivity because it relies on satellite signals.

We have noted that the ZIAMIS system has now been upgraded and will only take a maximum of four hours for deposited money to reflect. However, farmers are still being encouraged to collect their inputs a day after collection of ATC codes to allow the system to fully synchronize and update the records.

By the use of electronic cards, Government intends to capture 60% of the targeted one million farmers on FISP. The two modes of input delivery through the use of electronic cards are highlighted below;

Use of electronic voucher (e-voucher) cards with government engaged banks.

Under this mode, a FISP beneficiary is expected to first deposit K 400 mandatory farmer’s own contribution with a Government engaged bank; money which reflects immediately after depositing in the e-card. A day or two later the bank will then upload K1, 600 [FISP amount per farmer beneficiary] onto the farmer’s e-card as soon as authorization is granted by Government. The farmer is then free to go and collect inputs at any agro-dealers of choice.

Using electronic voucher (e-voucher) cards with a proxy bank.

Farmers in areas without presence of Government engaged banks can still make deposits with a proxy bank in the areas and get their inputs almost immediately.

Under this mode, a FISP beneficiary is expected to first deposit K 400 with a proxy bank.  The proxy bank is then expected to forward the money to a Government engaged bank.  The moment such a bank to bank transaction is affected, ZIAMIS system will receive a notification and an ATC code is then issued to the farmer immediately through a mobile text message or can be accessed from the DACO. With an ATC code a farmer can now collect inputs of preference from any agro-dealer of choice.

Conclusion

PMRC remains hopeful that these new e-voucher administrative measures put in place by Government will continue to reinforce the initial reasons that led Government to move away from the conventional FISP. We hope the new FISP measures will be cost effective to administer, promote crop diversification, improve timeliness in inputs distribution, improve the quality of inputs, build private sector capacity in inputs marketing and distribution, provide means to easily introduce farm risk mitigation measures and ultimately improve household and national food security as well as farm incomes for smallholder farmers.

One of the several problems faced in the last farming season with this e-voucher administration system, was that banks were not uploading money as soon as Government released funds. Consequently, farmers received inputs late and this contributed to poor crop yields.  However it is important to note that some banks performed exceptionally well last season regarding e-card activations. Banks have now been engaged on the need to promptly upload e-cards as soon as Government gives authorization. Our hope is that the 2018/19 farming season will be devoid of avoidable hiccups of late card activation.  Banks are implored to continue operating optimally in their endeavors to support e-voucher implementation in the 2018/19 farming to help grow agriculture in the country.  PMRC therefore advises all farmers that have made deposits to redeem their inputs effective 1st September 2018.

We wish Zambia a productive 2018/19 farming season.

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Presidential speech to parliament on measures taken by Government to ensure progress in the application of National Values and Principles

On the 16th of March 2018, H.E the President of the Republic of Zambia, Mr. Edgar C. Lungu addressed the National Assembly as provided for in Article 9 (2) of the Zambian Constitution, which demands that the President addresses the Nation on the progress made towards the application of national values and principles found in article 8.

 

These principles and values are as follows:

  • Morality
  • Patriotism and National Unity
  • Democracy and Constitutionalism
  • Human Dignity, Equity, Social Justice, Equality and Non-discrimination
  • Good Governance and Integrity
  • Sustainable Development

In his 2018 address, H.E the President reported the following as the measures that government has put in place to ensure that the country follows the application of national values.

Morality and Ethics

In order to address moral degradation such as high prevalence in teenage pregnancy as well as early marriages, misapplication of public funds, abuse of social media, alcohol and substance abuse and poor work culture, as observed in the last address by the President, government has put up the following measures:

  • Developed a Code of Ethics to regulate the conduct and behaviour of public service officers. An example is the Code of Ethics for those in the teaching profession.
  • Developed the Public Officers Ethics Bill and State Officers Bill which are awaiting enactment.
  • Developed a single vision for the public service which is “Smart and Value Centred Public Service” for enhanced good morals and ethics among government workers.
  • Intensified the implementation of Youth Empowerment Programmes such as skills development, equipment and start-up capital for income generating activities. Under the youth empowerment programme 2,667 youth street vendors have been given loans, 1,000 youths have been given motorised cargo tricycles and the Government has gone further to establish 600 youth business centres across the country.
  • Commenced the implementation of a five – year national strategy on ending child marriages targeting 40% reduction by 2021.
  • Engaging traditional leaders in the fight against child marriages with 80 chiefs and 84 headmen already oriented on the effects of child marriages.
  • The implementation of the Anti-Doping Programme aimed at sensitizing those involved in sports against the use of performance enhancing substances.

