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Striker Gampani Lungu marked his return from a lengthy injury spell on Wednesday night with his first league goal of the season in SuperSport United’s 2-0 away Tshwane derby win over defending South Africa PSL champions Mamelodi Sundowns.
The striker came on the 65th minute with SuperSport enjoying a 1-0 first half lead.
Lungu sealed the win in the 79th minute when he beat compatriot and his Chipolopolo captain Kennedy Mweene who was in goals for Sundowns.
However, Lungu’s team mate, defender Billy Mutale, was not in the travelling party.
The result sees fourth placed SuperSport move within a point of third placed Sundowns on 43 and 44 points and from 26 and 25 games played respectively.
Orlando Pirates lead the log on 50 points from 27 matches played and three games left.
Meanwhile, Lungu’s return to action is good news for the Zambia Under-23 bench after he missed the 2019 U23 AFCON second round qualifier in March against Malawi due to injury .
But his return is a boost ahead of June’s final round qualifiers against Congo Brazzaville.
Zambia 1st president Kenneth Kaunda conferring with India high commissioner to Zambia Ngulkham Jathom Gangte after delivering his message
About Six Former Heads of State have confirmed attendance for the 95th Birthday Anniversary of the First Republican President Kenneth Kaunda.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Malanji confirmed the development in an interview with ZANIS in Lusaka.
Mr Malanji explained that the six selected former Heads of State representing the Africa Forum, will visit the country to honour Dr Kaunda for his legendary contribution to the liberation struggle.
He said Dr Kaunda will also be honoured for his unwavering efforts and commitment towards peace and development on the African continent and humanity.
“The visit is an important recognition for Zambia and President Edgar Lungu’s continued interest to follow in the footsteps of his predecessors in championing peace and stability in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region, continent and beyond, “said the minister.
Mr Malanji noted that President Edgar Lungu believes that peace and stability is a precondition for any meaningful and sustainable development.
The African Forum is an informal network of Former African Heads of State and Government and other African leaders designed to support the implementation of the brand objective of the African Union (AU) and its efforts to bring peace and development to the continent.
The former Heads of State are scheduled to visit Zambia on April 27th to 30th , 2019.
Fourteen (14) people have died in a fatal bus accident that happened last night along the Solwezi-Chingola road in Mushindamo district, in North-western Province.
North-western Province Commissioner of Police, Hudson Namachila, who confirmed the incident in a statement to media this morning, said the deceased include 11 adult males and three females.
Mr Namachila identified the deceased as Noble Nsofu, Alister Mtonga, Saviour Chungu Mulenga, Malon Chabala Kapembwa, Victor Khakeni, Boniface Chisala and four other unidentified males and three females.
He said 15 other passengers who sustained injuries are currently admitted in Solwezi General Hospital, while the bodies of the deceased have been deposited in the same hospital mortuary, awaiting postmortem.
Mr Namachila said the accident involving a Scorpion Bus Services that was travelling from Chingola to Solwezi occurred when the bus driver, identified as Eddie Katoyo, lost control of the bus due to excessive speed after overtaking several vehicles and hit into the rear part of a stationary broken down freight-liner truck and trailer.
The Police Commissioner also revealed that the accident happened around Emmanuel area which is about 60 kilometers east of Solwezi town, at about 19:17 hours.
Mr Nanachila added that the driver, will be charged with 14 counts of causing death by dangerous driving.
Meanwhile, North-western Province Minister, Nathaniel Mubukwanu who visited the accident scene expressed sadness at the loss of lives in the accident.
At around 22:00 hours a team of officers from the police, road traffic and safety agency, fire fighters, doctors and other medical staff, were still working to retrieve the bodies from the bus.
Mr Mubukwanu who described the accident as fatal later took time to visit Solwezi General Hospital where the injured passengers are admitted and are receiving treatment.
MultiChoice Africa is pleased to announce the partnership between its flagship initiative MultiChoice Talent Factory (MTF) and the New York Film Academy College of Visual & Performing Arts (NYFA), a world-renowned visual and performing arts school.
