Late last year, we wrote an article whereby we suggested that since our country is not at war…..and not likely to go to war any time soon, it would be prudent to encourage our men and women to help us improve food security. Hereunder, we reproduce part of the article in question:

“The country is effectively at war with imminent hunger. The same way we’d summon the mighty of the military to help clean up our cities whenever there’s an outbreak of Cholera, we expect the military, particularly ZNS to come in and help the nation contain hunger.

Phiri (the Agriculture Minister) must request Gary Nkombo, (the Minister of Local Government then) to engage our traditional leaders to consider surrendering massive tracts of land, particularly in areas where they’ve vast water bodies. Once enough land has been secured, the Agriculture minister must further liaise with the Defence minister, Ambrose Lufuma to beseech the President who is of course the Commander in Chief of armed forces to give ‘marching orders’ to the men and women in uniform to take to the fields without further ado and help grow more maize using irrigation methods, if the rains fail us.”

A number of people didn’t take kindly to this, of course…..they wasted no time mocking us and calling us all sort of names. And boom…..a few months later, what do we see? From the Zambia Army establishments in Solwezi or Chipata; the Zambia Air Force base in Mbala to the Zambia National Service fields countrywide…..the story is all the same – Bumper harvest after Bumper harvest! Bravo to all our soldiers! The work you have done shall definitely go a long way in stablising the price of ‘our staple food’ as there will be surplus of the commodity. We don’t have to belabour the point; this is simple and straight forward!

If we may digressa little bit, may we now tackle the elephant in the room – youth employment! Without being seen to be seemingly attempting to ‘sway’ them away from their core mandate of defending and protecting our nation, we are appealing to government to consider further utilising the military to embark on a journey of industrializing our country as this would go a long way in triggering jobs galore that everyone is talking about.

The problem we have in Africa is that we always want to allow the West to dictate to us how we should run our countries. In countries such as China, Pakistan, Turkey and Indonesia; the military own businesses spanning from transport and logistics, real estates, manufacturing, construction, telecommunications and hospitality industry. One may argue that ZNS is already doing that……yes, but on small scale!

What is stopping our military from setting up farms to grow ‘green gold’ (marijuana) for export purposes? Why can’t the military establish companies to construct our roads as opposed to giving contracts to foreigners? We already have an open market in neighbouring Congo DR for mealie meal, beef, chicken, fish and vegetables etc, can’t the military take advantage of such and employ youngsters to work on their farms? Can somebody convince us our military can surely fail to operate emerald or gold mines?

We’ve almost won the battle against hunger; it’s high time the military helped us tackle youth unemployment head on!

Salute!

Prince Bill M. Kaping’a
Political/Social Analyst

Zambia has pledged an additional Military Police Company, Two Platoons Mixed Engagement Teams, One Medium Utility Helicopter Unit and One Air Ambulance for peacekeeping missions under the United Nations.

The pledge was made at the just ended 2025 United Nations Peacekeeping Ministerial Conference held in Berlin, Germany.
Ministry of Defence Permanent Secretary Mr. Maambo Haamaundu, who led the Zambian delegation, made the pledge on behalf of Zambia during the pledging session at the Ministerial Conference.

The Zambian delegation included Zambia Army Commander Lt Gen Geoffrey Zyeele, Zambia Army Secretary Brig Gen Dr David Sanene and Military Advisor at the Zambian Mission to the United Nations in New York, Brig Gen Oliver Musonda,Addressing the Ministerial Conference yesterday on behalf of Minister of Defence Mr. Ambrose Lufuma, Mr. Haamaundu said United Nations member countries must strategically invest in UN Police, fully implement the women peace and security agenda, and responsibly leverage new technologies like artificial intelligence and unmanned aerial vehicles to enhance operational effectiveness and transparency.

The Permanent Secretary added that addressing the escalating climate crisis and its impact on conflict dynamics is also a pressing priority.

“Greener and safer peacekeeping is a fundamental necessity. Equally vital is our ability to communicate strategically, counter misinformation, and foster trust with the communities we serve,” said Mr. Haamaundu.

He said peacekeeping cannot succeed in isolation and he reaffirmed the value of robust cooperation with regional organizations, as emphasized in the United Nations Security Council Resolution Number 2719.

“Excellencies, colleagues, our task is to collaboratively build a peacekeeping architecture fit for both the present and the future. Let us rise to this occasion with unity and determination,” said Mr.Haamaundu.

