President Edgar Lungu has said that the chances of importing Maize are high in Zambia given the erratic rainfall that the Country is experiencing.
President Lungu said that it has since been established that some people in the Country have been adversely affected by the poor rainfall this year.
President Lungu said that government’s assessment so far is that immediate aid will be required for areas devastated by the poor rainfall pattern.
President Lungu has disclosed that the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU), is already having meetings with different stakeholders to pip out a plan for responding to impending food crisis.
He was speaking shortly before departure for the Copperbelt at city airport in Lusaka this afternoon.
The President also said that he will find time to visit the residents of Kitwe’s Mufumachani area whose houses were demolished by the Kitwe council.
The President said that he understands that there is a disconnection between the people of Mufumachani and their councilors.
President Lungu thinks that there is need to re-visit the relationship that should be between the people and their area councilors.
Meanwhile, President Edgar Lungu has called on all Zambians to emulate late President Michael Sata by uniting and embracing one another, in the spirit of One Zambia One Nation.
President Lungu said that Mr Sata was a strong believer in a united nation and that is why he embraced all tribes while fighting for a better Zambia.
The Head of State said that tribalism has no place in society and he has called on all PF members to lead by example by playing clean politics and avoid talking about tribalism.
The Head of State said this upon arrival at Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe International Airport in Ndola this afternoon.
He was welcomed by Copperbelt Minister Mwenya Musenge, Tourism Minister Jean Kapata, Gender Deputy Minister Esther Banda and Masaiti Member of Parliament Michael Katambo.
Others on hand to welcome the president were Copperbelt Permanent Secretary Howard Sikwela, his Deputy Elias Kamanga and Patriotic Front Copperbelt Chairman Steven Kainga.
And President Lungu said critics of the constitution should not blame him for the Grade Twelve qualification requirement for Councillors and Members of Parliament.
President Lungu said that when he signed the Constitution of Zambia Amendment Bill he was responding to the wills of the people of Zambia.
He wondered why opposition leaders like FDD President Edith Nawakwi did not raise concerns when the Grade Twelve requirement was being discussed in parliament but waited for Presidential assent for them to raise the issues.
Well maize won’t grow itself if farmers have no fertilizer! From my understanding farmers are crying for delay of fertilizer and on top of that fertilizer is expensive for an average farmer.
One love.
This all Lungu s fault.
WHAT HAPPENED!? AFTER ALL THAT FASTING AND PRAYER? “Waste of time, money and enrgy for nothing” The Maize should be raining from heaven!! If the true God had heard your prayers…. or, are you telling me that he has gone deaf all of a sudden or maybe he was sleeping or simply not interested!!???????????
Farmers with fertilizer also find other “excuses” to grumble about.
Can you see where the problem lies… fast and pray = waste of time. That you should have been productive. Lazy a s s dunderheads!!!!!!
I think Zambians will give Lungu another sympathy vote. What will Lungu do once he leaves state house in 7 months from now? Look at him, everything is simply going wrong. He signed a wrong draft Constitution, constructions falling on children in Lusaka, now Kapyongo’s ministry demolish house in city he praised him that “Imwe Ba Kambwili, teapa umwaiche Kapyongo twali mupolota, mukukulu Miles Sampa resigned”. Under Miles Sampa such things of demolishing a hard fought for house would not have happened.
Kambwili also from Copper-belt is been reported to international criminal courts. Ifintu na fibipa.
What’s up with Lungu, Its embarrassing for a President to have a pot-belly.
This is not just for the president but for all especially men who never give birth; watch your waist line bane. Go to the BMI website and make sure you have the correct weight for your height if you want to enjoy life further and see your grandchildren. If not start jogging or at least walking more 5000 steps per day. This is what happens if you just sit in your office and consume on junk food + beer everyday. Cardiovascular issues have skyrocketed in our beautiful country Zambia because mostly of LAZY men. Plan B has not worked mr presido but don’t dare plan C coze that will be crime against humanity and the ICC will await you whether or not you win this August. How dare you wanna starve my people for your dirty game leading you nowhere. GOD is watching YOU.
hmmm but lubinda the other day was telling us something else. ninshi chili shani guyz?
Is that a pot belly we see on the PF president?
These guys are truely paya farmers. Just a few weeks ago you were saying that Zambia has enough maize stock and that we will even be renting some silos from Zimbabwe. Kikikikkiki but zoona wenye uyu umabwelela ka.
Where is FRA? Where is the maize they are supposed to have been storing?
Simply look at that lazy man’s pot belly in that photo…the man only knows how to dance and drink!!
The PF symbol is synonymous with violence and tribalism.
An open hand connotes peace and goodwill. That is why a handshake is ALWAYS with an open hand.
A fist generates anger, fear, resentment, fight, crushing like a ton.of bricks, hatred, discrimination, tribalism.
What about the strategic reserves Mr president?? I though PF has had agriculture covered???.
We have a thinking planning gov’t in place. Already they have put safety nets out! As for Edith, she enjoys her notoriety for annoying other opposition with untruths.
