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South Africa-based Chipolopolo midfielder Donashano Malama is upbeat ahead of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign.
Zambia are in Group H together with Zimbabwe, Botswana and newly-crowned AFCON champions Algeria.
Chipolopolo will kickoff their Group H campaign with a November doubleheader away to Algeria on November 11 and later host Zimbabwe on November 19.
Malama of Black Leopards said qualifying for 2021 AFCON is a must for Zambia.
‘Whoever is called in camp, it is just a matter of working hard to ensure that we get positive results and maximum points,’ Malama said from his Limpopo base.
‘We just have to work very hard because there are no easy games now. All the games are tough,’ he said.
Malama was part of the Zambia team that made the last AFCON appearance at the 2015 edition in Equatorial Guinea under coach Honour Janza.
‘We have not been to the Africa Cup since 2015. This time around qualification is a must. For a team like Zambia it is always supposed to there at the Africa Cup.
The Democratic Party (DP) has condemned the deregistration of the National Democratic Congress Party (NDC) by the Registrar of Societies.
DP Spokesperson Judith Kabemba says the decision taken by the Patriotic Front government is a recipe for dictatorship.
Ms Kabemba has wondered why the PF government is so scared of leaving Statehouse in 2021 to the extent of resorting to deregistering opposition political parties in the country.
She says the deregistration of the NDC is part of plans aimed at getting rid of all competition before 2021 general election.
Ms Kabemba states that PF should realise that NDC President Chishimba Kambwili is a Zambian who should be allowed to exercise his democratic right of belonging to any political party without fear or intimidation.
Ministry of National Guidance and Religious Affairs Godfridah Sumaili at a press briefing flanked by PR Girl Media partners Chishimba Nyambe and Monde Nyambe
National Guidance and Religious Affairs Minister Godfridah Sumaili has said that the rise in criminal gangs in Kitwe is a threat to national security.
Reverend Sumaili was reacting to a briefing from Kitwe District Commissioner Binwell Mpundu who earlier informed her of the upswing in criminal gangs in Kitwe.
Mr. Mpundu said his everyday interaction with communities still indicates that the situation is getting out of hand.
Reverend Sumaili is in Kitwe to meet the clergy on the Copperbelt to discuss the National Dialogue Forum resolutions and proposed self-regulation framework for the church.
She is also interacting with the clergy to update them on the National House of Prayer as well as the forthcoming National Day of Prayer on October 18.
Last year, the Zambia Revenue Authority had made a lot noise about how First Quantum Minerals (FQM) owed the tax authority, and by default Zambians, an amount to the tune of $7.6 Billion in unpaid taxes.
At the time, many of us wondered how, under the watch of a competent tax authority, such an amount could go undetected under existing customs clearance mechanisms, let alone go unpaid. We had further sought clarification around how this tax dispute between the ZRA and FQM had arisen in the first place to help us get a good sense of the balance of tax and customs expectations from both ZRA and FQM’s perspective.
This information was critical to help the public make a judgment as to whether or not the mining house was being deceitful in it’s import declarations, or it was in fact officials at the ZRA making false customs assessment in respect of big money businesses for private gain to themselves.
As usual, this information was never given and thus the public up to now is not able to determine who the enemy of the Zambian people truly is.
Now, we have reliable information to suggest that FQM has settled this tax dispute by paying much less than 1% of the total amount under dispute. And ZRA has rolled out their red carpet of secrecy and deceit by refusing to disclose the settlement amount, using the preposterous excuse of taxpayer confidentiality. And yet, this issue is a subject of such prime public interest that warrants the public to know the details of whether or not we are getting a fair share out of our mineral resources.
At a time when the PF government is making noise about how much of a corporate bandit Vedanta’s KCM has been over the years, and the vigor with which they have been washing KCM’s dirt in public, we have always (well I have always asked) whether the much talked about bad business, dubious business practices by Vedanta and KCM were only unique to this particular investor; and that the others have been playing by the rules.
The PF have allowed the ZRA to breach the so-called taxpayer confidentiality code in respect of Vedanta and KCM, but are quick to hide behind the same facade in protecting FQM.
So, in the spirit of transparency and trust, and for purposes of building sound investor – citizen relationships, can the PF government order Mr. Kingsley Chanda and the ZRA, to furnish the Zambian public with the full details of this once $7.6 Billion tax dispute with FQM, as well as details of how we eventually decided that FQM should only pay less than 1% of this amount.
