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A 19 year old man of Mushamba Village in Mpika District has been arrested for defiling an 11 year old girl.
Muchinga Province Police Commissioner, Chola Katanga confirmed the incident to ZANIS in Mpika today and identified the man as Edward Mwamba of the same village.
Mr. Katanga said the incident happened last Sunday around 12:00 hours at Mushamba Village when the victim and her friend went in the bush to collect caterpillars.
He explained that the girls went in the bush to collect caterpillars when they suddenly saw Mwamba heading towards them and asked the victim to show him her buttocks.
Mr. Katanga further said the victim refused to succumb to his demands and ran away but the suspect followed her and had canal knowledge with her in the bush.
He added that the victim later reported the matter to her parents and complained of painful private parts.
Mr. Katanga said the matter was later reported to police by Headman Mushamba from the same village.
He said the suspect is awaiting to appear in court soon.
And Mpika District Commissioner (DC) Moses Katebe said he is saddened by the development and urged parents to ensure that they safeguard their children when they go to collect caterpillars in the bush.
Chipolopolo midfielder Enock Mwepu was away in Norway on Thursday night with RB Salzburg where the Austrian club maintained their unbeaten run in the Europa League.
Salzburg beat bottom placed and winless Rosenborg 5-2 to keep their tight grip at the summit of Group B.
The Austrian club have maximum 12 points from four games played and are six points ahead of their sister club from the German Bundesliga, RB Leipzig, who are second.
But Mwepu was an unused substitute for a second successive competitive match for the Austrian champions.
Striker Patson Daka did not make the travelling party.
United Party for National Development (UPND) Secretary General Stephen Katuka
United Party for National Development (UPND) Secretary General Stephen Katuka has said that Party President Hakainde Hichilema will remain the party’s preferred candidate for 2021 come rain, come sunshine.
Addressing party members on his Party familiarisation and mobilisation tour of Lusaka Province, Mr Katuka warned UPND supporters to be wary of the ruling Patriotic Front(PF) schemes to ensure that Mr Hichilema was not on the ballot come 2021, but reassured that he “would not let that happen” and that “Mr Hichilema will remain the party’s preferred candidate for 2021 come rain, come sunshine”.
Mr Katuka further said that the four Constituencies visited endorsed Mr Hakainde Hichilema as the 2021 sole candidate for UPND with Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba (GBM) as his running mate.
The party has become a party of choice and UPND is now a household name. Who, in Zambia can claim not to know HH? No one!
Mr Katuka also urged UPND members to realise that the party has now become a “factor” in Zambian politics and also urged them to continue working hard till UPND forms government.
“The party has become a party of choice and UPND is now a household name. Who, in Zambia can claim not to know HH? No one! But we should be wary of the PF’s schemes to cripple UPND through firstly, wishing HH out of politics through whichever means and secondly, to have him out of this earth just like Edgar Lungu said recently said that that he “hates” seeing HH alive,” said Katuka.
Mr Katuka said that there was need for the general party membership to go out and campaign vigorously for the party to win the 2021 elections, observes UPND Secretary General, Stephen Katuka.
“We are a party that every Zambian is looking forward to provide good, quality leadership. The people are looking up to us to provide them the leadership which the PF has failed to give them. The party has grown very big , hence, we need to be more united than ever before because we are the party of choice”. said Katuka.
He also called on party members to observe discipline because it is cardinal for the growth of the party and called on all members to exercise a lot of tolerance, chastity, for bearance and restraint among themselves.
Adding that members should follow right channels of communication to avoid exposing the party leadership to rebuke following the environment were statements are deliberately framed and to also use right channels to air their grievances.
UPND Secretary General said that the Party has gained new support from growing numbers of youths and women who are upset with Edgar Lungu’s failure to deal with issues affecting their lives and surroundings.
Mr Katuka was accompanied by Lusaka Province Vice Chairperson, Mrs Grace Chivube, Vice Provincial Secretary, Luke Chikani and Vice Chairperson for Mobilization, Chishala Kabaso.
