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The FAZ National Division One League resumed after a two week break with Young Green Eagles assuming top slot.
Young Eagles thumped Zambeef 2-0 at home to dislodge Kitwe United, who drew goalless at Chambishi, from the top.
The win helped the ZNS side to open a two point lead at the pinnacle with 31 points from 14 matches played.
Kitwe are now second with 29 points after the draw against Chambishi away at Chambishi Stadium.
‘The game was tough against Chambishi. We were supposed to win this game because the race in the National League is very tight,’ Kitwe coach Stephen Mwansa said.
Kafue Celtic are third in the league with 27 points after edging F.C Muza 0-1 away in Mazabuka.
Elsewhere, Nchanga Rangers remained ten points away from the top despite beating Mumbwa Medics 1-0 at Nchanga Stadium in Chingola at the weekend.
There was drama as mourners paraded a coffin carrying the remains of their relative at the Kapiri Mposhi District Commissioner’s office over the weekend, to the amusement of onlookers.
The mourners, while hoisting the coffin on their shoulders, marched from Kapiri Mposhi Urban Clinic mortuary demanding that Kapiri Mposhi Town Council, where the father to the deceased 19 year old boy works as a general worker, provides transport to ferry mourners from the funeral house in Ndeke Compound to the burial site.
Police had a tough time to prevent a horde of mourners who surged into the District Administration office which houses offices for Kapiri Mposhi District Commissioner, Peter Mwiinde, where they displayed the body at the entrance.
Mother to the deceased Grace Sakala demanded that the council provides a tipper truck to ferry mourners to pay their last respects.
Ms Sakala said the family was only given a hearse which was inadequate to ferry all mourners to the burial site.
“The tipper truck we were given has apparently gone to ferry timber but is timber more important than a dead body, I am very disappointed,” Ms Sakala said.
The mourners dispersed only after being assured by Patriotic Front (PF) Kapiri Mposhi Constituency Vice Chairman, Morgan Mwenya that a tipper truck had been released to ferry them to the burial site.
Meanwhile, Kapiri Mposhi Town Council Public Relations Officer Chris Mulaliki expressed concern over the manner in which the issue was handled by the mourners.
Mr Mulaliki stated that the family was provided with adequate transport logistics and K10, 000 cash to cater for all funeral expenses.
The deceased identified as George Munkombwe, 19, died on Wednesday last week, following a short illness.
The Young African Leaders Initiative is saddened by the arrest of Laura Miti, Pilato and their colleagues and has called on Law Enforcement Agencies to ensure the due process of the law is followed in dealing with the matter.
YALI President Andrew Ntewewe said he has learnt that the arrest is on the basis of the Public Order Act a colonial, archaic and undemocratic piece of legislation which requires an appeal.
Mr Ntewewe has however that Civil Society Organisations and Activists, the arrested inclusive have called them names for advocating for the national processes aimed at repealing the Public Order Act 1955 and enhancing the Bill of rights through the referendum in 2016.
“Our involvement and effective participation at the National Dialogue Forum, National Democratic Summit, submissions at the various Parliamentary committees is not a sign of weakness or being surrogates or sellouts of PF; its about putting national interest above personal, partisan egoistic interests. We have preferred to prioritize a national agenda as opposed to narrow, short sighted political expediency”, he said.
Mr Ntewewe said sadly, the CSOs have been absconding these processes to repeal some of these draconian pieces of legislation in preference for antagonism and political partisan expediency.
“If we had for of once put national interest first, the Bill of rights would have been expanded in 2016 through a referendum. Our people’s right of assembly, freedom of expression and movement would have been enhanced and guaranteed”, he added.
Mr Ntewewe said if all members of civil society had in earnest, participated effectively in the National Dialogue Forum, today the Public Order Act 1955, would have been repealed and replaced with a better, more democratic and humane piece of legislation.
He said the arrest of Pilato and three others is a lesson to all Zambians to put national interest first and ensure that they participate effectively in national processes to enhance democracy and human rights.
“For as long as the current legal framework is not strengthened to promote democracy and human rights, incidences of this nature will be the order of the day! It must also be borne in mind, that these laws cannot be fortified by the governing party alone, it requires conceited efforts by all of us! Currently, there is political will for this to be done”, Mr Ntewewe said.
