President Edgar Lungu has called for the overhaul of the party structures in Northern Province.

President Lungu says overhauling of the structures should start from the lowest organs of the party.

He said this when he addressed party officials at the Provincial Planning Unit in Kasama.

Meanwhile, President Lungu has challenged the party in the Province to redeem itself following the loss to the opposition of a local government seat in Lopososhi district.

He said the party leadership should learn from the mistakes in Ilambo and prepare adequately for the Chilubi parliamentary by election.

The Head of State further called on the party to start preparing itself for 2021 general elections by embarking on party mobilisation exercise.

Speaking at the same function PF National Chairperson, Samuel Mukupa challenged party officials to unity and work for the party.

Earlier, Northern Province PF Chairperson Chungu Bwalya regretted the party loss in the Illambo ward which is also in his constituency.

Meanwhile, the ruling Patriotic Front -PF- says it will not impose a candidate on the people of Chilubi constituency for the forthcoming parliamentary by-election.

PF Secretary General Davies Mwila says the party will only consider a candidate who will be accepted and adopted by the lower organs.

Mr. Mwila said this when he met party officials in Chilubi District.

He advised party officials to scrutinize individuals that have offered themselves to contest the Parliamentary seat on the PF ticket.

Meanwhile, Mr. Mwila has urged the PF members in Chilubi constituency to bury their differences and work as a team.

He further instructed Northern Province PF chairperson Lazarus Chungu to quickly visit Chilubi district and help resolve any misunderstandings.

Mr. Mwila was accompanied by PF Western Province Chairperson, Kafuka Kafuka and PF deputy media director Antonio Mwanza, among others.

The Chilubi Parliamentary seat fell vacant following the death of area MP Rosaria Fundanga.

Party of National Unity President Highvie Hamududu says the proposed increase in the number of constituencies from 156 to 235 constituencies would be unnecessary and wasteful, both a moral and financial irregularity against the general interest of citizens.

Mr Hamududu says an MP is not an executor of development, but just provides oversight together with councillors who ordinarily live within the wards of constituencies.

He said Zambia’s problem is not inadequate representation in principle, but inefficient government service delivery machinery and that must be the main centre of attention.

Mr Hamududu said the seemingly silent bipartisan agreement in effecting this increase in constituencies reveals the common inherent selfishness of politicians, across the board.

He said this proposed huge increase in the number of parliamentary seats is not right and must be rejected as it comes with huge bureaucratic costs incommensurate with the welfare of citizens.

The Electoral Commission of Zambia recently recommended that the number of constituencies be increased from the current 150 to 235 in view of the growth in population.

If the recommendation comes to pass, there will be 243 Members of Parliament including the eight who are nominated by the head of State.

ECZ chairperson Esau Chulu said the recommendation arises from submissions received during the countrywide delimitation sittings and factors outlined in Article 59 of the Constitution which gives powers to the commission to delimit constituencies and wards.

The People’s Alliance for Change says it does not and will never support the legalising of homosexuality in Zambia as it is an unnatural practice that is not supported by our culture and religion.

Party President Andyford Banda says whether the jailing of Japhet Chataba and Steven Samba to 15 years by the High Court for engaging in sex which is against the order of nature is harsh or not, same sex marriage remains illegal in Zambia and we as a party do not support it.

Mr Banda said Homosexuality is an abomination; a grave sin as it is against the order of nature and PAC does not understand how two normal human beings of the same sex with five senses can choose to engage in sexual relations.

Below is a full statement…

Peoples Alliance for Change (PAC) is a member of the African Liberal Network, ALN, which some illiterate and ignorant people have in recent times accused of promoting homosexuality. Nothing can be further from the truth.

ALN is an organization composed of 44 political parties from 30 countries in Africa. The ALN serves to promote liberal objectives and principles throughout the continent. The objectives are listed as follows;

• Facilitate the development and growth of Liberal Democratic parties.

• Encourage solidarity among member parties with the aim of assisting them to achieve power through democratic means.

• Establish an alliance of like-minded Liberal Democratic parties in Africa for sharing information and experiences.