Let me end by saying, that we have a government and government institutions, that are conniving to defraud our country.
Information and Broadcasting Permanent Secretary Chanda Kasolo
The government has said that it was confident that the price of mealie-meal will stabilize because of the numerous intervention’s being taken with support from stakeholders like the Zambia Cooperative Federation (ZCF).
Information and Broadcasting Services Permanent Secretary Chanda Kasolo said that the move by ZCF to reduce the price of a 25-kilogram bag of mealie meal to less than a 100 Kwacha will help normalize the price of the commodity.
And ZCF Executive Director James Chirwa has attributed the high prices of mealie-meal to high maize prices, which came as a result of statements from Zambians that the country has a shortage of maize when not.
Mr. Chirwa said this caused panic in the maize marketing business causing both the price of mealie meal and maize to go up.
A check by ZNBC News at the ZCF mealie meal deport in Lusaka’s Chawama township found a 25 kilogram of breakfast and roller meal selling at 105 Kwacha and 90 Kwacha respectively.
The Ruling Patriotic Front (PF) Media team has refuted the story published by Lusaka Times yesterday alleging that Agriculture Minister Michael Katambo believed that opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema was conniving with milling companies to hike the price of mealie meal.
In a statement released to the media and signed by PF Media Director Sunday Chanda, the ruling party described the story as Fake News being at it again. Mr Chanda further said that he had called the Minister of Agriculture and PF Member of the Central Committee Hon Michael Katambo who expressed ignorance of the story and said that he had not given any such interview to any media house neither did he utter any such remarks.
Lusakatimes can confirm that the story that was published yesterday DID NOT quote Hon Katambo or report that the Minister had given an interview to any media house, but rather quoted people close to him, who have thus far maintained that the version of their story is true.
According to people close to Mr Katambo, the Minister said that he had evidence to link Mr Hichilema to the mealie meal price hikes.
“Minister Katambo is convinced that HH is the one behind this whole thing saying he wants to use the mealie meal situation to make the PF government unpopular. The Minister says HH is hoping the PF will go out of government because of mealie meal after a public revolt,” the sources revealed.
The sources who work with Mr Katambo at the Ministry of Agriculture Headquarters revealed that the Minister has been going around claiming that Mr Hichilema is one of the major investors in most of the big milling plants in the country.
They disclosed that Mr Katambo is also accusing Mr Hichilema of conspiring with rich commercial farmers to hold Maize and starve the milling plants in order to cause an artificial shortage.
“The Minister is telling everyone that HH is an investor in these milling plants such as Simba Milling and that he is now using his business muscle to trigger price hikes.”
Below is the full media response from PF Media Team
PRESS STATEMENT FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FAKE NEWS AT IT AGAIN
Following several queries from the media and general public, I have called the Hon Minister of Agriculture and PF Member of the Central Committee Hon Michael Katambo who has expressed ignorance regarding this story.
The general public is therefore informed that remarks attributed to Hon Minister of Agriculture and PF Member of the Central Committee Hon Michael Katambo in the attached article are false as he has not given any such interview to any media house neither did he utter any such remarks.
The Minister believes that this fake story is a product of pure malice by high priests of falsehood and fake news.
Hon Katambo, MCC, regrets that a credible platform such as Lusaka Times could allow itself to play the role of conveying fake news of this magnitude even after being reminded that the story was nothing but another politically engineered hogwash.
The Minister has, therefore, demanded that Lusaka Times retracts this story and corrects the wrong impression created immediately.
He is further disappointed that some people have attempted to score cheaply by posting this fake story to their Twitter accounts. These are the same people who sponsor and generate falsehoods they later consume in order to dupe the unsuspecting masses of our people.
Issued by:
Sunday Chilufya Chanda PF Media Director Party Headquarters
The National Democratic Congress Party (NDC) has commenced judicial review proceedings in the High Court to challenge the Registrar of Societies’ decision to de-register the party.
Registrar of Societies has canceled the registration certificate of the NDC following a High Court ruling of 16th, July 2019, in a matter where some members of the NDC took each other to court.de-register
But NDC Leader Chishimba Kambwili says the Registrar of Societies has no powers to deregister his party, adding that the party has not received the deregistration letter, but only came to know about it on social media.
