Zambia

James Kaposa Business Development Manager: Zambia

ZAMBIA

Zambia’s developmental agenda continues to stimulate growth in the key sectors of the economy. There are increased economic activities in sectors like agriculture, energy, construction, infrastructure development of roads, health and education facilities, mining and manufacturing.

Though the drought effects of the last three years prior to 2019 farming season caused crop failure in some parts of the country, irrigation methods of farming have been widely adopted by medium to largescalefarmerswhichhasresultedintoproduction sustenance of major cash crops increasing Zambia’s export capacity of non-traditional products.

Due to the drought effects, electricity generation was also negatively impacted upon that resulted into power cuts that in turn hampered the mining and manufacturing sectors of the economy.

The above factors have caused a downward trend in the growth of our national GDP which has fallen to below three from six percent per annum. Other factors like huge external debt and the economic stress experienced by mining firms that arose from attempts by government to replace VAT system with sales tax system further weakened the economic growth. Our prospects for providing an efficient logistics solution to this market steadily increase. In an effort to raise awareness of the corridor, we have continued marketing and business development strategies to entice the Zambian industry to use the Walvis Bay route.

The WBCG’s Business Development office in Zambia focused on engaging in key activities that provide the potential to add volumes to our corridor, while other activities were aimed at building the brand and increasing awareness of the corridor. We have aligned ourselves with various business forums, creating partnerships between private and public companies that serve to engage them on the use of the Walvis Bay corridor as an alternative route for both exports and imports.

During the period, we have cultivated strategic partnerships with intergovernmental development agencies aimed at showcasing the investment opportunities in the country. Discussions and linkages with Zambian and Namibian service providers like transport companies and forwarders are an on going endeavour.

Business Development Activities

The WBCG hosted an information session in Lusaka on the 25th of June 2019. The annual event attracted key stakeholders from the public and private sectors of both Zambia and Namibia. Senior government officials from the Ministries of Works and Transport for both countries were in attendance. Joining the programme were Namport, TransNamib, African Union Cargo, the Truckers Association of Zambia and the Namibian High Commissioner to Zambia. The event provided a platform for business networking and information exchange, highlighted the efforts of WBCG in promoting legitimate trade along all its corridors and showcased infrastructure developments at the port of Walvis Bay and corridors.

Copperbelt Agriculture And Mining Expo (CAMINEX) was held in May 2019. Key takeaways were the engagements with Copperbelt exporters and importers. Among those companies engaged was Africa Inland Container Terminal and a company looking to install a fertiliser facility at the port of Walvis Bay.

Chisambia Agri Expo was held in April 2019 and key takeaways were engagements with prospecting investors from Europe and their local partners. Among major ones are the Euro bagging working to establish a packaging plant in Zambia, Goviex uranium from Canada are setting up a uranium mine in Chirundu. The Lusaka Agriculture show was held in Lusaka in August 2019. The show continues to be a good platform to engage Zambian and foreign companies from the manufacturing industry. Among the major companies engaged was Growmore Zambia Limited who have plans to replicate their operations in southern Angola, and import cargo via Walvis Bay.

As a member of the Zambia Chamber Of Commence And Industry, we attended various business forums organised by the chamber to deliberate on proposals for solutions on cross border trade challenges submitted to government.

Attended the India business conclave organised by the Zambia Development Agency. The meeting aims to create synergies between Zambian entrepreneurs and their Indian counterparts. Trade opportunities for imports and exports between the two countries were highlighted and challenges for import via Walvis Bay were discussed. Discussions with companies like Mansa Sugar, Consolidated Farming Limited, SaroAgro and Zambia Manufacturers Association continue.

Participated in the South Africa - Zambia Outward Trade and Investment mission. The purpose of the engagement was to create synergies between Zambian companies and their South African counterparts. A connection was made with PRELEC mining supplies, who have engaged Namport for space to establish their operations in Walvis Bay. The company intends to establish a facility which will become their distribution centre for the SADC region.

The Business Development Manager attended the launch of the new Container Terminal at the Port of Walvis Bay. Various meetings were held with WBCG members in Walvis Bay during the

trip, which allowed for the exchange of information related to the challenges and opportunities for the corridor. A crucial meeting with Glencore and Africa Union Cargo was held, to solicit copper exports from Zambia and the DRC. Discussions are on going.