“Finally, on a sad note for now, we painfully have to state that our colleagues have made this bed, so please sleep in it! Reflect deeply for the greater good of our country and the future of our children and children’s children”, he said.
Jesse Were and in-form veteran striker Winston Kalengo have been praise for inspiring defending FAZ Super Division champions and current league leaders Zesco United back to winning ways last Saturday.
Kalengo scored a brace courtesy of two Were assists’ in a 3-0 home win over KYSA on December 21 to end Zesco’s two-match losing run.
Were, who is the league top scorer on 10 goals after fourteen games played, is currently suffering from a dip in form in Zesco’s last five competitive matches.
Kalengo on the other hand is enjoying his best start to a season since returning to Zesco two years ago following a brief stint in Congo-Brazzaville.
His brace last Saturday took Kalengo’s tally to five league goals and has six in total with the other one goal coming in the CAF Champions League.
“Jesse is one of our key players. Of course, he has been missing chances but we have confidence in him. Our job is to make sure that we raise his game,” Zesco assistant coach Alfred Lupiya said.
“Football is seasonal, he is human but we will have to push him. We know he can do it.
“You know Lazarus Kambole left (to join Kaizer Chiefs), so all the focus now is on Jesse.
“He has been scoring goals for us, so now the teams that come here now plan for that saying ‘If we mark Jesse and if we mark John Chingandu things will be easy for us’.
“For Winston, people have been criticizing us that Zesco are using old players.
“But we have been long in this game but people are taking like they are coming from taverns. We have credentials to work elsewhere but we choose football.
“You have seen what Winston is doing for our team? They have stopped talking now but they will start talking when Winston goes down, that’s the bad part of our work.
“He is an old guy but he is raising the team.”
Meanwhile, Kalengo and Were have a big job waiting for them this Saturday when Zesco hosts Zamalek in a CAF Champions League fixture as the home sides seeks its first Group A win after a draw and defeat from two matches played.
National Democratic Congress Leader Chishimba Kambwili has challenged Inspector General of Police Kakoma Kanganja to resign over the arrest of Pilato describing him as the worst Inspector General of Police Zambia has ever had.
Mr Kambwili said the arrest of Human Rights Activists Pilato, Laura Miti and Bonwell Mwewa is unacceptable and an infringement on people’s rights to assemble.
He told Journalists after appearing in the Lusaka Magistrate Court that Churches are exempted from notifying the Police to have any form of gathering.
Mr Kambwili said the hounding of Pilato at the Catholic Church in Livingstone is therefore unacceptable and has urged the Police to refuse to be used by the PF regime to stifle on the rights of citizens.
Police in Livingstone on Saturday arrested Human rights defender and artist Pilato and charged him with unlawful assembly.
And Human rights activists Laura Miti and Bornwell Mwewa have also been detained by Police after they travelled to Livingstone to negotiate Pilato’s release.
Pilato was addressing scores of youths at a Church in Livingstone’s Libuyu Township at a meeting dubbed Youth Insaka.
Police stormed the meeting and picked him up and later charged with unlawful assembly.
A man counts out Zambian kwacha 50 denomination banknotes in this arranged photograph in Lusaka, Zambia, on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2015. Zambian Finance Minister Alexander Chikwanda is seeking to restore confidence in the economy to help reverse the world’s worst currency performance, record borrowing costs and sliding growth. Photographer: Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg
If you are disconcerted at the current depreciation of the Zambian currency to the USA dollar, it shows a lack of understanding of the factors that determine the currency exchange rate of one currency to the other. To believe that (recently) the USA $1=ZMK10=SA14 Rand is not only a misconception but rather being delusional.
In fact, a nation’s exchange rate is not a true reflection of its economic situation. The Zambian currency has been artificially set since before the recent ill-conceived Kwacha debasing. To believe that the Zambian Kwacha is at the same rate as the South African Rand, is a fallacy. South Africa has a bigger and more stable economy than that of Zambia, at 400 billion dollars GDP ($6,160 GDP/capita) compared to 26 billion dollars Zambian GDP ($1,510 GDP/capita).