Bubeloo bakambo (big lie uncles- in Kaonde), PF have it all planned on dishing out free maize to villagers in exchange for votes-in the heat of the campaigns, you find out that the maize will be distributed even to areas not affected by the draught, a thing these pathetic crooks wouldn’t dare do if there was no election around the corner!!
And knowing politics of the belly pa Zed, the villagers will fall for the bait and put their votes on the pathetic failures!!
I hate to agree with you,but you are right,this might be a political stratagy by pf to use FRA food to buy votes and people will have no option.Kanshi these so called kaponyas can be smart ka.
Those strategies were tried by Kk and Banda but people were fade up already so they voted them out. Zambians now know the cause of their failure to produce maize. All fingers will point to Lungu and his PF . After the delayed farmers payment fiasco under Sata I dont think villagers will be gullible again.
Whether PF bribes the people again people will just take and vote them out period.
VIVA UPND AND HH TEAM.
When I tell you that the utterly lazy bum Edgar has absolutely no clue whatsoever this is what I mean; only about 4 months ago the selfsame empty tins including his agric. minister Lubinda were bragging about how they are bringing forex by exporting the so called surplus maize to neighbouring countries!!
FRA stands for Food RESERVE Agency. What have they reserved? Where is that reserve if just one tumbling in one single season we begin to trote around other countries?
HH was humiliated with insults in July 2015 when he advised Lungu to stop exporting maize. Google this subject.on LT.
I love the net.cos if you said it; it stays forever.
Also Google official PF tribal comments on.HH and UPND especially by Sata, Lungu, Chama, Sunday Chanda, Mumbi Phiri, Frank Bwalya and other hard core tribal supremacists.in the grand apostolic order of fossilized AB Chikwanda who has made Zambia a HIPC basket case Mugabe~Gono style.
When there is no vision. Planning is not there. We as a country are supposed to reserve enough maize for 3 to 5 years incase there is a drought people must have enough food to sustain them. Its so sad that that in the 21st century governments are not planning ahead. Even in the bible Joseph planned and reserved food which would last seven years. When famine hit the land. They had enoughfood to survive. Its sad that we might have to import our staple food.
Ulufumo lwa chibuku
Can some one please tell me what else we are not importing…. soon we might be importing electricity, we might be importing maize, shame.
“Responding to the WILLS of the people…”
I know that is a typo ED and not you planning to kill the nation.
Let’s just say for a moment the El nino continues post election in to another season. For how long do we plan to import as opposed to consider adjusting the national diet. The imported maize will be unaffordable. Reach across the aisles for solutions and stop being stubbornly resistant to possible solutions. We don’t need genetically modified nonsense entering our diet.
Comment:Sad development after being assured of having reserved maize lasting for more than 2seasons. The popcorn govt indeed. God help us.
People,
I thought, back in November, the Agriculture Minister was bragging that Zambia might be exporting surplus maize to neighboring countries,what has happened, that suddenly we are planning to import. Just within 2 months, what has happened? There is definitely a disconnect between the minister and the President, one of them doesn’t know whats up.
He’s talking about chances. In normal societies near accurate projections would have been done & quantities to be imported known, sources of financing identified. But then again thieves thrive in a state of confusion. Where is the forex we were told would come from maize exports. Oh, I forget, most companies exporting our maize were foreigners with off shore accounts.
Near accurate forecast? Forget it dome the so called experts are do do and unable to properly gather data anallse intrpret and forecast ntural phenomenon.for instane,a 4.6 magnitue quake occurred in Chirundu and the Diretor of the Geological said he hd not able to the estimate the possible damage because he was at home and he compounds it further by saying that have been other incidents before, why was data analysed to gain understaning? And give a reasonable explanation than wafflng about being wend and I am at home.
Sata is the one who divided Zambia with 90 of his tribe in cabinet.We thank God for taking him away from Zambia.
Comment: But we have been exporting maize including gaga. Localy gaga is costing more than maize, at K 82 nd maize at 75. go to livestock in show grounds. its like sow dust costing mote that wood, since when did we ever hve such a scenario? you hve completely killed the livestock industry. you cannot allow export everythong petaining to maize or else you bring hunger nd kill the livestock undustry nd its jobs. you should have exportef kambwili and mumbi phiri
The future is for people who plans for it, and PF is not part of our future. We had enough maize in stock but our government is full of foolish people who allowed people to export maize knowing very well that it won’t rain properly this year.
Swag no sikopodonono tefintu guys. I see these PF_problem formulation importing the same maize they exported.
PF gvt is truly a listening gvt- HUMBLE PIPO nimwebo!! It initiates tribalism tag on a certain region and group of fellow Zambians; the whole country as well meaning citizens cry. PF listens and and the presido himself “bans the tribalism talks and verbal attacks in PF circles”….. The Minister orders the city council to demolish the illegally built houses (a job well done!!), the president goes and apologizes for the aftermath and orders the city council through the provincial minister, to give the illegal settlers plots on a gazetted land, while obedient applicants to have plots still wait for yrs despite huge sums of money paid in application fees, in this biting economy….