Some of the members are from the following countries; Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Morocco, Mozambique, Niger, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Eswatini, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda and Zambia.

Some of the notable political parties include the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) of Kenya which is the main opposition headed by the Retired Hon. Raila Amaro Odinga. We have the Democratic Alliance (DA) of South Africa main opposition until recently headed by Mr. Mmusi Maimane. The Senegalese Democratic Party (PDS) led by former President of Senegal Abdoulaye Wade which party current President Macky Sall also belonged to. In fact His Excellency Macky Sall like his predecessor is a champion of liberal democracy and his party is a member of ALN. The other is Rally of the Republicans (RDR) of Ivory Coast which is the ruling party led by the current President His Excellency Alassane Ouattara. Of course we have the UPND and PAC of Zambia just to mention a few.

Looking at the lineup of political parties and leaders some of whom are from Muslim countries, it would be foolish and a great sense of ignorance for anyone to think that these leaders are members of the African Liberal Network and Liberal International where the Democrats of the United States are a member, to discuss gay rights. The PF propaganda of labeling the African Liberal Network as a gay organization is as a result of total ignorance and a quest to make us the members look bad. It’s good that the people of Zambia can see through their eyes that these machinations are just a way to distract the people of Zambia from key important issues such as the Bill 10, higher mealie meal prices, the free falling Kwacha, lack of policy direction, corruption, political violence and a whole lot of other things the PF government have failed to address.

What is our stance on gay rights? As PAC, we would like to say from the onset that we cannot understand how people become homosexuals. This is against all norms of religion, culture and society. On one hand people say it takes two consenting adults, but so does adultery – two consenting adults that choose to do away with their vows does not make a rampant vice right.

The PAC stance on this matter is that we follow family values instilled in us as normal, cultural values we have observed in different communities, societal values we have observed but even more important, what scripture says about the vice; If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them. (Leviticus 20:13). There is no other way to describe homosexuality. It is an abomination; a grave sin; it is against the order of nature, or natural order. Natural order encompasses the natural relations of beings to one another in the absence of law, and so we can see that in all fairness even natural order does not encompass homosexuality. Further, we are aware that even seemingly ‘straight’ individuals, at times engage themselves in homosexual behavior for adventure or to seek some monetary favour.

We mention again here that PAC is a member of the ALN. The ALN mandate does not mean that parties that are members support homosexuality, although there are parties such as the DA of South Africa who may support the rights of homosexuals, but this does not make everyone in the group, an automatic supporter of homosexuals. This is the same as belonging to SADC where South Africa have laws that allow gay rights while other countries don’t. Does it mean everyone in the group is a gay supporter?

Liberalising homosexuality would make this unnatural behavior seem natural and normal to future generations. PAC is against legalizing such a vice. Whether the sentencing of the pair in Kapiri Mposhi last week is too harsh or not is a story for another day.

However, of interest to us this week is our relationship with America. Aid is not good, but let us be realistic, with where the country is, and how PF has grounded everything into the ground, we cannot under score the need for assistance. Zambia as a country is not self sufficient and if there was any self sufficiency, it has been eroded by incompetence. The PF has zero plan on how we can emerge from the hole they have driven us into and the aid from various partners is vital, although we are no on the verge of losing it. What would happen if the biggest donor pulled the plug on their money – we borrow some literature from their website.

Health

USAID supports Zambia in strengthening its public health system at the national, provincial, and community levels. With an HIV prevalence of 12.3 percent in the general population, Zambia benefits from USAID’s assistance, through the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), to scale-up integrated prevention, care, and treatment programs and reduce the impact of HIV/AIDS. In collaboration with Zambia’s Ministry of Health, USAID’s programs also work on increasing the quality of health care, the prevention and treatment of other diseases, such as malaria and tuberculosis, and on changing attitudes and behavior with regard to maternal and child health, family planning, nutrition, and gender-based violence.