One major factor that determines whether the (Zambia) Central Bank will have an in-flow or out-flow of dollars is the desirability of the amount of goods and services Zambia is exporting.
Currency exchange rates are a nation’s monetary policy. The pegging of $1=K10 has little correlation to the strength of the economy. A true exchange rate is determined by the real interest rate of that country, which is an indication of the demand for the goods and services of that country.
Have you ever wondered why the U.K. Pound (£) is stronger than the USA dollar, but the USA dollar is more desirable than the Pound? It’s because of the strength of the fundamentals of the USA economy and the trust and belief in its economy through the US Treasury Bills.
Zambia’s exchange rate is not a true reflection of its current economic situation. At $1=K10=14 Rand, does not in a way represent anything close to the economy of South Africa. Our currency has been artificially set since before the ill-conceived currency debasing.
Currency Interest rates are as complicated as the determination of GDP, which is another factor that affects the exchange rate of a currency.
The true estimate of the Zambian kwacha exchange to the dollar should be no less than
Here is a selected wrap of how our foreign-based stars fared in action at their respective clubs over the weekend.
=DR CONGO
Defender Tandi Mwape played his third successive 90 minutes for TP Mazembe on Saturday in their 1-1 away draw at sixth placed Renaissance while midfielder Rainford Kalaba came off in the 85th minute but none was on target for the DR Congo league leaders.
Mwape,who joined Mazembe this season from Kabwe Warriors, has enjoyed 270 minutes of action since standing in for Chipolopolo captain Kabaso Chongo who was serving a suspension during Mazembe’s 2-0 home win over DC Motema Pembe on December 15.
=SOUTH AFRICA
-Kaizer Chiefs:
Striker Lazarus Kambole was on the bench in league leaders Kaizer Chiefs 1-1 away draw at mid-table Maritzburg United on Sunday.
-Mamelodi Sundowns/Polokwane City:
Goalkeeper Kennedy Mweene was on the bench in second placed Sundowns 1-0 home win over bottom of the log Polokwane City on Saturday while midfielder Salulani Phiri played the full 90 minutes for the visitors.
Goalkeeper Mwenya Chibwe was not in Polokwane’s travelling party to Tshwane for the match.
-SuperSport United:
Striker Gaphani Lungu came on in the 68th minute of third positioned SuperSports’ 1-0 away loss at number ten team Chippa United on Saturday.
-Black Leopards:
Striker Mwape Musonda scored his third PSL goal of the season for 11th placed Leopards in Saturdays 3-1 away loss to fifth positioned Orlando Pirates.
Striker Justin Shonga was an unused substitute by Pirates while compatriot and midfielder Augustine Mulenga came off in the 75th minute.
=BELGIUM
Striker Fashion Sinkala played the full 90minutes for third from bottom KV Oostende on December 20 in their 1-0 away loss at seventh placed Mechelen.
=FRANCE
Metz defender Stopilla Sunzu saw red in the 53rd minute on Saturday in their bottom five dogfight against Dijon that finish 2-2 away.
FILE: Police pick up Laura Miti after she took part in a protest at Parliament grounds against the purchase of fire trucks last year
By Wilfred Sameta
Laura Miti’s unnecessary altercation with the law in Livingstone where she allegedly went to carry out some “activism”, once again raises questions about the credibility of her type of activism.
Ms Laura Miti is a political person. Her brand of “activism” is the kamikaze type- it is the suicidal variety that revolves around deliberately provoking controversy and courting danger.
Why this rather peculiar kind of “activism”? There are certain uncanny influences, many of them out of the public domain.
However, although Ms Miti is a public figure, it would not be fair to delve too much into her personal affairs and private life, suffice to say much of her eccentricities have roots in her having challenges with matters of matrimonial submission and the role and place of the woman in the home. Her domestic “activism” reportedly made a shipwreck of her marriage to a former political activist now self-styled fugitive living in South Africa. Laura’s combative feminist nature requires an outlet to frequently vent out all the pent-up personal frustrations of mid-life. She too is sadly a self-styled fugitive. The only difference is that she is running from the potential pleasant side of herself.
