The government says it will turn Fountain of Hope Orphanage into a grant-aided institution to help meet its operational costs effective next year.

Minister of Youth and Sport Emmanuel Mulenga says his ministry has already engaged the Ministry of Finance and commenced the process to turn the facility into a grant aided institution.

Speaking when he visited the orphanage in Lusaka’s Kamwala residential area, Mr Mulenga said the facility must not be allowed to close following the death of its founder and benefactor late Mwansabombwe Member of Parliament Rodgers Mwewa.

Mr Mulenga said Government will partner with the orphanage and will not allow the 216 children being sheltered at the facility to return to the streets as it will undo the good work that Mr Mwewa accomplished.

He said the death of Mr Mwewa has left a big gap in tackling the problem of street kids and in the administration of the orphanage and the lives of over 200 children sheltered at the facility.

“His death has left a big gap, he showed me how to tackle street kids. Fountain of Hope should not die with the death of Mr Mwewa. He was solving a social need, trying to end streetism,” Mr Mulenga said.

The minister donated food items worth K30, 000 and assured management at the orphanage that Government will take over expenses to ensure that the children are fed all the three meals as a mechanism is being worked on to find sustainable means of meeting provisions up to the end of the year.

Mr Mulenga offered his condolences to management at the facility and encouraged them to continue loving and caring for the children and ensure that the environment at the facility is conducive for children.

And Co-Manager of Fountain of Hope Newton Chisenga thanked the government for coming to the aid of the orphanage and meet its operational costs.

Mr Chisenga said the orphanage is facing challenging times following the death of its founder as the burden of feeding and sheltering 216 children has become great.

“We have 216 children sheltered here, and our biggest challenge is feeding them, all 3 meals” said Mr Chisenga

And the minister urged the children to remain disciplined and protect themselves at all times by wearing face masks and adhering to public health guidelines in order not to contract the coronavirus.

Mr Mulenga said government will in due course provide warm clothing and footwear and additional face masks to them.

Copperbelt Province Permanent Secretary Bright Nundwe says there is a need for a law to blacklist inefficient engineers on projects involving colossal sums of money.

Mr. Nundwe says it is unfortunate that some engineers are derailing Government’s developmental agenda at great cost because they do not mean well to the country.

He was speaking when the committee of the board chairpersons from road sector agencies led by Road Development Agency -RDA- Board Chairperson Samuel Mukupa paid a courtesy call on him at his office.

Mr. Nundwe said engineers are supposed to study the environment where they have been given projects to enable them carry out quality construction works.

He wondered why engineers leave out supporting components on a project, stating that this has greatly affected construction works on road projects.

And Mr. Mukupa said the agencies are working together to ensure there is coordination to enable them to appreciate what is happening in the road sector.

Meanwhile, Road Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA) Board Chairperson Cornelius Chipoma said through such coordination by the three road agencies, the road sector is expected to achieve a lot of success.

And National Road Fund Agency -NRFA Board Chairperson Christabel Banda said officers in the road sector are also vulnerable to contracting covid-19 during the course of duty, as they are always interacting with the public.

The team of board chairpersons is on the Copperbelt to check on how officers from the road sector are protecting themselves from covid-19 and also assess how they are maintaining road infrastructure in the province.

The Zambia Law Development Commission has recommended Electronic Voting as one of the means to actualise prisoners’ rights to vote.

The Commission has also recommended that the Electoral Process Act be amended by repealing section nine sub-section one clause “E” and section 47 to establish polling stations in Correctional facilities.

Zambia Law Development Commission Chairperson, Roydah Kaoma says the commission has further recommended that the Prisons Act Chapter 97 of the Laws of Zambia, must be reviewed to enhance prisoners’ access to information.

Justice Kaoma, who is also Supreme Court Judge, says the move will additionally enable the Electoral Commission of Zambia -ECZ- to access Correctional Facilities.

She says the recommendations follow the finalisation of the survey carried by the commission, after a request by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Justice Kaoma says the request was issued in 2018 after the 2017 Constitutional Court Judgement in the Case of Godfrey Malembeka versus the Attorney General, which validated the right to vote among prisoners under lawful custody.

