Duma Calls for Policy Shift to Unlock Zambian Business Potential

By Alain Kabinda

Policy Analyst Zondwayo Duma has called for a fundamental shift in Zambia’s economic policies to ensure that local businesses benefit more meaningfully from the country’s abundant natural resources.

Mr Duma says Zambia’s mineral and land wealth has not translated into broad-based prosperity for citizens, raising questions about how the country attracts investment, develops local enterprises and distributes economic opportunities.

In a media statement, Mr Duma said the continued existence of poverty in a resource-rich country required serious reflection on the policy choices that have shaped Zambia’s economic development.

He said Government must move beyond simply attracting external investors and place greater emphasis on building the capacity of Zambian-owned businesses to participate in major economic sectors.

Mr Duma said local content policies should not be limited to encouraging companies to procure goods and services from Zambian suppliers.

He argued that local enterprises must have the financial, technical and productive capacity to compete effectively for contracts generated by major investments, particularly in the mining and natural resource sectors.

“Local content policies must extend beyond procurement to ensure that Zambian companies have the genuine capacity and capabilities to participate,” he said.

According to Mr Duma, this requires deliberate supplier-development programmes that equip local businesses with the skills, technology, financing and standards necessary to compete.

He said Government should therefore take an active role in developing suppliers rather than leaving local companies to compete against established international firms without adequate support.

The policy analyst said Zambia's economic transformation would depend heavily on the growth of strong domestic enterprises capable of participating in regional and international value chains.

He said institutions such as the Zambia Development Agency and the Citizens Economic Empowerment Commission should be refocused to become stronger drivers of industrialisation and local business development.

Mr Duma argued that these institutions should do more than facilitate investment and empowerment programmes, but should help create an environment where Zambian companies can expand, innovate and compete.

He said stronger domestic businesses would allow more economic value to remain in Zambia through employment creation, local procurement, tax revenues, skills development and reinvestment.

Mr Duma said Zambia’s policy framework has historically placed significant emphasis on attracting external investors, while domestic business development has received comparatively less attention.

He said foreign investment remains important to economic development but should be structured in a way that creates opportunities for local enterprises to grow alongside major investors.

Without deliberate intervention, he warned, Zambian businesses risk remaining marginal players in sectors based on the country's own natural resources.

This, he said, could perpetuate an economic model in which Zambia exports its resources while importing many of the goods, technologies and services required to exploit them.

Mr Duma’s concerns come amid continued discussions around how Zambia can extract greater economic value from its natural resources.

He said the country needs policies that encourage value addition, industrial development and stronger domestic supply chains rather than focusing primarily on the extraction and export of raw materials.

For businesses, this could create opportunities across manufacturing, mining supply chains, agriculture, logistics, technology and other supporting industries.

A stronger local supply chain could also reduce the amount of money leaving the country through imports while creating new markets for Zambian producers and service providers.

Mr Duma said Government has a critical role to play in creating the conditions under which local businesses can grow.

This includes ensuring that institutions responsible for investment promotion and economic empowerment are equipped to identify gaps in local industries and help businesses close them.

He said supplier development should be treated as an economic development strategy rather than simply a procurement requirement.

“Government must take an active role in supplier development if local enterprises are to compete effectively,” he said.

Such an approach, he argued, would enable local businesses to move from being small contractors and suppliers to becoming competitive companies capable of serving large domestic and international markets.

Mr Duma warned that failing to address the structural weaknesses affecting local enterprises could continue to limit the impact of Zambia’s natural-resource wealth on ordinary citizens.

He said the disconnect between a country rich in land and minerals and citizens who continue to experience poverty must be urgently addressed.

For the private sector, the issue is ultimately about creating a more inclusive business environment where investment generates opportunities throughout the economy rather than concentrating benefits among a limited number of companies.

Mr Duma said honest dialogue on policy shortcomings was necessary to identify practical solutions and deliver sustainable economic transformation.

He stressed that Zambia needs meaningful reforms rather than promises if it is to achieve inclusive growth and shared prosperity.

