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Hosts Zambia made a roaring start to the 2019 COSAFA U20 following a 5-0 win over Botswana in their opening Group A match at Nkoloma Stadium in Lusaka.
The victory is a massive lift for Coach Oswald Mutapa as Zambia embark on finally winning the title in their third and final time as hosts after staging it in 2017, and making a first round exit, and in 2018 when they reached the semifinals.
Francisco Mwepu and Crawford Mwaba put Zambia two-nil into halftime with goals in the 5th and 34th minutes respectively.
Young Napsa Stars striker Jimmy Mukeya added a brace in the 64th and 79th minutes before Jumulo FC striker Ricky Banda made it 5-0 with five minutes left on the clock.
Zambia top Group A on goal difference tied on 3 points with Malawi who crushed Comoros 4-0 in the early kickoff at Nkoloma.
Zambia play Comoros in their penultimate Group A match on December 7 before facing Malawi on December 9 at Nkoloma Stadium.
Only the three group winners and best runner-up advance to the semifinals on December 12.
Speaking during a media briefing in Lusaka, Dr. Kalyalya recognised that to address the prevailing economic challenges, monetary policy actions alone are not sufficient.
Bank of Zambia (BoZ) Governor Denny Kalyalya says Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in flows fell by almost 50 percent to about US$560m in 2018.
Dr. Kalyalya says the significant decline was mainly due to losses of almost US$340m mostly in the mining sector where some companies encountered operational challenges.
The BoZ Governor says as a result of declining profitability, borrowing from foreign affiliates increased to about US$640m in 2018 from US$560m in 2017.
Dr. Kalyalya was speaking during the dissemination workshop of the Foreign Private Investment and Investor perceptions survey results in Lusaka today.
He explained that in terms of sectoral performance, the manufacturing sector was the leading recipient of net FDI liability flows.
Dr. Kalyalya explained that peace, security, political stability, and a relatively stable macroeconomic environment have continued to be the main motivating factors for investing in Zambia.
The opposition UPND says it does not approve of the conduct of its Members of Parliament, who refused to walk out of Parliament when the Constitution Amendment bill number 10 of 2019 was presented in Parliament.
UPND Secretary General Stephen Katuka says a collective decision will have to be made on how to handle Nalikwanda Member of Parliament Geoffrey Lungwangwa and his Solwezi Central counterpart Teddy Kasonso.
Mr. Katuka told ZNBC in a telephone interview that the Opposition Leader in Parliament JACK MWIIMBU gave a position which everyone needed to follow.
Yesterday, the Constitution Amendment Bill Number Ten of 2019 was restored on the order paper in Parliament.
This means that the Constitutional amendment Bill number ten of 2019 is eligible to come up for second reading in Parliament.
Acting Justice Minister, Stephen Kampyongo moved a motion for the restoration of the bill to the order paper.
However, most of the UPND MPs walked out of the house protesting the restoration of the Constitution Amendment bill number ten of 2019 to the order paper.
But two UPND Members of Parliament Mr. Kasonso of Solwezi and his Nalikwanda counterpart Geoffrey Lungwangwa opted to remain in the house after their counterparts walked out.
And the Southern Africa Centre for Constructive Resolution of Disputes (SACCORD) says there is no need to harass or punish the two UPND Members of Parliament who refused to walk out when the Constitutional Amendment Bill number ten of 2019 was presented to Parliament.
SACCORD Executive Director Boniface Chembe says the members of Parliament merely exercised their right to remain in the House and that no one should have a problem with that.
Mr. Chembe says with the explanation given, the two members of Parliament cannot be blamed for their action.
Mr. Chembe told ZNBC News in a Telephone interview that instead of antagonizing the two Members of Parliament, the UPND will do well to listen to their reasoning and respect their action.
He said it will not be in the interest of the UPND to antagonize the Nalikwanda and Solwezi Central law makers.
Parliament has unanimously resolved to defer the enactment of the controversial Constitutional Amendment Bill Number 10 to February next year.
