North-Western Province Permanent Secretary, Willies Mangimela has reaffirmed government’s commitment to prioritizing the needs of youths and young women in the country.

Mr Mangimela said government understands that building inclusive society is a means to attaining national development.

He said this in a speech read on his behalf by his Deputy,

Emmanuel Chihili during a project launch on enhancing youths and young women’s participation in governance organized by Alliance for Accountability Advocates Zambia held in Solwezi today.

“In order to measure the achievements of the Global Goals and Vision 2030 and the National Youth Policy, there is need to put in place monitoring and accountability mechanisms especially by the youths themselves so as to hold each other accountable and ensure that these strategies are achieved,” Mr Mangimela said.

He has encouraged youth leaders to engage fully in the implementation and monitoring of the sustainable development goals, national development policies and their related youth strategies as the results affect their future.

Mr Mangimela assured to maintain 30 percent youth representation in decision making structures at provincial and district development coordinating committees.

He said government is ready and willing to support youth- led initiatives and create an enabling environment for them to participate in democratic processes at all levels.

And Alliance for Accountability Advocates Zambia Executive Director, Chilufya Chimfwembe said the organization is aiming at ensuring that there is enough youth representation in decision making structures.

“When we talk about representation in decision making structures, we are talking about the provincial and district development coordinating and area development committees to ensure there is development in our communities”, Mr Chimfwembe said.

He said they want young people to effectively participate in governance issues in their communities and hold leaders accountable.

Meanwhile, Alliance Accountability and Advocates Zambia Media and Publicity Officer, Chisha Chola said after the capacity building, they expect to see each and every youth participate in decision making spaces and governance issues especially young women.

“So all these methods we are using of capacity building the young people will help them break through the barriers and have confidence to participate in governance issues,” Mr Chola said.

He said once the capacity is embedded in young people they will be able to talk about issues that affect them in communities.

PF presidential running mate Prof Nkandu Luo has charged that Independent candidates are selfish.

Prof. Luo said a lot of aspiring candidates who apply for adoptions do so for selfish motives and that was why they end up running as independents to satisfy their desires.

Professor Luo said it was worrying that a lot of people in Zambia still looked at being Member of Parliament merely as lucrative job and not a responsibility charged to lead and represent the people in Parliament.

“One of the things we miss as a people is that when you apply for adoption, it doesn’t mean that you will be successful all of you. You will be subjected to assessments and the best one gets picked so there are a lot of things that are taken into consideration before the MCC settles for a particular candidate,” Professor Luo said.

She said being a Member of Parliament was a very difficult undertaking because Parliament required people who could debate issues.

Professor Luo added that the back benches in Parliament are the most important and they must always research and be able to protect the integrity of the party they represented.

“I was mesmerised by a huge number of people applying to contest on various positions. People should have the euphoria to apply into colleges and universities to contribute to the nations education and development sector instead of just trying to get to Parliament at any cost,” she advised.

National Health Insurance Management Authority (NHIMA) says it will soon embark on a robust door to door campaign for more Zambians to join the national health Insurance scheme.

NHIMA Director General, James Kapesa, says the Authority is targeting to capture more people in the informal sector to register with NHIMA for quality healthcare.

Mr Kapesa said there is a need for more people especially in rural communities to appreciate the importance of joining the NHIMA program for improved health services.

ZANIS reports that Mr Kapesa said this at Kalene Mission Hospital in Ikelenge district as he concluded his tour of health care providers accredited to NHIMA in Northwestern Province.

The NHIMA Chief observed that much more needs to be done to facilitate information exchange between NHIMA, implementers of the scheme and the community for awareness to take place.

Meanwhile Kalene Mission Hospital Acting Medical Officer, Dr Mweene Mophini, called on NHIMA to ensure that more people in Ikelenge district are captured and mobilised to join the national health Insurance program for the hospital to increase its claims on health care.

A small scale farmer of Lusu East Ward in Sesheke district has urged other farmers to practice Sustainable and Conservation Agriculture.

