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Sven Vandenbroeck has cautioned that Wednesdays 2019 AFCON qualifier victory was a welcome development but that a lot still needed to be done.
Chipolopolo beat Guinea Bissau 2-1 at National Heroes Stadium in Lusaka to collect their first Group K victory in the 2019 AFCON qualifiers.
“No, because in the end, we still do not have the advantage. The relief will come when we qualify,” Vandenbroeck said.
The result has pushed Zambia from bottom to second in Group K on 4 points, tied with Guinea Bissau who drop to third .
Mozambique lead on four points from two games and only play their third match this Saturday when they host bottom placed Namibia, who have one point, in Maputo.
Zambia are heading to Guinea Bissau on Thursday on a charter flight for game four this Sunday.
“Until then, we’re still in a race, until all the six games have been played. And next Sunday the same game is more important,” Vandenbroeck said.
“Today (Wednesday) we knew what we had to do and we brought that task to a good end.”
Goals from Stopilla Sunzu in the 16th and Justin Shonga in the 58th minute ended Chipolopolo’s winless Group K drought.
But a howler by goalkeeper Kennedy Mweene in the 80th minute off a poor back pass from defender Solomon Sakala gifted Fredrick Mendy the consolation goal for Guinea Bissau.
The African Development Bank has provided a grant of U$8.1 million to finance the Lobito Corridor Trade Facilitation Project to map out a strategy for its development.
The Corridor traverses four Provinces in Angola namely Huambo, Benguela, Bei and Moxico, four Provinces in The Democratic Republic of Congo namely Kantanga, Tanganyika, Lomami and Lualaba as well as two provinces in Zambia namely, Copperbelt and Northwestern.
The Financing will go towards Capacity Building for Trade facilitation and Corridor coordination, Technical Assistance for Value chains development and economic Cluster development and project Management to meet part of the investment requirements on the Corridor over the next three years.
Ministry of Commerce Permanent Secretary Kayula Siame said the three components of the Project will target basic Infrastructure development in form of a Pilot Border Market at Jimbe and two Trade Information Desks at Kipushi and Jimbe respectively.
Mrs. Siame said the Project will also support the development of Conceptual designs of One Stop Border Posts, but the actual construction of the infrastructure will require the additional funding mechanism and will be implemented at a later stage.
Speaking at the trilateral meeting between Angola, The Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia facilitated by the Southern African Development Community on the Lobito corridor trade facilitation project, Mrs. Siame said government is still exploring the various ways in which to finance the infrastructure including through Public Private Partnerships.
“The Lobito Corridor Trade Facilitation Project will also help to empower SMEs in agriculture, basic manufacturing and construction with skills for value addition and ability to take advantage of existing and future Corridor value chains including the vibrant Mining sector, multinational retail organizations and others”, She said.
Mrs. Siame said one of the areas of focus will be the cassava value chain that constitutes a huge potential for growth, creation of employment, wealth creation and improve the income especially for women and youth.
She has expressed hope that the meeting will address among others, poor Infrastructure on the corridor, harmonization of laws and Regulations related to intra- regional trade, cumbersome clearing processes and variances in documentation and standardization of products and recognition of certification processes by standards bureaus or authorities.
Mrs. Siame said other challenges are burdens on cross border transactions and smooth movement of proceeds of goods and people and market Intelligence surveys, trade information systems and trade mark infringements.
“I believe that with targeted interventions we can move forward the agenda for operationalizing the Lobito Corridor to its full potential and increase the usage of the port from the current 25% to 50%.
File:Minister of Finance ,Margaret Mwanakatwe arrives at parliament building for 2019 National budget presentation in Lusaka.
Fitch Ratings has downgraded Zambia’s Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to ‘B-‘ from ‘B’, with a Negative Outlook.
The downgrade and Negative Outlook on Zambia’s Long-Term IDRs reflects the substantial upward revision in the government budget deficit targets.
The Minister of Finance presented the 2019 Budget to the National Assembly on 28 September.
This followed the release of the 2019-2021 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) earlier in September. Both documents lay out the government’s fiscal framework, which envisages a reduction in the fiscal deficit to 5.1% of GDP by 2021, down from 7.9% in 2017.
The new fiscal framework represents a significantly less ambitious fiscal consolidation effort than the previous MTEF, which had set out the objective of reducing the fiscal deficit to no more than 3% of GDP by 2020.
