Battery-Powered Growth

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By Derrick Silimina

 

Zambia hopes to cash in on growing global demand for electric vehicles by stepping up its production and refining of cobalt – a key component of lithium-ion batteries used in those vehicles. Zambia’s advantage is its large deposits of copper, of which cobalt is a by-product.

Batteries for electric vehicles are mainly produced in the Far East. But cobalt is indispensable in this manufacturing process. And unlike major cobalt producer Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Zambia has the capacity to refine cobalt on a large scale for use in battery manufacturing.

Producing and refining cobalt for electric vehicle batteries can become an important job-creator in Zambia, according to Mining for Zambia, an industry group. Citing research by Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, it says that global demand for cobalt has tripled since 2011 in the battery sector alone.

Further, it predicts that demand for cobalt will reach 190,000 metric tons by 2026 – a more than fourfold increase over 2017 levels. The price of cobalt has risen accordingly, from an average of $18 per pound in 2011 to over $30 by the end of 2017.

The main driver of demand for lithium-ion batteries is growing consumer interest in electric cars. “UNCTAD predicts that some 23 million electric vehicles will be sold over the coming decade,” says a June, 2020 United Nations report on the battery-manufacturing boom. “The market for rechargeable car batteries, currently estimated at $7 billion, is forecast to rise to $58 billion by 2024.”

The report adds that while two-thirds of all cobalt is produced in the DRC, cobalt refining mainly takes place elsewhere – in Belgium, China, Finland, Norway and Zambia. Investing in cobalt production would boost Zambia’s mining and manufacturing sectors. It might also provide an incentive to produce lithium-ion batteries in Africa by shortening supply lines between cobalt refineries and battery-making plants.

Africa currently does not produce electric vehicle batteries. Nor does the continent produce electric vehicles. Several Chinese, Japanese, US and European automakers have assembly plants in South Africa for traditional cars. South Africa is the only country in the region under consideration for investment in electric car assembly plants.

Advocates of adding electric-car assembly lines to existing factories in South Africa say this move would make sense in view of growth in demand for electric cars. They expect that demand will continue to grow in response to environmental restrictions on fossil-fuel burning cars and future dwindling of fossil fuel supplies.

Among the electric-car boosters is Kapembwa Simbao, a member of Zambia’s Parliament and an electrical engineer by training. “There has been a paradigm shift in the transport sector,” he says. “We are witnessing a shift from fossil, diesel and petrol driven vehicles to electric vehicles.” Global carmakers say the same. Toyota, for example, said in 2019 that it aims for half its global sales to be from electric vehicles by 2025.

Derrick Silimina is a freelance journalist based in Lusaka. He focuses on Zambian agriculture and sustainability issues.
derricksilimina@gmail.com

 

Chinese Steel Manufacturers help Upgrade the Construction Industry in Zambia

Willy Mbewe and his co-workers at his metal fabrication workshop in Lusaka (Derrick Silimina)

By Derrick Silimina

Willy Mbewe, 30, from Zambian capital Lusaka's sprawling Kalingalinga Township, is motivated by the fact that through his career in metal fabrication, he can provide a service to the community and country at large, while also creating jobs.

In 2012, driven by his passion for engineering, Mbewe studied metal fabrication at Lusaka Trades School in a bid to pursue his dream.

"I like civil engineering and I thought one day I will become an engineer, so that I could serve my country; because as a nation, while we have many qualified engineers that are doing well, most of them are working outside the country," Mbewe told ChinAfrica.

With the establishment of many Chinese steel manufacturing plants in the country, Mbewe believes that given Zambia's availability of raw materials, local metal fabricators like himself have the potential to add value to the economy by creating jobs.

Metal fabrication is the creation of metal structures by cutting, bending and assembling. It is a value-added process involving the creation of machines, parts, and structures from various raw materials.

Job creation

In 2015, armed with a small nest egg and some homemade equipment, Mbewe started his dream project. Spurred on by his father, a renowned steel expert in the area known for its expertise in metal fabrication, Mbewe established Amoson Metal Welders.

"I started with just K5,000 ($250), a welding machine and a small grinder, but today I have industrial equipment worth over K20, 000 ($1,000), which can do most of the work with ease," he said.

Five years down the line, Mbewe disclosed that he has managed to employ an assistant, as well as two student metal fabricators who are on an industrial attachment at his firm.

