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Zambia striker Emmanuel Chabula is promising more goals after his impressive performance in the just ended African Nations Championship (CHAN) qualifying campaign.
Chabula of Nkwazi at the weekend scored a brace as Zambia drew 2-2 with Eswatini at home in Lusaka to qualify for next year’s CHAN via a 3-2 aggregate win.
‘I am very happy to score those goals. It feels good to win. It’s good we have qualified for the CHAN tournament,’ Chabula said.
‘I think a lot is coming. Expect more good performances and more goals. This is just the beginning,’ he said.
Chabula is becoming a common feature in the home based Zambia team and has three Chipolopolo goals in nine games in 2019.
‘I have been consistent because I am putting in more effort whenever I am called. Whenever I am given an opportunity to play I utilise is it and follow the coach’s instructions,’ he said.
Minister of Agriculture Michael Katambo says the public-private partnership in the agricultural value chain is yielding positive results.
Mr.Katambo explained that as directed by President Edgar Lungu early this year, his ministry and other line ministries have embraced a multisectoral approach.
He cited the Zambian National Farmers Union, Grain Traders Association of Zambia and Zambia Miller’s association as some of the key stakeholders his ministry has joined hands with to enhance agricultural production.
Speaking at the Zambian National Farmers Union 114th Annual Congress in Lusaka today, Mr.Katambo disclosed that currently, his ministry is working with stakeholders to harness the hidden potential in cassava production.
“As directed by you your excellence early this year, my ministry is working closely with the stakeholders that are here such as ZNFU, Grain Traders and Millers Association among others. In the maize sector, we have done a lot of fruitful planning and our focus is on cassava production. We know and it is self-explanatory that cassava if well harnessed can be the money-spinner for the nation so we are working towards utilizing the cassava that is grown on the larger scale,” he said.
Mr.Katambo disclosed that he and his counterpart from the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries do not allow partisan politics in the agriculture value chain but solely depend on the expert’s advice.
He further dispelled the statement from the ZNFU President Jervis Zimba that the government should not export maize bran, saying there is a ban on the exportation of maize bran.
And CORTEVA Chef Executive Officer Samson Nyendwa hailed President Edgar Lungu for having placed agriculture on top of his developmental agenda.
Mr.Nyendwa whose company produces panner and pioneer seeds said his firm will continue producing seeds that are climatic resilient.
He further said farmers countrywide are being sensitized on the climate-smart farming methods.
During this year’s Annual Congress eight farmers will award with K3200 e-voucher for farming inputs due to their resolve to support conservation farming while President Lungu was awarded the pictorial gift which depicts his support to agricultural growth.
Grain Traders Association of Zambia (GTAZ) has agreed with the government to keep maize price constant until the next harvest.
In the statement to ZANIS in Lusaka yesterday GTAZ says that the agreement is of the Government- Private partnership to ensure a constant supply of maize and stable mealie meal prices between now and the next harvest.
The Millers association disclosed that the government will come in with FRA maize to keep the mealie prices stable.
“At no time is Government paying for the maize held by Grain Traders. At this time of the year, maize supply is reducing, and prices are expected to rise until they hit import parity price. As responsible corporate citizens and in response to the Governments appeal, we agreed to forego the opportunity of additional margins and keep our prices at current levels. We have also pledged our support to Government to assist in ensuring that maize supply to the market is guaranteed between now and the new harvest in June 2020,” the statement read in part.
GTAZ feels that the agreement has been reached because of the close cooperation the institution has with the government.
Is predicted that the current maize prices are sitting at K4, 200 per metric ton has the potential to reach import parity level of K5, 900 by the end of December 2019.
The government has appealed to schools to have production units that will enable pupils acquire life skills that may help them earn a living in the future.
Eastern Province Deputy Permanent Secretary Josphat Lombe said pupils need to be equipped with various skills so that those who do not do well academically may use the very skills to secure their lives.
Mr Lombe said through the teaching of productive skills to the pupils, schools must also come up with projects that can help them generate incomes.
He said schools must teach pupils about practical issues that are there in life.
Speaking as guest of honour at the close out meeting of the Score Girls Project held yesterday at Crystal Springs Hotel in Chipata, Mr Lombe commended People’s Action Forum (PAF) for supplementing government’s efforts in ending child marriages in the province.