Upward revisions to fiscal deficits and government debt have weakened the credibility of the government’s fiscal targets.
The government revised the 2018 fiscal deficit target to 7.4% of GDP from the 6.1% contained in the 2018 budget.
Earlier in the year, the government revised its 2017 fiscal deficit to 7.9% of GDP from the provisional figure of 7%, and also revised its external debt stock up to USD 8.7 billion from USD 7.9 billion.
The deficit revisions have been the result of the reconciliation of previous disbursements to externally financed projects and of higher debt-servicing costs, both of which reflect broad deficiencies in public financial management and a rapid accumulation of new external debt.
The government has taken some steps to keep future disbursements in line with the budget, but this is likely to remain a problem over the medium term.
The 2019 Budget envisages an increase in revenue from a number of tax reform measures.
These measures include reducing tax expenditures by updating the rules on tax deductions and transfer pricing, and increasing the withholding tax. The budget also proposes changes to the mining tax regime, which would increase royalty rates by 1.5pp across all brackets and add a new top bracket.
These measures could help to marginally increase government revenue, but not by enough to counter the expected increase in capital expenditure.
The government’s budget targets a reduction in the 2019 fiscal deficit to 6.5% of GDP, from 7.4% in 2018. Fitch believes that the budget targets are optimistic, and forecasts a deficit of 7.5% of GDP in 2018 and 6.9% in 2019.
The agency also believes that the risks are tilted to the downside.
The Ministry of Finance released a statement in June, noting the need for fiscal consolidation and highlighting the high risk of debt distress. The statement indicated the government’s intention to curtail the contraction of new debt and to cancel some of the contracted but undisbursed loans.
Despite the statement, the current MTEF contains a total of USD3.4 billion in new external financing in the years 2019 to 2021, which equates to approximately 4.3% of GDP each year.
The government has reduced some domestically financed project spending, but capital expenditure remains at around 7% of GDP per year through 2021.
Over the same period, debt servicing will consume approximately 24% of government revenue.
Fitch now forecasts Zambia’s general government debt to reach 69% of GDP by end-2018, up from 60% at end-2017, and to rise again in 2019.
This represents an increase from our previous forecast of a rise to 64% of GDP in 2018 and for government debt to begin falling in 2019.
The further expected increase in foreign-currency debt will make Zambia’s debt stock more vulnerable to FX volatility and to a rising global interest-rate environment.
Increased external borrowing will also weaken the external position.
Reserves were USD 1.7 billion in August 2018, which is down from the USD2.1 billion (or 2.4 months of current external payments (CXP)) at end-2017, as the Bank of Zambia has sought to contain currency depreciation.
Fitch forecasts reserves to remain below three months of CXP through 2018 and 2019.
Zambia’s ‘B-‘ IDRs also reflect the following key rating drivers:
Fitch forecasts GDP growth at 4.5% in 2018 and 2019, but emphasises that risks are tilted to the downside. Copper output will increase to around 830,000 metric tonnes (mt) in 2018, and to grow at approximately 5% per annum in the following years. However, Fitch expects that copper prices will plateau, which, along with increasing mining taxes and questions about the business environment, may reduce investment in the sector.
Beyond the mining sector, increased government capital expenditure will support growth in the construction and services sector.
Delayed fiscal consolidation and high debt will weigh on macroeconomic stability.
In a sign of stress, the Zambian kwacha depreciated by almost 20% in September 2018, after a period of relative stability beginning in 2H16.
The kwacha may recover some ground, but FX volatility raises risks to debt/GDP projections.
CPI growth has increased to 8% yoy in August 2018, having fallen to 6.1% at end-2017.
Inflation will accelerate further if the recent weakness of the kwacha is not reversed.
The ability of the Bank of Zambia to tighten monetary policy in response will be constrained by the impact on the government’s interest expenditure which is already high, while currency depreciation will increase the government debt/GDP ratio.
Zambia’s sovereign ratings remain constrained by weak development indicators.
Both GDP per capita and per capita income remain below half the historical ‘B’ median, and measures of human development compare weakly with rated peers.
Furthermore, deterioration in performance on governance indicators has put downward pressure on the ratings.
A man of Petauke district in Eastern Province has been sent to 40 years imprisonment with hard labour for defilement by the Chipata High Court.