Barely five years into his company's operation, Mbewe has managed to build his own house and won major contracts with the Zambia National Service and the Lusaka City Council, among others. "This sector is very important here in the township as it has lifted many youths out of poverty. They are now able to do quality work such as door frames, gates, window frames and sign posts, all made of steel," he said.

In Zambia, just like any other developing country, foreign direct investment in the manufacturing industry is critical for developing any emerging market economy.

In a bid to scale up public investment to address Zambia's infrastructure needs, the government has embarked on a full-scale construction and rehabilitation of roads, houses, medical facilities, schools and bridges, among others, a strategy that is expected to spur socio-economic growth.

Not long ago, steel products had to be imported from other countries; now Zambia has the capacity to produce its own steel, thanks to a flourishing mining sector. This has in turn created jobs at small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) such as metal fabricators, whose business depend on steel as a vital raw material.

While local steel manufacturers are seeing remarkable growth, they are also creating employment and primary industries along the way, as individuals and private sector have responded positively to investing in the real estate sector.

Economic experts believe that robust industrial development presents an opportunity for economic transformation and quality employment generation that alleviates poverty in any developing country. It is a fact that throughout history, this exact economic recipe has transformed most European and Asian countries into some of the world's wealthiest nations.

For this reason, through its equipped state-of-the-art facilities and a technically minded local workforce, Good Time Steel, a Chinese steel manufacturing company based in Zambia, is keen to grow its products and services in line with changing industry demands.

"Since Zambia is a good destination for investment due to its conducive political climate, we found it viable to establish our steel manufacturing plant here in 2005. In addition, the country has enough scrap metals [dealers] due to its flourishing mining industry," Good Time Steel Co. Managing Director Jacky Huang told ChinAfrica.

From its humble beginnings, Good Time Steel, which now represents more than half of Zambia's steel production, started full time operations in 2008 with a workforce of over 100; now, it boasts more than 700 workers and is one of the leading steel manufacturing companies in the country.

In terms of local market share, Huang said, "We are number one, with more than 40 percent market [share]. Our production covers a wide range of over 300 products, including pipes, tubes, wire, roof sheeting, aluminium, nails and iron bars, as well as all types of construction materials such as tiles, all under one roof."

Good Time Steel Co. Managing Director Jacky Huang during an exclusive interview with ChinAfrica magazine in his office (Derrick Silimina)

Global market

The manufacturing industry remains one of the vital economic priority areas in the country as Zambian raw materials are in need of value addition. Therefore, investment in this sector helps the country earn foreign exchange, thereby stabilizing the kwacha (local currency).

Previously, many people and companies used to import steel from China, Dubai and South Africa. But with Good Time Steel industrial acumen, consumers have expressed delight over its various competitive steel products on both the local and international market.

"Our market is not only in Zambia, but we also export to neighbouring countries, especially Zimbabwe, Malawi, Burundi, among others," Huang added.

Apart from Good Time Steel Co., Oriental Steel Manufacturing Ltd. is another Chinese manufacturer of steel and plastic products based in Lusaka.

"We manufacture building materials, for example, wire, nails and roofing sheets and also steel products such as beams. We then sell these to the Zambian market, with a focus on wholesale trade. We fabricate products for the local market only, and do not export to neighbouring countries like other steel producers," said Oriental Steel Manufacturing Ltd. Managing Director Li Jinggang.

The steel manufacturing company, which is involved with certain large projects all over the country, does not undertake any construction projects directly, but focuses on manufacturing to supply its partners.

"We supply most of the construction companies, as well as large hardware stores," said Li.

Homebase Steel is one of the renowned local hardware suppliers of steel in Lusaka and depends solely on the Chinese steel manufacturing plants to service its clientele, mostly SMEs, in and out of town.

Meanwhile ZINPRO Engineering Ltd. based in Zambia's Copperbelt Province is an EPCM (engineering, procurement and construction management) company specializing in turnkey construction projects for the mining industry. Steel being one of its critical raw materials in undertaking its fabrication projects to the mines, the company's Operations Manager Wessek Pentz said locally supplied steel is better.

"We rely on the locally produced high grade steel for our work. We also support the local companies as their steel standards and grades are up to specifications and I see no reason to import from other countries," said Pentz. 

Reporting from Zambia

Catch of the Day

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By Derrick Silimina

Confronted by depleted fish stocks in over-fished lakes and streams, Zambia’s government is promoting a long-term solution: encouraging fish farming to increase the supply.

