President Edgar Lungu has praised the United States of America for providing over US$ 3 billion towards development assistance to Zambia since its Independence in 1964.

This came to light when President Lungu held a bilateral meeting with US Deputy Assistant Secretary for Africa under the State Department Matthew Harrington in New York last evening.

President Lungu said Zambia is grateful for the continued US government support to different sectors such as education, health, water and sanitation, energy infrastructure development and capacity building respectively.

He noted that the health sector has been major beneficiary of the resources from the US government particularly under the United States for International Development (USAID) and the United States President Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (PEPFAR).

President Lungu said Zambia is therefore determined to expand its bilateral relations with the United States of America for the benefit of people from the two countries.

He also commended the US government for successfully completing the US$35 million grant for the Lusaka water supply, sanitation and drainage project under the Millennium Challenge Account Zambia.

President Lungu said through this project government has managed to improve the lives of the local people as they were now able to access to clean supply and good sanitation within their locality.

The Head of State also expressed gratitude donor funds under the Millennium Challenge Account were put to good use.President Lungu assured the US government that his administration will ensure that remaining works on the Lusaka water supply, sanitation and drainage project were successfully completed.

He further thanked the US government for according him and his delegation to the United Nations General Assembly a warm reception since their arrival in New York.

And speaking earlier, US Deputy Assistant Secretary for Africa Matthew Harrington thanked President Lungu for allocating time at the UN General Assembly in New York to hold a bilateral meeting with the US State Department.

Meanwhile, President Lungu has expressed concern with negative reports about Zambia being spread through social media.The President said he is happy to meet officials from the US State Department so as to clarify on certain unverified media reports which were denting the image of country abroad.

President Lungu has since urged Zambians to be responsible in use of the social media and refrain from spreading misinformation about their country.

A renowned American billionaire has shown interest in setting up a world class private wildlife estate or game ranch around the Kafue National Park.

Paul Jones confirmed his investment pledge when he met with President Edgar Lungu on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York last evening.

Mr. Jones informed President Lungu that he has done a detailed investment plan for the wildlife project in Zambia although the Department of National Parks and Wildlife has not yet cleared his proposal.

He said he has proposed to government for an equity partnership in the running of the game ranch to facilitate a win-win situation for both parties.
Mr. Jones has since appealed to President Lungu to intervene in the prolonged delay by the Department of National Parks and Wildlife to grant him the game ranching licence.

The American investor further said he has similar ranching ventures in other African countries such as South Africa, Tanzania and Zimbabwe and hopes to do the same in Zambia.

Mr. Jones, who is chairman of Tudor Investment Corporation, disclosed that he plans to re-stock white rhinos in the Game Ranch and Kafue National Park once granted the wildlife licence.

And in responding to Mr. Jones’ investment pledge, President Lungu assured the American investor that he will direct Tourism Minister Ronald Chitotela to urgently look into the matter.

The President however said he will not interfere in the operations of the State institutions regarding delays in the issuance of the game ranching licence to Mr Jones but instead allow the due process of law to be followed.

He advised the American investor to immediately engage with relevant authorities so that whatever challenges were being faced in relation to his proposed game ranching project were resolved expeditiously.

President Lungu further emphasised his government’s desire to attract tangible investment in various sectors of the economy.

President Lungu is part of other world leaders attending the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
The President is also holding bilateral meetings and engaging prospective foreign investors wishing to invest in Zambia as part of the side events to the UN General Assembly.

[ZNBC]

Police in riot gear have been deployed to Kafue to block UPND Leader Hakainde Hichilema from touring Soloboni Township in the district.

Mr Hichilema was on Monday advised not to go ahead with his planned visit to assess the extent of the current hunger situation in the area.

The opposition Leader who was recently blocked in Chawama from donating a Genset to Chawama Level one Hospital wanted to tour Kafue one of the 58 districts that has been hit by the current hunger crisis.

Mr Hichilema wanted to help offer a helping hand to the affected families.