Facts before the court were that Sydney Chilambwe on May 25, 2017 had canal knowledge of a minor below the age of 16 contrary to the laws of Zambia.Chilambwe was committed to the high court for sentencing after being convicted by the Magistrate Court.
In mitigation, Chilabwe through Senior Legal Aid Counsel John Phiri said he was a first offender who was remorseful and regretted committing the offence.In sentencing Chilambwe, High Court Judge Conceptor Zulu said she had considered what was said in mitigation but that the offence that Chilambwe committed is a serious one.
She then sentenced him to 40 years imprisonment with hard labour effective from the date of his arrest.
Meanwhile, a man of Chipata district has been sent to 11 years imprisonment for trafficking in psychotropic substances.
Facts before the court were that, Isaac Phiri on March 21, 2018 did traffic in psychotropic substances namely marijuana weighing 1.8kg without lawful authority contrary to the laws of Zambia.
In mitigation, Phiri through Senior Legal Aid Counsel John Phiri said he was a second offender who readily pleaded guilty which was a sign of remorse.In passing sentence, Judge Zulu said he had considered what was said in mitigation but took note that the convict was a second offender who was in 2017 convicted by the Chipata Magistrate Court for a similar offence.
She then sentenced him to 11 years imprisonment with hard labour effective from the date of his arrest.
By Mwizenge S. Tembo, Ph. D.
Professor of Sociology
It was dark and I was asleep in my room in Africa 5 Room 26. An irritating smell woke me up from my deep sleep. I looked at the clock. It was 4 hours. My roommate also woke up. The pungent smell got stronger. My nose, lungs and my eyes were irritated. The 2 windows were wide open. I opened the balcony door to find out the source of the pungent smell. I saw other students who were also on their balconies of the 4 floors of Kwacha Hall next to Africa Hall. They were shouting asking what was happening.
“It’s tear gas!!” someone yelled.
“The mobile police guards just behind the wall must have tossed tear gas over the wall!!!” another student shouted. “Bafi……….“ the student shouted to the mobile police an insult in Bemba.
Remembering scenes from TV when crowds riot in streets and police toss tear gas, I immediately told my roommate to close all windows and the balcony door. I have mild asthma. I rushed to the bathroom. I run some cold water from the tap. I rinsed my irritated eyes, face and my nose. I went back to my room and sealed the bottom of the front door with a wet bathing towel in case heavier and more tear gas was going to seep into the room. After a while, we could not see any more plumes of tear gas over the balcony.
This was at University of Zambia in February 1976. We had been demonstrating on campus and holding sporadic boycotting of classes for a week. The previous afternoon, the mobile police were deployed to campus to quell some physical altercations and incidents between demonstrating students. At one point the platoon of mobile police with their guns were advancing toward International and President Halls of residence in coordinated military advance attack formation. We students recognized the formation because we had all been to National Service training. Suddenly the platoon was given orders to back off.
That night armed mobile police guards surrounded the entire campus. No student or anyone could enter or leave campus. The government announced early the next morning that the University of Zambia was closed due to student unrest. We later concluded that the tear gas incident must have been a rogue act of a bored lone mobile police guard who wanted to punish we comfortably sleeping students by throwing probably one tear gas canister over the wall behind Africa Hall. No other students on campus had such a tear gas experience that night.
When Two UNZA Students Died.
One Sunday morning at the University of Zambia campus in 1975, news spread like wild fire that a female student in Zambezi Hall had suddenly died in her sleep. The cause of her death was not known. The University administration and UNZASU organized for her body to be driven to her Luanshya hometown for the funeral and burial. About 50 students including myself volunteered to go to the funeral in the large UNZA bus.
About 20 kms from Luanshya the bus pulled over to the side of the road. We all went into the bush to collect firewood which would be part of our contribution to the funeral wake. We hoisted the firewood on top of the bus.
When we arrived and pulled to the house of the deceased student’s parents, the modest small house yard was full of mourners; many already cooking and setting up fires. I will never forget the haggard look of the student’s mother. She was wailing in a voiceless hoarse voice once she saw us walking out of the UNZA bus one by one. She was wearing a black duku around her head, a black dress, and a chitenje.
“Abanankwe nabesa!!! (Her friends have come!!) she wailed flaying and throwing up her arms helplessly. The sad image of her desperate grief stricken mother with a hoarse voice has been seared in my memory. The following day at the burial, Chitundu Soko, UNZASU President delivered a moving eulogy on behalf of the student body.
