Police detain Indian national over stolen KCM property

NEWS that Unitrans, one of the biggest fuel transporters in Zambia is folding up because foreign trucking companies have “hijacked” the sector and enjoying a lion’s share of the business is alarming and calls for quick intervention by Government.

The sad development comes at a time when the Zambian government is still grappling with the KCM standoff with Vedanta as well as the controversial issue of irregular imports of livestock products that are threatening to stifle local companies.

The unfolding scenario in the transport sector where an influx of foreign firms are posing unfair competition to local companies and threatening jobs should serve as a serious wake-up call to Government to protect local companies in all sectors of the economy.

Given the uneven playing field prevailing in the sector, what has befallen Unitrans might as well happen to other local companies. In fact, it might spell doom to the sector if not quickly checked.

Unitrans, for instance, has complained of lack of financial stability as well as poor turnaround times in meeting the three loads per vehicle per month to achieve profitable business coupled with payment delays, which affect the cash flow and increased financial liabilities.

The fact that Unitrans has even cancelled its membership with Petroleum Transporters Association of Zambia goes to show the severity of the problem that is slowly emerging in the fuel transportation business. Clearly, unless something is done urgently to create financial stability in the sector by giving preference to the local fleet and improving their turnaround time, more companies risk going the same route as Unitrans.

To prevent this from happening, Zambian transporters should be given preference to grow their capacity as opposed to giving contracts to foreign firms which create jobs for their own citizens in their home countries.

But why should local suppliers prefer to give contracts to foreign companies instead of local firms anyway?

Whatever the dynamics involved in the awarding of contracts, it is only logical that local transporters are given preference because they create jobs for Zambians unlike their foreign counterparts who just perceive Zambia as another milking cow.

Feom what we know, local transporters are equal to the task of supplying and transporting fuel, so what is the fuss about giving foreigners more contracts than locals, if we may ask?

Petroleum Transporters Association of Zambia (PTAZ) has long advised local suppliers against awarding more contracts to foreigners while giving a paltry chunk of the business to the local fleet but this counsel keeps falling on deaf ears.

Had the relevant stakeholders listened to PTAZ’s appeals and advice, Unitrans would not be folding up and leaving its workers destitute.

According to PTAZ secretary-general Benson Tembo, suppliers of Government fuel do not want to pay for storage of their fuel from the countries of origin and are abrogating loading schedules given by the Ministry of Energy by loading the commodity mostly in foreign tankers at once.

But this situation should be reversed because it was empowering foreign companies.

Zambia is not a milking cow and should not be turned into one by foreigners.

While acknowledging the important role investors play in the economy, we implore Government to come up with policies that protect Zambian companies from being stifled by foreign competition.