President Lungu yesterday commissioned the Michel Chilufya Sata toll plaza situated on the Ndola-Kitwe dual carriageway in Luanshya district on the Copperbelt Province, which has been constructed at a cost 4.3 million United States dollars.

The President said the construction of toll plazas in the country is not meant to burden citizens, but it is one way of broadening the tax base to support the infrastructure development agenda in the country.

The President emphasized that once the tax base is broadened it will translate into lower taxes for the people which as earlier promised during the 2011 elections.

“We did not promise that there will be no taxes, but we promised to have lower taxes and that is the reason for broadening the tax base” the President stated.

The Head of State explained that toll plazas will continue being the beacon of hope in facilitating the road infrastructure development across the country.

President Lungu said the benefits to be derived from toll plazas will facilitate construction of new road infrastructure as well as maintenance of existing ones.

“It is part of government plan to ensure sustainable development. Road tolling is not to burden people but to help finance new road construction and raise domestic revenue for development” the President explained.

He said government has made positive strides since the construction of the tolling projects started, as it will move the country from being landlocked to an inter linked one through improved road network supported by tolling projects.

President Lungu added that government will plough back funds raised from road tolling project into infrastructure development, so that the road infrastructure does not have a bearing on the national treasury.

IMG_8005.jpg President Edgar Lungu being shown how the system works at the newly commissioned Michael Chilufya Sata Toll Plaza
And Copperbelt Minister Japhen Mwakalombe said he was happy that the 45.5 kilometer Kitwe-Ndola dial carriageway done by the Road Development Agency (RDA) is also complete.

He said the periodic maintenance of the 69 kilometers Ndola Mufulira road is also going on well, adding that the road projects on the Copperbelt once completed will spar economic development in the province and will improve the living lives of the people”

And Minister of Housing and Infrastructure Development Ronald Chitotela said the commissioning the Michel Chilufya Sata toll plaza is the 6th plaza in the country to be operational which will use both cash and epay toll card system.

Mr Chitotela said the double pay system at Michel Chilufya Sata is meant to minimize the handling of cash by the tolling officers.

He also said that government has engaged two contractors to work on the 900 kilometer stretch of the township roads on the Copperbelt which will be completed by 2021.

ZANASU Opinion: De-politicising the University of Zambia

The University of Zambia (UNZA) will hold its UNZASU elections on 9th November, 2018 in which students will elect their new leaders for the Students’ Union. One big question the public – especially our colleagues from the media – should ask is, who is funding the students who are running for these elections at UNZA?

This singular question is very important because whenever demonstrations and riots break out at the University of Zambia and other public universities, politicians and law enforcement agencies swing into a blame-game in which it is always alleged that these demonstrations are caused by politicians. One finger points to the opposition while the other points back to the ruling party in what others have termed acts of self-sabotage.

Exactly a month ago, UNZA students demonstrated because government had failed to pay them the K22.50 (approximately $1.96) daily meal allowance they desperately needed for sustenance for 67 days. The demonstrations saw Minister of Higher Education, Professor Nkandu Luo, address Parliament alleging that a known opposition party funded the demonstration. There is also a theory that some known donor, through an anti-government civil society organisation, funded students who were mourning their fellow student, Verspers Shimunzhila, who died as a result of alleged suffocation.

Students who struggled to get $1.96 have seen millions of kwacha pouring into elections for UNZASU

Just a few months from that demonstration, students who struggled to get $1.96 have seen millions of kwacha pouring into elections for UNZASU. Students who are candidates in the UNZASU elections are spending thousands to millions of Kwacha to campaign so they could be voted into office as student leaders. The question which our law enforcement, intelligence wings and students from UNZA who will turn up to vote do not want to ask is, who is funding these student aspirants and what is motivating them to fund students so heavily?

This reminds us of the 2011 General Elections where President Rupiah Banda and the Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD) had printed branded pants, sweets, and dressed trees with chitenge materials. The country turned blue. On the other hand, the Patriotic Front (PF), had less or just moderate resources to spend and if election materials were a determinant of who wins elections, Rupiah Banda and MMD were the winner of the 2011 elections. But we all know who won national elections in 2011, anyway.

We have no doubt that no one wants to ask that question as to who is funding students running University of Zambia Student’s Union (UNZASU) – not the President of the Republic of Zambia, His Excellency President Edgar C. Lungu; not the Minister of Higher Education, Hon. Professor Nkandu Luo; not the Inspector General of Police Kakoma Kanganja whose men have to bear with unpopular directives and the tasks of finding culprits behind those funding student demonstrations. Not even our members of Parliament are interested in finding out this question as a way to prevent future blame games.