A typical femme fatale, Madam Miti is a cunning agent provocateur. She is the kind of woman our friends the Nsengas say will deliberately provoke her husband, forcibly hold him by the collar of his shirt and shove a finger in his face while screaming _“ni nyate ngati ndiwe mwanalume”_ (Hit me if you’re a real man). Dilemma: If the man lays a finger on the woman he is in danger of being perceived by society as a GBV perpetrator; if he doesn’t she becomes more abusive and manipulative.
This is how Laura’s strategy activism of manipulation provokes and taunts the authorities.
Anything to do with Edgar Lungu and PF Ms Miti will eloquently abuse and manipulate regardless of the merits or achievements of government.
She routinely (ab)uses the Presidency and the government for unwarranted target practice for her caustic tongue. It is also a bizarre mechanism of venting out and exorcising the imps of her inner personal frustrations that have nothing to do with those she aims her poisoned barbs at. And while she’s at it, she gets handsomely paid by her foreign sponsors and fawningly massaged by local opposition politicians. What a life! You’ve got to hand it to her…she may not have the style reflective of her eloquence, but the woman has plenty of guile!
However, at least for “Pilato”, everybody knows his partisan stance and his avowed mission to discredit anything and everything the Government says and does. He does not hide under the veil of “activism” like Laura Miti does, but he has openly declares his support for a certain opposition politician. So the whole world knows everything he does is to gratify the political interests of this particular politician.
But as for Ms Miti, like the saying goes: _“He who pays the piper calls the tune”_: it is unfortunate that Politician-Laura disguises herself as an activist, yet earns a partisan living out of pushing for regime change. Parts of the tune she is paid to play on her depraved instrument involves a rubble rousing cacophony to foment discord and anti-government sentiment …all in the name of “activism”.
Haven’t you ever wondered why the real accounts of her NGO are such a guarded secret? Who funds her NGO? How much does Madam Laura really get?
Why haven’t we ever heard of Laura carpeting the opposition? Does it mean the opposition are always right and the government always wrong?
Then why is she always siding with the opposition? Where is her objectivity?
Does a biased person predisposed to partisan politics qualify to be called an activist?
Are human rights onesided? Are responsibilities one sided?
As an activist-doesn’t Ms Miti have a responsibility to be civil and respectful to everyone else including the authorities?
Don’t government and its officials also have rights?
Activism should not be mistaken for deliberately stirring up controversy and partisanship should not shape activism.
The Author is a Retired Journalist now tilling the land in Central Province
Fitch Credit Rating Agency has affirmed Zambia’s credit rating at CCC, which reflects the government’s high external financing requirements, combined with a fall in official foreign exchange reserves; high and rising government debt in the context of an ambitious capital expenditure programme; and constrained access to domestic and external financing.
While acknowledging the narrowing of the country deficit, the report said that he build-up of domestic arrears and the materialisation of other liabilities on the government’s balance sheet have kept government debt on a rising path, point to a further rise in Government debt.
The Report also said that Even if Zambia is able to reverse its fiscal course in 2020, the government will still face substantial external debt obligations over the next several years and that Zambia’s sovereign ratings remain constrained by weak development indicators. GDP per capita remains well below the current ‘B’ category median.
Below is the full rating Detail
Zambia’s ‘CCC’ rating reflects the government’s high external financing requirements, combined with a fall in official foreign exchange reserves; high and rising government debt in the context of an ambitious capital expenditure programme; and constrained access to domestic and external financing.
Zambia’s reported fiscal outturns indicate that the deficit has narrowed on a cash basis in 2019, but the build-up of domestic arrears and the materialisation of other liabilities on the government’s balance sheet have kept government debt on a rising path. Fitch forecasts general government debt (including arrears) to rise to 87.4% of GDP at end-2019, well above the current ‘B’ category median of 57.5% and more than twice the end-2014 level of 32.2%. We expect that debt will continue to rise in 2020 to just below 90% of GDP and the debt-to-revenue ratio will rise to 440%, compared with the 2019 ‘B’ category median of 259%.
