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A Nakonde bound Power Tools bus with 76 people on board careered off the road and hit into some shops at 15 miles in Chibombo district.
The incident happened yesterday at around 05:30 hours when the driver of the bus registration number AIB 5617 identified as Justine Mwale, who escaped with injuries, of Chimwemwe township in Kitwe aged between 30 and 40 failed to control the vehicle due to over speeding.
Zambia Police Acting Spokesperson Danny Mwale explained that as a result, the Bus went off the road and razed down three shops resulting in five people among them a girl aged between 1 and 2 sustaining injuries.
Mr. Mwale said other victims only identified as Juliet aged 32, Kasonde Mubanga age not known and the conductor of the bus were rushed to Chingwele Level One Hospital where they were later discharged after treatment while the baby is admitted to the same hospital.
He said in a statement that the bus had its front part extensively damaged.
In February this year, the Road Transport and Safety Agency warned Power Tools Bus Services that they risked having their road licence suspended if they continue defying the night ban.
On January 10th the agency had requested Power Tools Bus Services to show cause within seven days on why their road service licence should not be suspended or revoked for defying the SI on night ban.
This was after a road traffic accident that happened on 28th December, 2018 around 04:22 hours, involving a power Tools bus registration number ALD 1807 where one person died and five injured in Kapiri Mposhi.
FILE: President Lungu’s arrival in Addis Ababa welcomed by Foreign Minister Harry Kalaba
Democratic Party President Harry Kalaba says the time is coming when he will present evidence on the corruption allegations he is making against President Edgar Lungu.
Mr. Kalaba says it will be difficult for him to present evidence now because the Law Enforcement Agencies will not act on it.
Reacting to President Edgar Lungu’s challenge for him to present the evidence to the Anti-Corruption Commission for investigations on the corruption allegations he is making, Mr. Kalaba said law enforcement agencies are being intimidated by President Lungu and his government for doing the right thing.
Mr. Kalaba has asked President Lungu to be patient with him saying the evidence will be presented at the time he does not expect and no one will defend him.
“Everyone knows, Jets are being procured, someone is getting money from oil being procured for this country, all that evidence is coming at the right time”, said Mr. Kalaba.
He said he will not fall prey to the politics being played by President Edgar Lungu which is not adding any value to the lives of the Zambian people.
Meanwhile Mr. Kalaba has challenged President Lungu to tell the nation why he fired Emerine Kabanshi as Minister of Community Development and Social Welfare if it was not for corruption.
President Lungu has challenged Mr. Kalaba to go to the anti corruption and report the acts of corruption that he claims he saw in the ruling Patriotic Front Government.
The President said that Mr. Kalaba should not use the issue of imaginary corruption to tarnish the image of the Party when everyone knows that he resigned from his position as Foreign Affairs Minister so that he could start pushing his Presidential ambitions.
The President said that as Foreign Affairs Minister, Mr Kalaba was always with him on his trips abroad and if he had seen any corruption taking place, he could easily have brought it to his attention, but never had he at any single moment said anything about it to him.
Police in Luanshya have cancelled the NDC rally that was scheduled to take place in Mpatamatu and Roan townships on Sunday and Monday ahead of Thursday’s by election.
The NDC through its Media Department claims that the Police, under strict instructions from Kaizer Zulu and Charity Katanga, have uncompromisingly cancelled the two rallies for the NDC at the last minute despite the Electoral Commission of Zambia prescribing same campaign rights for all political parties.
This means that from Sunday until Thursday’s elections, only PF will be campaigning in Roan.
“The continued abrogation of the electoral code of conduct by the PF has made Zambia’s budding democracy a sham and a thing of the past,” the party said.
“Our country has become a police state and is fast sliding into a brutal, despotic and highly intolerant regime. The PF has to be ashamed of the kind of politics that they are bringing to this country. Stopping a party from campaigning for 4 days is unheard of and their fear of losing these elections is making them behave like scared little beings,” said Menyani Zulu the Campaign Manager for the NDC Roan By electrons.
The NDC has since written to the ECZ and police to report the matter.
“Even though the PF is rendering almost all our democratic institutions powerless and make them work under very bad conditions, we believe that we have to report these matters to have a record of their abuse of office and hopefully that something can actually be done about it,” said Mr. Zulu.
