The Boardroom of Nakambala Sugar Estate will now be graced by Roseta Chabala as Zambia Sugars’ latest addition to its illustrious Board, according to a statement from the company.
“The Company wishes to announce the appointment of Mrs. Roseta Mwape Chabala as a non-executive director of the Board”, read a statement issued by Mwansa Mutimushi on SENS by order of the board on 31 January 2020.
Roseta who is also CEO of Zambia’s copper wire manufacturing company, ZAMEFA, is an MSc in International Trade Policy and Trade Law graduate who has been at the helm of The Zambia Association of Manufacturers for the past four years.
With annual revenues approaching $200 million, ZAMEFA is the largest wire and cable manufacturing company in Zambia and one of the largest in Sub Saharan Africa. She also one of the three women who sit with Dr. Denny Kalyalya on the Bank of Zambia Board.
What makes her nod to the sugar board even more interesting is that she comes with a wealth of experience and expertise in lobbying and advocacy, capacity building, and business linkages both Local and Regional in the Manufacturing Industry.
CEO Rebecca Katowa has landed herself an ally in this new board member as both women have lamented at the threat to value creation of illicit, imported, and counterfeit products entering the Zambian market. These have proved a credible threat to their respective market shares. They may be on opposite sides of the manufacturing economic ecosystem (one in soft and the other in hard commodities) but just as when Rebecca had Monica Musonda (Founder Java Foods fame) who too was a strong advocate, she now sits on the same board as her manufacturing twin sister who is a big advocate for buy Zambian.
Roseta’s appointment is a timely one as Zambia Sugar enters its next phase of evolution. Declaring a Dividend in 2019 was one thing but ensuring that they have a sustainable run of value creation is another. Rosetta brings the manufacturing spark from her credentials and leadership of a listed company in ZAMEFA but also the stakeholder management know-how. Roseta’s fight is Rebecca’s fight too. Manufacturing sustainability will be their common goal going forward.