Dr. Kambwili says the decision by the Registrar of Societies to de-register his party is illegal and an abuse of authority.
Speaking at a media briefing, Dr. Kambwili says the registrar’s pronouncement is not supported by any law in Zambia.
He has wondered why the Registrar of Societies has de-registered the party without engaging the aggrieved parties as stipulated under section 13 of the Registrar of Societies Act.
Dr Kambwili has directed his lawyers to sue the Registrar of Societies Thandiwe Mhende in her own capacity for what he has termed as misbehavior in the public office.
He states that there is no law backing the registrar of societies to deregister a political party if there is a lacuna in its constitution.
Meanwhile Mr. Kambwili has condemned President Edgar Lungu’s unending international trips amidst high prices of mealie-meal and other challenges facing the country.
UPND Chairman for Rural Reconstruction and Development Moono Mapani
The opposition United Party for National Development [UPND] has described the decision by the Indian government to donate 1,000 metric tons of rice and 100 tones of milk to hunger-stricken areas in the country as an embarrassment.
Recently the Indian government donated 1,000 metric tons of rice and 100 tones of milk to hunger-stricken areas in Zambia.
And commenting on the gesture by the Indian government, UPND Chairman for Rural Reconstruction and development, Moono Mapani tells QTV news that it is shameful for the government to receive a donation after exhibiting reluctance to declare the current hunger situation a national disaster.
Mr. Mapani has stressed that accepting the donation from India is evidence enough for President Edgar Lungu to declare the hunger situation, a national emergency so that other countries can come on board.
Mr. Mapani has advised the government not to be ashamed to tell other countries about hunger situation in the country but instead, put the interest of the people first as many Zambians are not affording three decent meals a day as per requirement
Meanwhile, Governance Activist Leslie Chikuse has predicted that many Zambians will die of hunger if nothing is done to address the hunger situation facing the country.
Mr. Chikuse says President Lungu and his ministers should humbly swallow their pride and declare hunger a national disaster to allow other countries to respond to hunger-stricken areas to ensure that those affected receive assistance in good time.
Government has distributed about 90 percent of the farming inputs countrywide, for the 2019/2020 farming season.
Minister of Agriculture Michael Katambo says the distribution of farming inputs has is almost complete in the countries ten provinces.
Mr Katambo told ZANIS in an interview in Lusaka today that his office, working closely with Smart Zambia Institute has further captured on record, all the one million farmers expected to benefit from the input distribution this year.
He disclosed that small scale farmers across the country are expected to start redeeming the farming inputs in the first week of September.
“The distribution of farming inputs is progressing well and we are 80 to 90% done in all the Provinces. My office is working closely with Smart Zambia and all the 1 million farmers have been captured,” he said.
“I would like to encourage farmers to continue depositing their K400 in order for them to redeem their product in the first week of September.” He added.
And Mr Katambo underscored that the government will use two modalities of distributing farming input in the 2019/2020 farming season.
He emphasized that his ministry will use direct- deduct in Eastern, Muchinga, Northern, Copperbelt and North-Western Provinces, which are also expected to record a normal rainfall pattern.
The Minister of Agriculture was quick to point out that Southern, Western and some districts in Lusaka Province, will use the electronic voucher system, in order to give farmers a broader choice on crop variety.
He further explained that the weather focus for the coming rainy season projects that Southern, Western and Lusaka Provinces will receive below normal rainfall, hence putting the farmers under e-voucher to give them a wider choice of seed variety selection.
Green Eagles striker Kennedy Musonda says his side is ready to face Angolan side Desportivo de 1Agosto in the CAF Champions League pre-group stage next month.
Eagles advanced to the first round last Saturday after eliminating South African side Orlando Pirates via a 2-1 aggregate victory in the preliminaries.
‘I feel very good and very excited. We believed in ourselves that was the key thing,’ Musonda said.
Eagles will host the Angolans on September 14 in Lusaka before travelling to Luanda on September 24 to decide who goes through to the league phase of the competition.
‘We will just keep on pushing from where we have left off. We are very ready for any team,’ he said.
‘At least we have gained the experience from the CECAFA Cup to playing a big team like Orlando, so we are ready for any team,’ Musonda added.