NDC Letter of Complaint to the Luanshya District Elections Officer
Minister of Water Development Sanitation and Environmental Protection Dennis Wanchinga
Water Development Sanitation and Environmental Protection Minister Dennis Wanchinga has apologized over the prolonged sewer blockage in Kabwe that greeted President Edgar Lungu when he visited the town last week.
Dr Wanchonga said his Ministry wishes to acknowledge with regret the unfortunate incident of prolonged sewer blockage in the central business district of Kabwe under the jurisdiction of Lukanga Water and Sewerage Company Limited.
“The Ministry, therefore, wishes to unreservedly apologize to His Excellency the President of the Republic of Zambia as well as residents of Kabwe in particular and the people of Zambia for the inconvenience and embarrassment the unfortunate incident caused,” Dr Wanchinga said.
He said the unfortunate incident of sewer blockage that was brought to the attention of the Authorities on 31st March 2019, was precipitated by the uncoordinated manner in which Lukanga Water Sewerage Company and Kabwe Municipal Council have been working in managing sewer and solid waste respectively.
Dr Wanchinga said the blockage of the sewer network has also been exacerbated by poor management of solid waste, weak regulation coupled with lack of awareness among the general public on the health hazards that vandalism and unclean environment may pose to the society.
“The Ministry whose mandate is to manage develop water resources, supply clean safe water, provide adequate sanitation services and manage the environment, has been implementing the National Water Supply and Sanitation programme through Commercial Water Utility Companies among them Lukanga Water and Sewerage Company to ensure access to safe clean water and adequate sanitation services to avoid water borne diseases. The laxity on the part of Lukanga Water and Sewerage company management to uphold their role as a service provider is very unfortunate and unacceptable,” Dr Wanchinga said.
“The Ministry, therefore, wishes to assure the residents of Kabwe and the general public at large that despite this unfortunate incident, adequate measures are being put in place to ensure that such an incident of prolonged sewer blockage does not reoccur. The Ministry has with immediate effect directed the National Water Supply and Sanitation Council to intensify inspections and monitoring to ensure set standards for Commercial Utilities are adhered to and erring Commercial Utilities are penalized in line with the National Water Supply and Sanitation Act number 28 of 1997 to ensure compliance.”
He added, “The Ministry has further directed all Commercial Utility Companies to intensify surveillance of sanitation services and encourage members of the general public to promptly report incidents of sewer pipe blockages and spillage to authorities in order to prevent future occurrence of similar incidents in Kabwe as well as the rest of the country. The Ministry has further directed Commercial Utility Companies to strength their cohabitation with Municipal Councils on matters of waste management.”
“Furthermore, the Ministry has embarked on strengthening collaboration with all stakeholders to heighten public awareness regarding dangers of vandalism of water and sanitation infrastructure and, in particular the Ministry of Local Government and Housing through Kabwe Municipal Council on the need to ensure sound management of solid waste to prevent sewer blockages.”
“Government through the Ministry wishes to reiterate its commitment by His Excellence the President towards universal access to clean safe water and adequate sanitation services in line with the vision 2030 and sustainable goals without leaving anyone behind,” Dr Wanchinga said.
Bank of Zambia Deputy Governor for Administration, Dr. Tukiya Kankasa-Mabula confers with Graca Machel during the first ever SADC workshop focused on promoting women financial inclusion in the region held in Johannesburg, South Africa
The Graca Machel Trust says there is need for countries in the SADC region to address women’s financial inclusion.
Chairperson of the Graca Machel Trust Graca Machel noted that majority of women in the region are not financially included.
Speaking when she addressed delegates at the first ever SADC workshop focused on promoting women financial inclusion in the region held in Johannesburg, South Africa, Ms. Machel emphasised the need to work as a region and not only as countries in addressing women’s financial inclusion.
SADC is implementing a strategy on financial inclusion and small and medium sized enterprises’ (SMEs) access to finance.
A key objective of this strategy is for member states to implement policies that will ensure that financial services are accessible by all including women and youth to enable them to participate in economic activities.
This workshop is the first step in strengthening institutional capacity for SADC member states to be gender focused when planning and evaluating programmes.
