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President Edgar Lungu says he will report the issue of congestion at the Kasumbalesa border post in Chililabombwe to SADC.
President Lungu says the Democratic Republic of Congo is supposed to be compelled to open up their borders and clear trucks in large numbers.
Speaking when he addressed hundreds of Chililabombwe residents at the Konkola Rugby Club this afternoon, President Lungu said the congestion is caused by problems in the DRC and not in Zambia.
He said he will engage SADC to ensure that DRC borders are opened to clear as many trucks as possible.
President Lungu also directed Konkola Copper Mines to ensure it pays local contractors it owes.
Earlier, President Lungu commissioned a Priest’s house in Kamenza area of Chililabombwe at which he hailed the partnership between government and the church in delivering infrastructure development to people in far flung areas of the country.
Higher Education Minister Nkandu Luo has threatened that unruly students from institutions of higher learning who will be associated with rioting will now be expelled as opposed to being suspended.
Professor Luo was speaking during the hand-over of the over 1.7 Million Kwacha refurbished Zambia Institute of Business Studies and Industrial Practice -ZIBSIP- student’s hostels in Kitwe today.
She reminded those in student leadership that their role is not to incite students to riot but to look into their welfare.
Professor Luo wondered why some sections of society would criticize her if she decides to take stringent measures against students who last night vandalized the Copperbelt University-CBU Vice Chancellors office.
And the Minister has appreciated the work attitude and culture of the Zambia National Service -ZNS- who upgraded the ZIBSIP students’ hostels.
She noted that the over 1.7 Million Kwacha spent on the project could have cost more than three times higher had Government engaged a private contractor to do the works.
And Acting ZIBSIP Principal Francis Bwalya has announced that the institution which was closed due to the bad state of the student’s hostels will now re-open on the seventh of April, 2019 for those in boarding, while day scholars will report on Monday eight April, 2019.
GBM addressing a news conference at the UPND secretariat on Thursday, April 4th 2019
Opposition UPND Vice President Geofrey Mwamba has dismissed speculations that he has fallen off with leader Hakainde Hichilema.
Some online reports have claimed that Mr Mwamba is not in talking terms with Mr Hichilema and some senior party officials and that he is on his way back to the PF.
Speculations indicate that Mr Mwamba has been offered K50 million to rejoin the PF.
But during a joint news conference with Mr Hichilema, Mr Mwamba said the reports are untrue.
“There has not been any differences as peddled by enemies of the our party and progress,both within and outside. I am still enjoying a wonderful relationship with my brother President Hakainde Hichilema and our great party, the UPND,” Mr Mwamba said.
“The doomsayers should be ashamed for their mechanisations to promote disunity in our party, going to an extent of suggesting that I have been bribed by a party that lacks principles, decorum and common decency to governance and the people of this great nation,” he added.
He said he is a principled man and has no intentions of rejoining the PF.
“When I made that decision to support the ideals of HH and the UPND, I did it with all my conscience and faculties intact and nothing has changed and need I emphasise here, I cannot be bought by a bunch of crooks as I believe in earning my keep through hardwork and legal means and not handouts. I give, not take. I came into politics already succesful and so unlike others I am able to say I am incorruptible,” he said.
“For 6 to 8 years the PF have tried to break me financially but to no avail and soon and very soon they will be history,surely what sane person would blatantly aboard a sinking boat, when come next elections we will be forming Government, to emancipate our citizens from the suffering they are going through currently by this uncaring bunch of clueless thieving individuals.”
“So to all of you, I am VP of UPND and will remain so until the party decides otherwise,” he stated.
And Mr Hichilema has dispelled assertions that Mr Bwalya had resigned from his position.
The UPND leader also used the opportunity to call on party members across the country to remain united and focus on mobilisation and growing the party.
He said Zambians are looking up to us for social and economic development and we will not let them down.
“UPND remains an organised institution whose values include working for the people and not ourselves as leaders and as such we appeal to all party officials and members across the country to remain united,” Mr Hichilema said.
At the same briefing, Mr Hichilema stated that the Alliance which the party entered into does not in any way mean that it will replace any of the leaders but that it is a joint venture to check the PF on its evil schemes.
He said no UPND leader, MP, council chairperson, councillor and all party officials must feel displaced or sidelined.
