Government is working out plans to ensure that people losing employment in mining companies do not remain unemployed, President Banda said yesterday.
He said this at Lusaka International Airport shortly before departing for Mfuwe for a 10-day festive season holiday.
Mr Banda said although government had not yet come up with a concrete plan, it was contemplating ways of ensuring that mine workers at Luanshya Copper Mine and others remained in employment.
“What we are considering is that if possible, we ensure that our workers do not remain unemployed. How we are going to do it, we do not quite know yet, but we are definitely making plans to enable our people in Luanshya continue with employment,” he said.
Mr Banda said this was the first step government had taken before it could go into the next course of action regarding the plight of Zambians losing jobs in the mines.
And President Banda said Zambians should be happy that prices of fuel had continued to go down.
He said government would ensure that it sustained prices of petroleum products in the country.
Mr Banda said the prices of fuel could have been lowered further but that government was looking at future economic prospects.
He said he was happy that some millers had started responding positively to the measures government had put in place to stabilise mealie meal prices.
“I hope people have realised that we are a serious government. We listen when our people complain….we try to find workable ways. We are not just talking but we are thinking and working,” Mr Banda said.
He said now that milling companies had started responding positively, it was important for Zambians to concentrate on production so that the country could have enough maize stocks next year to lower prices of mealie meal further.
Mr Banda said he hoped that members of the opposition political parties were also working hard to produce more maize rather than just criticising government.
On Monday, Chimanga Changa Milling Company Limited announced the reduction of mealie meal prices from K55,000 to K45,000 per 25 kilogramme bag of breakfast meal while the roller meal price was reduced from K45,000 to K35, 000 for roller meal.
This followed an assurance of a steady supply of affordable maize to millers by the Food Reserve Agency.
And President Banda said government was working with other countries in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to provide humanitarian assistance to people living in the worst cholera hit areas of Zimbabwe to avoid further spread of the epidemic.
He said Minister of Health Kapembwa Simbao was working on a plan to send some officers to affected areas that were close to Zambia to assess the situation.
Mr Banda said it was important that human lives were saved from the epidemic rather than just talking about politics all the time.
And the President said people criticising him for going on a holiday when the country had various problems which needed to be addressed should themselves choose between going on a holiday or into the field to work.
Meanwhile, Mr Banda says he will ensure that adequate resources are allocated to repair road infrastructure in the country in next year’s national budget.
He was addressing scores of Mambwe residents upon his arrival at Mfuwe International Airport yesterday.
Mr Banda said government would ensure that roads in the district were rehabilitated to boost the tourism sector which was the economic mainstay of the area.
He said the tourism sector would create employment for the local people once boosted.
Mr Banda said the road infrastructure was damaged, especially in the valley areas.
He said Mfuwe had already started experiencing water logging which could result in floods.
President Banda said government was sensitive to the needs of the people and would ensure everything was done to improve their living standards.
He thanked the people of Zambia for the continued peace in the country, saying people had continued to be peaceful, regardless of calls for them to protest over high prices of commodities.
Mr Banda said government would ensure that the peace being experienced in the country continues to prevail.
Earlier , Eastern Province Minister, Isaac Banda, thanked government for releasing K10 billon for the rehabilitation of major roads in the province.
The President is accomplished by his wife, Thandiwe, children and grandchildren.
Mr Banda was received by Minister of Tourism Catherine Namugala, her Mines counterpart, Maxwell Mwale, Eastern Province permanent secretary, Kelvin Kamuwanga, Chipangali MP, Vincent Mwale, Nyimba MP, Forrie Tembo and several government and MMD party officials.
We are tired of assurances, day in ,day out!!! :o)
LT,Increase your font please! some of us blind chicks! :o)
spot on pinkly,we tired.Hw daz he assure them wen he wil be leisure baying(if theres anything like leisure baying) rather lying in lay bye ku mfuwe
Zoe
We need a bit of action now. What does Rb take us for….fulls? and how is he going to ensure that????
Yaba! Talking for the sake of talking. How can RB say that government will ensure that those losing employment will not remain unemployed and that how they are going to do that he quite doesn’t know! Just what is he talking about? The man is a let down, he can’t say anything sensible! Nilibe mau!
again, number one cikubabe
Pinkly, do you ever have time for your family or to…t
This is disgraceful! How does a president go on holiday to Mfuwe with the country’s economy at stand still? Especially that, as he says himself, they do not even have a plan for the thousands of people going out of employment by the day in zambia at the moment and the quickly weakening kwacha & escalting food prices . . . .the list is endless! A day or 2 at home and a three course meal for xmas (something that 90% of Zambians can only dream of) would have been bad enough!
Lady Chiza
Why do you ask love???
Way to enjoy Rb! Yeah baby!