She disclosed this during a Virtual Meeting in Lusaka, encompassing officials of the Zambia Law Development Commission, Zambia Correctional Service, Electoral Commission of Zambia and Zambia Centre for Interparty Dialogue-ZCID.

Prisons Care and Counselling Association Executive Director Godfrey Malembeka and other stakeholders also participated in the virtual meeting.

Dr. Malembeka was a litigant in the 2017 case of Godfrey Malembeka versus the Attorney General, where the Constitutional Court validated the right to vote among prisoners under lawful custody.

Home Affairs Minister Stephen Kampyongo says the police headquarters has recorded some confirmed cases of COVID-19.

Mr. Kampyongo says the officers who tested positive have since been isolated for treatment and the entire premises has been disinfected.

He says all police officers have been requested to undergo COVID-19 tests at designated places.

Mr. Kampyongo was speaking during a media briefing in Lusaka.

And Mr. Kampyongo has warned members of the public who disregard the law that no one is above the law regardless of their standing in society.

He said police recorded incidents of violence at the Lusaka Central Police station and Mafken radio station in Mufurila.

Mr. Kampyongo said it is regrettable that public and private institutions are being targeted by unruly individuals.

He said the police have also recorded 15 reports involving unknown criminals that have been attacking hikers at the lay-by near Heroes stadium, Kabangwe, SOS, Ngwerere and Kabanana along the Great North road.

Mr. Kampyongo said the nature of the criminal acts recorded range from murder, attempted murder, aggravated robbery, rape and unlawful wounding.

He added that a total of 5 suspects have been arrested and some properties belonging to the victims have been recovered.

UPND Leader Hakainde Hichilema says he has information that the Teaching Council of Zambia is asking both employed and unemployed teachers to pay for their practicing certificates.

Mr. Hichilema as much as certification is important, what is also very important for now, is to give teachers a relief during this Covid-19 period where the majority of trainers in private schools have been placed on unpaid leave.

The UPND Leader said this has left many teachers without an income to survive on.

Mr. Hichilema said the economic hardships teachers, both in public and private teaching are going through cannot be compared to other professionals who have continued working.

He has appealed to those in authority not to suffocate them further with more unfair demands.

Mr. Hichilema said the majority of these individuals they are sending messages to, are unemployed trained teachers who don’t have the means to pay for these licenses.

Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Services Permanent Secretary Amos Malupenga has commended MISA Zambia and its partners for undertaking a survey to determine public trust in the media.

Mr. Malupenga says the report is important as it will help the media to assess their relationship with the public to whom their loyalty must be.

He says among other issues, the report highlights biasness, media capture, and political polarisation as some of the reasons for loss of public trust and confidence in the media.

Mr. Malupenga says the report also cites inaccurate media coverage and lack of in-depth analysis of issues as some of the reason for the erosion of public trust in the media.

He said the report therefore, serves as a timely reminder for the media in Zambia to be professional at every given time and to ensure that professional ethics remain key guiding principles in their operations.

Mr. Malupenga said the findings of the report also vindicate Government’s persistent call for professionalism and strict adherence to professional ethics by the media which in some circles, have been misunderstood as efforts to gag the media.

He said Government has no reason, whatsoever, to hinder the media or journalists from doing their job but want to ensure that enough space and latitude is provided for them to do their work in a much more professional manner because society depends on them for information on various issues affecting their wellbeing.

Mr. Malupenga said it is not in dispute that the media play an important role of informing, educating and entertaining the public but this role calls for the highest levels of professionalism anchored on key fundamentals of truth, objectivity, fairness, credibility and fact.

Speaking during the launch of the Trust in the Media Baseline Report, Mr. Malupenga said Public trust is fundamental in the success of the Journalism profession.

He said sadly, countries world-over, including Zambia, is a victim of fake news which has ‘poisoned’ the bloodstream of our societies – undermining trust and destabilizing democracy.