This groundbreaking collaboration between New York Film Academy and the MultiChoice Talent Factory (MTF) will include supporting the development of young filmmakers across Africa attending the MTF academies. The MultiChoice Talent Factory’s mission is to ignite Africa’s already established creative industries through training and skills development, as well as foster new and original programming.
The much anticipated MTF masterclasses kicked off in January, supported by various industry partners and include a series of “best in class” workshops intended to increase MultiChoice Talent Factory’s purpose of upskilling film and TV creatives. Taking place across various African cities, the masterclasses are also presented to industry professionals with the intention of developing technical skills of established creatives in cinematography, audio, and storytelling to improve the quality of local productions.
“This groundbreaking collaboration speaks to our commitment to partnering with industry experts such as the New York Film Academy to promote and protect the growth of Africa’s creative industries,” says Cheryl Uys-Allie, MTF Director. “Our East Africa Academy Director, Njoki Muhoho is a NYFA alumni, having studied Filmmaking at the Los Angeles campus and we’re excited to be collaborating with the New York Film Academy in being able to offer incredible opportunities to our students and the sector as a whole.
The endorsement of the MultiChoice Talent Factory by New York Film Academy confirms the film school’s continued efforts to empowering and developing filmmakers across the world. For more than a decade, the New York Film Academy has lent support to African content creators and performers by hosting workshops across the continent, where the institution’s faculty has met with thousands of students in Ghana, South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria and further bridged its hands-on intensive training in both the visual and performing arts as well as offering information sessions, auditions, and portfolio reviews to attendees.
The New York Film Academy prides itself in developing students through a “learning by doing” approach, blending a mixture of traditional film school instruction with coursework and practical experience, where students learn to make films by actually making films. Through this partnership, MultiChoice continues its commitment to enriching lives by igniting the creative industry across Africa.
“The New York Film Academy is honored to be a part of the enrichment, development, and fostering of storytellers across Africa, a continent steeped in a rich history of dynamic, creative and passionate visual and performing artists,” states Jim Miller, NYFA VP. “Over the years, NYFA has been privileged to have hosted hundreds of students—from dozens of African nations—many who have found outstanding success in their national industries when they returned home. This MTF and NYFA collaboration is a natural extension of our commitment to help bolster the skills of talented African storytellers.
I have had an interesting Facebook engagement with the University of Zambia Lecturers and Researchers Union (UNZALARU) General Secretary, Dr. Kelvin Mambwe following my posts challenging the need for research and innovation enhancement at our public universities. My posts were ignited by the continuous call by the Higher Education Minister, Hon. Prof. Nkandu Luo on the need for universities to raise resources from within rather than heavily depend on government grants. This call by the Hon. Minister has not been well received, especially that it comes at a time when university lecturers have not been paid their salaries on time – a situation that has become an annual and monthly ritual for many years now.
What is evidently clear is that government is constrained in meeting its obligations with regards adequately funding higher education in Zambia. With many competing needs, and the heavy burden of foreign debt repayment, government funding cuts or delays are certain, and universities have not been spared, including university students whose monthly stipends/bursaries have been cut off completely.
These developments have caught off-guard our universities, and their response has been to down tools/go slow/strike petitioning government to meet its obligations and fund them. Others are saying that this is a clear case of ‘government failure’, and are hoping that a new government comes in which may fund universities better. What no one is saying, however, is that this challenge isn’t new, but importantly, that the universities themselves have over the years failed to be innovative enough to grow resilience and ensure some degree of self-sufficiency.
I think our universities, especially the top public universities have over the years failed to sufficiently add innovative value to society. While I cannot doubt the competence of their teaching having studied and taught at some, our universities have had little value beyond producing graduates for employment, filled with strong, though sometimes weak theoretical knowledge that lags behind the real developments in society and industry. Rather than being adaptive to the changing needs of society and industry to produce skills that are relevant to industry, our universities have, for the most part, remained far behind. This has made it hard for our graduates to have strong ‘labour market’ power beyond the country, and in some cases, particularly the science and technology skills, there has been need to re-train these once employed in industry, at a higher cost, leading to companies preferring expatriates who need no retraining.