Police officers have been spotted patrolling the streets of Kafue town ready to block the opposition leader if he attempts to defy their orders.

The UPND had notified the Police that their Leader Hakainde Hichilema would tour the township as part of the community engagement to assess the extent of the current hunger situation and possibly help the vulnerable groups in Kafue.

But in a response to the UPND, Kafue Police Station Inspector a Mr M. Mudimina advised them to put off the planned exercise to a later date.

He said that the Police are currently monitoring the security concerns involving the closure of the Council Secretary’s Office and the outcome of the just ended delimitation exercise which the Electoral Commission of Zambia conducted.

And Deputy Press Secretary to Mr Hichilema Brian Mwiinga has confirmed that the Police have blocked the UPND Leader from visiting Soloboni compound in Kafue which like many parts of the country have been hit by the current hunger situation.

Mr Mwiinga said heavily armed State Police have taken over the entire Kafue town thereby creating an un conducive environment for residents and even business.

He said Mr. Hichilema wanted to get hands on facts regarding the hunger situation and also donate bags of mealie meal to the residents of the area.

Mr Mwiinga said the UPND are still trying to make their way there and we will keep you informed.

Grant’s, the world’s number three Scotch whisky has announced a global brand refresh which includes a striking new packaging with a renaming of its signature blend. Grant’s Global Brand Ambassador was on a three day visit in Zambia last week to promote the new Triple Wood campaign and meet various stakeholders.

The Grant’s Triple Wood  Whisky was globally launched in 2018 after which Daniel Dyer continues to tour the world sharing the news in networking interactions with consumers sharing his skill and wealth of experience as a whisky connoisseur. During Dyer’s stay in Zambia, he conducted a whisky masterclass for bartenders and met with consumers at a cocktail event held at Le Elementos Hotel in Lusaka. Daniel addressed key players in the hospitality and entertainment industry and shared his unique journey as the Grant’s Global Brand Ambassador.

“The Triple Wood Whisky is a new way of communicating the superiority of the liquid through its whisky making process for a smooth, rich and mellow taste. Grant’s believes that great things happen when working together and it is through this power of collaboration and shared passion that Triple Wood is made” stated Dyer. Aged in three distinct woods for a smoother taste, the Triple Wood Whisky is the biggest change the brand has made in twenty years so it comes as no surprise that Zambia has received the news with great excitement.

Zambian house music icon El Mukuka is set to become the first Zambian DJ/Producer to perform at the prestigious Corona SunSets Festival series on Saturday 28^th September 2019. Corona SunSets is a global music festival series celebrating the transformational power of sunset in the world’s most iconic beaches, mountains, and city centers. Corona SunSets Festival is bringing the magic of the setting sun back to Durban this September at the Shongweni Club, located amongst the gorgeous greenery of Hillcrest. El Mukuka will be sharing the stage with top African & international dance music stars such as Felix Jaehn, Mi Casa, Sun-El Musician, TiMO ODV, Kususa, Floyd Lavine and many others.

A Journalist from Chikuni Radio has recounted how he painfully witnessed starving families in Pemba eat Maize bran meant for animals.

Fredinand Sianyuka was coveting stories on the devastation caused by drought in Pemba’s Habbanyuka village to Gwembe’s Kkoma area when he met several villagers resorting to eating Maize bran.

“Today my colleague Karrus Hang’andu and I saw with our naked eyes a family feeding on maize bran(Busenga) as their main food due to lack of mealie meal and have now turned on maize bran given to them by GRZ meant for livestock,” Sianyuka recounted in his Facebook post.

“Today we came across two young girls in their early teens and four older women who walked for over 7 hours from Habbanyuka in Pemba to Kkoma in Gwembe district with bunches of banana on their back and head hoping to exchange with fish at the above stated place.”

“All this is because of hunger and sadly the two girls are currently out of school as they now help to fend for their families,” he says.

“This and much more we witnessed today as we headed into Gwembe district (Sompani ward) about 80km from Chikuni Radio, Monze in a quest to fully understand the extent of hunger in the said district.”