The workshop, co-hosted by SADC, The Graca Machel Trust, Financial Sector Deepening Zambia (FSD Zambia), FSD Mozambique and Finmark Trust brought together key players in the financial sector including central banks, financial institutions and fintechs.
“Women need a financial identity. It is not unacceptable that up to 50% of SADC countries populations are not part of the formal economy – and many people in the informal economy are women” Ms. Machel said.
In her key note address, Bank of Zambia Deputy Governor for Administration, Dr. Tukiya Kankasa-Mabula, noted that Women are overrepresented among the unbanked and represent 56% of the total unbanked adult population globally.
Furthermore, she observed that the World Economic Forum noted that the sub-saharan Africa region is the third-largest gender gap among the eight regions of the world behind East Asia and the Pacific region.
She mentioned that there was a 6% gender gap in accessing financial services in the SADC region.
“In view of the evidence of the prevailing gender gap in the SADC region, we commend SADC for placing women’s financial inclusion on their broad agenda to promote financial inclusion. This action, which serves to augment existing initiatives, emphasises the theme of the workshop on ‘Doing This Together’ through collaboration and partnerships. In doing so, we can have impact and achieve more to advance financial inclusion for women”. Dr. Kankasa-Mabula said.
Meanwhile, FSD Zambia Chief Executive Officer Betty Wilkinson said “Zambia has the 5th youngest population in the World. So when we talk about financial inclusion for women, we are talking about young women and girls too”.
Ms. Wilkinson said that with core support from UK Aid and SIDA, FSD Zambia set up a women and financial inclusion project that has since scored various successes including lobbying that government place the digitisation of school fees payments into the national financial inclusion strategy for implementation by 2020.
The Electoral Commission of Zambia has assured that election materials for the Roan Parliamentary by election have not gone missing from the Commission.
Over the weekend, the National Democratic Congress issued an alert to the effect that some ballot papers for the Roan Parliamentary by election had gone missing and were later traded at Choolwe GuestHouse where Presidential aide Kaizer Zulu was apparently lodging.
The NDC had claimed that it had reliable information that ballot papers have been moved from the Luanshya Civic Center to Choolwe guest house where Kaizer Zulu is.
They said access roads to Choolwe Guest House have all been closed making the allegations even more believable.
But ECZ Spokesperson Margaret Chimanse dispelled the allegation stating that the integrity of the poll is safeguarded.
Ms. Chimanse further stated that the Commission is ready to conduct Polls on April 11, 2019.
“All materials have been received in readiness for polls on Thursday 11th April, 2019. The materials are secured and under the custody of the Electoral Commission of Zambia and Poll Staff training is currently underway including briefing of political party agents and Police,” Ms. Chimanse said.
She said Political Party stakeholders are urged to continue with their peaceful campaigns and to allow the people of Roan to vote freely on Poll Day.
Nkana coach Beston Chambeshi insists Sunday’s narrow 2-1 home win over record three -time CAF Confederation Cup quarterfinal, first leg victory over champions CS Sfaxien of Tunisia has not dimmed their semifinal hopes.
Sfaxien scored a late second half goal through Habib Oueslati to deny Nkana the prospect of 2-0 comfortable home win at Nkana Stadium in Kitwe on April 7.
“I think there is no pressure, we have won the game. I know we have been bad travelers but we will have to work our cards well and come back with a positive result,” Chambeshi said.
Nkana now head to Sfax this Sunday on the back of three successive losses in the CAF Confederation Cup that were all recorded in the group stages.
Meanwhile, Nkana won the match thanks to goals from Kelvin Mubanga in the 35th minute before he turned provider in the 52nd minute for attacking midfielder Fred Tshimenga to head-in the winning goal.
But in the 81st minute, Oueslati tapped-in the ball on the near post from short pass from Kingsley Sokari to see Sfaxien take a crucial away goal against Nkana.
Nkana and Sfaxien meet in the final leg on April 14 in Sfax to decide who goes through to the CAF Confederation Cup semifinals.
Wedson Nyirenda is proud of Bakora FC after Saturday’s giant-killing away win over Kaizer Chiefs that ended their three-match losing run but urged them to remain calm and focused in their grueling five-match battle to avoid relegation.
Nyirenda collected his first league won over his ex-club at FNB Stadium in Johannesburg to ease the pressure on his fate at the club to see Baroka rise one place up the log from 15th to third from bottom at number 14.