Acting Justice Minister Stephen Kampyongo told the House Wednesday afternoon that there is not sufficient time to debate the Bill in the current sitting.
Mr Kampyongo who is also Home Affairs Minister said the Executive is aware that in the current sitting, Parliament has limited time to pass the Budget Act which takes precedence.
He said Parliament also has a number of Heads to Consider when debating the Budget Bill and also has to pass the Money Act to support the implementation of the budget.
Mr Kampyongo said deferring the Bill to next year is not a sign that the Executive is scared of losing the vote but that it is confident that the Bill will pass.
The ongoing diplomatic battle between the US. Ambassador Daniel Foote and the PF government on the 15 years’ imprisonment slapped on an innocent gay couple confirms the saying “he who pays the piper calls the tune.” Despite irresponsible statements from dishonorable and corrupt PF cadres, this immoral sentence harms our nation’s international credibility. The PF government has surpassed Uganda’s anti-gay foolishness, we are now the official gay killing nation. Even PF government’s spokesperson, Hon. Dora Siliya cannot defend this injustice in her statement.
Hon. Siliya’s statement is a child-like plea for US continual economic support, which helps pay for her rich lifestyle. In Hon. Siliya’s world, however, Amb. Foote must only praise the PF government but never criticize its evil policies. This is self-evident in her statement’s citation of the US embassy’s assessment of the socio-political trends in the nation. In order to assuage PF cadres, she nevertheless defines Zambians as God-fearing (thieves, rapists, child molesters, etc), who are anti-gay and pro-death penalty.
I wondered why Hon. Siliya brought up the death penalty, which has nothing to do with the unjust sentence. “Who does not know that 15 years in Zambian prisons is the death penalty?” I initially thought. But then I realized she simply iterated Senegalese President Macky Sall’s response to President Obama during the June 2013 Dakar Joint Press Conference. Whereas Obama called for the decriminalization of homosexuality, Sall argued that Senegal has outlawed the death penalty, which is still lawful in the United States. His country, President Sall argued, was still not ready to decriminalize homosexuality–though gay persons were not persecuted or discriminated against (which was not true). Hence, there is a need to respect each nation’s laws. Unlike President Sall, however, Hon. Siliya could not make such a statement–a gay couple is unjustly and wrongly sentenced to 15 years imprisonment. It is this injustice that horrified Ambassador Foote in a Christian nation where criminals are acquitted, while the innocent overpopulate our life-ending jails.
One could question ambassador Foote’s sincerity in his opposition to the sentence following the Trump administration’s human rights violations. From the caging of immigrants to the separation of children from parents to attempts to reverse gains in sexual rights globally, the US is no longer the human rights defending nation it used to be. Is it not only fair that ambassador Foote should clean his country’s closet first, before pointing a finger of injustice on Zambia?
This question though justified ignores the fact that most US ambassadors are career diplomats whose duty is to represent, and uphold their country’s constitution as opposed to promoting the interests of the sitting president. The cooperation of US ambassadors with the US. Congress in the impeachment investigations against President Trump (despite Trump’s directive not to do so) speaks to this point. In this regard, Amb. Foote has a moral responsibility to stand up for those on the margins–something that provoked ignorant PF cadres to foolishly demand his expulsion from the unjust Christian nation.
Madam Siliya’s statement sought to placate cadres on the one hand and to beg for forgiveness from the US ambassador on the other. Thus she wrongly employed the Westphalian accord in international relations theory (IRT); a pact that prohibits foreign nations from interfering in domestic politics. Based on this misapplication of IRT, she interprets the ambassador’s position as interference in what is purely a domestic matter.
It is not unusual for ambassadors to publicly support human rights in foreign lands. So I doubt if Hon. Siliya is aware that the non-interference protocol does not apply to human rights violations and war crimes. We live in the post-Westphalia era, in which foreign governments have the right to oppose human rights violations across borders. In ITR, it is thus within the ambassador’s duties to speak out against state-sponsored human rights abuses; in this case, the shameful and uncalled for imprisonment that even Madam Siliya could not logically defend.