I believe the role of universities transcends teaching. In fact, lecturers at our top universities carry the title of ‘Lecturer and Researcher’. However, there is little, if any, research going on in our universities. Actually, for the most part, the role of our lecturers has been reduced to teaching and marking tests and exams, and in occasional cases, commissioned research for ‘extra incomes’. This colleagues, has reduced the university’s value to a mere ‘place of work’ rather than a centre for academic thought and practical excellence. The argument I receive for the lack of research and innovation is that ‘government has not funded research’. This is the typical ‘Boma iyanganepo’ argument that we hear from the non-academics – and one begins to wonder what the difference is between those who have never been to school looking only upto to government for everything, and our highly educated academics doing the same – clearly we have failed ourselves here!
My highly educated colleagues further argue that without government grants, there is little, if any, research that can take place. I think this is the most absurd justification I have heard from people that have dedicated their time and training to academics. The argument is similar to what we have heard before from would be retirees that they will think of a business idea when they get their pension. I do not think it makes any sense for academics to wait for funding for them to develop research ideas. On the contrary, research ideas should be penned down every day for one whose life is centred on a university – from their reading and the students’ ideas. Ideas from or for research should be enough, if of social, business or national value, to attract funding from many sources – government or the private sector. In this regard, I argue that our universities must be flexibible, innovative and must adapt to the changing needs of society for them to remain relevant now and in the future. They must begin to see themselves as drivers of thought entrepreneurship through academic excellence for private and public sector growth.
Perhaps more than anything, let us ask ourselves, how many enterprises have been born as spinoffs from our local universities which have been in existence for over 50 years? Enterprises born out of university as either student led of lecturer lead reflect the depth of university research, but importantly, its relevance to society that a profitable enterprise can be created. In any case, as motivational speakers repeatedly say, the world rewards you for the value you bring to the society: All the wealthy people in the world created their wealth from providing innovative solutions to the world’s problems. If that be the case, what better place to generate innovative solutions to Zambia’s problems than our universities? The fact that there are very few, almost non-existent spin-offs from university research illustrates how impotent, irrelevant or non-existent our research at top university is/has been. How many patents have come out of our university research? How far have the researchers gone to market such research? How much valuable collaborative and contract research have our researchers generated? What has been the value of this research? How much mentorship have our “dons” provided to their graduates to follow-through their ideas and make them successful outside university?
The fact that our highly educated lecturers and researchers sing the ‘Boma iyanganepo’ slogan, that they need money to ‘think and be innovative’ does not inspire confidence for the innovative and academic future of our country. It is disappointing that academics will talk about an ‘enabling environment’ for research, the way that our business community talk about an ‘enabling environment’ for business when, in the same environment, foreign firms are thriving. The private sector in Zambia cries foul saying they lack capital for them to grow their business. Is it a coincidence that now our academics are also saying they need funds to think innovatively? Perhaps it is a nationwide problem, a reflection our lack of higher levels of ambition? Think about it, really, why would a university that teaches PhDs have over 60% of its staff without PhDs? How can someone be teaching for over 20 years with just an MSc/MA at a top university that has been around for over 50 years?
This is grossly unacceptable!
As I conclude, let me reiterate the need to enhance both the quantum and quality of university research. I disagree that our top academics need funds to think innovatively, rather, they need to reorient their position and appreciate that they already are in a position of privilege surrounded by insurmountable resource in thought of their students and their academic community to do more than sing ‘boma iyanganepo’. I would like to end by quoting part of Sir Andrew Witty’s Review of Universities and Growth – Encouraging a British Invention Revolution – published in 2013 in which he says:
“I likened universities generating cutting edge research and its resulting insights to the tip of an arrow, with the arrowhead behind it representing the economic activity enabled by research-led innovation. I suggested that maximising the size of these arrowheads and their economic benefit…. is fundamental to both sectoral and local growth strategies.”
The value of the education is not in its possession, but in its use to solving the challenges of our society.
The Author is an Economist & Fellow of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, UK.
A 72 year old man suspected of being a wizard in Matepe Village in Chama District in Muchinga Province has committed suicide.
Muchinga Province Police Commissioner, Joel Njase has confirmed the incident to the Zambia News and Information Services (ZANIS) in Chama yesterday.
According to Mr Njase, the incident happened on Sunday 15th April at 06:00 hours and was reported to the police yesterday at 08:32 hours.