Identified challenges

The fact that the port of Walvis Bay is still in the process of installing facilities to handle bulk cargo like fertiliser and sulphur, presents a critical challenge for balancing the north- and south-bound cargo on the corridor. As a result, some key Zambian traders consider our route to be more costly than other corridors, with regards to road freight charges.

Limited transport service capacity is another serious challenge on our corridor. In many instances, new companies wishing to import or export cargo via Walvis Bay find it difficult to acquire transport services. They find that the majority of transporters operating on the route are fully committed and have no immediate room to accommodate new business.

The inadequate border facilities and services at the Katima Mulilo border post creates a bottleneck, as the congestion from increased traffic delays the cargo adding to the cost of transporting cargo via this corridor.

There is a need to increase awareness of the port of Walvis Bay and the Walvis Bay-Ndola-Lubumbashi Development Corridor. An aggressive marketing campaign is needed to educate the public and build the brand in the country.

Accomplishments

Continuous engagement with various companies operating in the Zambian market are gradually starting to see results. Interest in the port of Walvis Bay is increasing, with a greater number of companies now investigating the facilities and logistics options the route has to offer. A number of transporters are testing the route and increasing their capacity on the corridor. We continue to engage the industry passionately, as the number of successful engagements steadily grow.

A Zambian based company, Africa Inland Container Depot visited the port in 2019 to discuss a proposal with Namport to build a multi-facility depot at the port of Walvis Bay. The facility will handle cargo that includes bulk commodities like fertiliser, sulphur, maize and Agro-chemicals.

Sunline International visited the port to discuss replicating their operations in Walvis Bay. The facility will handle chemicals imported from China for the DRC and Zambian markets. Discussions are on going.

Two transport companies moved some of their operations to the Walvis Bay corridors. Sabot International, commenced operations on our route last year, with thirty interlink trucks. There are indications that they will be increasing their fleet this year. Venture Transport started operations with more than thirty interlink trucks and they are pleased with our corridor. They too plan to increase their fleet on the route.

Although Zambulk Transport Limited is currently only transporting acid from Namibia to Zambia and the DRC, the transporter plans to expand their services on our corridor. They are comfortable running their trucks on our corridor and are actively considering setting up operations in Namibia that includes servicing a wider variety of commodities.

The information session held in Lusaka is gaining traction. The event attracted a larger number of stakeholders who are keen to know more about the Walvis Bay corridors and its ports. The event was highly engaging with the industry in Zambia and the momentum generated from the event continues to bear fruit.

J&J Transport company’s plans to commence operations on our corridor this year were halted due to the Covid-19 outbreak. The transporter intends to start using the route once normal operations resume.

The corridor volumes via the port of Walvis Bay continues posting a growth trend from the total market output for Zambia. This is observed from the increased accumulative annual volume recorded in the 2018/2019 period, compared to 2019/2020.

Way Forward

Continuous engagements of with new transport companies to bring additional capacity to our corridor remains critical. Creating linkages between new cargo owners and new transporters is a vital undertaking, if we are to realise our goal of volume growth on the corridor. Searching and linking operators with interest and the capacity to set-up facilities to handle and manage bulk cargo like fertiliser, sulphur, maize, tobacco and agro-chemicals at the port of Walvis Bay remains crucial. All efforts must be marshalled to achieve this goal of increasing capacity, thereby decreasing the cost of operating on the route.

Expansion of border facilities and services at Katima Mulilo border needs urgent attention. With the steady increase in trade volumes on the route, serious attention must be given to upgrade the border post to alleviate the bottleneck it is currently creating on the corridor. The WBCG will continue to engage the relevant border authorities on the matter.

We have seen key transport companies open up services on the Walvis Bay-Ndola-Lubumbashi Development Corridor and have a number of newcomers planning to open their services on our corridor in the near future. As we the WBCG’s Zambian office celebrates its 15th year of promoting the Walvis Bay corridors and ports, we commit ourselves to continued engagements to strengthen the linkages between the Namibian and Zambian stakeholders to ensure that we provide an efficient, secure and cost effective route for our customers.