Patriotism and National Unity

In order to promote patriotism and national unity, the Government is undertaking the following measures:

  • Sensitization programmes aimed at ensuring that citizens appreciate national emblems and symbols, which are the National Flag, National Anthem, Coat of Arms, Public Seal and National Motto. Some of these programmes are carried out on the national broadcaster ZNBC.
  • The Government has embarked on the ‘Buy Zambian Products Campaign’ in order for Zambians to grow their local industries thereby helping to create the much-needed jobs.

Democracy and Constitutionalism 

In order to enhance democratic principles in the country, the Government has taken the following measures:

Human Dignity, Equity, Social Justice, Equality and Non-discrimination

In order for government to achieve the above, it has implemented the following measures:

  • Government is working towards providing decent housing, especially for the poor in society as access to housing is a fundamental human right.
  • Government is currently upgrading various shanty compounds through the provision of roads, electricity, water and other social amenities. Examples of such upgrading projects are being carried out in Kanyama, Garden and George townships in Lusaka.
  • Implementation of a multi sectoral programme on gender-based violence in collaboration with the United Nations to enhance the access to health, legal and social protection services for victims of gender-based violence.
  • Infrastructure development across the country. This includes the construction of roads, hospitals and schools.
  • In order to address gender imbalances between boys and girls’ access to education, the Government has embarked on giving out bursaries to girls under the Girls’ Education and Women Empowerment and Livelihood Project. So far 8,669 girls who had dropped out of school in various districts are being supported with school fees.
  • Government is implementing the School Feeding Programmes to enhance attendance and enrolment especially for learners from vulnerable households.
  • To promote social justice, the Government has continued to support improvement and access to safe and clean drinking water in rural areas. In this regard government has constructed 1,836 and rehabilitated 420 boreholes countrywide.
  • Government is making positive strides in achieving non-discrimination in service delivery in the country. It is currently implementing multi-faceted programmes that address the needs of the youths, persons with disabilities, women, children, the aged and orphans.

Good Governance and Integrity

In its quest to maintain good governance and integrity in line with the constitution, the government has implemented and is in the process of implementing the following measures:

  • The Government has established integrity committees in Ministries, Provinces and Other pending Agencies in line with the provisions of the new Anti-Corruption Act. Currently a total of 60 committees have been created and are operational.
  • Government is in the process of enacting the Public Financial Management Bill to foster prudent management of public resources.
  • In order to enhance accountability in Government procurement and service delivery, the government has implemented electronic governance known as

E-Governance which will empower citizens with information necessary to participate in the affairs of the nation and hold Government accountable.

Sustainable Development

The Government is prioritizing sustainable development in its development agenda and the following measures are being put in place:

  • Afforestation, reforestation and promotion of conservation farming. 2,500 hectares of land has so far been planted with trees in Luapula and Muchinga Provinces.
  • In order to manage the problem of waste management in the country, the government is in the process of implementing the first ever National Policy on Waste Management.

Recommendations

In order for the country to fully apply national values and principles, PMRC recommends that:

  1. There is need for further harmonisation of legislation and policy in all Government departments to strengthen the implementation of measures aimed at promoting national values and principles.
  2. There is need for the church, civil society and schools to work together to ensure that these values are transferred to the younger generation.
  3. There is need for Government to further enhance the outreach and sensitization on the national values to all stakeholders in society.
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Research Findings of the Implementation of e-voucher in the 2017/2018 farming season.