Let those eating fruits for Christmas be! Not your fault is it?
Enjoy!
Pinkly, ooh, Love my foot. anyway, the ear that will die has no need for medicine!
Lady Chiza
you are the #1 sarcastic blogger on LT.You are so, so selfish and too full of your self. On that one, hands down!!!!!No wonder you came up with such a name…..
Your intention is only to attack your fellow bloggers! Rain insults on me if you so wish,i dont care, lest other bloggers might also think am a full ….like you! :-@ Change for the better, you dont lose anything, but you gain friendship!!!!
I have liked this part: The President is accomplished by his wife, Thandiwe, children and grandchildren.
the fat albert has gone for holiday in mfuwe accompanied by a crowd of kids and grand kids. but are some of those kids. if rb failed to provide for his kids when they were kids , he should not do it now on those old men so called children using govt money. are we sure we are experiencing GEC or this are some of the plans musokotwane has to reduce spending.
Maybe our “economist” president will come from Mfuwe with some ideas but I doubt it.How can he have a “working” holiday with his wife, children and grandchildren? This government lacks vision and is just wobbling along day to day. 🙁
This is what happens when pinocchio tells a lie :^o and this is what happens when RB tells a lie:@)
Big up Pinky [#12]! You must be a real Zambian! I’m proud of your response. Chiza, we are NOT yet disappointed with you. Changed drxn!
Coming to RB;mmmm…sure ba Presdo; we know you are NOT the best but you can do better than even exposing your ignorance. You had better keep quiet other than promising your own people that you’ll ensure they remain in employment. Just how? You DON’T even know! Look at the unemployment levels in the country and analyze your dream of keeping the latest unemployed (1740 families)employed. Bwana Mkubwa laid off over 600; Mopani over 450; Kansanshi over 300; KCM yet to finish off with its promise of about 500. Kateka ask people to write your speeches well.
This man does not know anything at all. He has never had a plan before. Things just fall on him. He never planned to be president. He is just an opportunist.
WHAT HAS HAPPENED IN LUANSHYA IS A SAD DEVELOPMENT BECAUSE THESE PEOPLE KNEW THE TYPE OF INVESTORS THEY WERE DEALING WITH. MULIASHI PROJECT FAILED AND FINALLY THE WHOLE COMPANY IS GONE. LUANSHYA COPPER MINES IS NOW ON CARE AND MAINTEANCE UNDER THE SAME MANAGEMENT OF EXPATRIATE CEO AND CHIEF OPERATING OFFICERS. THEY RETRENCHED ALL ZAMBIAN MANAGEMENT EXCEPT FOR MANAGER HUMAN RESOURCES AND LEAVING MANAGER SAFETY AN EXPATRIATE AND UNDERGROUND MANAGER ALSO AN EXPATRIATE. IT IS SURPRISING BECAUSE THESE GUYS HAVE FAILED TO RUN THE MINE AND NOW THEY HAVE STAYED BEHIND. WHAT DOES IT MEAN? CAN THE GOVERNMENT COME IN PLEASE AND INTERVENE. I THINK WE CAN RUN THIS MINE LOCALLY. ZCCM IH CAN.8->8->8->8->8->
LT – Do you have the much talked about picture of RB and his crowd of kids? If you do, please put it on for us to see the crowd of toddlers and adult kids.
zambia is now a member of NATO-No Action Talking Only!
Lundani in very confused like his suppoters.
Rashid – I do not think RB has any supporters anymore. People have woken up to the nature of this man. He is indeed the chief of NATO!
We must accept that privatisation has left the people of Zambia in more problems. The failing Mine in Luanshya must be renationalised and government should put money in it. We all is well, sell it at a profit. Hope parliament will make laws to safe gaurd the interest of citizens.
#17 Sweet ZED – Thanx
RBs family is a village on its own! There was comotion in the presidential jet because the plane was too small to accomodate his huge family. So some had sit to pa mendo ya bakulu bakulu! Next year, all eyes will be on first lady Thandie, she is carring another RBs grandchild. :o)hooray
#21 MEMBER OF NATO (No Action Talking Only) because of HCL (Hidden Costs and Losses and TCS (Totalling Confusing Solutions).
Merry Xmas
How come Solwezi is @ 70pin?
The whole extended family is in Mfuwe at our expense. His sons, wives & children have travelled from all over the world for a family celebration in Mfuwe. Even Andrew Banda & family from his diplomatic posting wherever that is, has also arrived. What a waste! Cry my beloved country.
The Miners in Luanshya endured endless suffering under Bopal Binani. Now NyamaSoya has come to haunt them again with fake promises. In zambia it’s tradition to assure the workers then suddenly the chop falls.Miners in Luanshya will this time be blamed if they let this crisis pass. They need to be paid all their benefits first, no promisory notes. Mr/ Cameron Pwele the late spoke on their behalf, ZCTU & MUZ betrayed them. They need2stand up for their dues this time without compromise.Those overgrown kids he has taken shows he is not serious with reflecting & finding solutions.