Baroka and Chiefs drew 1-1 in the first leg in Polokwane.
“We just have to take it a game at a time,” Nyirenda said.
“If we can beat Chiefs at home at FNB Stadium, we can do well at home against Sundowns. We drew with them at their own home.
“But this time it will be a very different ball game. They are chasing the championship and haven’t yet won a trophy this season so they will be coming for us. We just have to put this game away and prepare for the next game.”
Baroka ‘s next match will come on April 20 when they host defending champions Mamelodi Sundowns whom they drew 0-0 with last December and also beat earlier in November en route to lifting their debut silverware in the Telkom Cup.
“…But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead.”
(Philippians 3:13, ESV)
Forget What Lies Behind
Many people don’t fully understand what it means to forget the past. One definition of the word “forget” is “to disregard intentionally, or to overlook.” You have to intentionally disregard your past so that it doesn’t keep you from moving forward. That means the good and the bad. If we’re not careful, even our past victories can keep us from rising higher if we get too comfortable where we are. God wants to take us from glory to glory, but if we don’t let go of the old, we’ll never be able to embrace the new. It’s time to forget what lies behind. Put it away once and for all. When you release it, it’s an act of your faith. Focus all your energy on moving forward. Trust that God has new levels of victory, peace and favor. Trust that He’s working behind the scenes on your behalf. As you forget what lies behind and press forward, you will see the abundant life the Lord has in store for you!
A Prayer for Today
“Father in Heaven, I choose to forget the past today. I don’t want anything to hold me back from the future You have prepared for me. I choose forgiveness and ask that You help me, by Your Spirit, to press forward in every area of my life. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.”
President Lungu at a Rally held at Kaole stadium in BAHATI
President Lungu has challenged his former Foreign Affairs Minister Harry Kalaba to go to the anti corruption and report the acts of corruption that he claims he saw in the ruling Patriotic Front (PF) Government.
The President said that Mr Kalaba should not use the issue of imaginary corruption to tarnish the image of the Party when everyone knows that he resigned from his position as Foreign Affairs Minister so that he could start pushing his Presidential ambitions.
The President said that as Foreign Affairs Minister, Mr Kalaba was always with him on his trips abroad and if he had seen any corruption taking place, he could easily have brought it to his attention, but never had he at any single moment said anything about it to him.
The President further said that people had informed him about Kalaba’s Presidential ambitions and that he had asked him if it was true but that Mr. Kalaba had denied it and therefore, armed with Mr. Kalaba’s denial of the allegations,he went on to defend Mr Kalaba against his accusers.
The President stated that he had, however, taken time to advise Kalaba that if he wanted to succeed him, he needed to wait for the right time and not to be in a rush, but , manage his ambitions and that God’s time was the best.
The President further stated that he had had a very cordial work relationship with Mr Kalaba and used to advise him to take care of his constituency.
“I would push him to return to the constituency to check on what was lacking so that he could work on it but the young man had other things on his mind instead of focusing on working for the people that sent him to Parliament,”
“If Kalaba truly saw corruption in PF, let him go to the ACC and report. It’s not for us to defend ourselves against false corruption allegations. He who alleges must prove,” the President said, before adding that it was common knowledge that thieves always point fingers at others calling them thieves to divert attention from their thieving activities.
The President urged the People of BAHATI to refuse to be used by a person that showed them that he had only his own interests and non of theirs at heart. He advised them to turn up in large numbers on the 11th of April and religate Kalaba to the political dust bin where he belonged.
The President stated that the only corruption present in the equation was that of Mr Kalaba neglecting to take schools, roads and clinics to BAHATI, thereby robbing the people of their share of the national cake and that was the biggest corruption that could only be explained by Mr Kalaba himself.
He urged the People of BAHATI to vote for Charles Chalwe because he had been carefully selected by the party central committee for his hard work and humility.
He said that Chalwe was equal to the task of developing BAHATI into a formidable constituency which would bring back the lost glory to the people of BAHATI.
President Lungu said this when he addressed a Rally held at Kaole stadium in BAHATI yesterday.
FAZ president Andrew Kamanga on Saturday morning led scores of mourners in paying their last respects to Nkana and Zambia legend Stone Chibwe who was put to rest at Nkana East Cemetery in Kitwe.