There is nothing wrong with funding students to run for elections. In countries like South Africa, the political parties battleground begins with who wins student elections at universities to who wins to control the students’ umbrella body. The Africa National Congress (ANC) and Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) are currently battling to have this control. But where we have no laws such an in Zambia, which stop political parties funding students, it’s important that those funding students ought to do so openly.

We have no doubt in our mind that our politicians – from both the ruling and opposition parties – are funding these elections at UNZA. If our students were battling for $1.96 yesterday, it is not possible that they had been making savings running into thousands to millions into sponsoring their elections for UNZASU. When we ran for elections in ZANASU, the funding of those elections were very transparent. Our predecessors have records of which institutions paid the K700 participation fee in those elections and the source of the money was known.

We raise this question not because we do not want political parties – ruling or opposition – to help students who are running for office but because we believe that the allegations that one political party has been financing student demonstrations cannot be taken lightly. There is always a connection between future activities at these institutions of higher learning with activities of those funders of student leaders elected into office. If our law enforcement agencies want to have an easy task of policing and are genuinely concerned about making their work easier in preventing future occurrences of riots, they must first find out who is funding these students’ candidates.

Those who are pouring thousands of kwachas into UNZASU elections are no different from those who funded RB or who fund our current politics that cost millions and millions of Kwacha. However, we worried about whether these are kind of politics of money they want to inculcate in our students. What kind of future politicians are we creating by this kind of politics where leaders ought to buy votes for them to get into leadership? We are, however, comforted when we look back to 2011 that despite pouring millions into his campaigns, RB never won the vote. Students from UNZA are very intelligent and soon or later they will begin to think whether the lavish spending on them by sponsored students will live to see another day after those elections. We encourage UNZA students to vote wisely.

Our position as Zambia National Students Union (ZANASU) is simple: Zambia needs a law to depoliticise our institutions of higher learning. The right to belong to a political party of one’s choice is a constitutionally protected right which even civil servants enjoy yet they cannot form branches in the civil service the way we now have our higher learning institutions with UNZA-PF, Hone-NAREP, CBU-UPND.

We shall thus be sponsoring a motion in Parliament to help depoliticise our institutions of higher learning. We shall see among our ruling or opposition parties in Parliament who will oppose this motion and the public will then draw its own conclusions as to who is behind the funding of students’ union candidates in our higher institutions of learning

In the meantime, if our Republican President Mr. Edgar Lungu is also genuinely concerned with politicisation of institutions of higher learning, he should have asked for a thorough investigation into who is funding students running for leadership at UNZA and make the findings public. De-politicisation of our institutions of higher learning requires real political will and commitment than mere words from our leaders – both in government and in the opposition.

Movement for Multiparty Democracy faction National Secretary Raphael Nakacinda says his party is dismayed at the unbecoming behaviour of its former President Dr. Nevers Mumba and his team for twisting court rulings.

Mr. Nakavginda said Nevers Mumba’s team on Thursday circulated a statement to the media claiming that Lusaka High Court had reinstated Winnie Zaloumis as the MMD National Secretary when in fact the ruling was on a preliminary issue questioning the ‘Loci Standi’ of Winnie Zaloumis in the case.

The statement circulated by Dr Mumba’s people also claimed that MMD lawyers had abandoned the party something Mr. Nakacinda said was another lie deliberately concocted to mislead the public as the fact of the matter was that
Eric Silwamba and Jalasi have been withdrawn from the High Court matter to avoid having the same lawyers both in the High Court and the Constitutional Court.

He said his party restrained itself from reacting to the desperate propaganda due to the mourning period the nation was in but that the party’s membership was not surprised by Dr. Mumba’s antics of twisting court rulings for short legged victories that usually come with lies.

“As a party, we restrained ourselves from reacting to these falsehoods seeing that as a nation we were in a period of national mourning celebrating the life of a heroin in late freedom fighter Mama Chibesakunda Kankasa MHSRIP. We therefore avoided politicking by “dancing in the mud with them” as that would have been unpatriotic and immoral and we would have hoped that Dr Mumba as well would do the same, but we are not surprised that he was all over.

“As a party, we are equally in receipt of the last ruling in the High Court on the preliminary issues which is why we are awash to what length Dr Mumba and his group are willing to lie in order to gain simple political mileage. They have continued to unceremoniously lie hoping that one day their lies will graduate into the truth,” noted the MMD CEO.

Mr. Nakavhinda said the nation should not be duped into believing that there has been a court ruling to do with the main matter because the main matter has not been heard by the court.