The Agriculture sector is one of Zambia’s most important economic sectors. The sector supports the livelihood of approximately 70% of Zambians and contributes around 10% of GDP. With Regards to Economic Growth, of the total 4.1 percent growth recorded in 2017, Agriculture, forestry & fishing industry had the highest contribution accounting for 1.21 percentage points. (CSO, 2018). Consistent with the 7NDP, the Economic Stabilisation and Growth Programme (ESGP) puts particular emphasis on Agriculture, Tourism, Energy, Mining, as the basis for diversification.

  • In the 2015/2016 farming season an Electronic Voucher System (E-Voucher) was introduced and piloted in 13 districts during the 2015/2016 farming season.
  • This transformation was made to move away from the traditional system of distributing inputs physically from a centralized institution on behalf of the government.
  • The traditional system was both costly and inefficient resulting in delays in the distribution of farming inputs due to varying reasons; including delays in procurement and disbursements.
  • In its first two seasons of Piloting the E-voucher platform was supported by the ZNFU platform that had an already existing platform
  • For the 2017/2018 Farming Season the Zambia Integrated Agriculture Management Information System (ZIAMIS) Platform was introduced with technical support from Smart Zambia Institute (SZI)

Some of the findings are as follows:

Challenges in the programme

  • Late commencement of the programme.
  • Delayed pin and card replacement for damaged and lost cards.
  • Presence of fragmented data affected execution of the programme.
  • Duplicate farmer NRCs and name.
  • Inadequate capacity to use ICT gadgets.
  • Failure by banks to integrate fully with the ZIAMIS platform leading to reconciliation challenges.
  • Delayed/non-delivery of e-voucher cards to the eligible farmers by contracted banks.
  • Inadequate funds for programme sensitization, monitoring and implementation.
  • Delayed response to programme queries by stakeholders.
  • Delayed activations and uploading of farmers cards.
  • Lack of physical presence by contracted banks in some districts.
  • Failure by Agro dealers to transact through ZIAMIS system.
  • Inadequate training of Agro-dealers.

Success of the programme

  1. Establishment of a consolidated and harmonized National Database of FISP beneficiaries.
  2. Beneficiary verification and tracking elimination of non-existent and duplicate farmers.
  3. Tracking of inputs being collected by Farmers to help the government make SMART interventions.
  4. Real Time Tracking of all FISP transaction including payments Improved program transparency by facilitating start-to-end monitoring and oversight of the program

Recommendations

  • PMRC urges the Government to ensure that all financial institutions fully integrate with the ZIAMIS platform to ensure that data is harmonized.
  • PMRC also encourages Government to ensure that participating financial institutions to decentralise e – Voucher related services so as to improve problem solving and response time.
  • PMRC further urges the Government to enhance efforts to sensitize farmers of the implementation of the program, farmer exhibited limited knowledge on the current developments with regards to the program and weather insurance.

 

 

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Smart Zambia and Benefits of e-PAYSLIPS

  1. What is Smart Zambia?

Smart Zambia is an initiative established under Government Gazette No.836 of 2016 as an e-Government division in the office of the President.  The initiative is aimed at transforming the country through information and communication technologies and deployment of electronic Government services and processes for effective public service delivery.

  1. What is the Mandate of Smart Zambia? 

The Smart Zambia Initiative has a mandate of co-ordinating and harmonizing the implementation of electronic Government services and processes in order to improve service delivery across all Government Ministries and Spending Agencies.

  1. What are the functions of the Smart Zambia 

In order to achieve its mandate Smart Zambia has the following specific functions;

  • Promotion and management of e-Government policies and programmes.
  • Development of strategies and standards that enhance usage and application of information and  communication technology innovations in the public sector.
  • Promotion of inter-government agency collaboration in providing e-Government services by integrating    related functions and systems.
  • Development of supportive and enabling shared infrastructure to ensure equitable access to effective    and appropriate information and communication technologies among others.
  1. Implementation of the e-payslips

In its efforts to actualize electronic governance, Smart Zambia has introduced electronic payslips for all civil servants.   In the first phase of the e-payslip capturing exercise 109,000 civil servants were captured on the e-payslip platform and these are able to receive their payslips through emails out of 169,000.  The 60,000 remaining are mostly in rural areas and are scheduled to be captured in the second phase once the districts are connected to the system. The implementation of the e-payslip system has a number of benefits to the Government.