Oh my my my where are all the MMD cadres :-w, let me guess running towards chimanga changa so that they can have healthy christmas dishes.. made from mealie meal… This is so pathetic it makes me sick we said the MMD is a joke they argued with their mouths wide open see. whats happening now and hey guess what chineso is taking over the fertile land and hey guess what he aint farming… So if you don’t have a serious personal plan dude you gonna fry water in 2009…[-(
Brace yourself for hard times
#20, Hahahahaha……wansekesha sana, ati “a crowd of toddlers and adult kids”
Please see the front page of The Post Newspaper, the Banda clan to Mfuwe
RB ask Luanshya Copper Mines Plc management to vacate the premises immediately they finish paying their workers terminal benefits and off setting debt. they have failed the people of Luanshya. Please bring in ZCCM Investment Holdings to commence production because the mine is still viable and its working, and everything is in place. those people were just eating cool moneys from our copper and cobalt concentrates. They only talk about Copper prices, how about money which is realised from cobalt sales?
“And the President said people criticising him for going on a holiday when the country had various problems which needed to be addressed should themselves choose between going on a holiday or into the field to work.”
Bloggers listen to what he said. Please people is nyama soya normal??those teling him to work hard not leissure RB tells them to choose between going on holiday or into the field to work. What is the meaning i cant get it.Does He mean for him it doesnt matter he can go for leissure but the poor zambian who cant afford to go to mfuwe must go into the fields to work. Really its the dullest president Zambia has ever produced. Are there no advisors?? Please Ba RB show leadership
Lt improve with you english or has it to be the editor taking night lessons to become “Accompanied” rather than Accomplished!!!
LT why are you shying away from REPORTING ON HOW THE TASK FORCE’S WINGS HAVE BEEN CLIPPED BY THE COURT INJUNCTION!!! Whose having he LAST LAUGH!!!
Pinkly,how are you today? tell Nine Chale to try [email protected]
oooooweeeeeeeeeeeh!!!!!!!
This country is in deep pain right, the nation is bleeding big time, How on earth can some go on Holiday when people are loosing their jobs in the mines and the mealie-meal price is going way high, we expected him to call an emergency cabinet meeting to start finding a solution to all this, instead he goes to holiday, what has he done to deserve a holiday any way, coz we know he has been on holiday the moment he entered plot one.
Hi Rashid
Am fine and you??? I will do just that dear!
#34 kambongolo, wondering who are the davisors? TETEMASHIMBA and KATELE KALUMBA
#2. Pinkly, I sympathise wit u on the size of the font. You can actualy adjust the font according to how u want it, bigger of smaller. While holding down the ctrl. key use the mouse to scroll up or down depending on which size u want. I hope this will work for you.
#14. che leo,
uve realy made my day :))
Is Pinkly Baby C.
:((
Good afternoon well meaning bloggers, I see we have really gotten intergrated around here, Pinkly how are you doing gal…please if there is some thinh yuo need to learn from Chiza is that…never mind.
Hi spec
Now on the issue at Hand ya, RB had assured miners that he was going to do something about their plight, but if you heard him speak yesterday, he said he actually does not know what to do…a misnomer indeed!!!
hey ya! how you doing?
Imwe ba kabwalala is RB the first President to go on holiday with his family? :-w
Spectator
Fine, you??where were you??
we might as well go on Holidays, since the sleeping Giant A.K.A RB is on one, after accomplishing so much nothing…intresting indeed..
#42
Who is Baby C?? Its a big NOOOOOO! Am quite new here.
Lets just say, I, like the republican President went on a Holiday…now in my case i had done alot of work so I earned my leave and the rest is History…
Is this How slow LT has become?:((
#50 Spectator
You are very right on that one…we should also sleep like real babies(RB)
Hey, nice to be back!! These assurances are becoming too much. Its like every minister is on the defensive side. Agriculture, Finance, Works And Supply, Labour bla, bla, bla are all story tellers. Why should everything apart now! Holiday for what?????
Spectator, Lt is as slow as as a snail! boring!!!
Well since everyone seems to be in the Party mood and all let me just throw a few tips your way on how to RATE your Party.
If you threw a party, the worst thing you could have done was throw the kind of party where your guests, the next day, call you up to say they had a nice time. Now you’ll be expected to throw another great party next year.