Ignorance of international relations is poisonous. Many ignorant PF cadres don’t know that the US is behind the many developmental projects in the nation–from hospitals to Universities to roads to toilets to HIV/AIDS drugs to countless others. It is this reality that forced Hon. Dora Siliya to walk back the PF government’s irresponsible attacks on the heroic ambassador. She understands that without the US financial support, Zambia’s economy is dead–something that would rightly send many PF cadres and officials to jail following the 2021 elections. Hence the Lungu administration has no choice, but to kneel before this hero–the gay rights defending diplomat.
I take offense with Hon. Siliya’s presentation of the 15 years imprisonment as a matter of opinion–it is not. This is about human beings, whose lives are destroyed simply because of who they choose to love. We ought to understand that human rights are non-negotiable. Masses may see homosexuality as sinful, but to imprison innocent people due to their sexual orientation is simply wrong. We all want justice, and when justice is denied, we must oppose it at all costs. As an award-winning Indian economist, Amartya Sen’s human development theory concludes, we cannot develop holistically in the absence of freedoms. In short, upholding human rights is critical to human development. Behind Zambia’s underdevelopment is the ongoing misapplication of justice by our courts.
On a strategic note, the ambassador’s threat to review the US–Zambia relations is exactly what President Lungu and his morally bankrupt administration need. At the time when masses are starving, unemployment is out of control and the Kwacha is at its weakest, the anti-homosexuality hoopla will characterize the 2021 election campaigns. Homosexuality is the only issue the PF will run to define HH to the overt religious electorate; further jeopardizing the wellbeing of sexual minorities. As for now, the Lungu administration has finally put its tail between its legs–it has surrendered to the heroic ambassador.
All people of goodwill should not surrender to this injustice. The threat of “contempt of [disgraced] courts cannot erase the facts; Zambian courts have repeatedly insulted justice, democracy, and even human decency.
I know I am the lone religious voice on this subject. But as long as l breath, nobody will silence me. Your insults and threats are the very fuel that drives my passion–sexual minorities deserve their rights.
To the sacred LGBTQI community, this fight is ours to win.
File: Women and children waiting to be attended to by only one Nurse at Siameja Clinic in Sinazongwe district.
The National Health Insurance Management Authority is assessing health facilities countrywide for possible accreditation as health care providers under the National Health Insurance Scheme.
Speaking when members from the authority paid a courtesy call on Acting Kalabo District Administrative Officer Simasiku Simasiku, delegation leader Cynthia Kachamba said once accredited, the initiative will help revamp the target health facilities.
Ms. Kachamba, who is also Health Professionals Council of Zambia (HPCZ) senior training officer, said beneficiaries shall locally access health services adding that only ailments requiring specialized treatment will be referred elsewhere.
She revealed that the scheme has a lot of benefits for both the beneficiaries and accredited health facilities.
She said the delegation was in the district to assess Kalabo District Hospital and Yuka Adventist Mission Hospital for possible accreditation as the scheme’s health care providers.
Meanwhile, Acting Kalabo District Administrative Officer Simasiku Simasiku observed that there was need for mass sensitization about the National Health Insurance Scheme and its benefits.
Following the enactment of the National Health Insurance Act No. 2 of 2018 and gazetting of Statutory Instrument number 66 of 2019, beneficiaries have started contributing to the scheme effective 1st October 2019.
In accordance with Section 15(1) of the National Health Insurance Act No. 2 of 2018, the scheme is a contributory entity at the prescribed rate of two percent with the employee contributing one percent and the employer contributing another one percent of the monthly basic salary.
The authority targets to register about 700,000 scheme members by February next year.
The focus is to register employees, pension managers and the informal sector whereas everyone above the age of 18 years and below 65 years is eligible for registration.
Scheme regulations, health benefits package and accredited health care providers shall be communicated in due course while members of the scheme shall be eligible to access health benefits with effect from 1st February 2020.
During the transition period, administrative measures such as registration of members, issuance of membership cards, accreditation of health care providers and all functions incidental to the implementation of the scheme shall be undertaken.
