Rainbow Newspaper Zambia Limited

12/12/2025

Delayed suppliers’ payments, cascading liquidity deficit

By Kelvin Chisanga Zambian Social Economist

Zambia’s small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are seriously facing a deepening liquidity crisis, largely driven by some delayed government payments to local suppliers.

These unpaid arrears have severely constrained cash flow, limiting the ability of businesses to operate efficiently, restock, or reinvest in growth.

The situation is further compounded by high interest rates, which make borrowing unaffordable for most SMEs.

For emerging entrepreneurs, the absence of meaningful start-up financing has created even more additional barriers to entry.

Commercial banks, operating under tight monetary conditions, have since reduced lending activity, leaving SMEs with minimal access to credit at a time when they need it most.

Concerns do also remain regarding Zambia’s retention of value from copper exports.

The current exchange control framework grants foreign investors wide latitude to externalise their earnings, resulting in persistent dollar shortages.

While Kwacha on the other side, may see shortages but this may temporarily ease pressure on the exchange rate due to lower dollar demand, it poses long-term risks to financial stability.

To stabilise the business environment and enhance SME resilience, Zambia requires urgent and targeted interventions, including:

• Timely settlement of government arrears,

• Greater access to affordable and accessible financing,

• A review of restrictive monetary policies, and

• Reform of exchange control systems to retain more value from mineral exports.

SMEs are considered as a critical pillar of the Zambian economy. Strengthening their liquidity position is essentially helping to driving economic recovery, supporting job creation and ensuring inclusive and sustainable growth.

12/12/2025

Derrick Sinjela School of Politics: baba...ni mingalato stay easy as it is a ploy to dent the gentleman's political aspirations beyond Thursday 13th August 2026!"

12/12/2025

Indian Socialist State of Kerala eradicates extreme poverty through clear public policy, decentralised planning, and the leadership of its cooperative movement. - 11 December 2025," Dr. Fred M'membe

12/12/2025

Kerala Has Abolished Extreme Poverty: The Fiftieth Newsletter (2025) The Indian state of Kerala [Socialist State] has eradicated extreme poverty through clear public policy, decentralised planning, and the leadership of its cooperative movement. Thursday, 11 December 2025. - Dr. Fred M'membe Rainbow Travel Tourism Zambia Newspaper Rainbow Newspaper Zambia Limited Rainbow Newspaper Limited Rainbow Television Zambia Limited Zambian Developmental Media Alliance (ZADEMA) Zambian Children Young People and Women in Development (ZCYPWD) Zambian Children Young People and Women in Development Kwilanzi New Zambia Kwilanzi News Zambia KwiLanzi Zambian Developmental Media Alliance (ZADEMA) Today Zambia Newspaper Branding Zambia 2014 Kwacha Magazine Simon Kwacha

11/12/2025

*Advancing Zambia’s Path to Economic Independence, Requires Citizenry Dedicated Dispcline*

By Kelvin Chisanga

Zambia’s quest for true economic independence must be anchored in a domestically driven growth model powered by a vibrant private sector.

This demands laying a firm foundation for structural transformation, with agriculture, building capital formation and fostering value addition placed at the centre of national development.

To achieve sustainable growth, Zambia must actively promote climate-resilient models and smart agriculture that can withstand environmental shocks while boosting productivity.

Unlocking agro-industrial value chains is urgent need to drive value addition in agriculture, which will not only help to expand export volumes but will also stimulate job creation and strengthen the national capacity.

Addressing the long-standing puzzle of cadastral and mining licensing challenges is equally so critical. Streamlining this system will uplift small and artisanal miners, while attracting investment into mineral processing and refining.

Zambia must move away from the entrenched dependence on raw mineral exports and adopt deliberate policies that enhance local beneficiation.

The country must also address export bottlenecks to aid in smoothening of trade flows and to empower the broader perspectives of export diversification agenda.

Tourism remains an underutilised growth sector. Zambia should broaden its aspirations by embracing eco-tourism and integrating value addition within the tourism value chain to maximise both economic and social returns.

However, at present a key national challenge that remains concerning is the serious disconnect existing in between a stabilised macroeconomic environment seen so far, in this year and the limited prosperity being felt at the micro level.

So, bridging this gap demands strong policy coherence and improved governance systems, needs to drive elements strongly essential for building an empowered, responsive, inclusive and accountable state.

Zambia’s development pathway requires bold, coordinated action across sectors. The time for deliberate, transformative policy choices is now.

11/12/2025

*Bill 7 Promoters Standing Strongly, But Gradually Turning-out As De-campaigning Tool*

By Kelvin Chisanga

Increasingly, the public sentiment is that the Bill is creating more political pressure than benefits.

Instead of consolidating public trust, the controversy surrounding Bill 7 is eroding confidence in the ruling party’s commitment to democratic values.

The more citizens scrutinize the clauses viewed as restrictive or overreaching, the more the narrative shifts toward fears of shrinking civic space and weakened checks and balances.

If the concerns remain unaddressed, Bill 7 may become a significant political liability fueling opposition messaging, intensifying public debate and undermining the progressive brand the UPND has tried to build.

Transparency, wide consultation and revisions to contentious sections will be standing essential if the party wishes to regain political goodwill and avoid long-term reputational costs.

11/12/2025

*Delayed Suppliers’ Payments, Cascading Liquidity Deficit*

By Kelvin Chisanga

Zambia’s small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are seriously facing a deepening liquidity crisis, largely driven by some delayed government payments to local suppliers.

These unpaid arrears have severely constrained cash flow, limiting the ability of businesses to operate efficiently, restock, or reinvest in growth.