A few months before a 4th year student was to graduate in 1976, news spread on Sunday morning on campus that the male student had been killed in a car accident in Chelston township. I had seen and said hello to that same student in the lower campus Dining Hall during supper that previous Thursday. The UNZA community was plunged in sorrow. About 40 students volunteered to go to the funeral and burial in a remote village 770 Kms from Lusaka. This was in the South Eastern part of Lundazi district in the Eastern Province toward Chief Mwase. In those days communication of urgent news about deaths was either by ZNBC radio or by telegram. There were not cell phones. We didn’t know if the relatives in the village in this remote part of Zambia would receive the tragic news before we got there with the student’s body.
We travelled all night. We arrived at the village at sunrise about seven hours. A young ten year old boy took the tragic news particularly bad. He was hyperventilating as mourning descended on the entire village. The burial was at 4:00 pm. Immediately after burial, we drove all night back to Lusaka.
The death of any UNZA student is a tragic loss for the student who suddenly will miss all of life’s future possibilities. It is a huge loss to the family that invests so much hope in their daughter or son. This is why I would like to express my deep condolences to the Vespers Shimuzhila family, the UNZA community, and Zambia as a nation. This is why I pray that her death will not have been in vain. UNZA students, the community, the government, and all of us as a nation should come together. We should agree to take measures that will ensure that a tragedy like this death never ever happens at University of Zambia again.
The Creator made her gold. Solid gold. She was pure, beautiful, endowed with aesthetic appeal. We loved her, it was a wonderful feeling to belong to her. We called her home.
The spirit of Ubuntu reigned. We operated in concert and sung her anthem with a reverberation of a genuine sense of belonging. We stood definitely proud and wonderfully free.
But, her beauty lured some. Her healthy face, succulent and full breasts made them lust after her. They joined us as we praised her; they sung so beautifully, we were sold.
“They must have good intentions…”
And just like that, we let them in.
But alas, they raped, defiled, mutilated, and harassed our once virgin beauty. She was left broken and bare without the sparkle of health.
This isn’t Zambia.
Our once beautiful home has been turned into a painful desert, with nothing but weeds, twigs, bushes and shrubs.
The air is laden with corruption, disrespect for rule of law, disregard for human rights. There is freedom of expression, improperly so-called but no freedom after expression. There is a miasma of barbarism, crimes against humanity, cruelty and insensitivity.
The homeless have their shacks taken away; the orphans have their parents taken away still. Yes, even the little they have is taken away. The poor get poorer while the rich get richer.
Propaganda is rampant. Black is made to pass off as white? This isn’t Zambia.
We are made to beg for what is rightfully ours because selfishness has crept into our hearts. The ones meant to protect, hurt and kill instead. The lighthouse is covered by storms so that it fails to give light to the poor wayfarer.
The young who will be the leaders of tomorrow are mercilessly taken away for airing out their grievances.
One day, they committed a huge crime. They took away an innocent heroine who was a victim of circumstances. Her blood cries out from the ground. It demands justice. In a land so free, or so they say, no one should never have to beg for dear life.
Was Zambia at war? Did we have an intruder sent to disturb peace? Was she an enemy? Hell no, why then did she have to die a martyr’s death at the hands of the chosen protectors? This isn’t Zambia.
‘Stand and sing of Zambia, proud and free?” proud of what? Free from what? The caged bird doesn’t sing of freedom. Landlocked in spiritual, political, social, economic and religious poverty; hiding behind a religious garb to cover our sins and cowardice.
The flag that once gave us pride makes us shudder.
The green that once stood for our resources has turned brown due to the change in the intellectual climate. The red that stood for the blood of our freedom fighters now stands for the innocent souls that have died at the hands of the so-called protectors!
The eagle doesn’t fly anymore; it’s dancing with chickens.
The Ubuntu in the black color is gone!
Our selfishness and short-sightedness has ruined us; our virgin damsel is ruined all because we couldn’t distinguish between love and lust. This isn’t Zambia.
This is not a political agenda; it’s a moral cry for social justice!
We have lost our beloved! The image we have now is not Zambia. It may look like it, it may even smell like it but this isn’t Zambia!
Our beloved is lost… but we must fight to restore whatever has remained; try and give her beauty for ashes.