File:HH speaking during a radio programme on SUN FM
As predicted, the PF want to increase fuel pump prices and electricity tariffs to new unaffordable margins. These services are a lifeline and engine with which any economy is driven and spurred. The adjustments will therefore have a telling effect for both big and small scale entrepreneurs, including the ordinary citizens who are already severely strained by the never ending increases.
We are currently experiencing excessive electricity load shedding. Businesses and households that could afford resorted to electricity generators as alternative source of power, especially for huge industrial and domestic equipment. These measures are regrettably coming at a critical period of the ongoing agriculture season, where farmers are busy in the fields using these same services.
We arrived at this economic crisis because we have depleted the foreign reserves that were being used to cushion the weakening currency. We warned the PF against excessive borrowing which has now led us into huge debt repayment situation.
Fellow citizens, we have to brace ourselves for hard times ahead. Cheaper fuel is possible as per our illustration previously which we have uploaded again.
A nation with a rich history honours its past and it goes without staying about Europe’s most successful footballing nation Germany.
In 2015, Germany paid tribute to its footballing heritage when it opened the doors of the Germany Football Museum in Dortmund.
Dortmund has a significant place in Germany’s recent football story and it was there where the post-war Bundesliga was established in 1962.
The three-story building in Dortmund’s central business district houses memorabilia and artifacts from over 100 years of Germany’s football.
It is one of three high profile national football museums in the World, together with the English in Manchester, and Japanese in Tokyo.
The first floor houses the league and international club memorabilia that includes the oldest known match day ticket to the German Football Hall of Fame.
Upon the third floor is dedicated to the history of the national team including the exploits of the Women’s who are the second most successful team in the World with two FIFA Women’s World Cup titles and are the record eight-time European champions.
The floor also includes two 3D cinemas’ that focus on Germanys 2014 FIFA World Cup triumph in Brazil.
The main one is a ten-minute candid and behind the scenes documentary on the highs and lows of the ultimate tournament specialists’ odyssey to 2014 final in Rio.
The other is a 3D team dialogue by that World Cup-winning teams’ players.
However, two exhibitions stand out with probably the first dedicated to Germany’s first World Cup triumph in 1954 in Switzerland.
Dubbed ‘The Miracle of the Berne’ ‘Die Mannschaft’, as the Germany national team is known as defied the odds in the final to beat a hitherto invincible Mighty Magyars Hungry who had the legendary Ferenc Puskás in their ranks.
This is after a modest German side was initially crushed 8-3 in the group stages by a Hungarian side who had come into the tournament as favorites and unbeaten 32 successive matches heading into the World Cup.
Life Size Portrait of Germanys First FIFA World Cup champions of the 1954 finals in Switzerland
But in true fairy tale fashion in the final, Germany came from 2-1 down in the first eleven minutes of the first half to go into the break 2-2 before Helmut Rhan snatched their first-ever World Cup triumph and to set the foundation for bigger things to come.
That iconic team’s life-size black and white portrait enjoys its distinguished place on the third floor in The Golden Generations Stand.
In the middle of the Golden Generation Stand is the very ball that Germany romped to victory with.
Staying on the theme of the FIFA World Cup final, also on display on the third floor is the penalty spot from which Andreas Brehme scored the late penalty and only goal in Germany’s 1-0 win over defending champions Argentina scored the only goal of 1990 final.
The 1954 FIFA World Cup Match Winning Ball
Undeniably, the 1966 World Cup final is also in focus with footage from the various angles of Geoff Hurts’ controversial second goal of England’s 4-2 victory over then West Germany at Wembley Stadium in London.
And to crown Germany’s decorated past, The German Museum’s houses the massive trophy vault where the splendor in the Gold from all of the Four FIFA World Cup’s and the Silver from Three European champions triumphs are on display capped in glass casings in the dimly-lit hall.
Only Italy, with four World Cup and one UEFA Euro title, comes close to Germany in terms of Europe’s most decorated teams.
Meanwhile, the Museum also has a section honouring Jewish resilience during the Holocaust on the second floor chronicling the structured league that set-up at Terezin Ghetto in the present-day Czech Republic during Nazi occupation.