Mr. Njase said police received a telephone call from Inspector Chilembo of Matepe Village, in Chief Kambombo’s area that Headman Lungwell Mkandawire 72, committed suicide by taking unknown poisonous substance.
The police commissioner said that the motive behind his death is that the deceased was alleged to be a wizard by a witch Doctor who had forced him to drink certain charms.
Mr. Njase added that a witch doctor, Justin Bwalya, 38 of Chibesakunda village forced him to drink certain charms after which he found the deceased to be a wizard.
The Police Commissioner said that it is alleged that the deceased person was too ashamed to continue living his life knowing that he had been found to be a wizard hence he took his own life by drinking some poisonous substance.
Mr. Njase said that the scene of crime has been visited and family members have since been advised to bury and mark the grave.
He said that the witch doctor and his colleagues have since been detained in police custody.
Minister of Tourism and Arts Charles Banda says the range for cheetah is slowly contracting and now has mostly remained in protected areas found on the western side of Zambia such as Liuwa, Kafue and Sioma-Ngwezi national parks.
Dr. Banda says it is sad to note that cheetah has not been seen in South Luangwa national park for almost a decade now while only one male cheetah was spotted in the lower Zambezi national park in that period.
He said wild dog on the other hand has a wider distribution than cheetah but still reducing because they are facing threats of disease, poaching and deliberate if not indirect snaring.
Dr. Banda was speaking during the launch of the strategic Rhino Conservation and Management Plan 2019-2023 and the Cheetah and Wild dog National Action Plan.
He said the Zambian government recognizes that cheetah and wild dog are not only important to the ecological functions of our protected areas, but to tourism development as well and are charismatic species that are part of the top five large carnivores found in Zambia together with hyena, leopard and lion.
Dr. Banda said as such they help to draw tourists to this country and therefore have an important place in the promotion of tourism in Zambia.
And Dr. Banda who disclosed that only three Rhinos have been lost in the last decade said government is therefore concerned about the two species diminishing.
He said his Ministry also recognizes that cheetah and wild dog have common behavior and face similar threats hence the development of a joint national conservation action plan for the two species.
Dr. Banda said the national conservation action plan for cheetah and wild dog like the rhino strategy is also in line with the seventh national development plan as it supports tourism development through restocking of identified national parks.
He said this plan will be implemented under five themes namely; capacity development, knowledge and information, information transfer, coexistence, land use, political commitment, policy and legislation, and national planning.
Dr. Banda said it will provide overall management guidance in a number of strategies that will be used to achieve the objectives under the five themes.
The United Part for national Development (UPND) has dispelled dispelled media reports suggesting that all UPND structures in Kasama Central and Lukashya constituencies have resigned.
In a statement released to the media, the party has said that only a few members have resigned of which the UPND respects their constitutional rights of association.
The Party further said that the members that resigned yesterday morning were part of the dissolved Kasama District Committee structures which was dissolved by the Party Secretary General, Stephen Katuka, in his letter dated April 16 and copied to the relevant party portfolio holders, for gross misconduct.
The statement further the party is open and ready to welcome the people that have resigned back should they decide to return as it is clear that the people of Zambia have chosen the UPND to redeem the Zambia’s economy and make their lives better.
“ It is already clear that Zambians want regime change and this is what has led to the influx of propaganda by the failed Patriotic Front government to try to finance some party officials with a view to planting a seed of division,” read the statement.
Meanwhile, the party has also refuted social media claims that i the UPND has suspended it party their Vice President, Dr Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba (GBM) has been suspended, adding that at no time had the Party Secretary General, Stephen Katuka issue a suspension letter to Dr Mwamba.
The party said that urged its members and the public to treat the said letter with the contempt it deserves as it was a ploy by the ruling PF government to divert attention from the victory that its ally, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) scored in the Roan parliamentary by-election.
And the National The National Democratic Congress has dispelled online media reports that its party consultant Chishimba Kambwili intends to join the UPND, saying that Dr. Kambwili is not in the process to be co-opted as UPND Vice president and that he still remain the consultant of the NDC.