Fish farms consist of tanks or ponds in which fish are bred in large numbers, usually receiving a diet of fortified fish feed. In Zambia, the main aim is to sell the fish as food once they have grown to full size. Some farmed fish are also released into the wild to supplement depleted stocks.

Fish farms can help to close the gap between demand for and supply of fish, according to the Zambia Aquaculture Enterprise Development Project (ZAEDP), a government initiative funded by the African Development Bank. It says demand for fish in Zambia exceeds 180,000 metric tonnes per year, whereas the industry can supply only 85,000 metric tonnes per year due to depleted stocks.

By helping to close the supply gap, a thriving aquaculture industry would reduce the pressure of over-fishing on the country’s natural lakes and streams, ZAEDP says. It would also displace imports with domestic production and create local jobs, both in fish farming and in support services such as cold storage and refrigerated transport, ZAEDP adds.

According to The Fish Site, an aquaculture industry web portal, as of 2018 Zambia was the sixth largest producer of farmed fish in Africa. “Zambia is an ideal candidate for aquaculture expansion, and the industry is growing fast,” writes author Megan Howell in a report titled “Feed and seed: Addressing challenges in Zambian aquaculture”. “The country has numerous natural water resources that can support cage production.”

Fish farming can be environmentally unhealthy, depending on how it is done. For example, accumulation of waste under fish farm cages and changes in the quality of sediment and water can hurt the environment. Nonetheless, Zambia’s government believes the advantages outweigh the risks, and recently allocated the equivalent of $ 6 million to the Aquaculture Youth Empowerment Initiative, a fund aimed at attracting young people to the fish farming industry.

Funding also goes to training fishers in the business aspects of fish farming. Nawa Sindila, a fisher from Lusaka Province, started attending monthly workshops in 2018 on how to run a fish farm. Using land he owns near a stream, Sindila dug two ponds, each 25 by 35 meters and each capable of holding 18,000 fish. “Using what I have learned, I will soon be able to supply bream to chain stores and live my dream of farming fish,” Sindila says.

Equally determined is Samson Njobvu, a fish farmer in north-western Zambia. After ten years as a heavy equipment operator at the Kansanshi copper mine, Njobvu switched to fish farming on a commercial scale in 2017.

“I started on a small scale while still working at the mine,” he says. “With the government’s continued emphasis on fish farming, I realised that the supply shortfall presents a business opportunity for fish farmers. I decided that even I can do it.”

The government wants to see more of this. “We want all the districts in the country to have hatcheries by 2022, so that we eliminate the current fish deficit,” Inonge Wina, vice president of Zambia, said in an address to the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock.

Derrick Silimina is a freelance journalist based in Lusaka. He focuses on Zambian agriculture and sustainability issues.
derricksilimina@gmail.com

Deadly Medical Myths

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By Derrick Silimina

Zambian health officials are grappling with a wave of dead-on-arrival cases at the country’s main referral hospital. The spike in cases may be related to residents not following Covid-19 guidelines, as well as to widespread misconceptions about the virus.

Zambian health officials have spotted a worrisome trend: More and more patients are dying before reaching University Teaching Hospital (UTH), the country’s largest referral hospital.

“We have recorded an increase in the number of Brought-In-Dead (BID) cases,” says Dr Lloyd Mulenga, director of infectious diseases at Zambia’s Health Ministry. According to him, UTH recorded 4,339 BID cases from early June to early November as compared to 3,711 in the same period in 2019.

The people arriving dead at the hospital died from a variety of causes, not only Covid-19. But according to Mulenga, the spike may be related to the pandemic, reflecting a failure of many residents to comply with Covid-19 prevention measures.

As of mid-December 2020, Zambia had a total of more than 18,400 Coronavirus cases, of which 367 ended in death, according to www.worldometers.info, an independent statistics portal. Covid-19 infections continue to rise, with many patients suffering from other diseases alongside Coronavirus.

The increased number of dead-on-arrival cases may be related to a growing tendency to self-medicate against Covid-19, in addition to failing to follow recommended preventive measures.

In hopes of fighting the virus, many Zambians are using drugs that were developed to combat other diseases, or are taking “various herbal concoctions,” Mulenga says. “This undermines medical efforts to control the virus and prevent new infections.”

Dr. Nyambe Mukubesa, a resident doctor at the Ministry of Health, confirms that assessment. “Many citizens are abusing malaria drugs and other medicines to treat Covid-19, without seeking medical advice,” he says. “So a surge in new cases is likely to remain a worry.”