Lastly but not least and staying on the theme of the Second World War, the exhibition also includes the old Empire Trophy presented to the pre-war winners of the Bundesliga.
The majestic Empire Cup vanished and was believed destroyed during World War 2.
However, after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, East Germany revealed they had the Empire Cup in their custody.
Germany national team trophy vault where the four FIFA World Cups and three Euro Championships Trophies are on display
Contractors at Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) in Chingola yesterday staged a peaceful demonstration with a call on the government to expedite the mining firm’s liquidation process.
Speaking on behalf of the contractors, Ronald Mwautene said the liquidation process has taken longer than expected, hence the need for the government to speed up the process.
Mr. Mwautene, who thanked the government for disengaging itself from Vedanta, said the issues should be resolved in the quickest way possible so that mining operations can get back to normal.
ZANIS reports that Mr. Mwautene said this yesterday at the Nchanga constituency office in Chingola district, where KCM contractors had gathered to seek an audience with Nchanga Member of Parliament, Chali Chilombo, over the matter.
And Nchanga Member of Parliament Chali Chilombo said government is working hard to ensure that the matter is resolved as soon as possible.
Mr. Chilombo said the matter is currently in the courts of law and the government does not interfere in court matters.
He said he will take the message to relevant authorities so that the issue is addressed once and for all.
The mine, which is the wettest in the world, is currently under liquidation.
The government has handed over 138 new houses to the Zambia Police Service at Kabwe Mobile Police Camp.
The housing units were constructed by AVIC International.
And ZANIS reports that Kabwe Mobile Police Camp has been renamed Edgar Chagwa Lungu Police Camp.
Speaking during the commissioning and handover of the 138 housing units, Home Affairs Minister, Stephen Kampyongo, said the government will endeavour to do everything possible to ensure men and women in uniform live decent lives.
Mr. Kampyongo said the commissioning and handing over of the houses was also meant to put on record the steadfast commitment and support by President Edgar Lungu to reform the Zambia Police Service and improve the welfare of its staff officers and general staff.
The Home Affairs Minister said the provision of decent housing to men and women in uniform was one way of improving the welfare of officers and other staff in the police service.
He recalled that President Lungu coined the idea of constructing houses for police officers when he was Minister of Home Affairs in the Michael Sata regime and continued with the programme after assuming the presidency, much to the pleasure of the ministry.
Mr. Kampyongo revealed that more houses were being constructed in other parts of the country, some of which have since been commissioned in Chibombo, Chingola and Lusaka among others.
He further explained that so far 65 per cent of housing units under Phase one of the housing project for police officers have been commissioned and handed over with the rest expected to be completed and commissioned in 2020.
Mr. Kampyongo expressed optimism that there shall be second and third phases of the housing project for service men and women in his ministry which will see all employees live in decent houses.
He has since assured that the government shall leave no stone unturned in its efforts to solve the housing deficit faced by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
And Minister of Home Affairs, Stephen Kampyongo, has renamed the Mobile Police Camp in Kabwe as Edgar Chagwa Lungu Police Camp.
Mr. Kampyongo said the renaming of the Mobile Police Camp follows a suggestion by Inspector General of Police, Kakoma Kanganja, to do so in appreciation of what the President has done to transform the Zambia Police Service.
“In this regard, I am pleased to announce that His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Zambia, has graciously accepted your suggestion or renaming this new camp here in Kabwe after him,” Mr. Kampyongo said.
Speaking at the same function, AVIC International representative, Lei Yingqi, assured Mr. Kampyongo that his firm will continue constructing quality housing units and pledged to complete the remaining houses in other districts by February next year.
Mr. Yingqi said since AVIC International was engaged in the housing project for the Ministry of Home Affairs, the construction company has empowered over 95,000 young men and women with jobs and skills.
FILE: U.S Ambassador to Zambia Daniel Foote displays the keys to the crowd before presenting them to Health Minister DR Chitalu Chilufya
Chief Cooma of the Tonga people in Choma district has called for the immediate expulsion of the United States of America (US) Ambassador Daniel Foote from Zambia back to his country.