The authorities report that revenue has exceeded their budget targets this year, while current expenditure, excluding interest costs, has been below target. Fitch forecasts the cash deficit to narrow to 5.6% of GDP in 2019, from 7.6% in 2018, but notes that the building of arrears will take the deficit to closer to 9% of GDP on a commitment basis. The execution of capital expenditure has already exceeded its 2019 budget target of ZMW20.6 billion (7% of GDP), indicating that the government continues with its ambitious infrastructure spending programme.
The 2020 Budget submitted to parliament in September keeps the cash deficit at 5.5% of GDP. However, the budget increases total expenditure to ZMW106 billion (32.4% of forecast GDP) and forecasts revenue to increase to 22% of GDP, from approximately 20% in 2019. Government revenue averaged 19% of GDP from 2014 to 2018 and an increase to 22% in 2020 is unlikely. The 2020 budget does not include a breakdown of spending by category, but it does note that approximately ZMW30 billion will be financed from external sources; most likely project loans, which implies that the government will continue to execute capital expenditure at levels similar to 2019. The inability to access other sources of external financing means that the government will have to rely heavily on the domestic debt market, where the weighted average interest rate has risen to 24.7% for Treasury bills and 30.8% for bonds.
The authorities continue to engage with the IMF, although Fitch believes that a programme will not be forthcoming until the government demonstrates its willingness and ability to decrease its externally financed capital spending. Cutting external borrowing will be difficult, as Zambia continues to execute projects from an existing pipeline of contracted debt. The authorities have also previously announced their intention of re-profiling existing debt with bilateral lenders, most notable Chinese lenders, but have yet to reach any public agreement.
Even if Zambia is able to reverse its fiscal course in 2020, the government will still face substantial external debt obligations over the next several years. These include Eurobond repayments of USD750 million in September 2022 and USD1 billion in April 2024. In 2020, Fitch estimates that Zambia will have to meet approximately USD1.5 billion in public external debt service, including interest payments.
The government was able to meet its external obligations in 2019 by drawing on the Bank of Zambia’s (BoZ) foreign currency reserves, which were bolstered by opportunistic FX purchases during a period of falling external receipts. We expect gross international reserves to have fallen to USD1.4 billion in 2019 (1.4 months of current external payments) and to decline further in 2020. In Fitch’s view, the main source of default risk comes from the inability to source additional external financing to meet the 2022 Eurobond repayment. Nonetheless, continued reliance on the FX market to source dollars increases the risk of rapid kwacha devaluation, which would make it increasingly difficult to meet external interest payments.
Fitch forecasts that lower copper prices and mostly flat production will lead a widening of the current account deficit (CAD) in 2020, to 2.5% of GDP and 3.1% in 2021. Copper export receipts fell by 38% yoy through 3Q19, but the CAD was contained by import compression. Lower rainfall has led to a power deficit, as Zambia’s energy mix is dominated by hydropower. We expect that the need for imported electricity will begin increasing the import bill in 4Q19, which will add to Zambia’s external imbalances.
New international investment position (IIP) data show that Zambia has been a net external debtor since 2015. The combination of increasing public external debt and the fall in private external assets has taken Zambia to a net external debtor of 80.2% of GDP in 2019 (peer median 28.8%), from a net creditor of 31.4% in 2014.
Fitch expects GDP growth to accelerate to 2.5% in 2020, from 2% in 2019. The agricultural sector has been contracting since 4Q17 owing to drought, but forecasts of a normal 2019/20 rainy season point towards a recovery. Mining output continues to be negatively impacted by an adversarial relationship between the government and the mining sector. We expect copper output to contract by 7% in 2019, to 800 kMt, from 857 kMt in 2018. A recovery in power generation capacity could prevent a further contraction in mining output, but we do not expect significant production growth in 2020.
Inflation had accelerated to 10.8% yoy as of November 2019, largely owing to food inflation, and will continue to accelerate in 2020. However, the BOZ began hiking the monetary policy rate in May, increasing it by a total of 175bp to 11.5% in 2019. A higher policy rate will also support the exchange rate, which will continue to feel downward pressure from Zambia’s external financing needs.
The asset quality of Zambian banks has improved, despite the building of government arrears, although the improvement comes from a low base. The BOZ reports that non-performing loans fell to 9.8% of total loans in 1H19, from 11% at end-2018. Credit to the private sector returned to positive real growth in 2018 after two years of negative growth and further accelerated in early 2019, but economic headwinds and monetary tightening have slowed credit growth in 2H19.