The situation is further compounded by high interest rates, which make borrowing unaffordable for most SMEs.

For emerging entrepreneurs, the absence of meaningful start-up financing has created even more additional barriers to entry.

Commercial banks, operating under tight monetary conditions, have since reduced lending activity, leaving SMEs with minimal access to credit at a time when they need it most.

Concerns do also remain regarding Zambia’s retention of value from copper exports.

The current exchange control framework grants foreign investors wide latitude to externalise their earnings, resulting in persistent dollar shortages.

While Kwacha on the other side, may see shortages but this may temporarily ease pressure on the exchange rate due to lower dollar demand, it poses long-term risks to financial stability.

To stabilise the business environment and enhance SME resilience, Zambia requires urgent and targeted interventions, including:

• Timely settlement of government arrears,

• Greater access to affordable and accessible financing,

• A review of restrictive monetary policies, and

• Reform of exchange control systems to retain more value from mineral exports.

SMEs are considered as a critical pillar of the Zambian economy. Strengthening their liquidity position is essentially helping to driving economic recovery, supporting job creation and ensuring inclusive and sustainable growth.

11/12/2025

11/12/2025

Stewardship and servant leadership demands selfless leadership and servant leadership.

As the build up to the August 2026 elections the search for the leaders we deserve must gain momentum and this is an opportunity for the media, interfaith community to join voices in creating debates that would lead to the election of the leaders we deserve.

As voters and employers it is important to prepare ourselves by placing demands of what we want our employers to do. We must create job description that will address our challenges.

Apologies for shifting the focus from Bill 7 to the preparation for the leaders we deserve. During an election in the UK, a group placed the reform of the police and during an election in India one community demanded for a road and infrastructure to trade and do business .

Civil Society in a broader sense please support the voters to generate answerable and accountable leadership. The future of Zambia belongs to the voter and the leaders.

Here are a few direction pointers
1. Aspiring leaders should look outside Constituency Development Fund to drive our development
2. Voters we are the employers and we must present a job description of the change we demand and desire
3. Political Parties must share political manifestos to market to us the voters
4. Media please help us host issue based debates
5. Inclusive leadership must start now and inclusion of women, youth and people with disabilities must start now not after 2026

By

Henry Sinjwala Malumo
Advocate and Campaigner for Answerable and Accountable Leadership
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +260978653705

11/12/2025

National Health Compact Commits to 74,000 New Health Workers to Drive Universal Health Coverage in Zambia
Lusaka, Zambia 11th Dec 2025: Zambia has taken a major step toward accelerating Universal Health Coverage (UHC) with the launch of its National Health Compact (2026–2030), unveiled on Saturday, 6 December at the 2025 UHC Forum in Tokyo. Endorsed by President Hakainde Hichilema, the Compact outlines a bold and costed national plan to recruit 74,000 new health workers and strengthen specialist care across the country.
The Compact is based on a one plan, one budget approach that aligns all development partners, including the World Bank and WHO, behind a unified national framework. This alignment is designed to address persistent health sector gaps including the shortage of specialist doctors, midwives, and nurses, brain drain, and the growing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) alongside HIV/AIDs sustainability needs.
At the launch of the compact in Japan, President Hichilema said:
“The health compact provides an analysis of issues and gaps. It offers a true picture of where the country is, where we are going, and what we want to achieve by 2030.”
While presenting the compact to the President, the Minister of Health, Elijah Julaki Muchima, said:
“The health compact outlines our shared priorities, aligns our roles and responsibilities, and sets out mechanisms for coordination, accountability, and resource mobilization to ensure that every Zambian has access to quality, affordable health services.”
The National Health Compact outlines measurable goals and targets for health system transformation by 2030, including:
• Increasing health financing from 10.3% to at least 15% of national budget
• Reducing maternal mortality from 187 to under 100 per 100,000 live births
• Expanding specialist training to improve access to advanced care countrywide
• Ensuring equitable service delivery from community to tertiary levels
Seed Global Health’s role
Seed Global Health (Seed) served as a key technical partner in the development of the Compact, supporting national consultations, strengthening the workforce strategy, and ensuring specialist training and retention were included and properly costed.
“As Zambia moves into implementation, we will continue to support the government as it works toward meeting its workforce target”, said Chikusela Sikazwe, Country Director, Seed Global Health, Zambia.
Seed’s commitments include:
• Training highly skilled midwives and family medicine specialists to strengthen primary and district-level care.
• Supporting recruitment and development of priority cadres toward the 74,000-worker goal by training
• Strengthening pre-service training through partnerships with health professional institutions.
Chikusela added, "The Compact’s work aligns with Seed’s mission to support country-led efforts that advance and sustain UHC through long-term health workforce development."
President Hakainde Hichilema emphasized that achieving these ambitious targets, estimated at US$3.832 billion (approximately 88.63 billion Zambian Kwacha) by 2030, will require strong collaboration across government, civil society, development partners, the private sector, communities, and academic institutions.
Seed is committed to continuing to support the government, ensuring that the training and retention of highly skilled health workers help turn this national vision into reality.
ENDS.
About Seed Global Health:
Seed Global Health partners with governments, health professional schools, and health facilities to educate health workers, strengthen the quality of health services, and support policies that enable health professionals to deliver high-quality services.
For more information, please contact:
Brenda Asiimwe, Communications and Advocacy Coordinator
[email protected]

More resources:
Zambia National Health Compact
World Bank press statement
UHC High Level Forum event recording

11/12/2025

Football Association of Zambia