In the first instance, through the e-payslip system, Government has been able to save K72 million on payslip printing and K68 million on the cost of paper annualy (Smart Zambia).  Secondly, the e-payslip system has helped Government curb fraud and to get rid of ghost civil servants.  This has helped the Government to save up money from salaries from those who were either dead or out of employment.

And lastly, the e- payslip system is complementing Government in achieving its green environment initiatives, this is because the phasing out of paper payslips entails reduction in cutting down of trees and low energy usage.

 

 

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Smart Zambia and the benefits of e-payslips – BLOG

  1. What is Smart Zambia?

Smart Zambia is an initiative established under Government Gazette No.836 of 2016 as an E-government division in the office of the President.  The initiative is aimed at transforming the country through information and communication technologies and deployment of electronic Government services and processes for effective public service delivery.

  1. What is the Mandate of Smart Zambia?

The Smart Zambia Initiative has a mandate of co-ordinating and harmonizing the implementation of electronic Government services and processes in order to improve service delivery across all Government Ministries and Spending Agencies.

  1. What are the functions of the Smart Zambia

In order to achieve its mandate Smart Zambia has the following specific functions;

  • Promotion and management of e-Government policies and programmes.
  • Development of strategies and standards that enhance usage and application of information and  communication technology innovations in the public sector.
  • Promotion of inter-government agency collaboration in providing e-Government services by integrating  related functions and systems.
  • Development of supportive and enabling shared infrastructure to ensure equitable access to effective and appropriate information and communication technologies among others.
  1. Implementation of the e-payslips

In its efforts to actualize electronic governance, Smart Zambia has introduced electronic payslips for all civil servants.   In the first phase of the e-payslip capturing exercise 109,000 civil servants were captured on the e-payslip platform and these are able to receive their payslips through emails out of 169,000.  The 60, 000 remaining are mostly in rural areas and are scheduled to be captured in the second phase once the districts are connected to the system. The implementation of the e-payslip system has a number of benefits to the Government.

In the first instance, through the e-payslip system, Government has been able to save K72 million on payslip printing and K68 million on the cost of paper annualy (Smart Zambia).  Secondly, the e-payslip system has helped Government curb fraud and to get rid of ghost civil servants.  This has helped the Government to save up money from salaries from those who were either dead or out of employment.

And lastly, the e- payslip system is complementing Government in achieving its green environment initiatives, this is because the phasing out of paper payslips entails reduction in cutting down of trees and low energy usage.

Look out for next PMRC  edition on Smart Zambia and the e-Voucher system.

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National Health Insurance – BLOG

Introduction

Health is central to development and is a precondition for, as well as an indicator and an outcome of progress in sustainable development.  It is therefore essential that Zambia achieves universal health coverage at every stage of life, with particular emphasis on primary health services, including mental and reproductive health, to ensure that all people receive quality health services without distress of financial hardship.

According to a study carried out by Ministry of Health and Central Statistical Office on Zambia Household Health Expenditure and Utilization (ZHHEUS, 2015) only 3.9% of Zambians have health insurance cover while the remaining 96% of the population depend on out of pocket payments when accessing health services. The above statistics if not addressed would cause Zambia not fully achieve Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) number 3 which attempts to promote healthy lives and wellbeing for all at all ages by 2030.

The introduction of National Health Insurance is a step in ensuring that 100% of the populations have access to health care services through the scheme. Consultations on the National Health Insurance Bill started as early as 2012 and since then the Ministry of Health has continued to successively engage with various stakeholders on the formulation of the National Social Health Insurance Bill. These engagements with various trade unions and other key stakeholders in the health sector were coupled with general consultations validated by the Zambia Household Health Expenditure and Utilization Survey (ZHHEUS, 2015). Nation-wide consultative meetings and best practice comparative studies spearheaded by a technical working group to ensure that all stakeholders views and concerns about the enactment of the Bill are taken in to consideration.