The challenge, he said, is not whether Zambia possesses sufficient resources to become prosperous, but whether its economic policies can effectively transform those resources into competitive Zambian businesses, jobs, industrial capacity and lasting wealth for citizens.

 

A Twice-Yearly Shield: Zambia’s New Hope in the Fight Against HIV

By Alain Kabinda

For a woman visiting the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) Women and Newborn Hospital in Lusaka, HIV prevention may soon become less about remembering a pill every day and more about making two decisions a year.

That possibility is emerging with the introduction of injectable lenacapavir, a new HIV prevention option that is administered twice a year.

More than 200 women at the UTH Women and Newborn Hospital have already been initiated on the injection, marking an important step in Zambia’s efforts to prevent new HIV infections.

And for many women, particularly those who are pregnant or breastfeeding, staying HIV-negative is not only about protecting their own health. It can also mean protecting their children from the consequences of an infection acquired during pregnancy or breastfeeding.

The arrival of lenacapavir therefore represents more than the introduction of another medicine. It offers women another choice in how they protect themselves from HIV.

Daily oral pre-exposure prophylaxis, commonly known as PrEP, has given people at risk of HIV an effective tool for preventing infection. But taking a tablet every day can be difficult for some people.

Instead of requiring daily tablets, the injectable prevention option is administered twice a year, potentially reducing the burden associated with daily medication.

For women who struggle with taking a pill every day, the twice-yearly injection could provide greater convenience and privacy.

Speaking during the handover ceremony and marking the arrival of the shipment. in Lusaka U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Frank Garcia said the medicine could help save lives by giving women another way to protect themselves from HIV.

                                                            Mr. Frank Garcia

“This is a Zambian achievement, led by Zambians for Zambians,” Mr Garcia said.

He highlighted a significant aspect of the development: while the medicine is supported by the United States, its implementation is being led by Zambian health workers and institutions.

Mr Garcia said U.S. support was intended to strengthen Zambia’s health institutions and leadership rather than replace the work of local authorities.

At the centre of the initial rollout is the UTH Women and Newborn Hospital, where health workers are gaining practical experience in administering the injection and supporting women receiving it.

And Senior Medical Superintendent Dr Mukatimui Kalima Munalula said more than 200 women had already been initiated on injectable lenacapavir, including some male partners.

“What we are doing here will help us to generate information that can be used to roll out the service to the rest of the country,” she said.

Dr Munalula says the lessons emerging from UTH will be critical to future expansion.

The experience being accumulated at UTH could become important as Zambia considers expanding access to the new HIV prevention option beyond the capital.

Health workers are learning how women respond to the intervention, how services can best be delivered and what may be required to make the programme accessible on a larger scale.

Behind every new HIV prevention intervention lies a history of lives lost and families changed by the epidemic.

Meanwhile Ministry of Health Permanent Secretary for Donor Coordination George Sinyangwe offered a deeply personal reminder of that history.

                                                  Dr. George Sinyangwe 

Mr Sinyangwe said he had lost four brothers to HIV, despite all of them being educated, with some reaching PhD level.

“I am the only one remaining,” he said.

It has taken parents from children, breadwinners from families, professionals from workplaces and loved ones from communities.

Mr Sinyangwe said HIV had once contributed to a dramatic decline in Zambia’s life expectancy, but increased access to treatment and other interventions had helped reverse some of the damage.

He said life expectancy had recovered to around 64 years, while HIV-related deaths had fallen sharply.

Every new prevention tool represents another opportunity to ensure that fewer families experience the loss that his family endured.

The introduction of lenacapavir also highlights the long-standing health partnership between Zambia and the United States.

Mr Sinyangwe described the United States as the single largest external supporter of Zambia’s HIV response, with assistance spanning prevention and treatment.

The medicine, manufactured by U.S. pharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences, is being made available free of charge at Zambian health facilities.

For women and families who may otherwise worry about the cost of HIV prevention, removing the price of the medicine could make the intervention more accessible.