Sianyuka said he could not believe his eyes and found himself shedding tears.

“I couldn’t help it but shed tears upon seeing people relying on baobab fruits as their main meals.”

“A check at the nearby school reviews that only about 20% of 380 pupils at the school managed to report for class when schools opened for third term and this is largely attributed to hunger.”

He said, “Sadly those mandated to help keep saying there is enough food.”

The Constitutional Court has dismissed an application by the Law Association of Zambia for an injunction to stop Parliament from proceeding to receive submissions from stakeholders and having Bill number 10 read on Second and Third Reading.

In a ruling delivered yesterday, Zambia’s highest Court determined that in making submissions to the Parliamentary Select Committee, LAZ would not suffer any injury.

It observed that LAZ was invited to make submissions to the Select Committee but declined to do so and cannot now turn around to claim it would suffer injury.

The Court emphasized that article 89(1) is mandatory for Parliament to engage the public in the legislative process and LAZ should have utilised the Constitutional mechanism to air its grievances on the clauses.

On Tuesday, September 17, 2019 when the matter came up for hearing, the ConCourt heard the application by LAZ to dismiss the Respondents’ notice to raise preliminary issues.

This means that LAZ raised preliminary issues on the Respondents’ preliminary issues. The Court reserved its ruling to Friday, 27 September 2019 or before.

Depending on the ruling on LAZ’s application, the Respondents’ preliminary objection or the main matter may be heard on a date to be advised by the ConCourt.

ZESCO has refuted reports that it will effect a 200 percent electricity tariff hike starting October 1st, 2019 to facilitate the planned importation of power from Eskom of South Africa.

The story was first reported by the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC) that the period for the increase will only be for six months of the power importation aimed at mitigating load shedding following a decline in power generation necessitated by low water levels.

After the story was picked up by many social media outlets, ZESCO decided to issues the statement below. ZNBC has since taken down the story.

In a statement, ZESCO Director of Commercial and Customer Service Mr. Chiti Mataka said ZESCO regrets the apprehension and anxiety that this misinformation may have caused to customers and the general public.

“Zesco Limited would like to clarify media reports circulating on social media insinuating that the Corporation will institute hike of 200% effective 1st October 2019,” Mr Mataka said.

“The briefing that was held on Tuesday 24th September 2019 was aimed at informing the nation on the status of the power deficit that the country is experiencing and the intervention that the Corporation has put in place to mitigate the same.”

“Key amongst these interventions to mitigate the power deficit, is the planned importation of 300 MW of power from ESKOM of South Africa at a landed cost of approximately $22million per month.”

He said the modalities of how this intervention will be implemented is being worked out between ZESCO and the Government.

“As explained during the same media briefing of Tuesday 24th September 2019, the power importation program is separate from the general tariff adjustment application which is undertaken through the regulatory body, the Energy Regulation Board (ERB). It is the sole preserve of the ERB to consider any electricity pricing adjustments for regulated entities, that include ZESCO.”

“With the reference to the power importation program, ZESCO wishes to advise that in order to support it with sufficient liquidity, it has applied to ERB that an appropriate cost-sharing mechanism be put in place.”

He said the mechanism will run over the duration of the importation program only.

“ZESCO therefore regrets the apprehension and anxiety that this misinformation may have caused to our esteemed customers and the general public.”

By: Anthony Bwalya – UPND Member

The United Party for National Development (UPND) continues to emphasize the role that individuals, households and small businesses must and ought to play in our collective national endeavor to deliver rapid, sustainable, inclusive economic growth and development.

And part of the process of ensuring that the role of individuals, households and small businesses remains unhindered in contributing to robust economic growth, is to ensure that we deliver on the promise of enhanced, reliable, cheap and affordable access to energy – including fuel.

This is a critical component of our manifesto on energy.

The party’s leadership, as is the general populous, is and remains deeply saddened and dismayed at the recent increase in the pump price of fuel.