“We are an independent institution. UPND is ready to run our country better than the PF led by Mr Edgar Lungu. As a party by the people for the people, for us it’s Zambia and Zambians first,” Mr Hichilema said.
UPND senior leaders waving the party symbol during a news conference at the party secretariat on Thursday, April 4th 2019HH and GBM during a news conference at the UPND secretariat on Thursday, April 4th 2019HH addressing a news conference at the UPND secretariat on Thursday, April 4th 2019HH addressing a news conference as GBM enjoys a light moment at the UPND secretariat on Thursday, April 4th 2019
President of Zambia His Excellency Mr. Edgar Chagwa Lungu
President Edgar Lungu says he will assent to the National Dialogue amendment bill which Parliament passed on Tuesday this week.
Parliament this Tuesday passed the National Dialogue Amendment Bill after a heated debate by Members of Parliament from the Opposition, Independent and ruling parties.
President Lungu who was on the Copperbelt Province for a three day working visit said upon arrival at the ZAF Airforce Base airport, that he will straight away sign the National Dialogue Amendment Bill.
The bill which was first tabled in Parliament Last month, seeks to provide a forum to facilitate the amendment of the constitution, public order act, electoral laws and regulation of political parties.
One hundred and forty six (146) MPs participated in the voting session of the bill, with 91 MPs in support of the bill, while 52 MP’s voted against the bill.
President Lungu arrived back in Lusaka from the Copperbelt where he went to inspect and commission developmental projects being undertaken by government.
Meanwhile, the President has expressed disappointment that both the ruling and opposition MP’s on the Copperbelt are not delivering to his expectations.
He said implementation of projects have slowed down because the lawmakers are not being accountable to the people who voted them into power.
He said he expects MP’s to be in touch with the grassroots in their areas which was not the case on the Copperbelt.
The President arrived at Zambia Airforce Base Airport at about 14:25 hours in the company of Patriotic Front Secretary General Davies Chama.
The Head of State was received by Foreign Affairs Minister Joseph Malanji, Minister of Works and Supply Mutotwe Kafwaya, Acting Secretary to the Cabinet Patrick Kangwa, Service Chiefs and Senior Party and Government officials.
The Zambia National Women’s Lobby (ZNWL) has learnt with anger and disappoint news of the defilement of a 14 year of girl child by a named traditional leader of the Eastern Province.
This case of defilement is peculiar because Chiefs as custodians of the people’s culture and identity should be in the forefront to protect children from perpetrators of heinous sexual crimes such as defilement.
We therefore find it quite upsetting that the named traditional leader used his power and position to lure an underage and vulnerable girl child into sexual activities.
Such an action is a great drawback to the efforts being made by government and other stakeholders to curb sexual crimes in the community as Chiefs command loyalty and admiration of their subjects.
We therefore call for justice for the defiled girl child and implore all government agents involved in this matter to ensure that the case reaches its logical conclusion. Defilement does not only injure the physical aspects of the victims but results in psychological scars that in most cases do not heal. This negatively affects the productivity and contribution that a survivor is able to make to his family, community and the nation at large.
We further call on the government through the specialized Ministries and concerned agencies to ensure that the victim is protected from intimidation, harassment and threats from the Chief, his family or subjects. This is a high profile case that should serve as an example to others who may wish to use their position of privilege to abuse and subvert the rights of the weak and vulnerable in our society.
As you read on you get the feeling that the whole tale is a double entendre without the smut. It’s a Zambian story, or more accurately stories, written about Zambia for the world. Only, there are inside jokes too; stories that will resonate with Zambians and maybe Africans in a slightly different way. Things we all know but wouldn’t dare say out loud to visitors.
It also feels like a rediscovery of my country. A remembering of historic facts gleaned from textbooks and vague childhood recollections. Farcical tales that are, in fact, historically accurate. We really did have a space program and they really did use drums to train astronauts. Namwali is a teacher and it shows. There are so many gems, so much ‘useless’, highly interesting information, like the Chrysler Copper Car that was used during Zambia’s Independence Day celebrations or the recognition that so much of our language is derived from sound. Kalingalinga is still a compound in Lusaka but it’s also the sound a bell makes. She plays with language, seamlessly infusing Bemba, Nyanja, made up colloquialism like “Halifogali”, never explaining what they mean. Confident in the knowledge that there is an audience that understands exactly what she is saying.
