Patriotic Front Secretary General Davies Mwila says the inter-party dialogue will go on with or without the presence of the opposition United Party for National Development -UPND.

Mr. Mwila states that the inter party dialogue is not meant for the PF and the UPND but all political parties in the country who have the interest of Zambians at heart.

The PF Secretary General however wondered why the opposition UPND has chosen to abandon the resolutions arrived at during the inter-party secretaries general meeting organised by the Zambia Centre for Inter- Party Dialogue (ZCID) early this year in Siavonga.

He disclosed that they all agreed that the church will chair the dialogue with the Zambia Centre for Inter- Party Dialogue left to facilitate.

Mr. Mwila disclosed this when he appeared on ZNBC Tv2’s Morning Live breakfast show.

And UPND Deputy Secretary General Patrick Mucheleka disclosed that the inter party dialogue meeting will not yield the intended results if it is facilitated by ZCID.

Mr. Mucheleka said the church is the only credible body that can facilitate the meeting indicating that ZCID is compromised and does not have the interest of the people.

Meanwhile ZCID Spokesperson Jackson Silavwe described UPND’s assertion that the organisation is compromised as mere rhetoric and should not be taken serious by well-meaning Zambians.

Government has challenged UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema to provide evidence on his allegation that the Zambia Forestry and Forest Industries Corporation (ZAFFICO) has been sold.

Chief government spokesperson Dora Siliya has dared Mr. Hichilema, who on Monday is reported to have alleged that government has sold ZAFFICO, to prove his claim within 7 days.

Ms. Siliya’s challenge is that if Mr. Hichilema fails to prove his allegation within this period of time he should also resign as president of the main opposition political party in the country.

Speaking at a media briefing held in Lusaka, Ms. Siliya also accused Mr. Hichilema of using lies to gain political popularity.

Ms. Siliya has alleged that it was Mr. Hichilema who also incited the riots that took place on the Copperbelt on Monday when he appeared on a live radio programme at a local radio station.

She has however told journalists that law enforcement agencies will investigate all persons that incited people to riot over allegations that ZAFFICO has been sold.

MMD faction leader Nevers Mumba says the dismissal of his rival Felix Mutati from government is a sign of a changing political landscape ahead of 2021.

Dr. Mumba, however, says Mr. Mutati’s singular fate in itself may not be the most significant.

In an interview with QTV News by telephone, Dr. Mumba says he foresees more developments unfolding going forward.

He says this therefore calls for his party to focus on the matters it is pursuing in Court.

He says his faction is not focused on Mr. Mutati, but on ending with a complete victory in Court.

Dr. Mumba says this is with the aim of retrieving the former ruling party from the wrangles it has been subjected to in the last 4 years.

He says his leadership wants to make sure that members of the MMD who have been robbed of participating in politics can have an opportunity to have their political party back.

The Times of Zambia is technically insolvent and has liabilities worth over K 748 million. This is against K 86.4 million worth of assets. Information Minister Dora Siliya disclosed this in Parliament on Tuesday.

Ms Siliya said that Times of Zambia has identified new areas of opportunity to help the company in turning the situation.

Ms Siliya said that one of the strategies identified is to attract new business ways through publishing articles in Chinese is meant to broaden its financial base.

Ms Siliya said also said that the Board hoped that the action will expose the paper to potentially new income from a community that would not necessary be attracted to it, because of language barrier. Ms Siliya said that the targeted commercial communities include Turkish, French and Chinese.

Ms Siliya said this in a ministerial statement in response to a Point of Order recently raised by Monze Central Member of Parliament Jack Mwimbu.

Ms Siliya said that the alleged discrimination against the people of Zambia by the Times of Zambia newspaper’s publication of an article in Chinese when there has been no such publication in any local languages does not arise.

Mr Mwimbu alleged that the Times of Zambia Newspaper was publishing some articles in Chinese and therefore discriminating against Zambian languages.

The opposition UPND says the protests that took place on the Copperbelt over the alleged sale of ZAFFICO should not be taken as a mere protest against the Chinese but as a protest against the corrupt Patriotic Front who have allowed China to take over Zambia’s sovereignty.