“As a party, we want to equally clarify the lies peddled by Dr Mumba that our lawyers Eric Silwamba and Jalasi have abandoned the party, not at all. They are still our lawyers except they are representing the party in the Constitutional Court, so we withdrew them from representing the party in the High Court and replaced them with Makebi Zulu and Company so as to avoid having the same lawyers representing the party in both a higher and lower court,” he said

He adds “As a party, we shall not be swayed by lies and propaganda. Winning that preliminary matter for us is peripheral, though the preliminary issues raised are exceedingly profound. And they must be heard before the main matter. It is suffice, to say that until the main matters are heard and both courts pronounce themselves, until then, we shall not entertain antics of comedians masquerading to be politicians or indeed leaders of our great party.”

On the Judiciary, Mr. Nakacinda said his party holds the institution in high esteem.

“We wish to reaffirm our position that we hold the Judiciary in high esteem despite relentless attempts by some disgruntled elements such as these ones who want to use the courts in their selfish propaganda,” he said.

Nakacinda has since issued a circular directing members not to listen to the propaganda from Dr Nevers Mumba and his team.

“The general membership should not at any point panic, we are still in the driving seat as leaders of the party. We know that the desperation from our former leaders is as a result of fears we are moving strongly so to rebuild the party and salvage it from the disasters they themselves left it in,” reads part of the circular.

Deputy President William Ruto on Friday hosted President Uhuru Kenyatta, opposition leader Raila Odinga and businessman Jimi Wanjigi at his private residence in Karen, Nairobi, in a move seen as opening a new chapter in the now on, now off relationship between the State and the shadowy businessman.

The meeting could also signal a rapprochement between Mr Ruto and Mr Odinga, who have been critical of each other in recent months.

Source: Daily Nation Kenya

The ruling PF Southern Province Executive Committee has resolved that Provincial Minister, Dr. Edify Hamukale and his Permanent Secretary Liomba be relieved of their duties for bringing the name of the Party and President Edgar Lungu in to ridicule and disrepute.

The committee further appealed to the President to appoint people within the structures to lead government in Southern Province for they would understand the suffering of the grassroots.

The Executive Committee made the resolution during a meeting held yesterday Saturday 3rd November, 2018 at SWASCO offices in Choma.

The Committee says the duo should be fired by the appointing authority for working against the party in Southern Province and for destroying the gains achieved and for washing dirty linen in public.

The Committee adds that the continued stay of the duo in office is a minus to the party’s growth as they have been of disservice to its progression as they are only interested in reaping where they did not sow.

According to a statement issued by Trymore Mweenda, the Provincial Information and Publicity Secretary, the top two Provincial government officials have never supported the party which ushered them in their offices.

Mr. Mweenda said the secret mission has been to ground the party structures and migrate to the opposition UPND were they came from to help their failed leader Hakainde form government in 2041.

The Provincial Executive Committee meeting was chaired by the Provincial Secretary, Brendah Munashabantu who sat in for the Provincial Chairperson who could not do so as he had a family commitment.

Others in attendance were Moses Musenge Provincial Tresurer, Douglars Nengwa Provincial Vice Treasurer, Provincial Vice Information Publicity Secretary Musokotwane Mutinta, Provincial Chairlady, a Mrs. Mbewe and Provincial Women Vice Chairlady Bester Haboongo Sila.

Others are Mary Kabwe Mutolwa, the Provincial Women Secretary, Miyoba Venny the Provincial Women Treasurer, Schorlastic Mbao, the Provincial Women Vice Treasurer, Paddy AONGOLA, the Provincial Women Information Publicity Secretary, Obby Mweemba
Provincial Vice Youth Chairman, Mwamba Kenneth, Youth Secretary, Elina Daka, Youth Vice Secretary, Paul Silungwe Youth Information Publicity Secretary, Ethel Moono, Youth Vice Treasurer and Joe Pasi, the Provincial Security.

Today’s Scripture

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”
(Philippians 4:6, NASB)

Anxious for Nothing

So many people today are living uptight, worried and anxious about the future, filled with frustration and concern. In the natural there may be good reason, but understand, that is not God’s best. God doesn’t want us to live in anxiety and frustration; He wants us to live in peace. You can find rest in Him knowing that no matter what is happening around you, God Almighty has His hand on you.

The next time you’re tempted to worry or be anxious about something, remember this verse. God invites us to come to Him. In fact, the Bible says He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. But notice, we can’t just come to Him any old way. He wants us to come to Him with a heart of gratitude and thanksgiving. Begin by simply saying, “Father in heaven, thank You for the privilege to come before You. Thank You for hearing my prayers.” As you come to Him with an open and humble heart, He will hear you and fill you with His peace and joy all the days of your life.

A Prayer for Today

“Heavenly Father, today I choose to be anxious for nothing. I choose to set aside my worries and concerns. I thank You for Your faithfulness to meet every need in my life in Jesus’ name. Amen.”