Speaking to ZANIS in Choma yesterday, chief Cooma said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should send off Ambassador Foote before he causes confusion in the country with his advocacy for gay rights.
The traditional leader said the US envoy should not continue to be in Zambia because he might confuse young Zambians.
He reiterated that Zambia is a Christian nation with values that needed to be respected by everyone residing in this country.
Chief Cooma further observed that the behaviour of Ambassador Foote would mislead the nation if he continued working within.
He wondered where Ambassador Foote was getting the powers of advocating for gay rights when his President Donald Trump is on record condemning same sex marriage in the United States of America.
He said same sex marriage has remained a taboo and shall remain so forever in Zambia.
On Friday last week, Ambassador Foote said he was horrified by the jailing to two Zambian men for homosexuality on November 28, 2019 to 15 years imprisonment by the High Court of Zambia.
The US envoy said, “perhaps, it is time for Zambia to consider its outdated stance and obsolete legislation on how to treat LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex) community, and all others considered ‘different’.”
And the Kasama Pastors Fellowship has expressed concern over remarks attributed to U.S. Ambassador to Zambia Daniel Foote where he has questioned the jailing of two gay men by a court to 15 years in prison after they were convicted.
Fellowship Chairperson Pastor William Mutale says that the people of Zambia will never subscribe to alien practices such as same sex marriages.
Pastor Mutale charges that it is sad that the U.S envoy could question the country’s judiciary over the jailing of the gay couple.
“We want to speak to Mr Daniel Foote and to echo the words of our President Edgar Chagwa Lungu that homosexuality has no right in Zambia because it harms us and our reputation as a Christian nation”, Pastor Mutale said.
Pastor Mutale has since challenged Mr Foote to concentrate on his job as an ambassador instead of coming to teach Zambians how to live.
“Homosexuality is not welcome to Zambia, and if he (Foote) feels that it is welcome he has no place in this country”, Pastor Mutale added.
U.S. ambassador to Zambia Daniel Foote has come under fire from some section of society after his recent comment where he described a high court ruling sentencing two men to 15 years in prison for homosexuality as horrifying and harsh.
Ambassador Daniel Foote urged the Government to reconsider laws that punish minority groups.
Coach Tenant Chilumba says he has joined Forest Rangers with the vision of helping the team win trophies and play in Africa.
Forest on Tuesday announced the hiring of Chilumba on a two- year contract a day after he left Kabwe Warriors.
Forest launched a search for a coach last week following the resignation of Perry Mutapa, who has joined Power Dynamos.
‘It’s a good move and it’s a new challenge again for me so I am happy to sign a two year contract,’ Chilumba said.
‘Of course my ambition is to see them playing continental and win trophies. They have been consistent for the last four years. ‘
‘I think we just need to put heads together with the management and the products who are the players. We just have to focus on one goal,’ he said.
Forest are sixth in the FAZ Super Division with 18 points from 12 matches played.
And Chilumba took time to explain his seemingly sudden departure from Warriors.
‘I looked at Kabwe Warriors and I looked at Forest, off-course Kabwe Warriors is a big team. It’s my team it’s the team I played for, I can still go back so I can’t say bad things about Kabwe Warriors,’ the ex-Chipolopolo star said.
Chilumba joined Warriors last year in January.
‘I worked well with the team and management. But off course we didn’t agree on some things in the contract so both parties we were happy to separate,’ he said.
Young Chipolopolo Zambia kicks off its third successive attempt at winning the COSAFA U20 Cup as hosts when they face Botswana in their opening Group A match at Nkoloma Stadium in Lusaka.
Zambia are battling to reclaim the COSAFA U20 crown they last won away in South Africa in December 2016 but fell twice at home in Kitwe after they relinquished it with a first round exit in 2017 and a semifinal elimination in 2018.
Malawi and Comoros, who play in the early lunchtime kick off at Nkoloma, are their other Group A opponents in what will also be the final of the three-COSAFA U20 tournament series that Zambia was earmarked to host.