Economic Development, Environment, and Food Security

Through the Feed the Future initiative, USAID tackles rural poverty and malnutrition with activities that address policy issues, promote access to markets, and facilitate private-sector investment to increase agricultural production and incomes. Zambia has a tremendous wealth of natural resources which, however, face increasing threats, including deforestation and illegal and unsustainable wildlife trafficking. USAID programs promote sustainable natural resource management to conserve Zambia’s forests and combat wildlife trafficking. Through the Power Africa initiative, USAID seeks to increase the generation of, and access to, clean energy sources, particularly in rural and off-grid spaces.

Education

Zambia has made significant gains in increasing access to education, but the education system continues to be plagued by inadequate resources, poor education quality and low progression rates. In collaboration with the Zambian government and other implementing and cooperating partners, USAID education programs aim to increase learners’ performance in the early grades, and target foundational literacy skills. USAID programs also strengthen the capacity of teachers and school administrators to better deliver education services, and provide improved teaching and learning materials.

Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance

With a long history of democratic governance and peaceful transitions of power, Zambia has a strong foundation on which to build accountable and responsive systems of governance that advance the nation’s long-term development priorities. Recent trends, however, including shrinking democratic space and rising corruption levels, reveal threats to this opportunity. USAID supports Zambia’s democratic traditions and citizen-responsive governance by strengthening civil society and citizen participation, advancing respect for human rights, promoting free and fair elections, and improving governance accountability, efficiency, and transparency in the delivery of public services.

Clearly this partnership is essential. We are behaving, however, like one who is being supported by a brother while climbing a rickety ladder. As you feel more confident you start saying to he who is supporting the ladder, he can let go…the moment he does, you fall flat with egg on your face!

One thing is that even countries like Israel receive military aid, we don’t hear arrogance because they recognise its importance. This ‘Mugabe’ style arrogance simply because one is cocooned from the reality of a collapsed economy needs to stop! It won’t take us anywhere.

Don’t be swayed, the American government is not pointing a gun at the Zambian government to implement gay rights. They are asking for mutual respect. The same arrogance that President Lungu and his cohorts showed the IMF is the same one they are trying to show the US Government and yet they are still chasing for the IMF bailout. And unlike the IMF, who will not honour or sign any deal with PF, the American government is already cooperating with us and annually grant us a whole lot of millions of dollars. If they disappear, we will be the first ones to start trekking the globe seeking handouts – on a very expensive jet I might add!.

PACs foreign policy is premised on mutual respect with our cooperating partners. PAC will work towards self sustainability while continuing to cooperate with partners. PAC does not believe America is pointing a gun to Zambia to implement gay rights but rather that we stop being arrogant and wasteful in spending the resources available to us.

Andyford Mayele Banda

President

People’s Alliance for Change (PAC)

President Edgar Lungu is concerned that the country is being polluted daily with falsehoods in the media that have the potential to endanger national peace, stability and unity and discourage domestic and foreign direct investment.

The President has also expressed concern that these lies in the end will disrupt or negate gains made on Zambia’s development priorities.

The President said evidently, fake news not only affects Government, but also all citizens and those who spread such falsehoods.

“In the past, I have restrained myself from responding to fabrications based on the hope that our reporters in Zambia will rise above fake news, and focus their energies on substantive issues which are key to the attainment of national development priorities espoused in the 7NDP and Vision 2030 – for the benefit of every Zambian. Unfortunately, fake news is seemingly worsening by the day and becoming an enemy of national progress, as progressive proposed legislation such as the Constitutional Amendment Bill, also known as Bill 10, has been deliberately distorted for cheap political mileage, at the expense of the greater good”, the president said in a facebook posting.

President Lungu said he is therefore compelled to respond to these falsehoods because it is a problem Zambians can no longer afford to ignore.

He said he is also cognizant of the fact that to some of his fellow citizens, his continued total restraint to respond to fake news may be misconstrued to be an admission of guilt – and nothing could be further from the truth than that.

President Lungu reiterated that any talk of his involvement in the illegal trade of Mukula is a complete falsehood which is aimed at trying to form a distasteful caricature of his administration.