We are in a mess but definitely not out of the Creator’s mercy.
The Zambia national team has recorded its first victory in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers after beating Guinea Bissau 2-1 in an entertaining encounter played at the parked Heroes Stadium.
Stophila Sunzu put Zambia ahead in the 15th minute before Olando Pirates midfielder Justine Shonga doubled the lead in the 54th minute.
Guinea Bissau’s Fredrick Mendi pulled one back for his country in the 80th minute after an error by goal keeper Kennedy Mweene.
President Edgar Lungu led thousands of supporters in cheering the Chipolopolo boys at the Heroes Stadium.
The game was Coach Sven Vandenbroeks debut at home.
Zambia plays Guinea on Sunday 14th October 2018 in that country in the second of back to back qualifiers.
And the Zambia Sports Fans Association is confident the Chipolopolo boys will beat Guinea Bissau this Sunday.
Patron Peter Makembo said with yesterday’s desplay at the Heroes Stadium, it will be easy for the Chipolopolo boys to collect maximum points.
Makembo said qualifying for the 2019 afcon is a must for Zambia after having failed to qualify for the 2017 edition of the tournament.
Zambia Sugar has launched the new smaller and more affordable brown sugar packs that will now be available in 195 and 330 grams respectively.
Speaking at the launch held at Protea Hotel in Ndola yesterday, Copperbelt Minister Japhen Mwakalombe commended Zambia Sugar for the initiative.
The Minister said that people will now be able to buy sugar in smaller qualities thereby saving money as they will be buying the commodity at lower prices of about three (3) and five kwacha (5) respectively.
Mr Mwakalombe said government remains committed to sustaining a conducive business and investment environment in an effort to contribute to the realization of the vision 2030 of transforming Zambia into a prosperous middle income country.
ZANIS reports that Mr Mwakalombe said this in a speech read on his behalf by Copperbelt Deputy Permanent Secretary Joyce Nsamba.
Mr Mwakalombe observed that Zambia Sugar is one of the entities that can assist government achieve this vital goal as it is focused on contributing to national development.
He further, thanked Zambia Sugar for having chosen Copperbelt as a pilot region for the new product and urged other companies to emulate the good works and exhibit commitment to developing the country.
And Zambia Sugar Managing Director Rabecca Katowa said the launch of this affordable pack range is with immediate effect.
Mrs Katowa added that it is in direct response to the economic needs of consumers who are showing an increasing desire for smaller and lower cost pack sizes.
She noted that unavailability of affordable packs to consumers made people resort to tie packs which is unhygienic.
Mrs Katowa added that the company understands the role sugar plays in human beings and that it will play its part to ensure that the commodity is readily available and affordable to consumers at all times.
About K19.5 million meant for various educational programmes has been embezzled at the Ministry of General Education, Parlianent has heard.
Acting Minister of General Education Vincent Mwale has also confirmed that the Department for International Development has suspended funding to the Ministry to pave way for investigations and clean up of the system before funding can resume.
Mr. Mwale said 80 officers alleged to have embezzled the funds have been suspended majority of them from the Ministry Headquarters in Lusaka.
Responding to a question from Chinsali Member of Parliament Kalalwe Mukosa during the question and answer session, Mr. Mwale said the misuse of funds has had a negative impact on the provision of education in the country.
“The misuse of funds Mr. Speaker has affected the provision of education in the country but i cant exactly point out for now which areas have been impacted”. He added.
Mr. Mwale said among those suspended are internal auditors and government will ensure that the embezzled money is recovered.
Recently, the DFID suspended funding to the Ministry of Community Development and demanded for a refund of 2.7 million pounds meant for beneficiaries of the social Cash Transfer programme which was alleged to have been stolen.
The Zambia government has since refunded the money.
Chief Government Spokesperson, Hon. Dora Siliya, MP
The Non-governmental Gender Organisations’ Coordinating Council has condemned the unruly behaviour by some University of Zambia students who attacked and abused Information Minister, Dora Siliya during the funeral service of the late Vespers Shimuzhila.
Ms. Siliya, who is also Chief Government Spokesperson, was on Monday, insulted and abused by some unruly students who hurled unpalatables at her during Shimuzhila’s funeral service at UNZA SDA Church on Katima Mulilo Road.