Government says it is developing a grievance mechanism aimed at enhancing the management of social cash transfer scheme.
Ministry of Community Development and Social Services (MCDSS) Acting Director Irene Munga says the pilot mechanism would increase accountability and credibility in the management of Social Cash Transfer.
The Acting Director said this when she led a team of cooperating partners who paid a courtesy call on Kalabo District Administration during an inception visit.
Mrs. Munga stated that the mechanism would accord beneficiaries and stakeholders a platform to officially express their concerns, complaints and dissatisfactions about Social Cash Transfer.
She said registered grievances would be tracked, analyzed and resolved through clearly defined rules and timeframes.
Mrs. Munga disclosed that the first phase of the Grievance Mechanism would be pioneered in five districts namely Kalabo, Mumbwa, Mporokoso, Kalulushi and Lusaka.
She added that the second phase would include Pemba, Solwezi, Mambwe, Mwense and Mpika districts.
And Kalabo District Commissioner, Fridah Luhila has thanked United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and International Labour Organisation (ILO) for complementing Government efforts in implementing social protection interventions.
Mrs. Luhila said interventions such as Social Cash Transfer eradicate social-economic inequalities and extreme poverty among vulnerable households.
She expressed optimism that the Grievance Mechanism would enhance service delivery in the disbursement and management of the Social Cash Transfer scheme.
Meanwhile, Social Welfare Officer, Joyce Zulu says an integrated set of envisioned roles and responsibilities, communication strategy, channels and tools as well as training strategy were being developed for smooth implementation of the pilot Grievance Mechanism.
Speaking during an inception meeting with the District Development Coordinating Committee (DDCC) in Kalabo, Ms. Zulu said the Grievance Mechanism would focus on common concerns such as service standards, irregular payments, exclusion and inclusion as well as erroneous exits of beneficiaries.
And speaking during the same meeting, ILO Social Protection national project coordinator Patience Matandiko urged the Church, civil society organisations and traditional leaders to actively participate in the pilot Grievance Mechanism.
The Social Cash Transfer scheme is one of the components of Zambia’s social protection interventions through which monthly grants are given to vulnerable households who meet the required benchmarks.
Newly appointed Minister of Works and Supply Mutotwe Kafwaya says his ministry is a catalyst to achieving national development.
Speaking when he met the Heads of Departments and Units at the Ministry Headquarters in Lusaka yesterday, Mr. Kafwaya challenged ministry staff to showcase their ability and deliver to the aspirations of the Zambian people.
Mr. Kafwaya who was accompanied by his Permanent Secretary Agness Musunga added that he looks forward to have good working relationship with ministry personnel.
“My ministry is big one with a huge responsibility to the public service and should therefore project that image,” Mr. Kafwaya said.
The Minister, who replaced Felix Mutati on Monday, this week, said he is delighted to join a great team in the ministry.
Mr. Kafwaya promised to avail himself of his full support to not only his ministry staff but the nation as a whole in addressing to solve the challenges being faced.
This is according to a press statement issued to ZANIS in Lusaka yesterday by Ministry of Works and Supply Public Relations Officer Ndubi Mvula
War Veterans following the proceedings during the Remembrance Day at the National Cenotaph yesterday 13-11-2016. Picture by ROYD SIBAJENE/ZANIS
Zambia, a former colony of Britain, is among the many commonwealth countries to receive social protection packages in honour of the many war veterans.
Over 7,000 veterans and widows of the Commonwealth will benefit from social protection package worth £11.8 million who served the British Armed Forces will receive protection in form of cash.
Out of the number, 4,500 are veterans and 2,500 widows while around 14,000 thousand veterans today are living across the Commonwealth, with 7,000 veterans and their widows are in need of support to meet their basic needs.
UK-AID’s International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt says the programme to be administered by the Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League, a charitable organisation which has been supporting those veterans who served.
Mr. Mordaunt disclosed that the Department for International Development (DFID) programme will provide regular cash transfers to Commonwealth veterans and their widows and widowers in more than 30 countries to prevent them from going hungry.