And yet, it is still a Zambian story written for the world.
The Old Drift has been dubbed the first great Zambian novel and it’s clear why. Namwali Serpell, the author, won the Caine Prize for African Writing in 2015. A prize that has been won by authors like Binyavanga Wainaina and Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor, who have gone on to become household names. Her short story, The Sack, was highly acclaimed and it was clear from that offering that her next piece of writing would be worth the read.
The story starts at the beginning. The beginning of our discovery by the white man. The only sort of discovery that matters. History, the book says, always begins with a white man.
A band of travellers gathered to seek their fortune at the Victoria Falls, form the source from which the tale drifts. And it does drift along. Form and direction are never as paramount as the story. The Drift in the title refers to a name for the settlement formed at the Falls but it also describes the style of writing. A leisurely approach that readers of Namwali’s short story, “The Sack”, will be familiar with. Just when you start to get to grips with a set of characters, you are thrown off course, drifting towards yet another storyline. It’s a style that one has to get used to. The Old Drift requires you to take time away from reality and immerse yourself in its world.
The characters and sets of characters within storylines each take their own course. Tributaries to the whole, they will eventually collide. It’s reminiscent of the Oscar winning movie “Crash” in which individual lives and experiences are woven together to form one fabric.
The Old Drift is highly ambitious. It’s a large book that doesn’t always feel that way. A sweeping saga that takes you from before Northern Rhodesia to beyond present day Zambia.
The book cannot be described as historical fiction but its also not always fantasy or science fiction. There are moments when The Old Drift skirts with the political and as a Zambian you hold your breath because no one ever mentions dissidents like Lenshina, a woman whose religious beliefs led to an uprising of sorts and the deaths of many of her followers or how the, still often maligned, Tonga people were treated when the Kariba Dam was being constructed on their traditional land. There are overtly fantastical threads such as the woman with hair all over her body but there are also passages describing the Zambian landscape, as it is that feel much like a fairytale. Reading African fiction based in a country like Zambia is still, sadly, a novel experience. We are not used to recognizing the magic that surrounds us: the sounds, creatures and activities that we take for granted. This is where the double entendre works best. It feels like a gift from Namwali to Zambians and Africans. A reminder that our world is anything but ordinary.
At its core the novel is about humans of different ilk’s having to accept one another or not being able to. It’s about how similar we all are despite our differences and how love ultimately supersedes everything. There are many unlikely love stories. In fact, The Old Drift can be described as a series of love stories and it doesn’t seem too far-fetched to say that this feels a little like Namwali Serpell’s love story to Zambia, our history and what it can become.
Namwali is another author in the current crop of Africans who are unapologetically themselves. They don’t italicize our languages or attempt to be polite about the fact that Europeans came here for economic reasons and stayed not because they were better than us but because it was better for them. The Old Drift is a novel that, despite its own assertions, reminds Africans that our histories do not start with White men but our future is interconnected.
Namwali Serpell
Namwali Serpell was born in Zambia and now lives in San Fransisco, where she is Associate Professor of English at the University of California, Berkeley. The Old Drift is her first novel and since being published on 26th March 2019 has received rave reviews from the New York Times, Kirkus Reviews, The Boston Globe, Publisher’s Weekly, The Times UK, the San Francisco Chronicle, the LA Times, and the Washington Post.
The Zambia Chamber of Small and Medium Businesses (ZCSMBA) has advised the Citizen Economic Empowerment Commission (CEEC) to decentralise the establishment of industrial yards to district level in order to cater for rural SMEs.
CEEC with support from the African Development Bank (AfDB) has embarked on the construction of industrial yards in seven provinces across the country at a cost of 20 million United States dollars.
But ZCSMBA Executive Director Moto Ng’ambi observes that decentralising the programme to district level, will help Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) benefit more, in order to grow their businesses.
ZANIS reports that Mr Ng’ambi noted that setting up the industrial yards in all provincial centres will disadvantage the rural SMEs that have potential to expand, but lack capacity to deliver, and are in need of such support.
He explained that SMEs in rural areas have potential to grow and contribute positively towards uplifting the lives of people in their communities, but lack skills and equipment, hence the need for CEEC to consider them.