This was after Ms. Siliya accused some students of having caused the death of Vespers Shimuzhila when they started the riots on Thursday night.
NGOCC Executive Director Engwase Mwale said the unreasonable conduct of the students was not only disrespectful to the Minister but also very demeaning to women’s leadership.
“The sexist insults against Honourable Siliya go further to reinforce the entrenched patriarchy that systematically discriminates and discourages women from participating in various decision making positions. This trend is also prevalent on social media where we continuously witness many women being subjected to cyber bullying”. Mrs. Mwale has said.
She added that over the years, NGOCC has been concerned with the low numbers of women in decision making and such conduct by youths, and university students for that matter, only go to further demoralise even the few women leaders.
“We therefore call upon the student populace and society at large to support Zambia’s cause for women’s in leadership”. She added
Mrs. Mwale said the death of Vespers is without doubt painful but has urged Zambians to remain calm as the security urgencies investigate the matter to its logical conclusion further urging government to expedite the inquest on the matter.
Solar ModulesThe World Bank’s International Finance Corporation says Zambia’s scaling-up solar project is a flagship project and a great example of the sustainable energy development for Africa and the whole world.
The IFC also says improving operational efficiency in the energy sector in Zambia will be a key driver for the country to register substantial progress in the attainment of Sustainable Development Goals, Vision 2030, and the programmes listed in the Seventh National Development Plan.
IFC Vice President for Middle East and Africa Sergio Pimenta said this in Bali, Indonesia, yesterday during a bilateral meeting with the Zambian delegation, on the sidelines of the 2018 Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
Mr. Pimenta said the IFC is willing to support private sector development programmes such as Zambia’s recently launched Private Sector Credit Guarantee Scheme; green production and storage initiatives; and, housing development.
He also expressed the IFC’s willingness to support Zambia with technical assistance in capital market management and transactions.
And speaking on behalf of the Zambian delegation, Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet in charge of Finance and Economic Development Christopher Mvunga said the government’s economic stabilisation and growth reforms will bring lasting stability to the country’s economy as it is a priority initiative for President Edgar Lungu who on a frequent basis, keeps a watchful eye on progress in provinces and districts.
During the meeting, held at the Bali International Conference Center, Mr. Mvunga took time to highlight some macroeconomic indicators related to the real Gross Domestic Product, inflation, the fiscal deficit, the exchange rate and general public debt metrics.
“Government of Zambia is committed to the completion of a credible Cost of Service Study which will guide future tariff adjustments in the energy sector”. Mr. Mvunga added in a statement by Ministry of Finance spokesperson Chileshe Kandeta.
He appealed to the IFC to extend support from phase one of the scaling-up solar project to phase two.
Earlier, Mr. Mvunga led the Zambia delegation for a meeting with the World Bank’s Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency held at the Westin Bali International Conference Center.
Mr. Mvunga invited MIGA to venture in the agriculture value-chain and tourism investments in Zambia, saying, the two sectors have the greatest potential in contributing to Zambia’s foreign exchange earnings, which, at more than 75%, are currently dominated by copper earnings.
He assured the World Bank that measures have been put in place and will be strengthened in order to minimize the disruption to the programme and restore donor confidence and support.
Among the other issues discussed at the meeting was the upcoming World Bank International Development Association [IDA] which Zambia is scheduled to host in Livingstone next month, economic governance, and performance management of ongoing programmes.
Finance Minister Margaret Mwanakatwe is scheduled to arrive in Bali, this evening. Mrs. Mwanakatwe is Zambia’s Governor to both the World Bank and the IMF.
Minister of National Development Planning Alexander Chiteme is Zambia’s Alternate Governor for the World Bank while Bank of Zambia Governor Dr. Denny Kalyalya is Zambia’s Alternate Governor for the IMF.
Vice President Inonge Wina confers with Minister of Justice Given Lubinda during the official opening of the third session of the twelfth National AssemblyGovernment has launched the National NGO Policy which aims to promote an effective, efficient and well-coordinated NGO sector that contributes to sustainable National Development.
Vice President Inonge Wina who launched the Policy yesterday morning is hopeful that the Policy will provide guidance to the NGO sector and as well as provide an environment which will enhance government and NGO partnership in order to enable the NGO sector maximise its potential.