NDC accused PF Deputy media director Antonio Mwanza of being behind the false information being traded on social media
Unionized workers at the Tanzania Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA) have continued with their strike to press for payment of their three month salary arrears.
The strike which has now entered day 14 has paralyzed movement of both goods and passenger trains on the Zambian side forcing management to step-in to move locomotives between Kapiri Mposhi and Nakonde railway terminus.
And Crews and Allied Workers Union of Zambia (CRAWUZ) President Bevis Silumbe said the workers have vowed not to resume work until their salary arrears were paid.
The workers have gone without salaries for the months of January, February and March.
Mr. Silumbe has since appealed to government to assist management at TAZARA to offset the salary arrears in order to restore industrial harmony at the railway company.
He stated that TAZARA still needed financial support from government to meet some of its operational costs and paying salaries.
TAZARA Managing Director Bruno Ching’andu could not be reached for a comment.
13 human remains have been exhumed at Chingwere Cemetery due to heavy rains experienced in Lusaka yesterday.
Lusaka City Council Public Relations Manager George Sichimba confirmed that the remains were discovered today by LCC workers during their routine duties at the cemetery.
Mr. Sichimba said the remains have not been re-buried because the part of the cemetery where the incident occurred is still water logged.
He said on 11th February 2019 a similar occurrence happened at the same cemetery though at a different spot.
Mr. Sichimba said the Council engaged a contractor, Treo Zambia Limited to construct the main permanent drainage to mitigate future occurrences at a cost of K600, 000.
He said the works are currently at 80 percent complete and the Council is impressed with the progress of works while construction of more drainages will follow in due course so that the flow of storm water could be controlled.
Mr. Sichimba has since appealed to stakeholders to come on board and assist in the construction of more drainages in the cemetery to avoid similar occurrences in future.
A bailed male nurse accused of defilement has failed to appear before Kalabo Subordinate Court for commencement of trial.
Meanwhile, Magistrate Mulele Siisii has adjourned the matter to 6th May 2019 for commencement of trial and accordingly extended bail in favour of the accused.
This was after State Prosecutor, James Mushoke, submitted that the State could not proceed with trial in the absence of both the accused and defense bench.
This is in a matter where Jacob Mulenga Kasonde, 34, working at Situlu Rural Health Post in Sikongo district is facing one count of defilement contrary to Section 138 of the Penal Code CAP 87 of the Laws of Zambia as read with the Amendment No. 15 of 2005.
Particulars of the offense are that Kasonde on 7th March 2019 at Situlu Rural Health Post in Sikongo district of Western province had carnal knowledge of a named girl aged below 16 years.
When the matter came up before Magistrate Siisii, the first surety informed the court that Kasonde was not available to stand trial.
Patrick Bwalya Kabamba, 27, a clinician by profession submitted before the court that his client was on bed rest outside Kalabo district recovering from pneumonia.
Kabamba submitted that Kasonde had been diagnosed with pneumonia after being released on bail on 22nd March 2019.
Kabamba however informed the court that he did not know the hospital where his client had sought medical treatment.
And in passing ruling, Magistrate Siisii expressed concern that neither Kasonde nor the surety had served the court with a medical report to ascertain the illness, convince or prove that the accused was indeed receiving treatment.
Magistrate Siisii further expressed concern that the absence by the defence bench, Legal Aid Board, had equally not been brought to the attention of the court.
The Magistrate has since cautioned Kabamba to avail the accused before court stressing that trial would commence with or without the defense bench.
President Edgar Lungu has flag off the commencement of the construction of 13 milling plants in various districts across the country under the presidential milling plants initiative.
The Head of state said this is a great milestone in the actualization of the Patriotic Front government’s pro-poor policy aimed at ensuring that the lives of the majority of Zambians in the rural areas are bearable.
Speaking at the ground breaking ceremony for the construction of milling plants at the University of Zambia Agricultural technology demonstration center in Chongwe, President Lungu said the construction works of the milling plants will be conducted in two phases and will be carried out by china machinery industry construction group incorporated.
He said under phase one of this project, three milling plants will be constructed including the one to be put up at the University of Zambia agricultural technology demonstration centre.
President Lungu said the other two have been earmarked for Monze district in southern province and Mpika district in Muchinga province.