As expected, this will injure not only the cost of doing business, but also cause a spike in the general cost of living; pushing many millions of our already vulnerable citizens beyond the margins of poverty and destitution.

With our national growth forecast, already projected at less than 2% for the year 2019, we anticipate that a slow down in economic activity as businesses adjust to and absorb the increase in costs, will further undermine any prospects of any positive growth and ultimately harm – not only government’s own ability to raise revenue but also decapitate the provision of critical public services such as health and education.

This is why the UPND is concerned.

We would also like the public to note with us, that around 43% of the all the cost components of the pump price of fuel are all controllable costs – Energy Regulation Board fees, Excise Duty, OMC margins, dealer margins, VAT; all these and a few more are within the control of the government.

The question is why is the PF government reluctant to give way on one or more of these controllable cost components as a way to lower the pump price of fuel and begin to stimulate economic activity at a micro level?

Self interest. They are primary beneficiaries. They are the principal architects of OMC cartels and transport companies that are getting paid to harm our economy.

UPND’s STRATEGY

The UPND’s strategy is vast and cuts across all the different cost components in respect of the fuel procurement, marketing and distribution cycle. However, the summary of it is that:

1. We shall review all institutional taxes and duties and ensure that such are realigned to, as far as possible, help stir micro economic activity through cheaper access to fuel products. The aim is to reduce or scrap some of the institutional taxes and duties levied at the pump, which adversely affect the final price of fuel.

2. We shall review the role of OMCs in the fuel procurement, marketing and distribution cycle to ensure that any involvement, if at all required, by any such companies in the process of procuring, marketing and distribution of fuel does not result in consumers taking on unnecessary costs at the pump.

This is to say in certain and only in exceptional circumstances, middlemen might be a necessary component as part of the process of efficiently delivering fuel to our people everywhere, BUT we have to absolutely mitigate against the excessive rewarding of middlemen, if and where they are deemed a necessary component of the fuel supply cycle, so that we do not unnecessary punish our people.

3. Allow OMCs to import finished oil products from secure, reliable and credible sources in a transparent manner while we reinvest in Indeni Oil Refinery to update the technology. This is to ensure that the public are not paying for inefficiencies associated with processing the product using olden technology.

All this said, the UPND’s commitment is to deliver a pump price of less than 20 – 25% on the current premium once we get elected.

ZESCO will effect a 200 percent electricity tariff hike starting October 1st, 2019 to facilitate the planned importation of power from Eskom of South Africa. The period for the increase will only be for six months of the power importation aimed at mitigating load shedding following a decline in power generation necessitated by low water levels.

ZESCO Director Strategy and Corporate Services Patrick Mwila, however, said that the tariff hike will vary for individual costs depending on spending brackets, adding that importation will mean available power in the country will increase by 300 megawatts.

Mr. Mwila disclosed this at a media briefing in Lusaka.

And ZESCO Acting Managing Director Webster Musonda said the imported power with cost 22 Million United States dollars monthly which will be passed on to consumers.

Mr Musonda said that Zambia’s power deficit has risen to 690 megawatts from 425 megawatts in August and about 265 in June.

Mr. Musonda said the current water levels are the worst in almost 25 years, standing at 19.3 percent in the Kariba dam when it was at 79.3 percent this time last year.

Mr. Musonda said there is the need for ZESCO to seriously manage its generation capacity so that its ability to generate power for the first two months of 2020 in case the rainfall pattern will be bad.

Mr Musonda has also allayed allegations by some people claiming that the newly installed turbines use up more water saying they are actually more efficient.

Mr. Musonda revealed that Lunsemfwa Hydro of Central Province which was feeding about 50 megawatts into ZESCO has completely shut down operations because of lack of water.

He has however stated that new investments are expected to bring on board more power by early next year while some long term investments are being made by ZESCO and private investments worth millions of dollars which will make power supply more stable.

And, ZESCO Director Commercial and Customer Services Chiti Mataka said the utility company is not using the power importation to sneak in increased tariffs.

He said the company will only increase for six months to have the liquidity to fund the importation.