President Edgar Lungu has revoked the appointment of George Siame as Chairperson of the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC).

In a brief statement, Special Assistant to the President for Press and Public Relations Isaac Chipampe said the appointment of Mr SIAME has been revoked with immediate effect.

In his letter to Mr Siame, the President stated that, “ I am hereby revoking this appointment with immediate effect. I thank you and wish you God’s blessings in your endeavors.

There was widespread condemnation of Mr Siame’s appointment after records emerged that he was once convicted by the Lusaka High Court for assaulting a female colleague when he served as Assistant Commissioner at the Zambia Revenue Authority.

Earlier, UPND Leader Hakainde Hichilema said that he had noted with amusement the firing of the Financial Intelligence Center Board by the PF Government.

Mr. Hichilema said that this was expected especially that the institution like many other citizens tried to prevent the PF and President Edgar Lungu’s corruption.

He expressed hope that President Lungu will not extend his hands to the FIC Chief Executive Officer, Mary Chirwa.

Mr. Hichilema said the FIC has so far proved to be one of the key institutions in combating President Lungu’s insatiable appetite for corruption and plunder of public resources.

Finance Minister Dr Bwalya Ng’andu yesterday unveiled the new Board of Directors which comprises George Siame, Justice Prisca Nyambe, Pelagia Kalunga, Regina Mulenga and Mike Goma.

Chef 187 drops the video to his latest international collabo, One More featuring Nigerian music star Mr P (from Africa’s highly rated singing duo, P Square).

ONE MORE is the second single off BON APPETIT album. The song was produced by Tonny Breezy, Fresh Boy Music.

Ambassador of Israel to Zambia Gershon Kedar has “vigorously” denied allegations that the official aircraft of President Edgar Lungu was used to smuggle money from Israel.

Mr Kedar said in a statement that the allegations are false and malicious.

“The relations between Israel and Zambia are positive and multifaceted and are all conducted according to the laws and regulations of both countries,” he stated.

He said various Israeli companies are active in Zambia in fields such as agriculture, water, information technology, health, communications, Defence and that they all subject to Israel laws prohibiting corruption.

“In addition, government to government cooperation flourishes specifically in the field of agriculture and health and today Memorandum of Understanding for cooperation is being signed between the Israel Nature and Parks Authority and the Ministry of Tourism and Arts of Zambia.”

Earlier in the week, Chishimba Kambwili challenged government to clarify rumours that the presidential jet was used to courier cash into Zambia from President Edgar Lungu recent trip to Israel.

NDC leader Chishimba Kambwili’s planned questioning at the Drug Enforcement Commission Headquarters in Lusaka on Wednesday morning failed to take off.

This was after Dr Kambwili’s lawyers informed the Commission that their client was unable to attend the questioning as he was unwell nursing a bout of Malaria.

DEC Deputy Spokesman Kamufisa Manchishi confirmed in an interview that Dr Kambwili will be expected to be interviewed next week.

Mr Manchishi stated that Dr Kambwili’s summoning was a normal process in the operations of the Commission.

“We wish to clarify that the Commission has summoned Mr Chishimba Kambwili for an interview to enable him provide any further information he may have in relation to the allegations he made earlier this week. The interview is a routine process undertaken to validate information that may be of help in any enquiries investigators may have,” Mr. Manchishi said.

He said the Commission operates on an open door policy which allows any member of the public to provide any information they may have in relation to illicit activities under the Commission’s mandate and be treated with utmost confidentiality.

“An invitation to an informer to furnish further information on allegations does not in any way constitute an arrest as it is provided for under the Public Interest Disclosure (Protection of Whistle blowers) Act No. 4 of 2010. The Commission urges members of the public to take advantage of the open door policy and always report any information they may have on illicit activities without fear of retribution or intimidation.”

The Constitutional Court has adjourned the hearing of an application by the Law Association of Zambia for an injunction to prevent Parliament from proceeding to receive submissions and debate the Constitution of Zambia Amendment Bill number 10 of 2019 to Monday, 16th September, 2019.

On Monday, Attorney General Likando Kalaluka filed arguments in opposition to an application for injunction, stating that the State Proceedings Act bars an injunction against the State in civil proceedings.

Mr Kalaluka also denied the claim by the LAZ lawyer John Sangwa that the doctrine of exclusive cognizance is alien to Zambia’s Constitutional law.

The Attorney General cited a number of Zambian and foreign authorities to show that Parliament enjoys the doctrine of exclusive cognizance in the conduct of its business.

Mr Kalaluka quoting some legal authorities, defined the doctrine of exclusive cognizance as a principle where only the House can regulate what is said and done in the proceedings of the House.

On the contention by Mr Sangwa that the National Assembly proceeded with the legislative process despite the matter being sub judice, Mr Kalaluka quoted the legal authorities which state that successive Speakers, by law and parliamentary practice, have discretion to determine which matter is sub judice.

