The National Restoration Party has condemned the horrific activities that took place in Sesheke during the recent by-elections.

Party Secretary General Ezra Ngulube says NAREP is alarmed and sad to note that this is not the first time this has occurred, as similar incidents were witnessed during the Copperbelt and Eastern Provinces by- elections.

Mr. Ngulube has sympathised with the youth that took part in these acts, and empathise that their engagement in political violence is symptomatic of an outcry on the lack of jobs for the young people.

Mr. Ngulube says repeatedly, NAREP has advised and now re-emphasise the same message that the Zambian government should seriously undertake to ensure the security and well-being of the youth and the Zambian citizens as a whole.

He said Politicians must refrain from using and abusing youths in doing their dirty jobs as they clearly would not condone it if their biological children were used similarly nor would they use our own children to do such.

Copperbelt Minister Japhen Mwakalombe and Permanent Secretary Bright Nundwe are some of the high ranking government officials that been implicated in sex scandal involving young female Journalists in Ndola.

This week, the Ndola Press Club issued a statement warning senior government officials to stay away from sexually exploiting young female Journalists in the city in exchange for jobs.

The names of the young female Journalists have been withheld to protect their identity.

But investigations have revealed that Mr Mwakalombe and his P.S Mr Nundwe are at the centre of the sex for jobs scandal.

Sources at the Provincial Administration in Ndola confirmed that both Mr Mwakalombe and Mr Nundwe have been promised jobs to young and upcoming Journalists if they offered their bodies.

They revealed that a young Journalist working for SUN FM in Ndola has been offering sexual favours to Mr Mwakalombe who promised her a job in Lusaka at Hot FM where he is a minority shareholder.

“What is happening is that these senior officials have gone on rampage abusing young girls in the media especially in Ndola. In the case of Mr Mwakalombe, the young girl in question even travelled to Hot FM in Lusaka on the understanding that Mr Mwakalombe owns the station and will be given the job as promised but Hot FM management turned her down,” the sources said

They added, “Apart from the Minister and the P.S, we also have some PF Councillors who are also in the same habit of sleeping with young Journalists so that they can give them some money, trips and jobs.”

“For Mr Mwakalombe, here at the Office, we are not even surprised. His sexual immorality is well documented but it is just said that he is lying to these young girls. Some of them are actually very young, he is old enough to be the Dad.”

The sex scandals have upset the media fraternity on the Copperbelt prompting the Ndola Press Club to issue a statement warning politicians to stop preying on young female Journalists.

“The Ndola Press Club has recieved with sadness; verified and reliable information of abuse on some female journalists in Ndola. A certain clique of politicians who include some councillors and other high ranking officials within here have been linked to this unfortunate events where they are duping journalists of finding them better jobs in exchange for sex,” said Ndola Press Club Acting President Mike Mubanga.

“In one of the information recieved, a politician promised a female reporter a job at a radio station but as soon as he had sex with her, nothing has come forth. These events are unfortunate and uncalled for, let us not use our positions or status in society to gain advantage,” the statement read.

“We wish to call upon the perpetrators of wrongdoing to desist from doing so, failure to which we shall be left with no option but to expose and report them. We also wish to call upon journalists especially the new ones in the industry not to fall for such tricks but at the same time, conduct themselves in a way that does not make them vulnerable.”

He added, “We say so because some female journalists dress inappropriate. They are also urged to work hard by not relying on same politicians/sources for news ideas and other necessities for them when their families, friends and themselves can manage.

When reached, Mr Mwakalombe denied the reports and declined to give further comments saying he is in Lusaka attending Parliament.

Mr Nundwe on the other hand did not answer the calls and did not respond to text messages when asked about the scandal.

The sources have however challenged the two officials that they will release more details of their sexual exploitation of young female Journalists if they do not change their ways

Bombshell releases the video for “Only A Girl” as a Valentine’s gift to her fans.

The song features Kekero who also produced it. The video was directed by Jamiel Banda.

UPND Leader Hakainde Hichilema says President Edgar Lungu should immediately remove his Infrastructure Development Minister Ronald Chitotela from government in order to allow for fair prosecution and adjudication of the corruption charges levelled against him.

Mr. Hichilema says President Lungu does not remove Chitotela, the public will have to believe the view going around that Chitotela cannot be removed because he is an agent of Mr. Lungu in the massive corruption going on at that ministry.

“We state so because Mr. Lungu’s defence of those facing corruption charges clearly shows that he too is a beneficiary of the same but he must be stopped by citizens”, he added.