What is the National Health Insurance Scheme

The National Health Insurance Scheme is a system of health insurance that covers a national population against cost of healthcare. In most cases the scheme is administered by the public sector or the private sector, and in some instances a combination of both.

Similarly, While there is no standard definition of what health insurance is, it is widely defined and perceived to be ‘a financial protection mechanism, for healthcare, through health risk sharing and fund pooling for a larger group of the population’ (WHO,2003). The main goal of the scheme is to cover all citizens who are exposed to health-related financial risks by eliminating the need for out of pocket payments for health services.  This model of health financing is beneficial to the population in the sense that, it offers a secured and sustainable financing model for the improved provision of drugs, health personnel recruitment, infrastructure development, and improved health information management system for better health care provisions for a country.

It is against this background that the government has formulated and intends to implement the National Health Insurance Act, which was formulated based on the Solidarity Model. The Solidarity Model of public health financing is a concept widely utilized by many countries to reduce costs and increase efficiency and effectiveness in a nations health sector. Although various countries have different country-fitted health insurance scheme structures, the concept of a Solidarity Based Model of health insurance financing can be identified in many of them. By definition, the modern meaning of solidarity in health insurance refers to the equal treatment for all social groups (elderly, low- income, immigrants, disabled etc.) anchored on a contributory based system mandating that all working citizens must join the same contributory health financing fund (Saltman R. 2015).  Members of these schemes are usually nationals and residents who pay on average between 6-10% of their income to the scheme/fund, which is widely accessible to the general population at various levels (different packages). The concept is meant to provide for sustainable health financing through the equitable and fair collection of contributions. The model is intended to expand coverage for vulnerable groups such as the chronically ill and elderly and although there may be numerous arguments as to whether or not this must be supported is based on the moral fibre of the policy makers and general citizenry.

The National Health Insurance Bill is intended to institute the National Health Insurance Scheme whose aim is to provide universal access to quality insured health care services for the population. The following are the objectives of the scheme:

  • Provide for universal access to quality insured health care services;
  • Establish the National Health Insurance Management Authority and provide for its functions and powers which include but are not limited to, implementing, operating and managing the scheme and fund established by the Act;
  • Establish the National Health Insurance Fund and provide for contributions to and payments from the fund;
  • Provide for accreditation criteria and conditions in respect of insured healthcare services and;
  • Provide for complaints and appeals processes and provide for the progressive establishment of provincial and district health offices of the Authority.

Contributions to the scheme 

The Bill, will provide for the establishment of the National Health Insurance Scheme into which contributions will be made for financing of the different categories of the insurance scheme. These contributions will form a fund that will be utilized to administer the payment of the cost of insured health care services accessed by members of the scheme. This funding model will reduce the Out of Pocket Payments (OPP) that are currently being used to access all required medical services despite the removal of user fees in public health service centres.

Contributions to the scheme are to be made by the following categories of people:

  • Contribution of 2% of income will be made towards the insurance. The employer will contribute 1% of income while the employee will also  contribute 1%.

Managers of pension schemes will make contributions for retirees.

  • Self- employed citizens will make contributions towards the scheme as well.

There are sections of society who are exempted from making contributions, among them are:

  • Mentally or physically disabled persons who are unable to work.
  • Elderly persons above the age of 70.
  • Persons classified as incapacitated by Ministry of Community Development and Social Welfare.