And the striker said he is not under pressure to score in the Champions League.
‘The most important thing is helping the team win,’ Musonda said.
It was a weekend of mixed fortunes for our high profile foreign-based players at their respective clubs.
TANZANIA
Midfielder Cletus Chama played the full 90 minutes on Sunday in Simba SC’s 1-1 home draw against UD Songo of Mozambique in their CAF Champions League first round, final leg match in Dar es Salaam.
But Simba are out on the first hurdle after losing 2-1 on aggregate
SOUTH AFRICA Mamelodi Sundowns: Goalkeeper Kennedy Mweene ‘s absence in the new season continues , and was not part of Sundowns team that beat Otoho d’Oyo of Congo 5-0 on Saturday in their CAF Champions League first round, final leg fixture in Pretoria.
Sundowns advanced to the second round 5-2 on aggregate.
Orlando Pirates: Striker Justin Shonga started for Pirates in their 1-1 home draw against Green Eagles on Saturday before he was substituted in the 54th minute.
Midfielder Augustine Mulenga came on in the 68th minute of the match that saw Pirates eliminated 2-1 on aggregate.
BELGIUM
Striker Fashion Sakala on Saturday scored his second goal of the season and played the full 90 minutes in KV Oostende’s 2-1 home win over Mechelen.
SWEDEN
Midfielder Edward Chilufya was not part of pacesetters Djurgarden’s travelling party in their 1-0 away win over third positioned Malmo on Sunday
RUSSIA
Seventh placed Arsenal Tula returned to winning ways on Sunday following a 2-1 home win over last placed Orenburg
Midfielders Lameck Banda and Kings Kangwa were unused substitutes in that match.
FRANCE
Metz on Saturday lost their first Ligue 1 match of the season following a 3-0 away defeat at fifth placed Angers. Defender Stopilla Sunzu played the full 90 minutes.
AUSTRIA
Midfielder Enock Mwepu played the full 90 minutes for leaders and defending champions RB Salzburg in Sunday’s 5-0 home win over bottom placed Admira.
Striker Patson Daka came off the bench in the 62nd minutes and found the target nine minutes later to score his second league goal of the season.
President Edgar Chagwa Lungu greets Vice-President Inonge Wina shortly before departure for Japan where he has gone to attend the 7th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD), at Zambia Airforce base in Lusaka on Monday, 26th August, 2019, Picture by Eddie Mwanaleza/State House.
President Edgar Lungu has today left for Japan to attend the Seventh Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 7) scheduled for 28th to 30th August, 2019.
The President was seen off by Vice President, Inonge Wina, Lusaka Province Minister, Bowman Lusambo, Minister of Agriculture, Michael Katambo, Minister of Justice, Given Lubinda, among other cabinet ministers.
Others were Service Chiefs and other senior government and party officials.
The Tokyo International Conference on African Development was launched in 1993 by Japan, to create a forum for high-level policy dialogue, between African leaders and development partners.
The forum, TICAD, was thus created to further empower the continent and its people by promoting African ownership and partnerships between the international community and African countries.
The presence of the Zambian Head of State at the 7th TICAD will be cardinal as there will be a variety of events for leaders from regions and partner countries.
The TICAD 7 is the first that President Lungu will attend since he assumed office of the Presidency.
President Edgar Chagwa Lungu greets the Zambia Airforce crew shortly before departure for Japan where he has gone to attend the 7th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD), at Zambia Airforce base on Monday, 26th August, 2019, Picture by Eddie Mwanaleza/State House.
Meanwhile, Japanese Ambassador to Zambia Hidenobu Sobashima has observed that Zambia’s presence at the three day Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) 7 summit will attract more Japanese investors to Zambia.
Ambassador Sobashima says Japanese investment in Zambia has continued to increase, adding that with the TICAD summit more investors will be interested to further explore other areas of investment for enhanced cooperation.
Speaking at a media briefing held in Lusaka today, Ambassador Sobashima noted that the forthcoming, TICAD summit slated for August 28th-30th, had already started showing positive outcomes, following the signing of Memorandum of Understanding between Japan and Zambia, for support to the country’s health sector.
Ambassador Sobashima explained that the MoUs signed this morning by the Japanese Ambassador and the Ministry of Health will also enhance the support towards attaining universal health coverage.