Those views are confirmed by a survey of 1,035 Zambians carried out in March and April 2020 by Ipsos, the Paris-based market research and consulting firm. The survey shows widespread misconceptions about the virus. “Approximately half believe that Covid-19 can be prevented by drinking lemon juice and Vitamin C (54 %), or that a hot climate prevents the spread of the virus (49 %),” Ipsos says in a report titled “Responding to Covid-19: Highlights of a Survey in Zambia”.

In addition, the Ipsos report states: “One in four think Covid-19 can be cured with garlic (25 %), and sizeable minorities believe that Africans can’t get it (15%), or that drinking bleach cures it (9 %).

Some misconceptions cause needless anxiety. “I used to think that the virus only affects the elderly or those with underlying health ailments,” says Mercy Chilongo, 33, who had Covid-19 and recovered from it. “When I got Covid-19, I believed it was the end of me.”

In some cases, people have correct information about preventing infection, but cannot comply. According to Ipsos, social distancing may prove very difficult in a country where many people do not have separate rooms to isolate infected family members.

But many prevention measures are within the control of residents, who nonetheless are not using them. “The improper wearing of face masks, with citizens dropping the masks when talking or wearing their masks on their chins, or not observing physical distancing, is a battle we continue facing,” says Health Minister Chitalu Chilufya.

Derrick Silimina is a freelance journalist based in Lusaka.
derricksilimina@gmail.com

The Little Tuber of Wonders

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By Derrick Silimina

 

The humble cassava – a long tuberous starchy root that must be cooked properly to be eaten safely – is getting new respect as a driver of agricultural development.

Cassava is Zambia’s second largest agricultural crop, after maize. Unlike maize, however, it does not require a lot of water – a big advantage in the drought-prone country. So the government and development organisations have launched efforts to find new markets for the tuber, in hopes that more of it will be grown.

Those efforts are paying off, and the solution is coming from an unexpected source: manufacturers. While household demand for the vegetable has been stagnant, industries making a variety of products – from starches and flour to prepared foods and beer – have been signing up to buy large quantities of cassava.

One such firm is Premiercon Starch Company, a local start-up producing starches and flours. Among other products, it turns cassava into a starchy feedstock that it sells to mining companies, which in turn use it to process minerals. The company has contracted with the Kalumbila Copper Mine to supply 7,000 metric tonnes of industrial starch per year.

Zambian Breweries, a locally owned firm that brews lagers and is a major bottler of Coca-Cola, is another firm that has signed contracts to buy large lots of cassava. The company buys dried cassava chips from smallholder farmers, processes the chips into flour and fermented cassava starch, and uses those as ingredients of its Eagle Lager beer.

Zambian Breweries wants to ensure a continued supply of cassava. So it has recruited 5,000 farmers to grow on average one hectare of cassava each, with assurances that it will buy their produce.

From the farmers’ perspective, the newly opened industrial markets solve a big problem. For example, farmer Amos Samapaze of North-Western Province found he could not rely on selling cassava to nearby villages, as demand was unpredictable and poor roads often impeded access.

“I started cultivating cassava when I lived in Lukulu district in Western Province,” he says. “I owned oxen, an ox-cart and a plough. But the lack of market in the area discouraged me; the produce would sometimes go to waste.”

The new industrial demand, in contrast, encourages some farmers to expand their operations. “I heard about companies supporting cassava farmers and decided last year to buy five hectares and produce cassava,” says Cosmas Muleya, a father of five from Gwembe in Southern Province. “Since cassava is drought resistant, I believe it will do fine here. I expect to harvest more than 80 bags of 50 kilograms each.”

Similarly, cassava farmer Ruth Chilenga started by selling cassava at Lusaka’s Soweto market, but plans to expand both to export markets in neighbouring countries – mainly Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo – and to industrial markets in Zambia.

The new industrial demand for cassava has also created jobs for intermediaries between farmers and industrial manufacturers. Elizabeth Kunda buys dried cassava from farmers in north-western Zambia for resale in bulk to Zambian Breweries. Farmers can focus on producing cassava while she deals with the industrial clients, she says.

Derrick Silimina is a freelance journalist based in Lusaka. He focuses on Zambian agriculture and sustainability issues.
derrick.silimina@gmail.com

Travelling Close to Home

 10/12/2020

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By Derrick Silimina 

 

The coronavirus crisis and its attendant travel restrictions are devastating the tourism sector worldwide, and Zambia’s industry is no exception.