“We owe a tremendous amount to these Commonwealth veterans who served alongside our armed forces in an effort to eliminate poverty,” Mr. Mordaunt said
And British High Commissioner to Zambia Fergus Cochrane-Dyet expressed gratitude that the scheme will benefit Zambian veterans and their widows.
“I’m personally delighted that this scheme will benefit Zambian veterans and their widows,” he said.
Meanwhile, Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League (RCEL) Deputy Grand President and former Chief of Defence Staff, Lord Richards of Herstmonceux will be visiting Mbala, Zambia during the centenary celebrations as a representative of the United Kingdom.
RCEL was established in 1921 as a charity to provide support to those who served The British Crown during the Great War.
Zambia observes Remembrance Service at the Lusaka Cenotaph on 11 November every year.
This is according to a press statement issued to ZANIS in Lusaka yesterday by Office of British High Commission in Zambia.
Mozambique will be without their influential defender Mexer for the November 18 home date against Chipolopolo in their penultimate 2019 AFCON Group K qualifier.
Mexer, of French Ligue 1 club Stade Rennes, will miss the must- win match due to injury.
He is the most high profile player missing from the 25 member team Mozambique coach Abel Xavier named on Thursday.
Xavier has overall made seven changes from their doubleheader 2-1 home and 1-0 away defeats against Namibia last month.
Mozambique are second in Group K tied on 7 points with leaders Namibia.
Zambia are bottom on 4 points, level with third placed Guinea Bissau.
Meanwhile, Chipolopolo coach Sven Vandenbroeck will name his final 22 to face Mozambique this Friday,November 9.
Team:
GOALKEEPERS:Jose Guirrugo (Costa do Sol), Leonel Pendula (UD Songo)
Zambia legend Fredrick Kashimoto has criticised the selection of Under-20 players ahead of next month’s COSAFA Cup on the Copperbelt.
Under-20 coach Charles Bwale on Wednesday unveiled a 30-member provisional squad with two foreign based players.
Bwale has summoned club-less England based striker Mwiya Malumo and Edward Chilufya of Swedish side Djurgardens.
Experienced coach Kashimoto said coaches managing junior teams should pick more players from academies.
‘I am not happy with the Under-20 team selected for COSAFA Cup. We can’t be picking Under-20 players from the Super Division. That defeats the purpose of having junior teams for developmental purposes,’ Kashimoto said.
He said junior sides should have inexperienced players for developmental purposes.
‘The selection is bad. Where are the players from the academies, Division One and Two? We must pick raw players with the aim of nurturing them, not a player who can drive the ball from corner to corner,’ he said.
However, despite kashimoto’s concerns, twenty of the 30 players in the provisional are either from Division 1 side, academies and Super Division youth teams.
Kashimoto is currently running a football academy in his home town Mufulira.
He has previously coached his childhood club Mufulira Wanderers, City of Lusaka, Prison Leopards, Muchindu and the National Womens Team.
Government has set aside 10 million dollars in the sinking fund toward offsetting the 750-million dollars Euro bond scheduled for 2022.
Finance Minister, Margaret Mwanakatwe says government has enough time to raise the 750 million dollars hence the decision start to raising the funds early.
Addressing the media in Lusaka, Mrs. Mwanakatwe noted that the sinking fund will be used to settle the other two Euro bonds.
She had however noted that the depreciation of the Kwacha will increase debt servicing because government has to buy dollars to pay its debt obligations.
The Minister added that she will soon be travelling to China to engage the government on debt restructuring.
And Mrs. Mwanakatwe has revealed that Gross Domestic Product-GDP- growth estimates for second quarter of 2018 increased from 3.9 percent compared to 2.7 percent in the first quarter of 2018.
She says the iincrease was supported by positive performance in mining, manufacturing, construction and stable supply of electricity.
She says expenditure in the third quarter in line with fiscal consolidation was below the target of 9.4 percent.
The Minister has also projected a 7 percent fiscal deficit at the end of the year lower than the projected 7.4 percent.