“The media has great role to play in nation building. It has been said that knowledge is power and information enriches the mind. Therefore, if you, our reporters, peddle fake news, you will not only be failing your nation, but you shall also be failing to perform one of your basic professional duties, which is: to educate and inform as much as you can; and not mislead and misinform as much as you can”, he added.

He said Zambians should learn from the lessons of other countries throughout history that the nations that have suffered instability and violence did not suffer these tragedies overnight and by accident.

President Lungu said these tragedies were a direct result of, among other things, making falsehoods and careless-talk as truth and the order of the day.

“Let us all remember that instability, disunity, violence and wars are all processes. And that, spreading falsehoods and fake news are key factors in propelling the above-mentioned processes and underdevelopment”, he said.

“Let us all, therefore, jealously protect and entrench peace, harmony and stability in Zambia by deploring falsehoods with a passion; and eventually remove it from our nation’s political fabric. Falsehoods threaten national peace, harmony and stability. And there can be no national development anywhere, without national peace, harmony and stability”, he added.

Transparency International is calling for all competent authorities in Zambia to fully investigate the allegations and prosecute wrongdoing regardless of the rank or status of the accused following reports that President Edgar Lungu, his daughter Tasila and several high-ranking politicians are allegedly involved in the illicit trade in mukula wood.

Multiple allegations appear in Mukula Cartel, a report by the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), published late last week.

Traffickers allegedly told undercover EIA investigators that Tasila Lungu, daughter of President Edgar Lungu, is involved in the illegal trade of protected mukula timber, along with the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Jean Kapata, and the Minister of Justice, Given Lubinda.

The state-owned company Zambia Forestry and Forest Industries Corporation Limited (ZAFFICO) is alleged to have used its mandate to trade logs seized from illegal traders as a cover to trade freshly felled mukula trees, in some instances under the protection of the Zambian army.

ZAFFICO is also alleged to have issued fraudulent export certificates, allowing timber from the endangered trees to be exported to China through the South Africa port of Durban.
EIA estimates that the illegal trade generates approximately US$7.5 million in bribes and informal fees annually.

Rueben Lifuka, Vice-Chair of Transparency International and President of Transparency International Zambia said: “It is imperative that the claims made in this report are investigated by multiple agencies and offices. Not only mukula continues to be trafficked despite the outcry of the Zambian public and the international community, the sale of Zambia’s natural resources allegedly benefits only a few people at the highest level of the government.”

Alarmingly, the report reveals that endangered trees are also used as a currency to influence Zambian elections.

Traffickers told EIA investigators that President Lungu granted mukula permits to regional chiefs in exchange for votes from their provinces ahead of the 2016 election and accepted a US$40,000 “donation” from a powerful Chinese trader to buy expensive outfits for his re-election campaign.

Mr. Lifuka continued: “This report describes the abuse of the state apparatus to facilitate and protect a criminal network operating at the highest levels of power. Such grand corruption thrives on the exploitation of natural resources for the benefit of the few, to the detriment of the many, and to their right to their natural heritage and environment.”

To restore the integrity of Zambia’s government and protect the remaining mukula trees, Transparency International urges the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources to urgently institute a complete ban on the export of mukula wood.

It also wants the Zambian government to provide a full account of mukula traded through ZAFFICO, including information on revenues and how the funds have been expended.

Transparency International also wants the Chief Justice of Zambia to establish a special tribunal to investigate the alleged illegality and the Anti-Corruption Commission to launch a full and thorough investigation into the findings of the EIA report.

The organization wants all relevant authorities, including the Anti-Corruption Commission and the Electoral Commission of Zambia, to investigate the legality of campaign donations and allegations of vote buying, and the abuse of state resources ahead of major Zambian elections.

Transparency International also calls upon the South African government to investigate their end of the suspicious transit route in order to stop the flow of Zambian Mukula wood from the port of Durban, which the report claims is now the principle point of departure for Zambian mukula from Africa since authorities in Tanzania have increased enforcement against trafficking.

Mukula is a rare African tree and one of the rosewood species protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

Illicit and unsustainable harvesting of this precious timber has led to the destruction of Zambian forests, with environmental activists and the international community warning of a looming extinction.