He said government while working with various cooperating partners and stakeholders to ensure that it promotes the re-entry policy of girls who fall pregnant in the province.
Mr Lombe said PAF has scored a lot of successes targeted at ending child marriages in Eastern Province in the two and half years of the Score Girls Project.
He appealed to PAF to extend its time frame of implementing the Score Girls Project in Eastern Province for it to be effectively contribute to curbing of early marriages and teenage pregnancies.
And PAF board representative Clara Phiri commended government for establishing access to quality education for girls a national priority.
Ms Phiri said the increased number of girls dropping out of school as a result of high rates of early pregnancy and marriages makes a significant contribution to this number.
She said government has given room for this problem to be addressed through the Re-entry Policy.
Ms Phiri said according to studies carried out by PAF, it was discovered that most parents in rural communities do not want pregnant girls or girls with children to go back into school because they believe that this will encourage other girls to do the same.
Government will be deploying youths including women to work as Map Data Collectors temporarily, in the Census Mapping and Listing as part of the preparations for the Census of Population and Housing to be conducted in August, 2020.
Zambia Statistics Agency (formerly Central Statistical Office) is rolling out the
Census Mapping and Listing exercise to nine provinces of Zambia except Lusaka where the exercise was successfully completed in August, 2019.
Zambia Statistics Agency Interim Statistician General Mulenga Musepa disclosed that the areas include Central, Copperbelt, Eastern, Luapula, Muchinga, Northern, North-Western, Southern and Western Provinces.
Mr. Musepa says the Census mapping and listing exercise will commence in early November, 2019.
He said the recruitment advert will be advertised in the main stream media soon.
The Census Mapping seeks to update the 2010 enumeration areas.
The exercise is basically a geographic listing process where a frame of all housing units including vacant ones, all non-residential buildings, buildings under construction, schools, health facilities, municipal water systems, wastewater treatment facilities, public transit stations, warehouses and boreholes, other structures and prominent features in an area will be compiled.
Kabwe Municipal Council (KMC) has seized assorted foodstuffs worth K6, 000 from various chain-stores in the district with a combated weight of 9 kilograms (Kgs).
KMC Public Relations Manager, Waluka Mwaekwa, disclosed the development in an interview with ZANIS in Kabwe.
Ms Mwaekwa said the local authority is mandated to ensure food safety as guided by Section 6 of the Food and Drugs Act, Cap 303 of the Laws of Zambia.
She indicated that the municipality will continue carrying out random checks on chain-stores in the district to ensure that expired, exposed and unwholesome food articles are not sold to consumers.
Ms Mwaekwa mentioned that consumption of unwholesome food articles can lead to dangerous outcomes such as stomach upset and death in some instances.
She has since questioned consumers to take keen interest in checking on the expiry dates on food products before purchasing them because expiry dates relate to products taste, adding that it also triggers food poising depending on the type of food.
Ms Mwaekwa also warned shop owners to desist from displaying or selling expired foodstuff to consumers in order to keep in check good health of the people.
She further stated that the local authority remains committed to its mandate of carrying out random exercise of inspecting food products to make sure only fresh products are sold to consumers because issues of public health are paramount to the authority.
The confiscated items in included yoghurt, peanut butter, assorted bottled and caned drinks, source, potatoes, and cheese among others from some chain stores and supermarkets.
President Edgar Lungu has directed the Minister of Energy Mathews Nkhuwa to expedite the importation of electricity in order to cushion the power deficit that the nation is grappling with.
President Lungu said it is anticipated that the imported electricity will boost supply not only among the farming communities but other sectors of the economy.
The head of state has also directed Zesco limited to complement hydropower with solar power by mid next year so that load shedding becomes the thing of the past.
President Lungu was speaking this in Lusaka yesterday when he officiated at the 114th Zambia National Farmers Union Annual Congress.
President Lungu underscored that government is motivated by efforts being made by farmers in agricultural diversification.
“My government is encouraged to hear that farmers are making efforts to diversify the agricultural sector. Venturing into new commodities is one sure way of sustainable farming. There is an urgent need for us to actualize our pronouncements not only in the agricultural sector but other sectors of our economy. My government will remain steadfast in delivering development in the country’s urban and rural areas,” stressed President Lungu.
