Vice President Inonge Wina says there is need for government and traditional leaders to maintain a close working relationship if the country is to develop.

Mrs Wina said the country can achieve more development when traditional leaders work closely with government.

Mrs Wina was speaking when she paid a courtesy call of Chief Kapijimpanga of the Kaonde people in Solwezi today.

ZANIS reports that the Vice President also emphasized on the need for all stakeholders to play their role in maintaining peace and singled out traditional leaders as key in maintaining peace ahead of the August 12 general elections.

“As elections approach, we expect traditional leaders to ensure peace before, during and after elections so that the country can continue being a beacon of peace that it is known for,” Ms Wina said.

Meanwhile Chief Kapijimpanga has commended government for the efforts made in delivering development to all parts of the country.

He cited education and health as some of the sectors that have received attention and thus opened up then district to new opportunities.

“Your honor, we are grateful to government for opening up Solwezi to development. We are glad that we have received a fair share of development in schools, health posts which are servicing our people,” Chief Kapijimpanga said.

Chief Kapijimpanga pledged to support government in maintaining peace among his people as the country heads to the polls.

And speaking when she separately met ten sub chiefs from Kapijimpanga area, Ms Wina encouraged them to work with government because it is important for development.

Ms Wina said some areas have lagged behind in development because people have refused to work with government.

‘We have had challenges in some areas because people have refused to work with government, therefore encourage your people to work with us as government and not look at us as a political party,” Ms Wina said.

She also called on the sub chiefs to help the party identify candidates that will represent people fairly once elected.

And Sub chief Mbonge who spoke on behalf of the others, expressed optimism that President Edgar Lungu will win the forthcoming elections.

Sub chief Mbonge said the President has to retain the seat so that he completes all the developmental projects he has started.

“We are hopeful that President Edgar Lungu will retain the seat so that he continues with the developmental projects he has started,” he said.

He appealed to government to consider sub chiefs for various empowerment programmes being implemented to help improve their livelihoods.

The Vice President is in Northwestern province for a three day working visit and is expected to inspect developmental projects in Kalumbila, Ikelenge, Mwinilunga and Kasempa districts as well as meet traditional leaders and party officials.

Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) has called on all grassroots coaches especially those in schools to get trained and acquire coaching e-licenses in order to be professional.

FAZ coach education instructor, Chris Chibuye said the new system adopted requires that all coaches must be trained in order to be recognized.

“Let them develop their abilities… what they are teaching now is wrong because they have not gone through training in order to be able to be coach,” Chibuye said.

He added that untrained coaches will in the long run lose their jobs even though they have the potential because FAZ will soon stop allowing anyone to coach unless they are qualified.

ZANIS sports in Solwezi reports Chibuye said in an interview that professional coaches bring up skilled and professional footballers.

“Young players passing through qualified coaches will reach high levels in the game and play in clubs in the country and outside as international professional players… they can also play in the national team and will play better than the other players we have seen in the past, ” he said.

Chibuye noted that coaching licenses are now mandatory as no one will be allowed to coach anywhere where there is organised football, not even in schools or compounds without a license.

He said these are regulations by FAZ and FIFA who advised that every coach in grassroots football must be qualified.

“Coaching is a profession and E-license course is the entry point in which we teach the fundamentals of coaching the basics, then they can develop to other higher licenses,” Chibuye said.

FAZ is undertaking a provincial programme throughout the country to train football coaches.

Currently the football body is in in North-western province where about 80 aspiring couches are being trained.

Minister of Local Government Charles Banda says the government remains resolute to rehabilitate feeder roads countrywide to spur social and economic development.

He explained that the government under his ministry will not relent in improving the state of feeder roads as they contribute greatly to economic development.

ZANIS reports that Dr Banda made the remarks in parliament today, when responding to a question from Chinsali Member of Parliament, Kalalwe Mukosa, who wanted to know whether government has plans to rehabilitate feeder roads in Chinsali District, Muchinga, during the session for oral answers.

“Muchinga like any other province in the country is receiving its fair share of feeder roads and works are in progress. We are constructing and rehabilitating more roads, currently 80 kilometers of the rehabilitation works in the province are done,” he responded.

Of the K119.6 billion for 2021 National budget, the government allocated over K6.2 billion for Road Infrastructure development in the country.

The Choma Magistrate has granted bail to the five accused of abducting Pheluna and Milton Hatembo.

The accused persons; wife to Chief Mukuni, Veronica Mukuni, Choma and Mazabuka Mayors; Javen Simoloka and Vincent Lilanda, and Choma business man Fines Malambo and former Local Government Minister Ackson Sejani.

The court set K10,000 cash bail to each accused person and two working surety.

And just before this action, the Livingstone High Court sitting in Mazabuka had granted Ackson Sejani and three others Harbeas Corpus following their unlawful detention by police.

In granting the Harbeas Corpus,High Court Judge Kenneth Mulife said the the state breached section 33 of Cap 88 of the laws of Zambia and therefore finds the detention illegal and unlawful.

He, on the authority of order 54,Rule 4 of the white book of the Supreme Court directed for the immediate release of the applicants from detention.

The decision of the High Court was communicated to the media by the applicant’s lawyer Clement Andeleki of A Mbambara and Associates who expressed satisfaction with the decision.

The accused were however at the time of the High Court ruling before the Choma Magistrate Court where they were taking plea on a charge of abduction contrary to the Penal Code.

The decision of the state to bring the accused before court was to avoid being compelled by the High Court and thus renders the ruling an academic exercise.