The partnership also reflects a broader shift in HIV prevention: from simply making medicines available to ensuring that people have prevention options that fit their lives.

For a woman who is HIV-negative, preventing infection during pregnancy and breastfeeding is important not only for her own health but also because acquiring HIV during these periods can create risks for her child.

The introduction of injectable PrEP at the Women and Newborn Hospital creates an opportunity to integrate HIV prevention more closely into services that women already use.

Rather than treating HIV prevention as a separate intervention, health workers can make it part of a broader conversation about maternal health, family wellbeing and protecting children.

The more than 200 women already initiated on lenacapavir represent an important beginning, but Zambia’s HIV prevention needs extend far beyond one hospital.

The success of the programme will depend not only on the availability of the medicine but also on health workers, supply systems, community awareness, counselling and the ability of women to make informed choices about HIV prevention.

The challenge will be ensuring that a promising innovation does not remain concentrated in a few facilities or become accessible only to women living near major urban centres. For Lenacapavir does not end Zambia’s HIV challenge.

Rather, it adds another tool to an arsenal that includes condoms, HIV testing, oral PrEP, treatment and other prevention strategies.

Not every person at risk of HIV will want the same prevention method. Some may prefer daily tablets, while others may find a twice-yearly injection easier to maintain.

For a country that has witnessed the devastating human cost of HIV, the promise is straightforward: fewer new infections, healthier mothers, protected children and more families spared the grief of losing loved ones.

And for the women receiving the injection, the meaning may be even simpler—a little more freedom, a little less daily burden, and another opportunity to remain HIV-negative.

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 BETUZ Renews Call for Better Conditions for Teachers

By Alain Kabinda

The Basic Education Teachers Union of Zambia (BETUZ) has called for improved conditions of service, better remuneration and greater professional recognition for teachers, particularly those working in rural and hard-to-reach areas.

BETUZ Acting CEO-DGS Christopher Simukonda made the call during the flag-off of 90,000 World Teachers Day shirts earmarked for distribution to union members across the country.

Mr Simukonda said the recognition of teachers should go beyond commemorative activities and be matched with practical measures aimed at improving their welfare and dignity.

He said teachers continue to make significant sacrifices in classrooms, often working under difficult conditions while carrying the responsibility of preparing learners for the future.

“Behind every shirt is a teacher who wakes up very early to shape the future of a child, a teacher who serves in the classroom, often under very difficult circumstances, a teacher who sacrifices today to build a better Zambia tomorrow,” he said.

Mr Simukonda described teachers as critical to Zambia’s national development, saying the education sector remains the foundation for building the country’s human capital.

“Teachers are not merely employees within the education sector. They are the architects of national development and the foundation upon which Zambia’s human capital is built,” he said.

He said BETUZ would continue engaging Government and other stakeholders on issues affecting teachers, including improved salaries, timely promotions and upgrades, professional recognition, continuous professional development and better working conditions.

Mr Simukonda said teachers serving in rural and hard-to-reach communities require particular attention because of the additional challenges they face in delivering education services.

He said BETUZ would continue advocating for teachers through constructive but firm engagement to ensure that their welfare and professional standing remain a national priority.

Mr Simukonda said the 90,000 shirts should be viewed as more than World Teachers Day merchandise, describing them as a symbol of unity, solidarity, professional pride and recognition.

“These shirts are more than fabric, cotton and colour. They carry a message, they carry our dignity. They represent unity, solidarity, professional pride and recognition of the teacher,” he said.

He said the procurement of the shirts, which are expected to reach almost every BETUZ member, demonstrates the union’s commitment to its membership.

Mr Simukonda urged teachers to wear the shirts with pride as a symbol of their unity and professional identity.

He further stressed that investing in teachers was essential to Zambia’s development, warning that failure to adequately support educators could undermine the country’s education system and broader development aspirations.

“When you invest in the teacher, we invest in the future of Zambia. The future of this nation depends upon education,” he said.

The distribution of the 90,000 shirts is expected to begin with the dispatch of the consignment to provinces for onward distribution to BETUZ members across the country.