He added that this is because the programme is aimed at helping SMEs advance in their entrepreneurship skills, and have access to enhance equipment.
Meanwhile, Mr Ng’ambi has praised government for various interventions aimed at supporting the growth of the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).
He stated that government’s decision to come up with different programmes and projects as a way of empowering and developing the sector is a progressive move towards reducing poverty levels among households.
The ZCSMBA Chief noted that currently most government ministries are running different programmes and projects with focus on providing funding to SMEs.
He cited the Ministries of Youth and Sport, Agriculture and Commerce, Trade and Industry, as some of the ministries that have played an active role in empowering SMEs in various sectors of the economy in the country.
He added that such interventions by government will go a long way in contributing to national development, adding that SMEs are the backbone of any country’s economy.
Transport and Communications Minister Brian Mushimba
Zambia will have its relaunched national airline hit the skies in the third quarter of this year.
This was contained in a statement by Transport and Communications Minister Dr. Brian Mushimba.
Dr Mushimba said partners had a meeting in February to finalize among other things destination routes to Europe and Middle East.
Zambia Airways earlier appointed Bruk Endeshaw Abebe as its Chief Executive Officer and will now look to fill the senior management positions as the launch draws near.
“We are committed to relaunching Zambia Airways to take advantage to the airport infrastructure we have made, in the radars, air navigation system, the best of its kind in the Southern African region, Dr. Mushimba said during a Parliamentary Committee session on Transport works in the week.”
The airline is expected to transport 1.9 million passengers in the next decade to 2028.
Zambia Airways is a joint venture between the Zambian government with 55% stake and Ethiopian airlines holding 45% shares.
The Bank of Zambia has warned members of the public to beware of a company trading as Microsavers Hub, which the Central Bank says it is providing unauthorised financial services in Zambia.
The Bank of Zambia says the conduct of Microsavers Hub is in contravention of Section 6(2) of the Banking and Financial Services Act No. 7 of 2017 (BFSA). It says information received by the Central Bank suggests that Microsavers Hub is offering a financial service by collecting deposits from members of the public.
“BoZ’s review of the business model of Microsavers Hub has revealed that the company is in effect engaging in a ‘money circulation scheme,’ which is prohibited under Section 157 of the BFSA. According to Section 157 of the BFSA, “a person shall not -(a) Conduct, or participate in, a money circulation scheme; (b) Or issue a notice, circular, prospectus, proposal or other document inviting the public to subscribe to a money circulation scheme.”
The Bank of Zambia says it is now collaborating with the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) and the Drug Enforcement Commission to assess compliance of the activities of the company with the BFSA as well as the Prohibition and Prevention of Money Laundering Act, respectively.
“A money circulation scheme is an unsustainable investment operation that pays returns to its investors from their own money or the money paid by subsequent investors, rather than from profit earned by the individual or organization running the operation,” it warned.
It added, “the money circulation scheme usually entices new investors by offering higher returns than other legitimate investments, which are usually in the form of short-term returns. Perpetuation of the high returns requires an ever-increasing flow of money from new investors to keep the scheme going. The schemes are of various forms, but all promise high returns to individuals who are recruited by depositing money into an account after which they are issued with a purported investment document.”
“The public is warned to desist from getting involved in such illicit activities and is urged to be cautious with any investment that promises huge returns without underlying economic activity. Further, the public is advised to only deal with financial service providers licensed by the BOZ, the Securities and Exchange Commission or the Pensions and Insurance Authority.”
Zambia has moved three places up the FIFA Rankings released today by World football’s governing body.
Chipolopolo moved from 82nd in February to 79th on April 4 in this year’s second rankings posted by FIFA after last week’s international match break.
Zambia’s upward movement come in the wake of their 4-1 home win over Namibia in their closing match of the 2019 AFCON Group K qualifiers on March 23 in Lusaka.
Chipolopolo are also 17th on the CAF Rankings and second highest placed side from the COSAFA Zone behind South Africa who are 73rd.
Meanwhile, Senegal are Africa’s highest ranked team on the FIFA Rankings at number 23 while Tunisia, Nigeria, Morocco, DR Congo complete the top five in that order.