He also added that all the 54 African Heads of State have been invited to attend the summit that is expected to lead international discussions on African development with the aim of materializing the outcomes of the major international conferences such as the G20 and the G7 among others.
He said the summit which is being co organized by Japan, United Nations, World Bank and the African Union Commission has also attracted participation from the private sector, international partners and civil society organizations.
The Japanese Envoy further disclosed that the summit will focus on business and investment as a center of TICAD, and is expected to push forward African development through quality infrastructure and human resource development.
The last TICAD was held in Nairobi Kenya in 2016 and was attended by 53 African countries and more than 11,000 participants.
President Edgar Lungu has left the country for Japan and will join other Heads of State and government for the TICAD 7 which will run from 28 -30, August 2019, under the theme “Advancing Africa’s Development through people, Technology and Innovation”.
Vice-President Inonge Wina talks to Justice Minister Given Lubinda as Special Assistant to the President for Press and Public Relations Isaac Chipampe looks on, at the Zambia Airfoce base shortly before President Edgar Lungu’s departure for Japan on Monday, 26th August, 2019. Picture by Eddie Mwanaleza/State House.
Fisheries and livestock minister Micheal Katambo (right) with ZAMBEEF National Sales and Marketing Manager Mathews Ngosa (left) sampling eggs during a tour of the ZAMBEEF hatchery project in Mpongwe
Minister of Agriculture, Michael Katambo, has refuted claims that the government has reintroduced price controls on maize.
Mr Katambo has noted that where grain is concerned, Zambia has a liberalized economy and market hence farmers have the right to sell as they wish in situations where they find a better market.
The Minister has however stated that the government has had to engage millers and other stakeholders on the escalating prices of maize, adding that it is a matter of great concern knowing that maize is the country’s staple food.
He told journalists in Lusaka today that government did not dictate to the millers, manufacturers or the Grain Traders Association of Zambia, with regards to the price of maize, but that it was a measure of engaging each other in trying to find a solution to stabilize the purchase of the country’s staple food.
Mr Katambo added that the meeting therefore overwhelmingly decided that a bag of maize was to be bought at K130 which should see the price of roller meal ranging between K80 and K90 and breakfast ranging from K100 to less than K115 which is affordable to all Zambians.
He observed that people have been complaining about the escalating prices of mealie meal, and it was the mandate of government to engage players in the maize sub-sector, in order to put a stoppage to the situation and bring about an amicable solution.
The Minister commended the stakeholders that were engaged in a meeting, stating that the development was done in a spirit of patriotism, and urged many other citizens to come on board and support the noble cause.
The Zambia National Farmers Union (ZNFU) President, Jervis Zimba, in a statement issued in Lusaka yesterday, accused the Minister of Agriculture of reintroducing price controls on maize.
Mr Zimba further claimed that Mr Katambo met with Stockfeed Producers, Millers, and Traders and threatened or coerced them to impose the price of K130 per 50kilogram bag of maize with full support from the Food Reserve Agency (FRA), done on the basis of price controls.
Wedson Niyrenda’s unbeaten start to the 2019/2020 South Africa PSL season continued on Sunday with Baroka FC.
Baroka drew 0-0 at home with Bloemfontein Celtic in their first competitive game back since August 6 when they beat 2016/2017 champions Bidvest Wits 1-0 away in Johannesburg before taking a long lull due to domestic top 8 cup action.
Nyirenda’s side are currently seventh on the log with 5 points from three games played, and sit two points behind leaders Kaizer Chiefs.
Baroka are back in action this Wednesday in another home game in Polokwane where they will hosts SuperSport United who are sitting at number nine on 4 points after three rounds played.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has been de-registered.
Registrar of Societies canceled the registration certificate following a High Court ruling of 16th July 2019, in a matter where some members of the NDC took each other to court.
Home Affairs Public Relations Officer Nephas Chifuta disclosed said this in a statement today.
Mr Chifuta said in view of the court ruling the office of the Registrar of Societies has invoked section 13 (2) (a) of the societies Act Cap 19 of the laws of Zambia and canceled the registration certificate of the NDC.
Mr Chifuta said the NDC ceased to exist on August 21st, 2019.
He said that all members of the defunct NDC are advised to desist from conducting any activities.
Mr Chifuta said that anyone that will disregard the cancellation will be dealt with by the law.
