Zambian Youths Invest In Environmentally Friendly Charcoal

Gilbert Tembo with Science and Technology Minister
Felix Mutati at the National Innovation Fair.

By Paul Shalala

As the energy crisis hits Zambia, adverts from the power utility Zesco keep being published in daily tabloids, guiding consumers on which towns and areas of the country are likely to be loadshedded.

This has forced Zambians to use charcoal as a back-up energy source.

Making charcoal means cutting down of trees in the wild and almost all charcoal burners do not take part in afforestation programs.

To make matters worse, there is no law or policy in Zambia which compels people to replant trees after felling trees.

This situation has led to the wanton destruction of the forests and protected areas.

The price of charcoal has even reached an all-time high, fetching three times what it was five years ago.

A 50 kilogram bag of charcoal is now selling around K120 and this has become big business for some Zambians.

To mitigate the impact of deforestation, some youths in Zambia are now investing in clean energy sources such as charcoal briquettes which are environmentally friendly and do not emit smoke while burning.

One such youth is Gilbert Tembo aged 34 of Katete District in Eastern Province.

“I invented a coal briquette made from agricultural wastes such as maize combs, groundnut shells, rice husks, soya beans stalks, grass or leaves. It is an alternative energy for charcoal and firewood,” said Gilbert in an interview.

His invention has made him compete at various levels this year and he recently got funded to expand his business.

Some of the charcoal briquettes Gilbert makes

At a Provincial Innovation Fair held in Eastern Province earlier this year, Gilbert pitched his idea and he was selected among five innovators to represent Eastern Province at the National Innovation Fair which took place at Mulungushi International Conference in Lusaka from 4 to 5 November 2021.

“I participated in the National Innovation Initiative contest organized by UNDP, NTBC, PACRA and UNFP in Lusaka. Out of 3,100 applicants, 100 were shortlisted countrywide and I was one of them. 20 finalists are to undergo a business acceleration training. And I found myself amongst the finalists and got awarded a sum of K50,000, plus a breakfast with the Honorable Minister of Science and Technology Mr Felix Mutati at southern Sun Hotel.”

Gilbert’s innovation is smart energy and it fits in well with the resolutions of the recently held United Nations Conference on Climate Change in Glasgow, Scotland where deforestation was pointed out as a major threat to the environment.

Developed countries have pledged millions of dollars to third world countries to fight deforestation.

According to official government statistics, 79% of Zambians both in urban and rural areas use charcoal as fuel for cooking and heating.

To satisfy this huge appetite for charcoal consumption, about 300, 000 hectares of land is lost annually in the country.

To curb this, Gilbert thought of inventing an alternative energy source which is cheap, environmentally friendly and safe as it does not emit harmful gasses when burning.

He adds: “I plan to commercialize and pack in 5, 10 and 50kg bags. This project has the potential to create direct and indirect jobs and it will add value to people’s lives. Climate change is real as evidenced by extreme hotness, floods, poor rain pattern and we need to do something.”

Another youth who is investing in sustainable energy sources is Collins Simfukwe, a 34 year old inventor of Mufulira District on the Copperbelt.

Collins is a former miner who quit his job at Mufulira Mine in order to establish a business to supply smokeless charcoal to clients.

Collins Simfukwe showing one of the machines
he invented at his factory

“I worked in the mines soon after completing Grade 12 but later, I resigned and started working on my own. It was a risk but here iam, am selling these charcoal briquettes to various clients,” said Collins.

When this author visited Collins at his house where he manufactures the charcoal briquettes, he was shocked to see how the small house in Kantanshi Township has been turned into a fully-fledged factory.

All the machines being used there were invented and made by Collins.

He says he started inventing things when he was a member of Junior Engineers, Technicians and Scientists (JETS) in Grade five at Mufulira Basic School.

“JETS took me to South Africa, Namibia and all over Zambia where we attended fairs and showcased our inventions. It is this experience which led me to venture into smokeless charcoal briquettes,” he added.

When making the charcoal briquettes, Collins uses maize cobs, leaves, grass and anything that is thrown around.

In that way, he converts waste into an environmentally friendly energy source which does not release smoke into the atmosphere.

And most of his clients are poultry farmers both in Zambia and abroad.

“Ordinary charcoal emits a lot of smoke but charcoal briquettes do not emit smoke. One briquette burns between seven and 10 hours and poultry farmers in Mufulira, Kitwe, Lusaka and the Democratic Republic of Congo come here to order because they last long.”

With the creation of the Ministry of Green Economy and Environment, Collins is ready to work with government to promote clean energy sources.

He says with the experience he has in producing charcoal briquettes, he can advise the Ministry on better options for energy use.

Collins works with his wife and a relative at their factory which is just in the backyard of their house.

Due to lack of funding, they use domestic electricity for their production and lack of enough space at their house means they cannot expand production.

However, their actions have been noticed by the Mufulira Municipal Council.

Charcoal briquettes which Collins produces

“We will promote what this young inventor has done and we will give him enough land so that he can expand his business,” said Mufulira Mayor Tanaeli Kamanga in an interview.

Another official from the local authority Castro Chisanga, the Director of Public Health, toured the factory to see what Collins is doing

“We are impressed as a local authority, this inventor is using organic waste and he is playing a vital role in conserving the environment. There is rampant deforestation in Mufulira but if this business is promoted, our trees will be spared,” said Mr Chisanga.

A Copperbelt-based environmentalist Lovemore Muma says the two inventors, Gilbert of Katete and Collins of Mufulira, need to form cooperatives and source for funding to expand their businesses.

“These are important inventions which can change the lives of many youths in the country. Let these youths form cooperatives to access funding. That way, they will be able to expand and impact the nation by reducing deforestation which is driven mainly by charcoal production,” said Mr Muma who is also Executive Director of The Earth Organisation.