Zambia’s sovereign ratings remain constrained by weak development indicators. GDP per capita remains well below the current ‘B’ category median. Zambia has historically exhibited political stability, but the country experienced some protests and violence following the close 2016 presidential election. The potential for increased instability will increase as the 2021 general elections approach.
The Environmental Investigation Agency says it is disheartened by President Edgar Lungu’s reaction to their report which exposed how associates connected to him are reportedly involved in the plunder of mukula rosewood trees.
President Lungu has rubbished the report as fake News and the EIA says such statements calling into question thorough research and evidence drive away attention from the real problem which is the devastation of Zambia’s forests.
Lisa Handy the Senior Policy Adviser at the Environmental Investigation Agency says it is critical that this matter is investigated and addressed immediately.
Ms Handy says Zambia has one of the highest rates of the deforestation in the world and the trafficking of Mukula has a devastating effect on the lives of many Zambians and the forests and robes the country of natural resources benefiting a few connected individuals.
And Ms Handy has denied working with the opposition United Party for National Development in putting together the report as alleged by some stakeholders saying the EIA is a non partisan organisation.
She expressed hope that the issues raised in the report will help reinforce the voice of Zambians interested in saving the mukula specie.
But PF Media Director Sunday Chanda has insisted that the report on Mukula is bogus and politically engineered and based on hearsay, innuendos and with a predetermined political objective.
“We would have appreciated the EIA to give specific evidence directly linking the accused outside the realm of hearsay from illegal dealers who could easily be name dropping like any ‘tamanga’ does or indeed lower criminals in the food chain be victims of criminal middlemen falsely claiming to be representing higher leadership”, Mr Chanda has said.
He said the EIA person could not provide any evidence such as financial documents to directly link the persons mentioned in their report which confirms that the report is a sham and fake news.
“For avoidance of doubt, we wish to repeat that the EIA report is nonsensical, cheapest and childish propaganda by those paid to trigger regime change in Zambia. The report remains nothing but a total sham”, he added.
Mr Chanda said Zambians can see that the Opposition and their paymasters have jumped to making wild mukula allegations after realizing that their corruption allegations have run dry.
The Christian Churches Monitoring Group has written to the Ministry of Home Affairs requesting information and clarification on the mobile issuance of National Registration Cards and is yet to receive a response.
The CCMG is concerned with reports of mobile issuance of National Registration Cards exercises currently taking place in some parts of Eastern, Northern, Luapula, North-Western and Muchinga Provinces.
It says it has monitored the situation since the first allegations were made and have, through its monitors, confirmed that mobile issuance of NRC cards is underway in these provinces.
In a statement signed by Fr. Cleophas Lungu, the CCMG Steering Committee Chairperson, Father Emmanuel Chikoya of CCZ and Steering Committee member and Fr. Emmanuel Mumba of the JCTR and CCMG Steering Committee Member the Ministry of Home Affairs confirmed that they have been conducting mobile NRC issuance in selected districts of the said provinces, through the district registration offices.
The CCMG believes that the mobile issuance of NRCs is an important part of the electoral process and a critical exercise for enhancing democratic participation.
It said therefore that transparency, consultation and public awareness around the effort to promote high participation nationwide remain critical.
The CCMG said failure for the mobile NRC issuance exercise to provide equal opportunity for all Zambians to obtain an NRC risk undermining their ability and fundamental right to engage in political and electoral processes, including voter registration.
It has demanded that the Ministry release to stakeholders and the general public all the information about mobile issuance of NRCs, including the deployment schedule, Ministry’s plans for the extension of the exercise to all provinces, and the Ministry’s intended stakeholder consultations on the issue.
Further, CCMG has demanded that the Ministry immediately halts the process until such a time when there is a clear roadmap or deployment schedule, adequate publicity, publicly available targeted populations, and engagement with stakeholders.
The CCMG noted that the Ministry of Home Affairs through the Department of National Registration, Passports and Citizenship is currently implementing mobile NRC issuance without the consultation or notification of stakeholders or the public.