He affirmed that the government has embarked on the infrastructure program where unprecedented road development has been laid out across the country.
President Lungu explained that with a good road network in urban and rural areas, will result in the agricultural sector growth because agro produce will easily be transported to various markets.
Speaking earlier, Zambia National Farmers Union President Jervis Zimba hailed the government for having signed a memorandum of understanding with the Democratic Republic of Congo on the exportation of maize.
Mr.Zimba said the MOU will motivate farmers to grow enough maize in the forthcoming agricultural season due to the availed ready market.
He was quick to call on Food Reserve Agency through the Ministry of Agriculture to offset the K39 million owed to farmers who sold maize to the agency in this marketing season.
The 114th Zambia National Farmers Union Annual Congress was held at the Mulungushi conference center in Lusaka under the theme ‘harnessing Agricultural Innovation’.
President Edgar Chagwa Lungu addresses Cabinet at State House on Monday, 21st October, 2019
President His Excellency Dr Edgar Lungu has declared October 25th, the day after Zambia’s Independence Day, a public holiday.
On Thursday, Zambia will be celebrating 55 years of Independence from the United Kingdom on this day in 1964 and is the National Holiday.
“As we prepare to celebrate our Country’s 55th Independence Anniversary on 24th October, this year, I have declared Friday 25th October as a public holiday to give citizens enough time to reflect on our duties and obligations as citizens of this great nation,” President Lungu said.
“Let us use this time to appreciate the sacrifice made by our fore fathers and mothers, the heroes of our struggle for independence,” he said.
“As President John F. Kennedy once said “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” May that be said about Zambia as we turn 55. God bless Zambia! All One, Strong and Free.”
Kitwe District Commissioner Binwell Mpundu has warned officers reported to be misusing funds under the Village bank project being administered by the department of Community Development.
Speaking during a Village Bank programme Evaluation meeting in Kitwe today Mr. Mpundu said his office has received reports of officers being engaged in misappropriation of the funds which are aimed at empowering vulnerable women.
“We will not allow any government officer to take us back in the programme through dishonesty in the management of the funds under this programme as such we will not condone any officer that will be engaged in dishonesty in the handling of the funds, we want to empower the women,” Mr. Mpundu charged.
The District Commissioner who was impressed with the progress recorded by the department in the district said the programme could be used to address the high poverty levels which he said was contributing to the high crime rate in the district.
He noted that it was going to take honesty and transparency among officers in the Community Development department for the village bank programme to be successful.
He however noted that Kitwe district was among the districts where the programme was highly successful.
Mr. Mpundu urged the officers in the department to continue working hard towards the success of the programme and growing the capital base for the project.
And Kitwe District Community Development Officer Michael Miyoba said a total of 732 women have been empowered in Kitwe district since 2014 when the programme was introduced.
Mr. Miyoba said a total of K654 has so far been disbursed and beneficiaries have been able to save about K116, 700.
He said the programme is being implemented in Chimwemwe, Kamfinsa, Wusakile and Kwacha constituencies.
The women Village bank programme is a social protection programme implemented national wide by the Ministry of Community Development.
The suspected owners of the 51 controversial houses in Lusaka’s Chalala area have been identified and named. The suspects are Charles Loyana, a Senior Accountant in the Ministry of Finance, and his wife, Susan Sinkala, a civil servant, as well as a Copperbelt-based lawyer, Chali Chitala.
The suspects have since been warned and cautioned, and the matter has been handed over to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for further action and guidance.
Home Affairs Minister, Stephen Kampyongo disclosed this in a ministerial statement issued in Parliament today, saying this follows joint investigations by the law enforcement wings.
Mr. Kampyongo explained that the investigations were done by the Drug Enforcement Commission -DEC-, Anti-Corruption Commission -ACC- and the Zambia Police.
He further explained that contrary to speculations and false hoods that surrounded the matter were even the names of the first family were mentioned, the development reaffirms Government’s commitment to the fight against Corruption and that the issue will be expedited.
Mr. Kampyongo stressed that the matter must not be politicised.
And responding to a question from Kantanshi Member of Parliament, Anthony Mumba, Mr. Kampyongo said civil servants can own property, but it must be accounted for. Mr. Mumba had asked whether civil servants are entitled to own property.