Chibwe, who was a FAZ life member, died last Tuesday at the age of 70.
Several football coaches, players, administrators and fans gathered at Light House Church in Parklands for the funeral service before moving to the cemetery for burial.
His peers seen during burial include former Rhokana United stars Bill Hanzala, Joseph Mwansa and Fordson Kabole, Mufulira Wanderers legend Abraham Nkole, Kitwe United great Moses Kabaila.
Also present were several former Nkana stars among them Jericho Shinde, Beston Chambeshi, Mordon Malitoli, Fraser Kamwandi, Charles Bwale, Kennedy Katala, Douglas Chiwaya, Ezzy Lundu, and Gift Kampamba.
“We used to play together when I left Roan United to join Rhokana United. Stone was a good player and someone I related with very well,” Kabole said.
Chibwe served Nkana as player, assistant coach, technical director, team manager and later ground manager.
“Stone never left Nkana because Nkana was in his blood,” Hanzala said.
Zambia has been recognized by the African Union as a model country that has institutionalized the coverage of social security to the informal sector by creating structures at National level.
The recognition was made by Clement Pengwende sawadogo , Chair of the Bureau of the African Union Third Specialized Technical meeting on Social Development , Labour and Employment in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
He urged African countries to emulate Zambia and provide social security for the informal sector.
Minister of Labour Joyce Nonde Simukoko said the recognition by the AU was testimony that Zambia was making strides in ensuring that social security services are not only a preserve for those in formal employment but those in the informal sector too.
She said government was committed to finding ways of up lighting people’s livelihoods through creation of employment and promoting entrepreneurship.
And NAPSA Contributions and Benefits Director Mason Mwiinga said so far NAPSA has registered over ten thousand workers from the informal sector.
Mr Mwiinga said the five priority areas in the informal sector include taxi and bus drivers, marketeers and traders, construction workers and small scale farmers.
He said NAPSA was also implementing the social protection for informal and rural Economy workers with a specific focus on the small scale farmers, who constitute over 50 percent of informal sector workers.
President Edgar Lungu has said that Former Bahati Member of Parliament Harry Kalaba was obsessed with Presidential ambitions, causing him not to develop the Constituency.
The President says all the surrounding constituencies, such as Mansa have developmental projects that are visible.
He says Luapula province is developing except for Bahati because of the Former MP’s obsession to be President.
President Lungu said this before departure to Mansa, in Luapula Province for a three-day visit.
And President Lungu has warned of stern action against anyone that will cause violence in the run up to the by elections in Bahati and Roan constituencies.
He said perpetrators of violence will face the full wrath of the law as the police are on high alert.
Meanwhile, President Lungu said it is the duty of the police to ensure peace and order is maintained before, during and after elections.
While in Luapula, the President will drum up support for Patriotic Front Candidate Charles Chalwe in the forthcoming Bahati parliamentary by election slated for 11th April.
And President Lungu said the people of Bahati should vote for Mr. Chalwe as he understands the needs of the area.
Nkana captain Walter Bwalya says they are determined to leave their own continental legacy on Sunday when they hosts record three-time CAF Confederation Cup champions CS Sfaxien of Tunisia in their quarterfinal, first leg match at Nkana Stadium in Kitwe.
Nkana are making their quarterfinal debut in the competition where they are also targeting to eliminate a North African big gun for the first time ever.
However, Nkana broke their North African jinx five years ago when they stunned Sfaxiens’s compatriots CA Bixertin on away goals rule following a 1-1 aggregate result to see the Kitwe giants seal their debut continental group stage qualification.
“This is a new generation all of us are looking forward to qualify to the semifinal,” Bwalya said.
“We know what is at stake, quarterfinal is not just points, it is about getting a massive result with a good score line.”
But Nkana also have a matter of national interest to deal with against Sfaxien who eliminated Green Buffaloes in the second round last December after a 4-1 away loss in Tunisia to see the Zambian side bow out 4-2 on aggregate.
Meanwhile, Nkana are at full strength heading into the first leg but with be without Zambia Under-23 winger Harrison Chisala who is sidelined for a month with a right knee injury he sustained in a 2-1 league loss at home to Lumwana Radiants on March 30.