Mr Muma has urged the two young inventors to work with the Ministries of Small and Medium Enterprises, Green Economy and Environment and Science and Technology to commercialise their inventions.

Zambia Courts IMF For Economic Recovery

Mr Mutati (Second left) with IMF officials after a meeting

By Paul Shalala

Zambia has commenced talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to find ways in which the Bretton Woods institution can help the southern African country emerge stronger from its current economic challenges.

The country is the world’s third largest producer of copper after Chile and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The newly sworn in Finance Minister Felix Mutati is in Washington attending the annual meetings of the IMF and World Bank.

Today, Mr Mutati held closed door meetings with IMF officials and discussed Zambia’s economic recovery programme which he is championing.

“The minister said the country had a huge financing gap that was negatively impacting the country’s inflation rate worsened by low copper prices adding that the banking sector was currently holding up to 10 percent of bad debt. The Minister said the government would announce the economic recovery program in the coming budget,” reads part of a statement issued by Zambia’s embassy in Washington after the Minister’s closed door meeting.

A few days ago, Ministry of Finance Spokesperson Chileshe Kandeta announced that a team of IMF officials will be in the country this month to meet various stakeholders ahead of an expected financial bailout.

Zambia is heavily reliant on copper sales and the drop in its price has reduced the country’s revenue and increased in inflation.

A few months ago, the Chinese owned Baluba mine in Luanshya was placed on care and maintenance, sending 1,600 workers on forced leave.

Last month, African Rainbow Minerals which holds 40% shares in Chililabombwe-based Lubambe mine, announced that it was selling its stake due to low copper prices.

With this in mind, Mr Mutati, who is barely a month in office, has come up with an economic recovery plan which he hopes will resuscitate the economy.

The plan includes removing subsidies on a number of products in the coming years.

Zambia's Main Parties Launch Their Election Campaigns On Saturday

By Paul Shalala

It is being called Big Saturday by those so passionate about this year's campaigns.

It is a day when the 'Big Boys' get to the people, tell them what they have done and what they offer them for the next five years.

On Saturday, the ruling Patriotic Front (PF) and the opposition United Party for National Development (UPND) are both expected to launch their 2016 campaigns and their manifestos.

This follows the start of the officially sanctioned election period which commenced on 16 May.

PF will hold its launch at the 60,000 Heroes National Stadium in the capital Lusaka while the UPND will hold its launch at Freedom Park in Kitwe on the Copperbelt.

PF and UPND are the big boys of the 2016 general elections while the rest of the more than two dozen political parties are treated like what American political pundits call 'Third parties.'

President Edgar Lungu, who won a bitterly fought poll in January last year following the death of President Michael Sata in October 2014, is hoping to get a full five year mandate of his own on top of the one year seven months he would have served by the time the polls will be held on 11 August.

Using his position as the incumbent President, his access to public media, ruling party loyalists and the support of a number of immediate past opposition Members of Parliament, President Lungu straight away becomes a frontrunner and hopes to get a clean sweep of the votes.

Bolstered by the completion of the construction of several roads, schools, hospitals and several other infrastructure, the ruling party handlers have even coined the campaign slogan 'Sonta Epowabomba' meaning 'Point At What You Done' to project the President as a working head of state.

Key to President Lungu's campaign will be the person he will choose as his running mate.

Repeatedly, he has announced that his running mate will be a woman.

At the campaign launch, President Lungu is also expected to unveil the names of all candidates who have been adopted to contest the 156 parliamentary seats as well as the local government seats.

On the other hand, President Lungu's arch-rival Hakainde Hichilema of the UPND will be giving it a try for a straight fifth time.

This follows his unsuccessful presidential bids in 2006, 2008, 2011 and 2015.

Bolstered by the defection of several immediate past ruling and other opposition Members of Parliament including former President Sata's son Mulenga, Hichilema is positioning himself as an alternative to the PF.

With the recent economic challenges the country has faced such as the electricity crisis, high inflation and increase in prices of mealie meal, Mr Hichilema has been presenting himself as 'Mr Fixer' who will use his vast knowledge in economics to bring hope to Zambians.

According to some observers, his choice of a running mate is being narrowed down to two of his deputies in his party.

Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba, who is popularly known as GBM, is a wealthy politician who is a former Defence Minister and immediate past ruling party Member of Parliament in Kasama Central Constituency in the Northern Province of Zambia.

Another UPND Vice President is Dr. Canicius Banda, a medical personnel-cum politician whose rhetoric at public rallies usually makes headlines.

The UPND is also likely to unveil its candidates for parliament and local government at the launch.

Both parties will be hoping to win the elections in the first round due to the fact that in the second round, a re-run is usually a difficult task due to the high stakes.

The amendments to the constitution enacted in January 2016 provide for presidential candidates to be elected through a majoritarian system by amassing 50% plus one or more votes.

The new laws also provide for a Vice President who is elected during the general elections as a Running Mate, a provision Zambians have been crying for since 1991.

For the former ruling party the MMD, the party is still rocked by indiscipline and infighting.

A faction allied to the party president Dr. Nevers Mumba seems prepared to contest the elections under him while another faction led by immediate past Lunte MP Felix Mutati is pushing for a party convention this weekend to choose a presidential candidate.

Just like last year, the MMD is yet again finding itself fighting during an election period and its presidential candidates may risk being 'beaten' by the number of rejected ballots just like Dr. Mumba did in 2015.

Other politicians who are likely to contest this year's presidential elections are FDD's Edith Nawakwi, Wynter Kabimba of the Rainbow Party and the Green Party's Peter Sinkamba.