“We have a good team that can deliver and we made a promise that we shall strive to keep,” Zambia U20 coach Oswald Mutapa said.
“Botswana has a good side and we respect them but we need to win this game at all cost. The boys are willing to work which is very good I think.”
Mutapa heads his first Zambia U20 assignment after guiding the U17 team to 2019 COSAFA U17 Cup triumph in Malawi in October.
But Mutapa is not the first man in this frame and follows in the footsteps of Mumamba Numba’s 2017 COSAFA U17 victory in Mauritius in July of that year that saw Zambia win its debut tournament title in that category.
However, that project did not replicate itself five months later when Numba was also promoted to steer the COSAFA U20 campaign that ended with that early exit as hosts in Kitwe.
Lusaka Celtic striker Francisco Mwepu, who starred in the 2017 COSAFA U17 Cup victory, and had a notable outing in the unsuccessful COSAFA U20 tournament on the Copperbelt, returns to the fold.
Mwepu missed the 2018 edition after opting for trials in Austria at RB Salzburg where his big brother plays.
Focus will be on the fiery striker to lead the cause as Zambia hopes to end the year with some silverware just weeks after the team that last won the COSAFA U20 Cup, that included his big brother Enock, failed to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics following a group stage exit at the 2019 U23 AFCON in Egypt.
Copperbelt Patriotic Front Provincial Chairman Nathan Chanda
Copperbelt Patriotic Front Provincial Chairman Nathan Chanda has challenged opposition UPND Leader Hakainde Hichilema to state his and party position on homosexuality, despite the fact that the UPND leader is on record to have categorically stated that he does not support same-sex marriage.
Both the UPND and Mr. Hichilema are on record to have publicly said that they do not support same-sex marriages
Despite UPND’s public position, Mr. Chanda said today that he is shocked that Mr. Hichilema has categorically failed to state his and the UPND position on gay rights in a country like Zambia which is a Christian Nation.
The PF Copperbelt boss said the desperation of Mr. Hichilema and his UPND to be in State House is so alarming, shameful, unZambian, unchristian and against the belief which is the preamble of the Zambian Constitution.
Mr. Hichilema revealed that private investors from the US have pledged to invest over US$25.8 billion in Zambia in the first 5 years of his administration.
Mr. Hichilema said in Washington DC at the Woodrow Wilson Centre.
” But we question who these private investors are? We want answers from you sir? We can’t allow you to auction the country, in a similar manner our mines were privatized and only a few benefited immensely by becoming rich overnight. Tell the Zambian people what you went to do and the conditions for the investment from these so-called ‘private investors’. These are questions we want answers from you, sir, go on TV and tell the voters whether you support same-sex marriage” Mr. Chanda asked.
Mr. Chanda has also asked the Church and other civil societies even if some get funds for the same people please come out open on issues of gay rights which are been championed by the opposition leader.
“The Three Church Mothers body silence is so threatening. We have seen some Church come out strong on Bill 10, political violence and other issues. But we are dismayed with the silence on the championing of gay rights by the oppositions.”
“As a Christian nation, we want to ask the Church to openly condemn this championing of gay rights. It is clear in the Bible that marriage is between male and female, lady and gentleman. Now we wonder what Bible the UPND is reading if it supports the championing of the marriage of same-sex. Even animals ‘dogs’ surely know that this one is a male and female,” Mr. Chanda said.
” Let’s be objective and patriotic United Zambians for once politics aside. Just because you want to rule Zambia then you want to allow and support selling out our national, Christian values and culture. Shame on you, ” said Mr. Chanda.
Mr. Chanda urged Zambians to open their eyes and see, open their ears and hear to these leaders who want to become leaders of Zambia.
“With little power in opposition, some people are behaving like masters and kings what more with instruments of power in their hands. They will come and sell your churches and there will no longer be Christianity in Zambia. For warned is forearmed,” he said.
We will stand with the Zambian people and our President in defending our Christianity, national values and culture