Chinsali Municipal Council in Muchinga Province workers have joined in the on-going countrywide go slow. The council workers who have joined other local authorities in the country are demanding for their three month’s salary arrears.
The workers lamented that they are failing to make ends meet due to the salary arrears owed to them by the local government which has now entered 4 months for workers in division 1 while those in division 2, 3 and 4 are owed 3 months arrears.
The workers also complained that they are also failing to pay house rentals adding that their landlords are on their necks.
The workers have further demanded for the removal of the Local Government Permanent Secretary (PS) Dr. Bishop Ed Chomba whom they have accused of failing to take care of their welfare and pay them on time.
And a check by the Zambia News and Information Services (ZANIS) this morning at Chinsali Municipal Council found some workers seating under the trees while those in the offices were busy chatting.
About 64 local authorities in the country are on go slow demanding for their salary arrears.
Meanwhile, Zambia United Local Authorities Workers Union (ZULAWU) could not be contacted by press time as they were locked up in a meeting with Management over the same issue.
The Basic Education Teachers Union of Zambia (BETUZ) has made submissions to the Ministry of General Education on the proposed replacement of Grade Seven examinations with assessment tests.
BETUZ General Secretary, Evans Chungu, has confirmed the development to ZANIS in Kabwe, saying BETUZ has since submitted the union’s opinion on the announcement made by the Ministry of General Education.
Mr Chungu says the announcement is a welcome move, however, the union is worried with the quality of results that will be produced from the assessment tests, that will allow the pupils qualify to the next grade.
He added that the whole essence of conducting examinations, is for teachers to see how ready the pupils are, to move to the second level of education.
Mr Chungu added that BETUZ made its submissions after looking at the Policy Chain of the education system under basic level and hopes to see the Ministry of General Education come up with best ways to produce quality results from the assessment tests for Grade Seven learners.
He also revealed that the union is still looking into forwarding more submissions, in order to ensure that good results from Grade Seven School Assessment Tests are produced.
Recently, Minister of General Education, David Mabumba, announced that Grade Seven pupils will no longer write examinations to qualify for the next grade but instead write assessment tests.
Zambia Information and Communication Technology Authority (ZICTA) says over 200 cybercrime cases involving obscene materials have been recorded from January to June this year across the country.
ZICTA manager Consumer protection and compliance Edgar Mulauzi said most of the cases received by ZICTA involve women being blackmailed due to nude photos they have posted on social media.
Mr Mulauzi said this during the ZICTA exhibition at the Zambia International Trade Fair show ground in Ndola today.
Mr Mulauzi has advised women not to fall prey to any person on social media and post their nude pictures because people use them to blackmail the victim in most cases.
He however, said ZICTA plans to meet Women Organizations and other stakeholders to help sensitize women on the dangers of posting nude pictures on social media.
Mr Mulauzi said other cybercrime cases which have been recorded by ZICTA are fake news, cyber bullying, and fraud activities which once received are reported direct to police.
He further said 18 cyber related cases which have been acted upon by the police have been referred to the courts of law from 2018 to date.
Mr Mulauzi said ZICTA does not arrest the victims of cybercrimes but report them to the police who act upon the cases.
Meanwhile, ZICTA Corporate Communication Manager Ngabo Nankonde said the opening of the Ndola office is in line with the Seventh National development plan of 2017 to 2019 which is aimed at attaining the long-term objectives as outlined in the Vision 2030 of becoming a “prosperous middle-income country by 2030”.
Ms Nankonde has advised people to take their complaints to ZICTA Offices so that they can be protected by ZICTA against various cases that involve cyber related cases.
Zambia’s highest Constitutional Court has misjoined the Republican President and the National Assembly from the petition in which LAZ is challenging the enactment of the Bill to amend the Constitution of Zambia.
Delivering a ruling this morning, Judge E. Mulembe on behalf of the Constitutional Court stated that the application by the Attorney General and submissions by LAZ were anchored on the definition of civil proceedings which is not defined in Article 266 of the Constitution.
The Court observed that Section 19 of the State Proceedings Act, Chapter 71 of the Laws of Zambia defines what civil proceedings are.