Party Secretary General Stephen Katuka said there is no smoke without fire and whatever President Edgar Lungu owes China, whether economically or politically should not be the reason for him to indirectly mortgage the country.

Mr. Katuka said the challenge UPND has with PF is that they are blackmailing citizens every time serious questions are raised by the citizens.

the people of Zambia have the right to know what is happening to their resources and it is immoral for government to begin giving all the national assets to Chinese.

He said it has become fashionable for the PF and its government to blame the UPND for their failure to run government properly adding that Citizens have for a long time raised questions about the Chinese and Zambia’s natural resources, including land and the mukula tree.

Mr. Katuka said Zambians saw for themselves law enforcement agencies confiscating timber from citizens and selling it to the Chinese.

“Government has since informed Zambians through Parliament that the money realised from the sale of the mukula tree was given to ZAFFICO. Then suddenly, people have picked up information that ZAFFICO is up for grabs and will be sold to the Chinese. That has annoyed the people.”, Mr. Katuka added.

Last year Defense Permanent Secretary Stard Mwale told a media briefing that Zambia Forest and Forestry industries (ZAFFICO) had been mandated by government to export illegally harvested and confiscated precious mukula logs to China.

Mr.Katuka pointed out that the Chinese are the ones that are most interested in Zambia’s timber industry and ZAFFICO and the UPND equally share the same concerns of the people on the Copperbelt on the impending sale of ZAFFICO.

Mr. Katuka added that the people of Zambia have the right to know what is happening to their resources and it is immoral for government to begin giving all the national assets to Chinese.

He emphasised that the UPND is not against the Chinese but is against the PF style of leadership given the rate at which they are giving up land and companies to the Chinese nationals.

“We want to warn that we shall not also sit back and watch government mortgaging the country to China with impunity. Zambians have the constitutional right to demonstrate against government way of running the country”, He added.

He said threatening UPND leaders with investigations or arrests will not take away the citizens constitutional rights to protect and defend their natural resources and has demanded sanity in the running of institutions in the country.

The MMD Die Hard Youth wing has applauded its party president Felix Mutati for having served as minister in the Patriotic Front Government.

President Edgar Lungu yesterday revoked the appointment of Mr. Mutati as Minister of Works and Supply and withdrew his nomination as Member of Parliament and replaced him with Lunte Member of Parliament Mutotwe Kafwaya.

MMD Die Hard National Youth Coordinator Gerald Chiluba said the decision by Mr. Mutati to serve in government was purely on the basis of wanting to serve the Zambian people and they are not shy to point at the success scored when he served as minister of finance and later minister of works and supply.

Mr. Chiluba said the party youth wing will take the recent development as an opportunity to embark on a more accelerated drive of party mobilisation.

He said the Youth wing will stand with Mr. Mutati and they look forward to tirelessly working with him in taking the party to higher heights.

UPND President Hakainde Hichilema has denied having incited people on the Copperbelt to riot over the alleged sale of ZAFFICO to Chinese Nationals.

Mr. Hichilema said the people of Zambia are aware of what is going on in the country such as the sale of ZNBC and the Natural Resources Development College and the rampant corruption in road construction and do not need to be incited to riot.

Speaking during a Hot FM Breakfast show on Wednesday morning, Mr. Hichilema said blaming him for the fall of the Kwacha against the US dollar, delayed rains, University students’ situation and many other challenges facing the nation is not a solution to the problems.

“You had Mwakalombe on that Radio yesterday saying Hakainde incited the riots that is not true, I did not incite anybody to riot. If you check the social media, before I went on SUN FM there were already issues in ZAFFICO”, Mr. Hichilema said.

He added that he has no power to incite anyone to riot at ZAFFICO and emphasised on the need for the Media to have their facts right before accusing anyone of issuing certain statements.

Copperbelt Province Minister Japhen Mwakalombe on Tuesday accused Mr. Hichilema of causing the riots that broke out in Kalulushi and Kitwe over the sale of ZAFFICO.

Mr. Mwakalombe said Mr Hichilema caused the riots by allegedly inciting the people of the Copperbelt to demonstrate.

He said Mr. Hichilema made some allegations on privately run SUN FM based in Ndola that government had sold ZAFFICO the same way it sold ZNBC.