Mighty Mufulira Wanderers have replaced dismissed coach Justin Chinama with Elijah Chikwanda.
Chikwanda, who will be assisted by Allan Kamwanga and John Chela, has since been introduced to Mighty players.
He has previously coached Nkwazi, Kabwe Warriors, Napsa Stars and City of Lusaka.
Last month, the Super Division side suspended Chinama for allegedly ignoring advice from the club chief executive officer Iden Zulu on team selection.
And the club has finally written to Chinama informing him of his dismissal.
“You were invited to a disciplinary hearing…unfortunately you did not attend the hearing. The Club’s disciplinary committee found that there were insufficient grounds in the exculpatory letter to exonerate you offense.
“In accordance with your contract of service, and the club’s code of conduct you have been dismissed from the service with effect from 2nd April 2019,” Zulu stated.
Wanderers are seventh with nine points, 11 behind leaders Zanaco.
FILE: Former FOREIGN Affairs Minister, Harry Kalaba, speaking during an interview with Journalists after the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) Council of Ministers held at Swazi Royal Hotel in Swaziland’s Ezulwini Town on Wednesday. PICTURE BY STEPHEN MUKOBEKO/ZANIS
Democratic Party President Harry Kalaba says Zambia is at the crossroads and the current leadership’s dysfunction has driven the country’s socio-economic stand to the doldrums.
Mr. Kalaba said the Country’s leadership has totally collapsed systems for rule of law, governance and accountability, a situation which continues to abet corruption and lawlessness and further their stay in power.
He said it is alarming that political violence continues to escalate even with lip service pronouncements by political leadership to end the vice.
Mr. Kalaba said it is not an accident that every election is now characterized by violence saying it is by design, and meant to disrupt the electoral processes and campaigns as well as threaten the voters of opposing parties from exercising their right to vote.
He has encouraged Zambians not to allow violence to be the new norm in Zambia but remain united and redefine the political stage with peace, patriotism and desire to do the right thing for you, your neighbor and for future generations.
Mr. Kalaba said the Political violence by the Patriotic Front, if not curtailed, will have serious consequences and repercussions for Zambia.
He said President Lungu has perched his PF cadres on a pedestal and are above the law as evidenced by failure by the Police to perform their duties when PF cadres are involved.
Mr. Kalaba said this level of lawlessness is unprecedented in the history of Zambia.
And Mr. Kalaba said the harassment and beating of Kabwe Council workers by the PF cadres has not just shocked Zambians but the entire world is in shock at the kind of lawless Zambia has degenerated into.
He noted that the Council workers have a legitimate claim to their salaries which have not been paid for the last four to six months and every worker has a legitimate claim to his wage for the work done.
Mr. Kalaba has questioned how Cadres with no connection to the civil service and councils could order them back to work and beat them.
He said the seed of discord sowed by President Lungu demonstrates his determination that there shall be no Zambia without him as President.
The bilateral trade volume between Zambia and China has reached US$5 billion for the first time in the 55 years history of economic and mutual cooperation between the two countries.
Chinese Ambassador to Zambia, Li Jie said the milestone trade volume recorded in 2018 has seen Zambia post a year-on-year growth of 33.9% with a surplus of more than US$3 billion.
Ambassador Jie said china’s direct investment into the country has continued to grow and increased by US$327 million, ranking Zambia as China’s second trading partner in Africa.
The Chinese envoy said this in a press statement issued to ZANIS in Lusaka yesterday when he gave a reflection on the 55th anniversary of Zambia’s independence and establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Zambia.
Mr Jie who praised Zambia’s transformation agenda described the country’s economic outlook as positive and progressive and said the enormous development potential needs to be nurtured and realized.
“I deeply feel that Zambia has great development potential. The country has a tradition of stability, the economy is growing fast, the society is full of vitality, and people’s livelihood continues to improve,” said Ambassador Jie.
The Chinese envoy said china will continue to invest in Zambia in order to assist the country improve her economy in order to benefit Zambians.
Ambassador Jie said China and Zambia have since intensified high-level cooperation under the framework of the forum of China-Africa cooperation (focac) in areas of infrastructure, ICT, energy, agriculture, processing and manufacturing to bring tangible benefits to the two peoples.
