Favourite K. Chisi

The Zambia Institute for Policy Analysis and Research (ZIPAR) has called for greater predictability in the management of agricultural markets, citing delays in farmer payments during the 2025 crop marketing season. ZIPAR Executive Director Zali Chikuli says the delays exposed deeper structural challenges in Zambia's agricultural marketing system beyond the issue of financial transactions. Mr. Chikuli said Zambia has policies that strongly support agricultural production, as demonstrated by the positive response from farmers and the bumper harvest recorded during the 2025 farming season. However, he said challenges emerge at the marketing stage, where existing mechanisms are not adequately designed to handle large-scale crop purchases. Mr. Chikuli explained that the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) was originally established to purchase limited quantities of maize, estimated at about 500,000 metric tonnes, for strategic national reserves rather than to purchase the entire crop prod...

Some stakeholders in the transport sector have expressed reservations over Transport and Logistics Minister Frank Tayali's indication that the long-standing night travel ban for public service vehicles (PSVs) will be lifted once construction works on the Lusaka-Ndola dual carriageway are completed. BELSAM Driving School Chief Executive Officer Anthony Samuhandu says although the dual carriageway has already helped reduce travel time between Lusaka and Ndola, government should not rush to lift the night travel restriction. Mr. Samuhandu said the ban was introduced at a time when the country was experiencing an increase in road traffic accidents and was intended as a road safety measure. He said while improved road infrastructure has enabled vehicles to travel more efficiently, lifting the night travel ban for PSVs requires consideration of factors beyond the completion of the road project. Speaking in an interview with Prime TV News, Mr. Samuhandu said authorities should fir...