Zambia is a major troop contributing country under the United Nations, with a Zambia Army battalion deployed in the Central Africa Republic serving under the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA).

The two-day United Nations Peacekeeping Ministerial Conference is a high-level forum aimed at discussing the future of peacekeeping and for Member States to express and demonstrate their support.

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres opened the conference On Tuesday.

Issued by:
Paul Shalala (Mr.)
Principal Public Relations Officer
MINISTRY OF DEFENCE

The Republican Progressive Party (RPP) acknowledges and agrees with the sentiments expressed by Her Honour the Vice President, Mrs. Mutale Nalumango,during a recent Regional Poverty Reduction and Climate Resilience Conference, where she rightly emphasized that changing governments is not, in itself, a solution to poverty.

Her message, shared on a global platform, was a timely reminder to all participating nations that poverty reduction stems from a shift in mindset, a culture of hard work, and collective responsibility. Which the new dawn government urges.

As a leader speaking on behalf of Zambia, the Vice President’s message resonated not only nationally but internationally, underscoring the fact that sustainable development requires more than political transitions—it requires personal and societal transformation.

We note that the United Party for National Development (UPND) government is making efforts to address poverty through various policies and interventions.

The Republican Progressive Party continues to believe in building a progressive nation by empowering citizens to be innovative, industrious, and resilient. We stand ready to contribute to solutions that uplift the lives of our people—not through empty promises of political change, but through concrete actions, mindset change, and accountable leadership.

Issued by:
Leslie Chikuse
President – Republican Progressive Party (RPP)

By Kumbirai Thierry Nhamo

Somewhere between the latest tech layoffs, celebrity gossip, and viral TikToks about how to season your trauma with lavender oil and affirmations, a war is still raging in Sudan. Yes, still. Not metaphorically. Not in the abstract. Real bombs, real bodies, real cities reduced to skeletal rubble. Real people, over 13 million of them fleeing from homes that once smelled of spice and promise. But if you blinked, or just scrolled too fast, you probably missed it. That’s not entirely your fault. The world, it seems, moved on like it was just another news cycle. Like Sudan’s suffering expired with the algorithm.

Sudan’s civil war didn’t end because it got boring. It simply got inconvenient. On April 15, 2023, two men, both intoxicated with power and thoroughly uninterested in democracy, turned the capital Khartoum into a battlefield. General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan leads the army (SAF), while his former ally, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Their bromance soured, and like all toxic breakups between armed men, it escalated into carnage. Markets were shelled. Hospitals were bombed. Women were raped. Children starved. Then silence. Not in Sudan, but outside it.

Let’s be honest: the world has a hierarchy of horror. When war breaks out in Ukraine, the headlines scream. When missiles fall on Gaza, people protest. When terror strikes Paris or London, the monuments light up. But when Black bodies pile up in Darfur or Khartoum, the coverage comes slow, if at all. We’ve internalized the idea that African tragedy is ambient noise. It’s just how things are, right? War, famine, coups, it’s the usual rotation on the continent. We gasp briefly, maybe share a thread or two, then scroll on to lighter content. Our silence is not neutral. It’s complicity with a global order that doesn’t believe African lives carry the same emotional weight.

And then there’s the media, bless their sometimes shallow, sometimes exhausted hearts. They love a conflict with a narrative arc. Good guys, bad guys, a tearful reunion, maybe a golden retriever pulled from the rubble. Sudan offers no such simplicity. The warring factions are both drenched in civilian blood. There’s no Zelensky in olive green rallying Western support, no slick press conferences or rousing speeches that go viral. Just endless suffering in a place most editors couldn’t find on a map. It’s hard to sell nuance to a click economy. Tragedy, too, must be marketable.

The irony? Sudan is not some isolated, unknowable place. It’s a nation that stood at the edge of democratic transition not too long ago. In 2019, its people many of them young, many of them women, toppled the 30-year dictatorship of Omar al-Bashir with nothing but protest chants and raw courage. They dreamed out loud. And the world briefly clapped. But soon came the military takeover. And now this war. The democratic dream is bleeding out in the dark, without witnesses.

Meanwhile, the response from the so-called international community has been what you’d expect from a group chat with the read receipts off. The African Union, the United Nations, the Arab League, everyone released a strongly worded statement and then shuffled awkwardly into bureaucratic silence. The U.S. and Europe? Busy with domestic fires or more politically “urgent” conflicts. The 2024 UN humanitarian appeal for Sudan is still billions short. Some countries have sent aid, but not nearly enough to match the scale of need. And sanctions? Please. Both generals are still flying private.