Tribal tag on upnd and hh was put on them by one Fred mmembe.
We start a lame justification of load shedding due to low rainfall in 2014-2014, and people think that when people will die aftr heavy rains we shall sit idle and not bring in another excuse to prove that there is scarce rainfall to fill lake Kariba!! this time we take you to the next harvest season so that we kill 2 birds with 1 stone: our ussual late input distribution and the low rainfall, lets you pin us on the Kariba issue, and the possible bumper harvest… So apa ifintu twasova, coz you Zambians you’ll forget that some poeple died, roads were blocked, pathways impassable in different provinces of the country.. all coz of heavy rainfall. And unfortunately the waters did not go to Zambezi river…. kikikikiki
With good rains we have the following benefits:- Enough water at Kariba to generate electricity, Enough maize.etc Now as long as you blame Edgar for everything including natural disasters your preferred one may not be God’s preferred leader for mother Zed. I urge you to pray for those in leadership and not insult them. Some of you are under a curse for rising against leadership. Lungu upto 2021.
If we have good rains why are we talking about importing maize and why are we still load shedding.
We had a bumper harvest according to PF. So the problem was just lack of vision and planning
Sorry but tribal division began with Sata.
Mmembe is the originator of the tribal tag inflicted on hh and Upnd.
The govt has not imported any maize he is talking about future plans. Lungu is far much better than HH. if it was HH he was going to be talking about selling FRA becoz there is drought
HH actually advised PF not to export maize because he has a brain.
when u are blinded by negativity u dont see any good… the head of state is planning for the future and its clear we all have seen how the raining pattern has been for the last 2 seasons, for those of us who have been to kariba we can see the impact and how low the water levels have gone and even yo MPz visited this area but never told u the truth wen they demamnded that they visit the dam….did they tel u wat they found???? they instead went quiet and continued to politicise the issue. its posble we are likey to import maize but shud the rainfal pattern change its not too late that we can stil have a gud harvest…….please zambians lets be realistic and analyze issues with an open mind and heart and not with negativity….bcoz our economy is hydro dependant. we suffer alot wen we…
Please don’t talk like a child. We’re talking about running a nation here. PF seems to have too many things to learn on the job. Even basics that some of us take as common sense seem to elude them. Clearly they were not ready to run the country. It is either there is too much ignorance or they are skimming something sinister.
Lungu te fintu. Fi sashi fye.
How many times has the west warned you about climate change???
We may import coz Lubinda has failed.We told the govt to concetrate in areas where it’s ruining .The minister has failed to give the pipo of Northern,north western,Lupaula and CB fertilizer.This minister should not be allowed again to head the ministry of agriculture.Why should u conetrate on southern n central where it’s not raining?Indeed there is something wrong with some ministers maybe he wants PF to lose votes in PF strong holds.Ba lungu be careful otherwise some pipo are blackmailing you.Go to luapula there is no fertilizer and govt would have benefited from the province.Indeed this is shallow thinking not to concetrate where it’s raining.Zambia can be fed by one province.govt should have also made state farms where its raining coz there will be enough water to water the crop.We…
Iwe Moscow the buck stops with lungu and his entire PF. If ministers are doing wrong things while Lungu is ndwii then PF has leadership at all.
If it was not lungus fault he would have fired given kambwili and kapyongo to show that he is not part of their stupidity.
Viva UPND AND HH TEAM.
Cont
Not only that the load shedding we are experiencing would have avoid if govt invested in power in luapula and northern province.In Luapula it start raining in september until may.Kalungwishi river and luapula river are big river where u can produce close to 3000MW of power.But the technocrats without even considering the climate change have continue constructing power stations in southern province.This also not thinking by govt.Luapula,northern and northern western are near to equatorial rainfall belt hence it rains more in these provinces.why can u build power stations in these provinces ba govt?come on guys let us not be selective when we are implementing these issues.Zambia can’t experience power outages if technocrats were not selective in implementing developments…
People are asking where our maize has gone. Don’t you follow the news. It’s been exported by the same president. That’s economics made simple, PF style.
Are you aware as late as December 2015, Lungu agents were still exporting.maize?
Check zra and ministry of agriculture records….it’s all there for the record.
Lungu and PF minions condemned HH’s press statement where he advised Government to immediately ban maize exports and consider value addition in July 2015. At that time Lungu had claimed.Zambia had excess.maize to last year’s. See insults hurled at HH by Lungu crew..https://www.lusakatimes.com/2015/07/22/export-finished-maize-products-hh-urges-government/#li-comment-1895129.
Hate him or not, HH is a better planner.
chimbwi no plan indeed
Zambia is long over-due for a revolutionary political experiment.
PF seem to have had the knack to get up to the top of the tree; but not what to do once they found themselves up there. They are simply busy gathering the wild fruits….
and your governement continues allow exporting maize to DRC, Malawi and Zimbabwe, smh!