The Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) has awarded the tender to print ballot papers for the forthcoming three parliamentary and 19 Local Government by-elections to Smith and Ouzman of the United Kingdom (UK).
This was contained in a statement by ECZ public relations manager Chris Akufuna in Lusaka yesterday.
Mr Akufuna said the Commission had received two bids, one from Smith and Ouzman and the other from Ren-Form cc of Johannesburg in South Africa.
Previously, ECZ had been using Universal Print Group (UPG) of Durban, South Africa to print electoral materials such as ballot papers.
ECZ set July 5, 2012 as the date for the parliamentary By-Elections in Livingstone, Chama North and Muchinga Constituencies as well the 19 Local Government by-elections around the country.[pullquote]Let me also state here that the PF government is committed to ensuring that ballot papers for future elections are printed locally. My government will do everything possible to realise this[/pullquote]
Last year in his address to parliament President Sata promised the nation that all election ballot papers will be in future printed from within Zambia.
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There have been calls from various members of society to have printing done locally.
Earlier this year Anti Voter Apathy Project (AVAP) Executive Director Richwell Mulwani said Government Printers has the potential to print ballot papers if it is funded adequately.Mr Mulwani told Zambia News and Information Services (ZANIS) in an interview in Lusaka February this year, that the company has previously printed important documents which demonstrates its capacity of printing ballot papers as well.
He said Zambia has set a good example in the region through conducting peaceful and free elections hence the need for the country to consider printing ballot papers locally.Mr Mulwani noted that the printing of ballot papers locally would increase credibility of holding elections and reduce suspicions among political players.
He said the development could also promote transparency in the printing process and give political players an opportunity to monitor the process.
Former Works and Supply Minister Mike Mulongoti said Zambia has the capacity to have election materials printed locally.Mr. Mulongoti has further appealed to government to invest in the government printers in order to avoid overspending on the exercise that can be carried out within the country.
He said there is need to empower local printing companies by giving them business of handling the printing of ballots for elections.
When Sata said more money in your pockets he wasn’t lieing.He just wasn’t taking to Zambians..he meant foreigners like Malawians,the British,Chinese etc
Who has awareded who?
The first line says ECZ has been awarded.
Name & Registered Office:
SMITH & OUZMAN LIMITED
45 BRAMPTON ROADÂ
EASTBOURNEÂ
EAST SUSSEXÂ
BN22 9AHÂ
Company No. 00352738Â Status: ActiveÂ
Date of Incorporation: 06/05/1939
Country of Origin: United Kingdom (Info available on Companies House website)
These fulls were all over the show accusing Lupiya of corruption in ballot paper printing and vote rigging. The charlatans, in their usual silly fashion, then went on to promise to print ballot papers at Government Printers within 90 days. But then you expect a “chimbwi no plan” government to easily forget these things. Who suffers more? The silly people who put these quacks in power.
I dont see any logic in this. I would think that it would be cheaper to print and transport ballot papers from SA than in the UK. Why has everyone in leadership stopped thinking?
Did they start thinking?
Ok. So what is the advantage of having the ballot papers printed in the UK, are we saving or spending more?
Printing the ballot papers in S.A does not guarantee that they will be cheaper, it depends on the terms of offer during tender submissions, what if they are even delivering for free?
Slap in the face,better off you give an African Company.walk the talk kaili,no MMD this,MMD that see that the mouth is so uselless at times.
When i said Ukwa was a baboon i was insulted
Some people now think he his a Chimbwi
Cursed and dommed is he who puts his or her HOPE & TRUST in politicians for he shall starve to death and remain UNHAPPY all his life, even HH or who ever i gurantee you its a circle. freindlt warning.
Printing of ballot papers locally to cut costs to Zambian tax payers would be the easiest project for any serious government. More especially where by elections are prompted by politically manouvred to weaken the oppsition, surely printing of ballot papers by now should have been done locally. Since this easy pizzy task PF govt failed I wonder if ever they can achieve any thing while in power. May be to butter and maim peacefull demonstrators and threats of arrests. Indeed this a CHIMBWI NO PLAN government.
Chimbwi no plan in control.
H.E Michael Chilufya Sata, Cnp (University of Ukwanomics).
NO, IT’S UNIVERSITY OF CHIMBWINOMICS, IT SHOULD BE IN SUDAN.
Am sure these printers in the UK will use magic ink that will magically transfer the ‘x’ from a preferred candidate to the pathetic failure (pf) one. Please voters, make sure you go to the polling stations with your own pens!Â
bushe uyu shikulu ni advice or he is really suffering from dementia? not so many moons away he was saying these are the last bye elections to have ballot papers printed outside zambia and now we have extended the journey to our colonial masters? is he trying to please the queen? or he thinks he will be knighted? Sir Micheal Chilufya Sata, iyo, even worse universities will be ashamed to give him a honorary diploma. ba sata wake up or you too will be the worst, short lived zambian president has ever had. shud we remind you that 5 years is just around the corner? aikona masobelo or else we will put you in your favorite position-opposition come 2016, zedians are wiser than you ever think and guy scot has cheated you thinking those who will vote pf are not yet born, we are here.
Oh the folly of putting your trust in man!!
Whatever happened to election promises. Has PF govt explained why they dont print ballot papers in Zambia? And why they accused MMD of mischief for doing the same thing they are doing?
Amazing enough during campaigns Sata and Lubinda told us that Zambia was capable of printing ballot papers. I think we need a revolution of young people to take over the running of this country in 2016. It pains to see out little resources being mismanaged in such manners.Â
I guess after MMD failed to corrupt the elections, PF realized that South African “magic jumping ink” doesn’t work so well and have decided to try UK magic ink instead.
Now if we could just develop the technology locally…
#19 I echo your words….we were promises Govt Printers would do that job…… PF my PF double standards is affecting us deeply….. I have little faith in PF now my trust has dropped to 2% remaining to join the Corrupt mass of politicians….honestly i do not know who to vote for now…… every day now words like “each one for himself and God for us all” are beginning to make an impact on some of us…. I miss the old SATA when he was governor….not the current one!!…. vanity, vanity oh vanity why do you possess the upper hand in everything
Ba fi… kala…. ba PF they were saying ballot papers can be printed locally, wat nuisance are doing. Chimbwi no plan zooona
Sata and PF complained the loudest when the previous gov’t awarded a foreign company based in RSA, now they are printing 8000kms away in Sussex. When are you going to recapitalize Government Printers or reduce duty on commercial printing machinery. Come 2016, at this rate we will printing in the States or India…this FAZ shortsightedness way of thinking!!
@7 bushe ni 5yearsyasalako? ni four manje mwalabashani. Its a shame aba bantu how do u give britons to print our ballots when they ll be charging us double considering our poor currency? I concur with many contributors that it was better to give it to our neighbors esp SA guys given the fact that many Zambians are working there.
HH HH HH HH where are u?
The problem is our president lacks intelligence and simple logic and unfortunately most people who voted for him carry the same traits. We need to educate our brothers and sisters so that they do not make these mistakes in future. CNP for real
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