She revealed that government paid out 5.1 billion Kwacha towards debt servicing adding that domestic arrears as at end of second quarter stood at 14.7 billion Kwacha compared to 13.9 billion Kwacha recorded at the end of first quarter of 2018.
Mrs. Mwanakatwe has since projected stable macroeconomic fundamentals, single digit inflation rate, growth of 4 percent and continued implementation of austerity measures at the end of the 2018.
And JICA Resident Representative who spoke on behalf of corporation partners Hanai Junichi commended government for stable macroeconomic fundamentals.
Konkola Copper Mine (KCM) owes suppliers of goods and services 80 million United States dollars as of September 2018.
Minister of Mines Richard Musukwa says the mining giant owes both the international and local suppliers’ monies because it is not doing well.
Speaking in Parliament on Thursday, Mr. Musukwa however said failure by KCM to pay its debt to the suppliers is a bad business practice which should not be entertained.
He has since urged the mining company not to wait for government’s intervention before it pays its debt to suppliers of goods and services.
Mr. Musukwa said if the company does not do the right thing, government will be left with no option but to take drastic measures to protect Zambians.
He further said the company has made a commitment to pay suppliers over a period of three months starting from October this year.
Government says it has received reports that the UPND is mobilising youths across the country in case it’s leader Hakainde Hichilema is summoned to answer queries on the riots that occurred on the Copperbelt on Monday.
Minister of Home Affairs Stephen Kampyongo says government is aware of the UPND schemes and has urged the opposition party and its leadership not to panic.
Mr. Kampyongo however says investigations in what caused the riot in Kitwe are still ongoing and that the Police command is on alert in case of any outbreak of violence.
He has told ZNBC news in an interview that when people are called for investigations no one should stand in the way.
And Mr. Kampyongo says he will on Friday issue a ministerial statement in parliament over the riots.
Mr Kampyongo has advised people that are bent on instigating hooliganism and trouble that they should be mindful of the fact that such activities led to xenophobia and genocide.
Milenge District Commissioner Kunda Chibilo has called for zero- Alcohol during working hours in his District and has consequently called on heads of department (HODs) in the area to be vigilant and bring to task any erring officers found wanting.
And a 27 year old man of Milenge district has died after intoxicating himself with locally brewed beer popularly known as ‘Kachasu.’
Mr. Chibilo noted with disappointment that some civil servants are fond of patronizing beer drinking places at the expense of working.
Mr. Chibilo said this during a management meeting that was held in the District Commissioner’s office yesterday.
Mr. Chibilo said recently he did a surprise random check at the bar at the market at about 10:00 hours and found some unsuspecting civil servants drinking beer.
He urged HODs to monitor their subordinates and make certain they are at their working places during the stipulated time adding that he will not condone misbehaving during his tenure of office.
“ It is embarrassing for educated people to take illicit beer such as ‘Kachasu’ and ‘Katata’ which they very well know is harmful to their body organs , “ he said.
Mr. Chibilo said officers who take illicit beer are tarnishing the image of the Civil Service adding that as civil servants they should preserve the integrity of the civil service and be role models in their communities.
Meanwhile, a 27 year old man of Milenge district has died after intoxicating himself with locally brewed beer popularly known as ‘Kachasu.’
East 7 Clinic Acting Nurse In Charge Bervin Longwe in an interview with ZANIS has identified as Barnabas Kunda of Talayi village in Chief Sokontwe’s chiefdom.
He is reported to have been drinking Kachasu the whole day on an empty stomach before he was taken to the clinic at 22:00 hours on 7th November, 2018 as a BID( brought in dead) case.
Meanwhile, Mikula Ward Councilor Justin Chembo is saddened by the avoidable development.
Mr. Chembo said the rate of alcohol consumption among people especially youths in his ward is worrying as they are doing it at the expense of their productivity and health.
He said he is set to intensify his sensitisation in the community on the dangers of alcohol abuse.