So who’s keeping track? Sudanese journalists are doing the Lord’s work, often at great personal risk, documenting the unspeakable. Refugees are telling their stories, hoping someone with power might listen. Civil society groups are still demanding justice, even as they dodge bullets and bury loved ones. But their WiFi is weak, their platforms small, and their suffering is inconveniently complex. It’s hard to go viral when your city has no electricity.

Here’s the real kicker: the neglect isn’t just about geography or attention spans. It’s about race. We live in a world where empathy is unevenly distributed. Where the skin color of the victim still determines how fast and how fiercely the world responds. If millions of white people had been displaced, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. The appeals would be fully funded. The hashtags would be trending. Governments would trip over themselves to offer asylum. Instead, Sudanese refugees are being turned away at borders, deported, or stuffed into cages in detention centers in Egypt and Europe. Because to much of the world, they are not seen as fleeing war. They are seen as burdens.

Let’s not pretend this is new. In 1994, a million Rwandans died in a genocide while the world watched from a comfortable distance. In 2003, Darfur burned and the global response was performative at best. The cycle of Black death and white silence is old and vicious. But that doesn’t mean we can’t break it.

Because we are the world, too. The algorithms don’t force themselves on us. The headlines follow our clicks. The outrage follows our noise. If the war in Sudan has fallen off the radar, it’s because we let it. And while none of us can stop the bombs, all of us can push back against the silence. We can ask why our governments aren’t doing more. We can demand better coverage. We can amplify Sudanese voices instead of speaking over them.

The war in Sudan is not over. Children are still dying in makeshift camps. Pregnant women are giving birth in bombed-out schools. Families are eating leaves to survive. This isn’t yesterday’s news. It’s today’s reality. And unless we find the will to care, it will also be tomorrow’s shame.

Kumbirai Thierry Nhamo is a Social Justice Activist and a Writer.

… stakeholders moot aggressive plan to grow cotton, improve yield, empower farmer

By Benedict Tembo

A little more than two decades ago, cotton was widely cultivated in Zambia and had healthy financial returns for farmers.
It was one of the most attractive cash crops especially in traditional agricultural provinces such as Central, Eastern and Southern provinces.

But a drastic drop in prices, which are dictated by buyers, coupled with labour intensity, has forced farmers to migrate to more profitable cash crops such as soybean, in addition to maize.Fred Mooya is saddened that cultivation of cotton has been on a decline in Ngwezi settlement in Magoye, Mazabuka District.

Mr Mooya, who represented Chief Hanjalika during the 2025 Cotton Field Day at the Cotton Development Trust (CDT) in Magoye on Tuesday, said Ngwezi was once the hub of cotton production but there has been a steep decline in cotton and this has contributed to increase in poverty levels.

“There is a very big decline,” he said, pointing to lack of favourable policies as local people are no longer seeing the economic value of growing the crop.
“Cotton buyers dictate the price. [Hence], very few farmers are growing cotton,” Mr Mooya said.

He said cotton was a good cash crop but poor prices have discouraged most farmers who have switched to cultivating maize for consumption and sale to the Food Reserve Agency.

“Cotton growing is labour intensive, at the end of the day, they get peanuts. The price of maize is good while the price of cotton is poor. Lint is very light and needs huge quantities to make a 25 kilogramme bag,” Mr Mooya said.The field day was held under the theme” Driving Cotton Excellence: Innovations, Partnerships, and Farmer Empowerment.”

Yet, cotton is Zambia’s second most important crop after maize, providing livelihoods for over 300,000 farming households.
But despite favourable agro-climatic conditions and strong farmer participation, the sector has been facing structural challenges: low productivity, declining yields, obsolete equipment, inadequate extension support, and weak cotton prices.
However, the plight of cotton farmers could be a thing of the past going by the technical and legal reforms going on in the sector.

Zambia and Brazil have signed a three-year Strengthening of the Cotton Value Chain in Zambia project,implemented under a South-South cooperation framework which is designed to boost the performance,sustainability, and competitiveness of Zambia’s cotton sector.

The project designed to leverage Brazil’s expertise in cotton research and extension, built through successful initiatives in Africa such as the Cotton-4 (Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, and Mali), to deliver transformative technical cooperation, is now taking shape at the CDT in Magoye.

