On August 24, Hichilema Hakainde was ceremoniously inaugurated as the 7th President of Zambia in Lusaka, see his inauguration speech. As the leader of the opposition UPND, he had been elected on 12 . In a landslide victory against the incumbent President Edgar Lungu (PF), he won the presidential election on August 1.
As a result, the Zambian kwacha has recovered strongly against the US dollar and the euro. In mid-July, just under 27 kwacha had to be paid for €1, but in the last week of August it was down to 19 kwacha. The kwacha should soon return to its pre-pandemic level, not least due to rising global commodity prices.
At the end of June, the funds for the global grant project were finally released by the Rotary Foundation, meaning that the planned procurement of the pasteurization system can now go ahead. Cost estimates are available for the conversion work to be carried out first in the production building. The construction costs are largely to be covered by Zambesi Health. We expect a contribution of at least €8,000. The current exchange rate changes are making it even more difficult to place orders.
We hope that the South African company Milk-Pro International will be able to produce the pasteurization equipment in the coming months and deliver it to Zambia and install it in Kazungula before the end of the year.
The planned 5 kW photovoltaic system will help to reduce the higher electricity costs for heating and then cooling the milk.