The Court thus held that Section 19 of CAP 71 should be read together with section 12 of same Act and Article 177 (5) (c) of the Constitution
“We disagree with the submissions by State Counsel Sangwa that the National Assembly and the president do not constitute the government,” stated part of the ruling.
In addressing itself to the question on whether Constitutional matters can be deemed to be civil proceedings, the Court stated that “We do not think that the framers of the constitution wanted to exclude constitutional matters from being civil matters.”
The Attorney General had argued that the rightful party to all civil proceedings against Government is the Attorney General in line with Article 177 (5) (c) of the Constitution. In his submissions, he made submissions that both the President and the National Assembly have no capacity to be sued or to sue in their own capacities.
The Court has accordingly misjoined the President and National Assembly as first and third Respondents from the proceedings and stated that the proper party to the proceedings should be the AG.
The unemployed making a living on the streets of Lusaka
By Mwansa P. Chalwe Snr
This article is a follow up on my previous one that dealt with the issue of why the Youth Development Funds (YDF failed to create jobs. I promised to provide practical solutions to the issue of creating jobs for the youth through short term and long term interventions using existing government youth policies. The Youth policies are great on paper but how to implement them seems to be a problem.
In August 2015, President Edgar Lungu launched the 2015 National Youth Policy and the Action Plan for “Youth Empowerment and Employment”. The Policy according to the President was supposed to create hundreds of thousands of jobs for the Youth.
“The plan I am launching today must result in the creation of more than five hundred thousand (500 000) jobs for the youth by the end of 2016, through the implementation of the following: The national apprenticeship and internship schemes, expansion of low interest credit facilities and provision of ongoing business support services including mentorship to youth-led businesses”, the President announced.
Lack of action irks President Lungu
However, four years down the line, this has clearly not happened as confirmed by President Lungu himself. In March, 2019, when opening the Central Province Patriotic Front Conference, President Lungu sounded a warning to relevant bodies created to promote youth entrepreneurship against the prevailing Laissez-faire attitude. He said that Youth Entrepreneurship was at the core of his heart and vision for industrialization. He warned that next time, he will either be reshuffling or firing people. He directed that drastic measures to trigger more young entrepreneurs to emerge and existing ones be boosted needed to be implemented immediately.
Further, on July 22, 2019, when swearing in Mr. Emmanuel Mulenga, the new Minister of Youth, Sport and Child Development, the President directed Mr. Mulenga to expedite the full implementation of the 2015 National Youth Policy and action.
“As you take up the office you will be required to ensure that our commitment to the youth is fully implemented to meet their aspirations irrespective of where they are”, President Lungu directed the new minister.
On the basis of the President’s statement, it is clear that the line Ministry has failed to implement the policy, possibly due to lack of ideas on how to roll it out in practice. The Ministry of Youth and Sport, therefore, may need some help in terms of ideas. The issue of lack of funds does not apply to this Ministry as the Skills Development Fund is awash with cash and there are many donors available ready and willing to pour in millions of dollars to fund viable Youth empowerment projects as long as there is accountability.
Proposed solutions to implement Youth Policy in the short term
My proposed solution will mainly focus on the promotion of Entrepreneurship and Self-employment component of the National Youth Policy. This is the most effective initiative for sustainable job creation rather than the national apprenticeship and internship schemes. The solution is recognized by International Labour organisation (ILO), Organisation for Economic Co-operation and development (OECD), Africa Development Bank, Economic Commission for Africa, World Bank and others. But what has been lacking are the tools and vehicles to roll it out in terms of practical implementation.
In general , in order for a programme promoting youth employment creation through Entrepreneurship and Self-employment to work, it has to be a merit based comprehensive programme, devoid of political interference and should have a mix of financial and non-financial support as well as have the full involvement of private sector. In addition, there should be some form of focus on the informal sector. Youth empowerment programmes have partly failed due to the exclusion of the informal sector who make up millions of the underemployed youth as informal sector is largely survival employment.