Mr Lubinda Lubinda of Katete area said sustainable and conservation farming is good as it has a lot of benefits.

He was speaking at Mazaba primary school during a training dubbed Sustainable Agriculture organized by ActionAid Zambia.

“Practicing sustainable and conservation farming is good because it helps return nutrients to the soil and improves the yield,” said Mr. Lubinda.

He said that it also saves on time as farmers tend to clear and plant their crops within a short time.

“The new methods of farming also reduces on the cost of buying fertilizer and chemicals,” he added.

Meanwhile, ActionAid Zambia Western Hub-Humanitarian Project Officer, Nalishebo Namakando has advised farmers to adapt to the effects of climate change by planting early maturing and drought resilient crops that can easily grow even in harsh conditions.

Mr Namakando said it was time for people to practice smart agriculture in order for them to survive during times of climate change.

He said it is important for farmers to adopt agro-ecological methods so that they produce increased yields compared to those using conventional methods.

“We need to move with time hence the need for us to move to smart agriculture in order to contribute to food security in our areas,” Mr Namakando advised.

And Mazaba Agriculture Extension Officer, Vitaris Sialubala has called on farmers to desist from ploughing and burning their fields.

Mr Sialubala said doing so, kills nutrients in the field and damages the soil.

“Sustainable Agriculture is the product of keeping livestock and growing crops hence you must stop burning and ploughing your fields so as to preserve the environment,” he added.

The Extension Officer further said sustainable agriculture also helps farmers in harvesting huge produces on smaller land.

56 farmers from Kaliki, Katete, Njokomalomo, Lusu East, Maziba, Mazaba and Nga’mbwe have benefited from the training.

The Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) has called on media houses in the country to observe its ethical guidelines and comply with prescribed regulations of the authority before, during and after general elections.

IBA Director Josephine Mapoma says as media coverage a yardstick used to determine whether an election is free and fair , hence the need for licensees to familiarise themselves with the IBA act .

Stressing that their risks associated with lack of understanding of the entire process, Ms. Mapoma observed that the election period calls for greater care and responsible reporting by both radio and television outlets in terms of how they package their reports.

The IBA Director stressed that the authority will ensure that it carries its mandate to regulate materials disseminated to the public is palatable.

Ms. Mapoma was speaking in an interview yesterday on the sidelines of the ongoing workshop for IBA’s licensees on the Copperbelt province being hosted in the Ndola District.

She was speaking in an interview yesterday on the sidelines of the ongoing workshop for IBA’s licensees on the Copperbelt province being hosted in the Ndola District.

“ The country is about to achieve a great milestone on August 12 this year and the media plays a critical role in enhancing democracy by providing a platform for all stakeholders to reach out to electorates, “ she said.

The IBA is aware of the huge task and challenges facing the broadcasting station in the country this year noting that they are a preferred medium of disseminating information as political rallies are being discouraged in view of the ravaging pandemic, coronavirus.

She said her office has since developed the provision of the standard operating procedure on election reporting to highlight the role of media in the electoral cycle and risks associated with a lack of understanding of the entire processes.

“We are not policing but providing guidance to media and show that journalist is a profession.

“ We are guided by the provision of the Act which compels the authority to level the playing field and ethical standards are observed.

“ We know that prevalence of coronavirus dictates that political players will rely more on media houses to air their campaign messages to a wider audience and this is where we come in to regulate the content if it’s consumable,” she said.

And IBA Manager Standards and Consumer Affairs Independent Broadcasting Authority said license training Leah Kabamba has advised media houses not to be excited with offers from political players and stakeholders who will want to disseminate campaign messages which can send the country into flames.

Ms.Kabamba said the authority requires licensees to be professional and ethical in their reporting.

“ It is against this background that the training has incorporated officers who produce materials for TV and radio stations to make them understand that what is being disseminated standard operating procedure on election reporting, “ she said.

Meanwhile, Sun FM/TV manager Curtis Slimar has commended the authority for embarking on an exercise to familiarize its licensees of code of conduct and the Act which regulates Broadcasting.