Since travel restrictions entered into force in March 2020, Zambia’s flow of international arrivals has dwindled to virtually nothing. Many Zambian tour operators, hotel and restaurant owners, convention and festival organisers and sports event sponsors are facing very difficult times.

To replace some of the revenue lost as international visitors stay away, the Zambian industry is focusing on building a domestic tourism market. In October 2020, the first-ever Zambia travel conference was held at the Maramba River Lodge, four kilometres from Victoria Falls.

The conference in southern Zambia attracted over 150 tour operators and other industry members. It focused on how to encourage Zambians to travel within their own country. “It is very important that we meet like this and develop a plan to promote domestic tourism,” Eugene Mapuwo, the mayor of Livingstone told the meeting.

“We need to adopt online marketing strategies if the industry is to bounce back,” said Simone Layton, manager of the Shamba Lodge in Kitwe in north-central Zambia. “A lot of people in the industry are realising how devastating the pandemic has been to their business. Most weren’t prepared for it.”

The Zambia Tourism Agency, a government body, is developing tour packages geared to in-country travel, says marketing director Mwabashike ­Nkulukusa. “The agency is drafting a plan to help attract domestic travellers,” he says. “It must be an all-inclusive plan, including prices, products and how the packages will be promoted.”

Some delegates were sceptical of this strategy, pointing to insufficient disposable income in the domestic market. “We have tried to scale down our rates but local tourists still can’t afford to spend money for a holiday,” Walter Joe Syakalonga, director of Sigo Adventures and Tours, said in an interview.

Other industry members argued that the government should focus on easing their tax burdens. They cite requirements to pay 10 % to 15 % employment taxes on staff, plus 16 % value-added tax and a 1.5 % tourism levy. The levies add to their cost of doing business and discourage travel, they say.

So far, the government has helped somewhat by granting tour operators and hoteliers more time to pay income and value-added taxes. And officials are publicly encouraging domestic tourism. “I encourage all citizens to support the tourism industry while observing Covid-19 health guidelines,” Finance Minister Bwalya Ng’andu said in his 2021 national budget address.

Zambia in fact has a lot to offer tourists, wherever they come from. Aside from the famed Victoria Falls, Zambia is home to several other majestic falls and the mighty Zambezi River. Several national parks and game reserves offer opportunities for observing wildlife, whilst busy urban areas provide a window on the country’s diverse culture.

Zambia’s effort to boost domestic travel may provide ideas and best practices for tourism operators elsewhere. The worldwide tourism industry certainly needs all the help it can get. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, an industry body, the global industry will shrink by up to 30 % in 2020, shedding some 50 million jobs.

Derrick Silimina is a freelance journalist based in Lusaka. He focuses on Zambian agriculture and sustainability issues.
derricksilimina@gmail.com

Chinese Proficiency Brings Job Opportunities to Zambians

A Chinese lecturer at a class at UNZA's Confucius Institute (Photos: Derrick Silimina)

 

 

By Derrick Silimina / 2020-12-09

 

Zambia's all-weather friendship with China, which dates back to over 50 years, has translated into massive progress in all sectors of the Southern African country's economic development.

 

As Africa's population increases, many young people are having trouble finding jobs that can improve their socio-economic situations. Owing to lack of formal jobs on the continent, many youths have to find an alternative in the informal sector in order to make ends meet. This traps them in a precarious employment situations, which contributes to a less than rosy transition to setting a foundation for their future.

Over 15 million young people in Africa, around 13.5 percent of the total labor force of 15-24 years, are facing unemployment and this rate is more than twice the unemployment rate of those aged 25 and over (6.1 percent), underlining that unemployment on the continent is hitting the younger generation hardest. Young women are even more severely affected, with an unemployment rate of 14.7 percent compared to 12.3 percent for young men, according to the Mo Ibrahim Foundation's 2019 Forum Report.

However, Zambia's all-weather friendship with China, which dates back to over 50 years, has translated into massive progress in all sectors of the Southern African country's economic development - be it in construction, health, education, and agriculture, among others.

Rising Chinese popularity

China's socio-economic, financial and cultural ties with Zambia have prompted the need for literacy in the Chinese language. While the Asian economic giant has expanded its exchanges in language and culture with African countries (and elsewhere) by supporting the establishment of Confucius Institutes and Confucius Classrooms, language education policies in Zambia has been proactive and receptive to the emerging needs and demands in Chinese language and culture.