By Frazer Bwalya Musonda

In June of 2015 I stumbled upon a video on YouTube (link attached) of an interview of the then deputy minister of Mines, Energy & Water Development Charles Zulu at the Africa Energy Forum held in Dubai. Aside from his uncoordinated responses, he highlighted the potential that Zambia had energy wise and emphasized that this remained relatively untapped because of lack of funds.

But was that really true considering the huge debt that we have contracted so far?

Zambia has accrued so much debt in the last few years under the PF government, particularly for “infrastructure development”, an undertaking that is evidently riddled with corruption. The recent legal battle that the former minister of infrastructure, Ronald Chitotela faced and eventually got acquitted of based on a technicality shows just a bit of that. Everybody knows he was guilty. Even under strong circumstantial evidence the president could only transfer him to another ministry, but that is another topic all together so I leave it there.

Conventional wisdom holds that borrowed money should be invested into economic activities that simultaneously provide a service and generate revenues to support debt repayment. This “debt-profitable investment” nexus is but a myth under the current PF government. Huge sums of monies have been borrowed minus a well laid down plan for its application beforehand. Its “bamudala bakasaka kandalama” who decides- without regard to economics-which constituency gets to have a road or a hospital and which doesn’t. Documented cases are in the public domain of instances were these borrowed monies have been misapplied during induced by elections to buy votes. And as much as people like to praise late president Sata, he and Hon Chikwanda were the architects of debt contraction that was deficient of well laid down plans for its application.

The PF government has argued that economic development minus good road infrastructure is not possible. Nonetheless, they are yet to furnish the public with information on how exactly investment decisions into road infrastructure are informed. My personal view is that more than 60-70% of the roads that have been done, no cost benefit analyses were conducted. How can one otherwise explain why township roads have been done in almost all PF held constituencies and literately none in opposition strongholds? Mazabuka, a place where I lived for over a year is proof of this line of thought.

My contention with the implementation of the PF road infrastructure program is that most of the township roads that have been done-aside from sidelining important areas in opposition strongholds and being riddled with corruption-have only been done to please voters regardless of economic benefit analyses. A lot of borrowed monies that could have been used to fund capacity expansions in energy infrastructure have unfortunately been misappropriated principally because of incompetent people in the corridors of power.

The shortage of power to fuel economic activity was documented as one of the reasons for the drop in growth of the Zambian economy in 2015. The same has never been said when some township roads never existed. In addition to the slowed economic growth, we spent huge sums of money ($40 million) over 3 months in order to cushion the electricity rationing that resulted from reduced output from hydro power plants. A KWH of electricity was bought at 18 USD cents, heavily subsidized and later sold at 5 cents to Zambian consumers. This huge expenditure would have been avoided had there been careful planning from leaders. Clearly investing into capacity expansion must be a priority area. To think that we are just about to spend a lot more on electricity imports in 2019 when we were supposed to learn from the 2015 experience is testament to the incompetency of the current government.

Contracting external debt of over $10 billion (over 40% of GDP) for “economic diversification” and then counteracting that with lack of investments into sustainable power generation is more than enough reason to get rid of the PF government. The argument that the only option that makes sense to invest into considering the very low electricity prices in Zambia is hydro power, no longer holds once we externalize the effects of climate change when doing investment calculations. Based on data from EIA, the reduced load factor for hydropower in 2015 (0.53) due to reduced water levels and the solar hours of 2800 that Zambia enjoys annually, Solar PV energy becomes cheaper to invest into relative to hydropower by 20%. The levelized cost of generating electricity from solar PVs would stand at 4.4 US cents per KWh in this scenario.

The Drug Enforcement Commission this morning issued a call out to opposition leader Chishimba Kambwili to appear for questioning.

The Commission wants Dr Kambwili to appear before its officers at DEC Headquarters at 10:00 Hrs without fail.

Sources have indicated that President Edgar Lungu has instructed DEC to arrest Dr Kambwili after he issued statements linking State House to drug trafficking.

It is unclear whether Dr Kambwili will turn up at the DEC Headquarters for questioning.

When Grace Mutembo was named Anakazi Women of the Year in Construction she was encountering career challenges that made her question if she wanted to continue a career in engineering. However, the award gave her a new resolve to finish the exceptional work she had started.

“My winning the Women of the Year in construction award was unexpected but it did come at a crucial time because I was facing some problems that made me consider a career outside engineering,” she said.
Mrs Mutembo is a civil engineer with a degree from the University of Zambia and a Master’s degree in engineering specialising in transportation engineering from the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa.

She is a senior manager in design at the Road Development Agency, an organisation she has been with for the last 13 years. She co-ordinates the review of all the road engineering designs for the road network managed by the agency, and dealing with issues related to road construction.
Mrs Mutembo also established the first research and development unit in the road sector in Zambia in 2013.