Mr Jie expressed optimism that the development of china’s economy and transitioning from rapid growth to high quality development will continue to inject strong impetus into the China-Zambia economic and trade cooperation.
He said Zambia remains an important partner of china in promoting the belt and road initiative aimed at building a stronger China-Africa community with a shared future.
The Chinese envoy pointed out that president Xi Jinping, has repeatedly stressed on different occasions that china’s door of opening-up will not be closed but continue to open even wider.
Mr Jie said the chinese government intends to expand imports, cut import tariffs, and further open up the market to promote balanced growth of foreign trade and accelerate industrial upgrading in china.
He said China will continue to help accelerate Zambia’s industrialization process and the implementation of the 7NDP by supporting a number of key projects such as the CMCC South-East ore body, Zambia-Jiangxi multi facility economic zone, Kafulafuta dam and water supply, village satellite TV, Smart Zambia and Levy Mwanawasa Hospital.
China’s economy has been transitioning from a phase of rapid growth to a stage of high-quality development making it the world’s second-largest economy, with its GDP topping US$13.6 trillion in 2018, with a 6.6 percent growth rate.
China remains the world’s biggest trader in goods, achieving a 9.7 percent increase in 2018 and grossing more than US$4.5 trillion in total value.
As the biggest engine for many years, china has contributed nearly 30 percent to global economic growth.
According to global analysis, in the coming 15 years, china’s import of goods and services are expected to exceed us$30 trillion and US$10 trillion respectively in the next 15 years.
Ambassador Jie believes this will bring new opportunities for cooperation between Chinese and Zambian enterprises in order to help Zambia’s quest for a middle-income country and agenda of job creation, poverty reduction and improvement of people’s livelihoods
The Chinese envoy said china does not pursue a trade balance with Zambia, but stands ready to supporting Zambia’s economic and social development through cementing bilateral trade.
Mr Jie said this is demonstrated by initiatives such as the signing of agreements like the 2018 agreement for the importation of quality Zambian honey to China.
Lately, there have been some suggestions made by some sections of our society including some parliamentarians, that we should do away with our democracy and replace it with something else.
The alternative to a democracy is obviously a dictatorship.
The argument is that in a democracy, we spend too much time on politics instead of development. In essence, the proponents of this point of view argue that a dictatorship should be imposed so that we should stop criticising Government to allow for development.
These arguments are clearly flawed. Firstly, people who are corrupt, incompetent or incapable in a democracy will undoubtedly be corrupt, incapable or incompetent in a dictatorship. If a person cannot work and deliver tangible development when he or she is subjected to scrutiny by the people who voted for him or her, how will he or she deliver development when there is no scrutiny by those people who elected him or her. In fact, it is proven that corruption, incompetence and inefficiencies have always become worse in dictatorships in sub Saharan Africa as was seen in Central African Republic, Zaire (now Democratic Republic of Congo) or Uganda under Idi Amin.
Secondly, the comparison being made between Zambia and countries like China, is completely misplaced. Some of those countries in East Asia like China, that have had strong leadership akin to dictatorship, apply Confucius principles which are part of their culture and are deeply ingrained in the fabric of their society.
Confucius principles concentrate on duties that leaders owe their country and what those leaders should do to better their country. Here on the other hand, our leaders seem to concentrate on the benefits they can get from being in leadership. It is not uncommon in China for leaders who are members of the ruling communist party to be executed for being convicted of corruption.
In Singapore, even those very close to the people in power are sent to prison for corruption. That is why those countries develop even under strong or dictatorial leadership while dictatorships in this part of Africa only lead to increased poverty of the people while the rulers become shockingly rich.
There is no single dictatorship in this part of Africa that has lead to development and prosperity of the people. We have one or two countries in this region that have had very strong leadership and have developed, but those countries are not dictatorships per se. They hold elections and the leaders have been re-elected based on sound leadership, reduction of poverty and delivery of development to the people.
Zambia is a democracy, full stop. Democracy is the best form of governance system for Zambia and any suggestion of the introduction of a dictatorship is a betrayal of trust.
Failure to deliver development by successive governments has been a result of either the inability, corruption or negligence of those in charge of Government and cannot be blamed on democracy.
Let us work to develop this nation, through the democratic institutions of the state.
The author is State Counsel and Former Attorney General