Since China is a major trade partner and investor in Africa, many countries are encouraging their citizens to learn what is considered by many to be the language of the future. Zambia is no exception.

"Learning Chinese language motivates me to reach my goal in life. My aim, after I finish this course, is to become an accomplished interpreter knowing that the profession is currently in high demand among several Chinese companies in Zambia," said Armstrong Sezongo, a second-year Chinese language student at the Confucius Institute of the University of Zambia (UNZA).

Emelia Mwale, 36, an entrepreneur at Lusaka's Comesa Market, said the introduction of the Chinese language course in the country will open up opportunities for traders such as herself to do business effectively, as communication with her Chinese suppliers of goods is usually a challenge.

"I intend to enroll and study Chinese at the Confucius Institute at the UNZA. This language is vital and since we are in a global village, any commercial activity will be easier to undertake as I will be able to interact with my Chinese suppliers of goods effectively," said Mwale.

For this and other reasons, the growing popularity of the Chinese language among Zambian youths and the working population in the formal or informal sectors has inspired policymakers to include the language in the national curriculum for schools.

On May 7, 2019, the Zambian Government entered into an agreement with the Confucius Institute Headquarters of China to officially introduce the Chinese language as a taught and examinable subject at both junior and senior secondary school level.

The Ministry of Higher Education Permanent Secretary Mabvuto Sakala recently signed the agreement on behalf of the government at the Confucius Institute Headquarters in Beijing, China.

Meanwhile, Zambia's Ministry of General Education started implementing the teaching of Chinese as a foreign language in 10 pilot schools, which were carefully identified and selected in each province.

"The introduction of the Chinese language in the Zambian education system will not only strengthen the current bilateral relationship, but will also increase bilateral exchanges between the two countries," said Sakala.

Opportunities for the taking

Some stakeholders such as the Teaching Council of Zambia (TCZ) recently welcomed government's move, arguing that the introduction of the Chinese language should not scare Zambians, as it was a blessing to those students who have aspirations of studying in Chinese universities.

TCZ Registrar Ebby Mubanga said since Zambia is part of the global village, the introduction of the Chinese language is going to bring value to the country's education system.

 

Students at UNZA’s Confucius Institute during a Chinese lesson for 2020 academic year (Photos: Derrick Silimina)

Prior to this development, many Zambians who have expressed interest in learning Chinese language by virtue of their academic background while studying in China, have not only benefited from the country's academic excellence, but also its language which is spreading rapidly across the globe.

Locally, many students who graduated from the Confucius Institute and other Chinese schools in the country have earned themselves jobs as interpreters in key Chinese organizations, as well as at the Chinese Embassy in Lusaka.

For example, companies such as Hongsen Investment Ltd., a Chinese firm located in Lusaka's Makeni Industrial Area, which runs a manufacturing plant that recycles plastic bottles into finished plastic wares such as dishes, cups, hang sticks, sweeping brooms and buckets, has employed a Zambian youth Thandiwe Chaaba as its administration officer.

Thanks to her eloquence in the Chinese language, Chaaba has been running the company's local operations for over four years and also acts as a link between her employers, business clients and local people.

"I am so grateful to authorities who made it possible to introduce the learning of Chinese language in the country," said Chaaba.

Realizing the potential the Chinese language has in the local job market, Chaaba enrolled for a refresher course at the Confucius Institute in 2018, a move that earned her the current position after her graduation. Learning Chinese as a second or third language has been a global trend in the last few years. In Zambia, the rapid increase of Chinese investments and trade has spurred the move.

At UNZA's Confucius Institute, Chinese lessons for the 2020 academic year include level one to level six and students are taught from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. (daytime class) and 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. (evening class).

Confucius Institute Deputy Director Zhang Run said there are over 1,000 Chinese companies, both state-owned and private, who have investments in Zambia and the language gives most learners a boost when it comes to job offers.

"In fact, every day, these companies call for employees who can speak the Chinese language, which is an added advantage to doing administrative work, including human resources, secretarial work or even customer relations," said Zhang.

"The introduction of the Chinese language here is vital, as it will contribute to the development of Zambia and further enhance strong bilateral ties between our two countries, as well as help eliminate misunderstanding between the two peoples," said Zhang. 

Reporting from Zambia