Despite all her achievements, Mrs Mutembo felt she needed to walk away from a job and career she not only loved but thrived in.
“I love my job; every project is interesting and takes me around the country. However, in spite of how good I am at my job I face the challenge of not been taken seriously by some of our key stakeholders because they don’t expect a woman to know anything about engineering. I sometimes have to ask my male colleagues to speak to them, only then do they listen.”

Winning Stanbic Bank’s Anakazi Women of the Year Award in construction gave her a new resolve to continue the important work she had started, and now she has no desire to give up engineering.

“My goal right now is to see a properly designed road constructed with all the required facilities notwithstanding the budgetary constraints roads constructors experience,” she said.

Mrs Mutembo also hopes to someday open an engineering consultation firm.
Such ventures are encouraged and supported by Stanbic’s Anakazi Banking initiative that empowers female entrepreneurs by giving them access to finance and equipping them with tools to run successful businesses through masterclasses and networking opportunities.
Her career plays an important role in her life, but what is more important to Mrs Mutembo is raising her family and playing a key role in her child’s life.

“I’m a mother to a wonderful boy called Chabota. Although my career is demanding I always find time to spend with my son and make sure he is never starved of my attention.”
While Mrs Mutembo still faces the challenge of sometimes being judged by her gender and not her good work, she would still like to see more female engineers.

“My message for the women that want to pursue engineering or any career path is: stay focused. You will face hurdles; some might seem impossible. Believe in yourself regardless of the environment around you. Set goals and stick to them”

New Congress Party President Peter Chanda has cautioned opposition National Democratic Congress-(NDC) leader Chishimba Kambwili against discrediting President Edgar Lungu.

Pastor Chanda said that Mr. Kambwili has continued issuing defamatory statements against the President even after being reported to the Police for uttering disparaging remarks against the Head of State. Mr. Chanda reminded Mr. Kambwili that providing checks and balances by the opposition does not mean spreading falsehoods.

And Zambia Republican Party President Wright Musoma has called on Zambians not to be deceived by the opposition leader. Mr. Musoma said the Presidency should be protected against ill-conceived criticism.

Meanwhile, the Evangelical Youth Alliance has advised some opposition political party leaders to respect the Presidency. Alliance Executive Director Moses Lungu says political leaders should refrain from issuing malicious statements against President Edgar Lungu.

Reverend Lungu was referring to former Roan Member of Parliament Chishimba Kambwili who yesterday at a media briefing raised various allegations against President Lungu, saying it was not right to make allegations that are not backed by evidence.

On Monday, the NDC leader Chishimba Kambwili alleged that the Zambian Presidency had been captured by what his party described as a convicted drug baron. According to Mr Kambwili, Mr. Vildan Findlay is on the FBI wanted list for drug-related offenses and questioned why President Lungu has continued associating himself with business executive Vildan Findlay.

Mr Kambwili further alleged that Mr.Findlay was once arrested and convicted for drug peddling under the Kaunda regime and that it was surprising that Mr Lungu has been moving with a person whose personality is questionable.

Mr Kambwili said it will not be surprising if Findlay has been using the presidential challenger plane to peddle drugs.

Mr Kambwili wants President Lungu to explain the nature of the business he does with Findlay, adding that he has made the revelation to protect the institution of the Presidency and that President Lungu should stop his association with Findlay in the national interest.

The NDC leader has since urged the FBI to pursue Mr. Findlay.

The Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU) has urged the United Party for National Development (UPND) leader, Hakainde Hichilema to stop lying that he was blocked from donating 25,000 bags of mealie meal to vulnerable communities.

DMMU Communications Officer Rachael Chama said at no time has the UPND leader engaged the DMMU, which is mandated to coordinate the relief provision and distribution in the country, over his desire to make the donation.

“DMMU has extended a call to all well-meaning Zambians who wish to complement government efforts in providing relief, to do so through the Office. To that effect, DMMU has since been receiving donations from different stakeholders and individuals with the aim of mitigating the food insecurity being experienced in parts of the country,” she said.

Meanwhile, the DMMU Communications Officer disclosed that her office has since February this year distributed 37,435 metric tons of maize, mealie meal, and maize bran, benefitting a total of 1, 677,000 identified vulnerable households across the country.

“Relief distribution by DMMU is not meant to replace people’s coping capacities and is purely to supplement local abilities of sustenance and strengthening of resilience and reducing vulnerability. The Unit is guided by the four principles namely; Humanity, Neutrality, Impartiality and Independence, in the execution of all humanitarian programs and the current distribution is no exception,” said Ms. Chama.

“In addition to the mealie meal, DMMU is also distributing maize bran, the by-product of the mealie meal to identified livestock and fish farming cooperatives in selected districts. The maize bran is specifically meant for livestock as supplementary feed.”

She added that the Unit is also mitigating the drought situation by drilling community boreholes in areas facing water challenges.

Ms. Chama stated that the Unit, in partnership with cooperating partners has so far drilled a total of 46 boreholes across the country, with Southern province receiving 31 boreholes.