Benefits Of The National Health Insurance Scheme

There are several benefits that will come with the successful implementation of the National Health Insurance Scheme; the following are the notable benefits:

  • Reduction in barriers to health care access– despite the removal of user fees in public health service provision, most Zambians especially in rural areas still find it difficult to access health care services because of financial and non-financial costs they incur when accessing medical attention. These out of pocket payments include travel costs, expenses on drugs or medical investigations not available at public facilities, with the introduction of the national health insurance there will be a reduction in the challenges that come with out of pocket payments.
  • Improved health care provision– the implementation of Health Insurance Financing Model will improve the quality of health care in the country because it will provide sustainable financing to the sector which will not be affected by annual budgetary constraints. This Insurance fund will be used to provide optimal support to the sector through provision of drugs, basic diagnostics and improved human resource in the sector.
  • Improved health infrastructure – the National Health Insurance Scheme will foster the development of health infrastructure especially in rural areas. Improvement of infrastructure will reduce the long distances that most people in the rural areas face when accessing health care.  Improved infrastructure will foster improved information storage and management through investment in information and communication technology needed in the health sector.
  • Improved demand for health care – according to the Zambia Household Health Expenditure and Utilization Survey (ZHHEUS) 38.3% of 15million Zambians do not report illness or visit health care facilities and only about 21.3% do. These who do not report illness attribute it mainly to distance, cost of health care service and some perceived poor quality of health care services in public healthcare facilities. With the introduction of the National Health Insurance Scheme which will lead to the improvement of health care services and reduction in the out of pocket payments, the demand for health care services will increase and this will result in a reduction of mortality.

Recommendations for the successful implementation of the scheme

The following are PMRC recommendations for an effective National Health Insurance Scheme;

  1. Government should ensure adequate number of health personal and facilities for the This can be achieved by getting more of the private sector players onto the scheme through incentives such as tax exemptions on importation of specialised medical equipment.
  2. The Government should put up a system that will ensure prompt remittance of the contributions to the scheme and a quick repayment mechanism to participation health care providers.
  3. The Government should set up a monitoring and evaluation system for the for continuous monitoring and review of the operations of the scheme in a manner that will provide for accountability and justification of the implementation of the scheme.

PMRC would like to urge all citizens and organizations to understand the contents of the Bill as it is a milestone in the efforts towards universal healthcare services for all and improved service delivery in the Zambian health sector.

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Implementation of the National Decentralisation Policy in Zambia – BLOG

VIEW PUBLICATION      DOWNLOAD

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Progress and Update of the Social Cash Transfer Programme in Zambia – BLOG

Introduction

The Social Cash Transfer programme was adopted to be one of the major social protection interventions whose aim is to continuously reduce extreme poverty in Zambia. The Program is among other social protection initiatives such as the Public Welfare Assistance Scheme (PWAS) which involves in kind transfers to the needy and the Food Program Management which is the provision of food to vulnerable households. These programmes implemented by the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services (MCDSS) for Incapacitated households.

The main aim of these programmes is to;

  • Provide and promote quality social welfare services
  • Alleviate poverty
  • Reduce destitution
  • Promote family values and
  • Reducing juvenile delinquency

 

Recommendations On The Way Forward ToSuccessfully Implement The Programme

In view of the challenges faced during the implementation of SCT in Zambia, PMRC recommends the following:

  • Set up and communicate an official channel for feedback from beneficiaries
  • Increases in budgetary allocations towards the SCT (increase in amount and number of beneficieries in comparison to poverty levels
  • Increased capacity building for integrated MIS and improved management systems will to reduce the administrative cost of implementing the SCT
  • Periodic forensic audits to ensure that there is an authentic data base of true beneficiaries.
  • Prioritizing monitoring and evaluation to avoid corruption and general aid diversion n Ensure that the transfer is more predictable and reduce the delays in payments. This will ensure that the beneficiaries are not inconvenienced
  • Establish a specific period for occasional registration of potential beneficiaries.
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Domestic Resource Mobilisation Parliament Presentation-BLOG

Introduction

Domestic Resource Mobilization (D.R.M.) refers to the generation of savings from domestic resources and their allocation to economically and socially productive investments. Such resource allocation can come from both the public and private sectors. The public sector does this through taxation and other forms of public revenue generation.

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Zambia-China Infrastructure Development Cooperation Seminar hosted on 12th – 13th October 2017 at Taj Pamodzi Hotel, Lusaka.

Introduction

The seminar was jointly hosted by the Policy Monitoring and Research Centre (PMRC) and the Chinese Embassy in Zambia. The Zambia – China Infrastructure Development Cooperation Seminar was held from the 12th to the 13th of October 2017 at Taj Pamodzi Hotel under the theme “Delivering Inclusive and Sustainable Infrastructure”.