In a speech read for her by Community Development and Social Welfare Minister Olipa Phiri during the official opening of the Second National Congress of the Non Governmental Organisations and Launch of the National NGO Policy, Mrs. Wina said the Policy which was developed in a consultative process with stakeholders was approved by cabinet in the first quarter of this year.
“Am delighted to see that both government and NGOs agreed to dialogue and generate resolutions that are mutually accepted by both parties. As a result of this, a clear roadmap was drawn of which the compatibility study of the NGO Act number 16 of 2009 with other existing laws was successfully completed by an Independent Consultant leading to the development of the Policy”. She said.
Mrs. Wina said the Act will promote transparency, accountability, mutual respect and trust among partners and has appealed to all partners to support the process of repealing and replacing the NGO Act of 2009.
“This congress therefore, provides the opportunity for NGO’s to identify quality leadership to propel effective coordination and NGO participation in the repealing and replacement of the Act number 16 of 2009”. Mrs. Wina added.
Minister of Information and Broadcasting Dora Siliya
Information and Broadcasting Services Minister, Dora Siliya, has advised young people in the creative arts in the Southern African region to work together to grow the industry.
Ms. Siliya says this is one of the ways that can help create the much needed jobs among talented young people in the region.
She noted that no government in the region is capable of creating jobs for all its young people hence the need to grow industries such as creative arts and film because of the potential to create employment.
The Minister, who is also Chief Government Spokesperson, further appealed to young people to take advantage of every opportunity made available to them such as the talent factory academy to create jobs for themselves and their peers.
Ms. Siliya was speaking in Lusaka today when she addressed local and foreign artists after a conducted tour of the Talent Factory Academy for Southern African region situated at ZAMCOM institute.
The Academy, which is a Multi Choice initiative, is expected to be launched tomorrow.
Meanwhile, Ms. Siliya has also called upon the business sector in Zambia and the region as a whole to support the initiative by Multi Choice to grow the film industry and ensure that it contributes to economic growth in Zambia and the Southern African region as a whole.
And Veteran artist Jeff Sitali said young people in the Southern African region have a lot of talent that requires to be explored and supported.
The Talent Factory Academy has attracted students from countries across the Southern Region including Angola, Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia and Zimbabwe and Zambia.
Kitwe Bus Station
The Bus and Taxi Owners Association of Zambia has tentatively increased bus fares by 22 percent effective 8th October following a consultative meeting by the Road Transport and Safety Agency and bus and taxi operators.
The position was arrived at following the increase in the fuel pump prices early October this year.
The Energy Regulations Board on 2nd October announced an upward adjustment in fuel pump prices per liter by K2.31 for Petrol, K2.64 for Diesel and Low Sulphur Gas and K2.49 for Kerosene due to changes in the fundamentals that determine fuel prices.
During a meeting this week, the bus operators requested to vary their current Road Service Licences by making adjustment of bus fares as stipulated under the Road Traffic Act Number 11 of 2002.
RTSA Head of Public Relations Fredrick Mubanga confirmed that the desired increase has been effected after approval by all concerned stakeholders including the Ministry of Transport and Communications.
“The move is in line with the conditions under which the Road Service Licences are granted. Subsection 12 (d) of Section 108 of the Road Traffic Act of 2002 underscores that a person applying for a road service license, and a holder of such a licence applying for its variation, shall submit to the Director the rate of fares of the proposed services”. Mr. Mubanga explained.
He however said that for certain routes, the fares will be less than 22 percent as guided by fare charts that will be prepared by the Association in consultation with RTSA.
Mr. Mubanga said additionally, the concerned stakeholders including the Ministry of Transport and Communications will be holding another meeting next week to discuss this matter further and the public will be informed accordingly.
Meanwhile, Fuel prices are expected to go down following a memorandum of understanding between the Zambian government and the Ministry of Energy of Angola for an installation of a pipe line that is expected to be bringing in fuel into the country.
The MOU is expected to be signed today October 10 by the two neighboring countries, Minister of Energy Mathew Nkhuwa told parliament on October 9 during the presentation of his ministerial statement.
Mr Nkhuwa disclosed that this is one of the measures meant to sure that prices of fuel are reduced for the benefits of Zambians.
The Minister has also disclosed that government is also expanding the fuel line by increasing the fuel production at Indeni and will also bring in equity partners who will also bring in cheaper oil into the country.
Mr Nkhuwa indicated that so far five bidders have expressed interest to be strategic partners and by November this year successful bidders will be announced.