File:President Michael Sata talks to Ministers and officials after the Swearing in Ceremony of of Mr Musa Mwenye Attorney General and Mr Abraham Mwansa as Solicitor General at State house on Wednesday 30th July 2014- Picture by Eddie Mwanaleza.
APC president Nasson Msoni says late Republican President Michael Sata was on point when he described his ministers as useless saying the goings on in the current government under the leadership of one his ministers is nothing short of a disaster.
In a statement issued to the media the APC leader said the current crop of leaders in government is the worst that the country has seen since independence.
The outspoken opposition leader wonders what the late President saw in the then justice minister Edgar Lungu for him to leave the country in his charge.
“President Micheal Chilufya Sata has been vindicated when he said his Ministers where useless. There is no better description for the current terrible state of affairs in the nation than that of a national disaster.
“Mr Edgar Lungu’s cabinet is certainly the worst this Country has ever had since independence.
“I don’t understand his reasoning and judgement, surely he did not expect that by picking the worst among the most useless characters he would succeed in running an effective government,” he said.
Msoni observed that the current crop of ministers lacked conviction to save the interest of the masses but that they are using government to enrich themselves.
“Leaders lacking ideological and political convictions are not expected to be responsive to the needs of the people rather than just using government for personal aggrandizement and abusing state resources.
“Leaders who are ideologically bankrupt always tend and strive to compensate this deficit with unparalleled looting and theft of public resources without any sense of restraint and shame,” he explained.
He warned against voting for people based on political euphoria because they turn out to be bad for the people who vote for them.
“Governments which are a product of a political euphoria are bad governments because this is the conduit that brings the chaff and all non-vetted criminal elements into government.
“The critical shortage of political talent in the country is so apparent going by the dismal performance of the PF government.
“A good leader is one that harness and identify talent without fear or a sense of insecurity for his own future,” he said.
Msoni adds “Zambia is in this despicable state because the best among us are either shortchanged,blacklisted or outmaneuvered to pave way for the worst characters for the sake of servicing loyalty to the appointing authority.
Sometimes those with the necessary skills are ruthlessly shunted or deployed into foreign service not in good faith but to put them out of visibility and possible talent identification by the masses. This is exactly the downfall of our Country.”
Chieftainess Shimukunami of Lufwanyama district has withdrawn and dissolved a marriage involving a 14-year-old girl grade five pupil at a named school in her chiefdom on the Copperbelt Province.
The Chieftainess has further punished the parents from both sides to do communal works for one week at the Palace’s farm.ZANIS reports that the traditional ruler has since directed the said parents to take back the girl to school.
She said she will also engage other stakeholders to ensure that the girl finishes school without any disturbances.The Chieftainess warned the man who married the girl in question not to be seen anywhere near her or risk facing the full wrath of the law.
Chieftainess Shimukunami said the 22-year-old man in question will do communal work for more days than his parents as a way of teaching him a lesson.
She said the involved parties were summoned to the palace after some community members who seemed concerned about the matter reported to her.
Meanwhile, the parents from both sides disclosed that the girl was married off for K2, 500.00 and that a down payment of K1, 500. 00 was settled.
The said parents who seemed remorseful apologised to the chief and promised not to repeat their action.
Lusaka Province Minister , Bowman Lusambo with his acting Lusaka Province Permanent Secretary, Edith Muwana during a press briefing at his office
Lusaka Province Minister Bowman Lusambo says he too is ready to resign from his position if UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema proves his allegations that Government has sold ZAFFICO and ZNBC.
Mr Lusambo is the third minister to vow to resign their position if Mr Hichilema proves his allegations.
Other are Information Minister Dora Siliya and Eastern Province Minister, Makebi Zulu.
Mr Lusambo has urged opposition leaders to be truthful to the people they lead.
Speaking at when he addressed journalists in Lusaka today, Mr Lusambo said politics are about giving hope to the people not lies that may cause anarchy in the Country.
Mr Lusambo said the PF government wants to see development and that it will not allow opposition UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema to distract it from its development agenda.