In the short term, the starting point in the implementation of the 2015 National Youth Policy, is by using the already existing vehicles and improving on them. In this case, the improvement of the design of the Youth Development Fund (YDF) by making changes and transforming it into being merit based should be the top priority. The 2017/8 study and evaluation of the programme done by the Zambia Institute for Policy analysis and Research(ZIPAR) in 2018,clearly concluded that the programme had failed to achieve its objectives and needed to be redesigned.(ZIPAR Report is available on the internet)
There are number of critical changes that should be made to the current Youth Development Fund (YDF). The first change should be, the rebranding of the Fund by changing the name to Youth Development Programme (YDP). It is crucial that the current negative public perception of the Fund is changed by changing the name. The name change should be accompanied by other changes outlined below.
The additional changes should include the following: outsourcing the management of the fund, disbursement of loans being conditioned on the acquisition of basic business development services skills, targeting funding to sectors with the greatest potential to create jobs( agriculture, tourism, small scale manufacturing, small scale mining and construction),targeting the informal sector/ street venders (skilled venders like welders, electricians, bricklayers, plumbers, welders, skilled youth farmers etc) to formalize and expand their operations in order to create additional jobs. The Fund should also increase the current limit of loans. There is also a need to depoliticizing youth empowerment programmes and making them merit based and independently managed which is my view is politically smart.
An effective communication strategy including using digital tools so that information dissemination to youth reach them in all ten provinces is an absolute necessity. The President could then re-launch the Programme empathising the difference between the new programme and the old Fund so that public’s negative perception is changed and the Youth buy into it.
In practical terms, in order to kick start the reforms, the first step the Ministry of Youth , Sports and Child development should do is to immediately advertise and request for proposals from Zambian owned micro finance companies for the management of the actual Fund under the newly branded Youth Development Programme (YDP).
In addition to outsourcing Fund management, the Ministry should also invite private sector institutions to present proposals for the provision practical user friendly business development training, mentoring and advisory services which should be a prerequisite to accessing finance from the microcredit scheme. The above proposals can be implemented within a period of twelve months if people charged with these responsibilities are serious.
Medium to Long term interventions
In order to make the above short term proposals permanent and include other youth employment related interventions not covered above, there is a need for a vehicle to facilitate this. In the medium to long term, the implementation of the National Youth policy for youth empowerment and employment, should be the design of a tripartite five year multimillion dollar Youth Development Promotion Project. The project should involve the Government, some cooperating partner(s) and the national private sector representative, Zambia Chambers of Commerce and Industry (ZACCI) as the secretariat.
The project should be able to address the current ongoing fragmentation of efforts. There is a variety of ministries, organisations directly and indirectly that deal with youth employment which leads to a lack of coordination amongst actors and hampers overall effectiveness of interventions. The project should also address the issue of insufficient consultation with and engagement of the private sector. The private sector is an essential stakeholder in addressing youth unemployment, not only as the engine of job creation but also as a potential partner to implement complex interventions alongside government and civil society actors.
The issue of provision or creation of a market for Youth entrepreneurs’ products and services is also an important matter that needs to be addressed by such a project. Business linkages with the mines, the supermarket chains, international construction companies and other multinationals who are importing millions if not billions of goods from outside which in reality constitutes the export of youth jobs, needs to be formalized. There are many items which Youth entrepreneurs can be organized and facilitated to produce and have a ready market for. This is not rocket science. It just needs political will.
The project’s ultimate objective, however, should be the formation a quasi-government full time institution as a special purpose vehicle(SPV) to oversee all Youth development issues. The institution formed should be able to house the following services/divisions: Virtual Business incubation (VBI) to promote starts ups and innovations, Digital Job Centre (DJC), Youth Employment Services (YES), Business development services (BDS), Funding issues and lastly, Strategic Partners Coordination (SPC) in terms of the private sector, education institutions and cooperating partners.
To conclude, policy makers and implementers ought to understand that in the 21st Century, solutions to problems have to incorporate knowledge and information and communication technology tools to be effective; and Youth unemployment is not an exception especially that Youth are addicted to mobile technology.
The details of the proposals outlined above are beyond the scope of this article. In my next article, I will demonstrate how the graduation of Skilled Venders to the formal sector can fast track youth job creation.
The Author is a former financial specialist advisor to the multimillion dollar USAID funded Botswana Private Enterprise Development Project (BPED) and the founder of Prosper Knowledge Solutions. He has passion for solving the Youth unemployment problem using his vast hands on local and international private sector experience. (Send comments and suggestions on this article to pmchalweATgmailDOTcom)