What you should have done was throw the kind of party where your guests wake up several days from now and call their lawyers to find out if they’ve been indicted for anything. You want your guests to be so anxious to avoid a recurrence of your party that they immediately start planning parties of their own, a year in advance, just to prevent you from having another one.
spec
lets go to the yahoo side….boring lt
So next time, make sure your party reaches the correct Festivity Level:
Festivity Level One:
Your guests are chatting amiably with each other, admiring your Christmas-tree ornaments, singing carols around the upright piano, sipping at their drinks and nibbling at hors d’oeuvres.
Festivity Level Two:
Your guests are talking loudly–sometimes to each other and sometimes to nobody at all, rearranging your Christmas-tree ornaments, singing “I Gotta Be Me” around the upright piano, gulping their drinks and wolfing down hors d’oeuvres.
Festivity Level Three:
Your guests are arguing violently with inanimate objects, singing “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction,” gulping other people’s drinks, wolfing down Christmas-tree ornaments, and placing hors d’oeuvres in the upright piano to see what happens when the little hammers strike them.
(You want to keep your party somewhere around Level Three, unless you rent your home and own firearms, in which case you can go to Level Four.)
Festivity Level Four:
Your guests have hors d’oeuvres smeared all over their bodies, are performing a ritual dance around the burning Christmas tree, and have consumed all ten gallons of alcohol at the party. The piano is missing.
The best way to get to Level Four is eggnog. To make eggnog, you’ll need rum, whiskey, wine, gin and, if they are in season, eggs. Combine all ingredients in a large, festive bowl. If you use enough alcohol you won’t have to worry about them getting salmonella poisoning–their alcohol toxicity level will eliminate that possibility. Then induce your guests to drink this potent mixture.
If your party is successful, the police will knock on your door. If your party is very successful, the police will then lob tear gas through your living-room window. As host, your job is to make sure they don’t arrest anybody. Or, if they’re dead set on arresting someone, your job is to make sure it isn’t you. The best way to do this is to show a lot of respect for their uniforms and assure them you’re not doing anything illegal. Here’s how to handle it:
Police: “Good evening. Are you the host?”
You: “No.”
Police: “We’ve been getting complaints about this party.”
You: “About the drugs?”
Police: “No.”
You: “About the guns, then? Is somebody complaining about the guns?”
Police: “No, the noise.”
You: “Oh, the noise. Well, that makes sense, because there are no guns or drugs here. (An enormous explosion is heard in the background.) Or fireworks. Who’s complaining about the noise? The neighbors?”
Police: “No, the neighbors fled inland hours ago. Most of the recent complaints have come from several miles away. Do you think you could ask the host to quiet things down?”
Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
You: “No problem. (At this point, a Volkswagen bug with primitive religious symbols drawn on the doors emerges from the living room and roars down the hall, past the police and out the front door onto the lawn, where it smashes into a tree. Eight guests tumble out onto the grass, moaning.) See? Things are starting to wind down.” :d
am on the yahoo side..
“What we are considering is that if possible, we ensure that our workers do not remain unemployed. How we are going to do it, we do not quite know yet, but we are definitely making plans to enable our people in Luanshya continue with employment,” he said.
Give them new jobs or help them become enterprenuers. Also, ask the IAEA to speed up the process of looking at how our Uranium can be used safely.
We need to opne Uranium Mines in Southern Province immediately and concomitantly Nuclear Power Stations to help us take electricity to all areas of Zambia and then export the remaining to get foreign exchange and improve GDP. There is no more time to dilly-dally on this issue for jobs sake.
Its about time and please take over the mines or go in 50%.
Am busy wondering what plans nyama soya has for Luanshya ex to be miners…. am one who has been affected in the past by the Luanshya “bad luck routine’, rather OMEN..
When you visit Luanshya now,, its a ghodst town.. it used to be so lively.. ku mpatamato, Mikomfwa…Makaoma Dam used to be lively though..
I was disappointed with RB and his statement that he is going to provide a solution but how he was not sure. Time and again the guy RB has failed to articulate himself with issues and the repercussions. You are well off by saying, “i will issue a statement as the situation is still under study”, that is a far much better statement than to show hopelessness like one is not a leader.
LT, CAN YOU DO SOME SERIOUS EDITING PLEASE. AMA SPELLING/TYPING ERRORS YAFULA! :-w
‘The President is accomplished by his wife, Thandiwe, children and grandchildren.’
what is accomplished here for/to Mr RB Banda by his wife, children and grandchildren?
=;
GRZ when are you going to say THANK YOU to president Hakainde Hichilema who wrote President RB Banda containing ways of improving our limping economy. It is sad to note that the Kwacha currency rate to the US Dollar has now surpassed or is about to where former President Chiluba left it with us in 2011.
Let us learn to say thank you any help that comes our way. After all, the MMD GRZ is the one that requested for help from the opposition with solutions to the Global/National Financial Crises that we are facing as Zambians and Zambia. **==