He said government has put in place this initiative to take the production of mealie meal and stock feed to the door step of the subsistence farmer, who is the major producer of maize in the country.
President Lungu said despite the subsistence farmer’s hard work to produce the maize, it is sad to note that they accesses mealie meal and stock feed at a very high price.
He said other than reducing the cost of production for Zambia’s staple food, the positioning of the milling plants in some of the rural areas will create job opportunities for the local people who will be employed to work in the plants.
President Lungu said in addition, the milling plants will offer an alternative ready market for the maize which is produced in the respective areas and will resolve the challenge of people looking far and wide for a market for their products.
He said transport costs will ultimately reduce making mealie meal and other maize products affordable to the communities within the vicinity of milling plants.
President Lungu said the milling plant to be constructed in Chongwe will also be a training facility for human resource who will be working in milling plants in the country and will result in increased efficiency of personnel working in the milling industry across the country.
He said the three plants to be constructed in the first phase will have a combined maximum production capacity of 520 tones per day translating into 10,400 by 25 kilogramme bags of mealie meal per day and will also take approximately 21 months to become operational.
President Lungu said out of the 13 milling plants which will be constructed under the presidential milling plant initiative, six will be managed by the Zambia National Service.
He said the 13 milling plants whose construction he launched today will be located in Kaoma-western province, Monze and Mazabuka-southern province, Chipata-eastern province, Mpika-Muchinga province, and Solwezi-north western province.
President Lungu said other plants will be situated in Mumbwa and Kapiri Mposhi-central province, Luanshya and Kalulushi-copperbelt province, Mansa-luapula province, Chongwe-lusaka province and Kasama in Northern Province.
Members of the Kasama Central Constituency executive committee who has since resigned.
The opposition UPND has suffered a major setback after the resignation of the entire Kasama Central Constituency executive committee.
This comes amidst the wrangles that have engulfed the party in Northern Province.
Among those who have resigned include, the constituency chairperson, Abraham Mulenga and his Information and Publicity Secretary, John Sampa, Vice Youth Chairlady, Doris Chanda.
Others are Buseko Ward Chairperson, Lenard Lombe, Constituency Coordinator, Samuel Kabungo and Youth Chairperson Mathews Musonda.
They said they cannot cling to a party allegedly supporting leaders fueling confusion in the party.
Squabbles in the opposition UPND erupted last week when party officials in Northern Province resolved to remove Mr Ilunga as its provincial chairperson, but later the party Secretary General, Stephen Katuka reversed the move saying Mr Ilunga still remains the provincial chairperson.
But UPND Secretary General, Stephen Katuka has warned officials destabilizing the party at different leadership levels, that the party management will not tolerate such persons to continue to violate the constitution by frustrating the efforts of constitutional office bearers.
In a statement today, Mr Katuka says his office is aware of some officials who are working with the Patriotic Front (PF) to sponsor parallel structures in the UPND.
He charges that disgruntled party officials will be disciplined if they continue to plant a seed of discord in the party.
And Mr Katuka has maintained that the Kasama District Committee, Kasama Central Management Committee, and Lukashya constituency Management Committee has been dissolved with immediate effect.
He has further dispelled social media reports suggesting that UPND Vice president Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba has been suspended.
A boy from Kasama does some acrobatic stunts during the Livingstone arts and cultural festival at Livingstone Golf Club last Saturday in readiness for the UNWTO general assembly
The 2019 Zambia Travel Expo and the Livingstone International Cultural and Arts Festival have been put off due to inadequate funding from government.
The Zambia Tourism Agency says about K2 million is required to host the annual cultural tourism festivals which have over the years brought tourists into Zambia from across the world.
ZTA Chief Executive Officer Felix Chaila said it became necessary to put off the two events because of doubts in the areas of funding from government to avoid inconveniencing participants.
He said the Agency is pessimistic about funding from the treasury for the two events hence the decision to put them off.
But Tourism and Arts Minister Charles Banda says he is unaware about the two events being put off by the Zambia Tourism Agency.
Dr. Banda said he has not been informed about the decision and has directed his Permanent Secretary Charles Banda to investigate the matter.