Mr. Hichilema says Zambians cannot allow a situation where someone facing corruption charges is flying the pride of the Zambian flag representing the country at both local and international levels.

“Clearly, Mr. Lungu’s conduct shows that the arrest of Chitotela is just a public relations show whose aim is to hoodwink the international community and our citizens. There are several people who have been removed from their positions on mere suspicion of financial embezzlement or other misconduct and are awaiting their cases to be disposed of”, he said.

He said the UPND is also aware of grand corruption by senior PF government officials which is depleting the country’s funds, this too must come to an end but if not, all those involved in this corruption syndicate will sooner rather than later be held accountable.

Mr. Hichilema has appealed to the Anti-Corruption Commission and other Agencies to be relentless in their pursuit to protect public property and finances from criminals masquerading as government officials or PF agents and that when in government we will even empower these bodies to operate independently and safeguard our country’s resources.

Enjoy this soothing collaboration between Producer/Songwriter Chawana and the Soulful Ariel. You Deserve talks about a man telling a woman the kind of love that she deserves from a man, it’s a thought provoking / confrontational song challenging a Proverbs 31 woman against settling for less in a relationship. In a generation were pure/real love is scarce, the onus is on the few good men to show women what they really deserve.

Download/Listen to the song HERE

Government has said that it has scheduled to float the Zambia Forestry and Forest Industries Corporation (ZAFFICO ) shares on the Lusaka Stock Exchange (LuSE) for the end of 2019.

Minister of Finance Margaret Mwanakatwe said that once once all regulatory approvals are secured by the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), ZAFFICO shares will be floated on the public exchange.

Ms Mwanakatwe told Parliament during Thursday’s Questions for Oral Answer that government will retain a minimum of 60 percent shares while a maximum of 40 percent shares will be floated to the Zambian public.

Mrs. Mwanakatwe noted that from the 60 percent shares government will possess, 5 percent will be floated to employees of ZAFFICO.

Meanwhile, Mrs Mwanakatwe has said that government needs about $50 million to rehabilitate the Nitrogen Chemicals of Zambia (NCZ) in Kafue.

Mrs. Mwanakatwe told parliament during questions for oral answer that government has however not yet found a financier for the rehabilitation of the NCZ.

Mrs. Mwanakatwe said government will start the rehabilitation process for the NCZ plant once a financier is found.

She has acknowledged that the NCZ plant is currently in an ICU status but that government is doing all it can to remove it from this status, adding that t government has no plans to build a new plant

Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD National Youth Treasurer Geoffrey Mulenga has observed that the only solution to curbing political violence during election campaigns is to stop ferrying cadres from Lusaka.

The MMD youth leader who featured on radio Phoenix with youths from PF and UPND, said political parties should came up with a policy and rule that prohibites cadres who are in lower structures of the party from traveling to campaign away from their districts.

He attributed the recent violence experienced in the just ended Sesheke by-election as well as Lundazi local government by-election to the cadres who travelled from the respective places to campaign in the said areas.

He said when leaders stopped ferrying cadres political violence will drastically reduce as the people who belong to different political parties in these places know each other as they reside in the communities.

Further Mulenga said the UPND should stop being cry babies as violence is also in their DNA.

“UPND should stop being crybabbies, their DNA is that of violence, even when there was MMD they fought us in Mufumbwe and Mapatizya. Where was PF which they are talking about today, they fought MMD and now PF and they will still fight the next party that will form government.

“Why should people(Cadres) travel from Lusaka or Kitwe to a By-election, when all the participating political parties have syructures domiciled in these areas like in the case of Sesheke PF or UPND or MMD have structure beginning from the section, branch, ward, constituency, district and province. Those structures are the ones that should be campaigning, why ferry people to a place where people live in harmony,” he said.

And UPND Lusaka Province Youth Treasurer Sampa Mwaume said the UPND youths miss MMD, because during MMD in the Levy Mwanawasa era there was no voilence but a respect for the rule of law including the same Public Order Act the PF are abusing.

He said the country never witnessed such things during rule of the late Republican President because he put his foot down and never allowed cadres to take the law in their own hands.

PF youth from the media committee, Nkamba said the rivalry among youths is because the UPND leader denounced the UPND-PF Peace Accord signed by their national youth leaders.

He said the signal by the opposition leader has badly influenced youths saying what message was he sending to his cadres by denouncing the peace accord.

He added that voilence should have no place in political parties and the country at large.