BUUMBA CHIMBULU writes
@SunZambian
CLOSE to US$765 million has so far been invested in Zambia’s economy in both trade and project finance initiatives by the Trade and Development Bank (TDB), Finance Minister Bwalya Ng’andu, has said.
Dr Ng’andu said the money had been invested across various sectors such as petrochemicals, agribusiness, wholesale commodities, hospitality, financial services and energy.
He said the bank had played an essential role in resolving energy challenges in Zambia.
TDB, he said, extended a US$20 million credit facility to Ndola Energy Company Limited to finance part of the construction and operation of a 50-megawatt power plant.
He was speaking this week at the 35th annual meeting of the Board of Governors of the Eastern and Southern African TDB in Livingstone.
Dr Ng’andu also said since the 2015-2016 season, TDB had been supporting the Zambian Government in its Farmers Input Support Program (FISP), by availing funding to finance the procurement of fertilisers.
During the last farming season, he said, almost one million farmers, mainly small-scale farmers, received inputs under this important program.
“TDB’s support was channelled through US$75 million worth of revolving multi-product credit facilities, which were allocated through partners from the financial sector industry, including US$45 million via BancABC Zambia.
“Still in the agricultural sector, another company, Consolidated Farming, accessed a US$16.5 million loan facility from TDB for the construction of sugar factory,” Dr Ng’andu said.
He further said a total of US$18 million in working capital facilities was also extended by TDB for the financing of fertilisers over many years.
And the minster said the recent work of the Bank in a number of African countries had aided in addressing fiscal, debt and developmental vulnerabilities through debt refinancing and development finance provision.
Dr Ng’andu said these initiatives could be replicated in the rest of the continent as they would bring about the much needed fiscal and external buffers to aid development and assist in reducing the impact of shocks in most of our economies.
“As a multilateral development finance institution, TDB should take a lead as a symbol of transformation and African excellence in development finance.
“We envision a stronger Bank, essential to the region’s development process through the provision of affordance finance,” Dr Ng’andu said.