This is in direct contravention of the Ministry of Home Affairs’ duty to serve the public, provide and maintain internal security and promote sustainable socio-economic development for the people of Zambia.
The National Biosafety Authority has granted L&A Logistics Limited and Gola Stock Feeds and Chemical Manufacturers Limited permits to import products that may contain genetically modified organisms valid for five years
Following a decision made during the Board meeting held on 20th December 2019, the NBA Board resolved to grant permits to L&A logistics and Gola manufacturers after a risk assessment was conducted by the Scientific Advisory Committee on the two companies’ applications to import products made from genetically modified organisms.
L&A logistics will bring in soups, spices, various brands of spreads, salad dressing, various brands of Rusks and dog food while Gola manufacturers limited will bring in maize grit to be used in making snacks.
The two new permits bring the total number of import permits granted by the Authority in 2019 to seven, including permits granted to Gatbro, Southern National Trade Import and Export Limited, Freddy Hirsch, Pick n Pay and Choppies Superstores.
The Authority has also renewed a total of 23 permits to place on the market products which may contain GMOs.
From 2016 to date the NBA has granted 49 permits for import and placing on the market processed food and feed products, four research permits and issued four Non- GM clearance certificates for export.
And the Authority has observed that the compliance levels were generally impressive for distributors, importers and retailers dealing in products that may contain GMOs.
Particularly, the Authority is happy that the laboratories with activities involving gene modification technology were adhering to the Biosafety standards and the provisions of the Biosafety Act.
“Spot and compliance checks as well as public awareness and sensitisation were conducted at entry points in Northern, Muchinga, Southern, Western, Copperbelt and Lusaka. Generally compliance levels are impressive.”
Meanwhile, the National Biosafety Authority says test results for samples of the mealie meal from South Africa transiting Zambia indicates that the maize used to produce the commodity is genetically modified.
Sandra Lombe the NBA Communications Officer said the unlabelled mealie meal samples collected from the bags destined for the Democratic Republic of Congo have tested positive for GMO.
Ms Lombe said the samples were taken recently at Kazungula border from unlabelled bags of mealie meal from South Africa transiting to DRC.
She said the Authority has advised cross border traders to buy products that may contain genetically modified organisms locally as those on the Zambian market have already undergone risk assessment by the Authority.
“We are also calling on transporters transiting the country with products that may contain GMOs or have ingredients of GMOs to obtain transit permits so that they are not inconvenienced. There are conditions which they have to adhere to. Those exporting non GMO products can also get clearance certification from the NBA.”
Police in Lusaka have launched a manhunt for a Chibolya man who is alleged to have murdered his wife.
Police Spokesperson Esther Katongo has confirmed the development that they received a report of suspected murder which occurred between 21st December, 2019 around 23:00 hours and 22nd December, 2019 around 06:00 hours in Chibolya.
Ms Katongo narrated that Matildah Daka aged 34 of the same area was allegedly murdered by her husband Lameck Jere aged 36.
“Police rushed to the scene where they found the deceased lying lifeless on a mattress facing upwards. The body had a deep cut on the upper lip where she was bleeding profusely and whitish foam running from her mouth,” she disclosed.
“The suspect is alleged to have beaten the victim after a misunderstanding. The suspect is on the ran while the body has been taken to UTH mortuary awaiting postmortem.”
The Police Spokesperson said a docket has been opened and a manhunt launched.
President Edgar Lungu has said that there is a ploy by western countries to fix countries that are against homosexuality.
President Lungu said that the West has identified 69 countries world-wide which they will fix for being against the practice of homosexuality.
He has disclosed that Zambians should not be surprised when the country is fixed by the west, adding that nothing will change his stance on homosexuality because Zambians are Christians.
President Lungu was speaking when he met northwestern Province Pastors fellowship in Solwezi this afternoon.
He told the pastors that his advisors told him not to talk about it publicly, but that the matter kept on coming up on his mind.
And pastors’ fellowship chairperson Miselo Musonda said the clergy want a God-fearing man in State House.
Reverend Musonda said President Lungu has demonstrated that he is God fearing.
He wondered why some political parties have not spoken publicly to condemn homosexuality.