Meanwhile 1st Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Catherine Namugala has directed Mr Nkhuwa to return to the house on Friday and present a comprehensive statement on the 20 million Saudi Arabia oil deal which was meant to stabilize the fuel prices for a period of five years.
Ms Namugala made her directive to the Minister after Members of Parliament asked the Minister to explain to the house on what happened to the Saudi Oil deal which was going to see a reduction in the fuel prices to K5 local currency.
The Deputy Speaker told Mr Nkhuwa that he would be given an opportunity to come back to the house on Friday to issue a statement on the price stability of the fuel prices in relation to the Saudi Arabia oil deal which was signed by government in Jeda in 2016.
Nsama Lombe stands next to his painting at Henry Tayali Visual Arts Centre
Story and Pictures Hope Mkunte
The Legendary painter Henry Tayali spent most of his professional life trying to set up a fine art school in Zambia. His dream is yet to be realised, but his art has inspired a whole generation of bold Zambian painters who are defying the odds and making their mark in art. One such artist is Nsama Lombe. The soft spoken artist is well known for his acrylic paintings that document Zambian women and children in their daily lives
What motivates me to do my work? Nsama Lombe repeats the question to himself. The award-winning painter ponders it for a moment as we sit in the Henry Tayali Gallery in the Showgrounds where I am interviewing him for this article.
“The woman that I see every day.” He says. “Women and children are my favourite subject because I find it amusing and inspiring how Zambian women respond to the challenges of life.”
Nsama Lombe is a seasoned painter and his paintings show it.
“I have been painting for more than 10 years now. I discovered my talent at an early age, in primary school. I used to draw on the back of my books and often this landed me in trouble with my teachers but I kept on and my parents saw that I like painting so they bought me colouring books. Of-course initially the painting was pretty childish, me and my friends would draw our dream cars and things like that.”
He teaches art full time at Twin Palm Secondary School in Kabulonga
“I trained at Evelyn Hone College as an art teacher and because of my teaching I paint part time, but everything I do is around art, whether I am teaching or painting.”
Talking about his art students, Nsama says he sees a lot of promising talent in his classes.
“The discouraging factor is that we do not have art schools in Zambia for these young painters to take their craft to the next level. Of-course the government is now doing more to uplift the art industry for instance the Ministry of Tourism and Art was established, which is good.”
In 2012, he received the Henry Tayali Award for The Best Artist in 2 Dimensions at the Ngoma Awards.
“It was one of my proudest moments winning this award but as an artist I am usually proud of the current piece that I am working on.”
Despite not being a full-time painter, Nsama says he earns a reasonable amount of money from his paintings. The highest he ever made from a single piece was K20,000.
“ The piece I sold was titled ‘customer care’ . It was depicting a woman selling masuku on the side of the road. The piece was trying to show the entrepreneurial spirit of the Zambian woman, who without formal business training, is able to attract customers and retain them.”
What determines how much a piece art is worth? Nsama says there are a lot of factors that determine the value of a piece.
“One of the factors is how long you have been in the industry and your reputation. It’s debatable on size and mostly it’s the attachment you have to the painting. You know I can drip paint on a canvas and tell a story. So sometimes it’s the sentimental value you attach to it as a painter.”
Nsama describes his painting style as semi-abstract. “I love playing round with texture and colour effect and suggesting the emotion behind the artwork”, reveals the soft spoken painter.
Nsama is currently running an art exhibition at the Henry Tayali Visual Arts Centre in the showgrounds along Aubrey and Sidney, two of his art colleagues. The exhibition started on the 28th of September and will end on the 15th of October. It’s open from 17:30 to 20:00hrs every day.
Barriers Broken painting by Nsama Lombe. It shows that there is hope for the Zambian girl child. Picture by Hope MkunteBarriers Painting by Nsama Lombe. Tries to portray the obstacles the Zambian girl child faces everyday. Picture by Hope MkunteHidden Agenda painting by Nsama Lombe. It tries to show that there is more to a lot of things than they appear. Picture by Hope MkunteStrings Attached painting by Nsama Lombe. It shows how in today’s society things to come by without a few strings attached.Picture by Hope Mkunte (1)Size Matters painting by Nsama Lombe depicting the obsession with sexual concoctions and herbs in the city Picture by Hope Mkunte (1)