The main objective of the seminar was to assemble a wide range of key experts and stakeholders to discuss the best practices in Infrastructure Development by sharing their expertise and experiences as well as provide inputs and new insights on how Zambia can realize Infrastructure Development.

The seminar was officially opened by Hon. Ronald Chitotela Minister of Housing and Infrastructure Development and closed by Hon. Margaret Mwanakatwe  Minister of Commerce Trade and Industry and PMRC Board Chairman. Over 150 delegates representing Government Ministries (such as the Ministry of National Development Planning, Ministry of  Housing and Infrastructure Development, Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry and Ministry of Local Government), Government Agencies such as the Road Development Agency (RDA), Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation (ZESCO) and the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) among others attended the seminar.

Chinese firms involved in Infrastructure Development were represented by firms such as AVIC International, China Jiangxi and Henan International. Zambian local contractors were also represented individually and by organisations such as the Zambia Association of Women in Construction, the National Association for Medium and Small Scale Contractors and the National Council for Construction.

The seminar deliberations were guided by the following topics;

Challenges and Opportunities towards Infrastructure Development in Zambia.

Conducive Policy environment required for enhancing Infrastructure Development in Zambia

Discussions on China’s experiences with Infrastructure Development and explore lessons.

Investment Pitches: Opportunities for collaboration among Chinese investors, government agencies and the local investors.

Discussing how China can work with the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) to promote Infrastructure Development.

Highlights of Deliberations

Panel discussions stressed the need for the Government to conduct project appraisals before carrying out major infrastructure projects so as to assess their feasibility and benefit to the community and economy as a whole.

The panel emphasised the need to strengthen and improve the use of Private Public Partnerships (PPPs) in the execution of infrastructure projects.

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) was identified as a potential sector that required infrastructure development as these improvements would create business opportunities for internet and telecommunication services.

The need to enhance and improve the country’s 20% sub-contracting policy was emphasized. Implementation of the 20% sub-contracting policy must ensure that Zambian citizens are empowered and monitored to ensure the completion of projects.

The panel also noted that Infrastructure Development concentrated on roads whilst foregoing other transport sectors such as aviation, rail and water transportation that also need of Infrastructure Development.

A proposal was made to create a Sino-Zambia Chamber of Commerce to enhance business relations between Chinese and Zambian Nationals.

Calls were made to improve the policy environment to encourage the private sector to take up Infrastructure Development in tourism, energy, telecommunication and railway.

The gathering was informed that the National Council for Construction Act was under review to include inspection of sub-contracting standards. Calls were then made to improve stakeholder consultation in the process.

Submissions were made by the Zambia Disability Network to improve enforcement and ensure that the universal designs are adhered to when infrastructure is being built to ensure inclusion and accessibility for persons with disabilities.

The seminar learnt that the lack of knowledge about entry and participation in the Multi-Facility Economic Zones (MFEZs) had hindered local investors from taking advantage of the MFEZs and Industrial parks

Further, it was also learnt that there were opportunities for the private sector to finance the utilities within the MFEZs.

The need to further review the Zambia Development Agency Act was emphasized to ensure that it included a small scale strategy that would lead to enhanced participation and partnering of local firms with Chinese firms and other foreign firms investing in infrastructure.

Recommendations

Zambian firms need a platform through which they can engage government on PPP investments that reflect an international level of delivery. An element of technical support to raise the standard of local private business proposals needs to be looked into.

Government needs to increase its level of consultation with professional services on what sort of infrastructure (in terms of intended end use and design) rather than just focus on engagement with contractors.

Government needs to take the lead in scoping opportunities and supporting feasibility studies that private sector can take up.

Broad based consultations in fora such as the symposium and at community level in affected areas are needed to identify infrastructure opportunities that deliver social and economic impact.

The financial sector needs to be realigned to national development needs such as the cost of finance and regulatory requirements for lending to private sector firms that want to create/explore infrastructure development opportunities.

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