The Brazilian Cooperation Agency (BCA), which is implementing the project along with its lead the lead partners, the Agricultural Research Company of Minas Gerais (EPAMIG), and the Technical Assistance and Rural Extension Company of Minas Gerais (EMATER-MG), has set up a Technical Demonstration Unit at CDT under the guidance of the African Union.

The development goal of the project is to contribute to Zambia’s Gross Domestic Product growth through improved performance in the cotton sector.The specific goals are to increase cotton yields and competitiveness in Magoye.

Melissa Popoff Scheidemantel, the BCA project analyst some of the activities include capacity building and institutional strengthening by training of extension agents, researchers, and lead farmers.Apart from technology transfer and demonstrations, Ms Scheidemantel said there will also be exchange of visits between Zambian researchers and Brazilian researchers.
She said the exchange visits have already started.

"We had a Zambian team for technical visits in Brazil last year. The trip to Kenya already took place in April. It is part of the activities foreseen in a Regional Project we have with 15 countries that are part of the Brazilian Programme to improve Cotton Production in Africa, " Ms Scheidemantel said. She said Zambian researchers took part in a course on pesticide application.

Ms Scheidemantel said three Zambian representatives recently travelled to Kenya.Kenya is one of the countries that benefit from the Brazilian Programme to Improve Cotton Production in Africa,Martin Simasiku, the CDT cotton breeder, said apart from the setting up of a Technical Demonstration Unit at CDT Magoye, there will also be validation and local adaptation of Brazilian cotton planting protocols.

Mr Simasiku said the project will also facilitate the implementation of pest identification and integrated management training.
He said the expected results are improved cotton yields and quality in pilot regions, strengthened extension and research capacities, enhanced farmer organisation and productivity, operational demonstration plots and validated technologies as well as the adaptation of Brazilian methods to Zambia’s farming realities.

Speaking at the TDU site, CBZ chief executive officer Raymond Mpundu said people who attended the field day were just having a glimpse of what will happen next year when the cooperation takes effect.Mpundu spoke about the ongoing reforms to make the cotton sector profitable, which include repealing the 2005 Cotton Act which has become obsolete.

Under the new Act, the CBZ will set the cotton prices instead of the cotton buyers. He said this will protect the farmers and other stakeholders from abuse.On the technical side, Mr Mpundu said farmers will be receiving minimum cotton production packages which will make their trade profitable.

By Alexander Vomo

The recent announcement by the U.S. Embassy in Zambia to withhold nearly $50 million in health aid, due to the rampant theft of essential medications, including antiretroviral (ARV) drugs, is a national embarrassment, but more importantly, it is a clarion call for urgent reform.

For decades, Zambia has leaned heavily on international aid to sustain critical sectors such as health and education. But this latest development sends a stark message: donor patience is not infinite. When life-saving medicines are looted from hospitals and diverted into black markets, the trust of our international partners erodes and so does our moral standing.

But Zambia does not need to live in aid dependency.

This country is rich, not in theory, but in fact. Beneath our soil lie resources that could not only sustain but transform our economy if well-managed. Zambia is home to some of the world’s most valuable minerals, including:

• Copper – Our flagship export, in global demand for electric vehicles and infrastructure.

• Cobalt – A strategic resource in the clean energy transition.

• Gold, Emeralds, and Sugilite – Highly sought-after on global gemstone markets.

• Manganese, Nickel, Lead, Zinc, and Diamonds – All with high commercial value.

With this kind of wealth, Zambia should be funding its own healthcare systems, not depending on foreign taxpayers to provide essential medicines to our people.

This is a moment for serious national reflection. The fight against corruption cannot remain rhetoric. It must be actioned with measurable consequences. We must demand transparency and accountability, especially in public procurement, mining revenue management, and service delivery.

Moreover, we must move beyond the export of raw minerals and embrace value addition so that we retain wealth within our borders. Our minerals must not enrich others while our people remain in poverty and our hospitals run dry.

This is no longer just a political issue, it is a matter of national survival and dignity.

Let the suspension of U.S. aid be the final alarm bell. Zambia must wake up, get serious about corruption, and finally begin to build a future that is financed by our own resources, governed by our own integrity, and sustained by our own innovation.

We owe it to ourselves. We owe it to the generations yet to come.

Alexander Vomo is a Zambian entrepreneur, farmer, and advocate for self-reliance and sustainable development. He is a member of a growing movement encouraging African youth to take leadership in agriculture, governance, and economic transformation.