According to a statement released to the media by Mrs. Inutu Mupango Mwanza, the First Secretary (Press & Tourism) at Embassy of the Republic of Zambia/Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, the assessment report is expected to be out by April next year.

Home Affairs Minister Stephen Kampyongo made this disclosure yesterday in Addis Ababa when he transited from Seychelles where he attended an Eastern and Southern Africa Anti Money Laundering Ministers Conference.

The Meeting was also attended by Justice Minister Given Lubinda, Attorney General Likando Kalaluka and Ministry of Finance Permanent Secretary Mukuli Chikaba.

And Mr Kampyongo says Government is committed to supporting the AU Amnesty month for the surrender of illegal weapons.

He said Zambia is committed to ensuring that the programme is supported, further announcing that the launch for the voluntary surrender of Arms in Zambia will kick start next week.

’’We are promoting and organizing initiatives for the voluntary surrender of illicit weapons in civilian possession on conditions of anonymity and immunity from prosecution. We are equally developing appropriate evaluation frameworks for assessing the effectiveness of these initiatives at varying stages of implementation of Africa Amnesty Month’ ’, Mr Kampyongo said.

The Minister emphasized that the illicit flow of arms, particularly small arms and light weapons), to non-state actors contributes significantly towards exacerbating insecurity and violence in various parts of Africa, thereby undermining social cohesion, public security, socio-economic development and the effective functioning of state institutions.

He called on the media to play a positive role in publicizing and raising public awareness on the observance of the Africa Amnesty Month.

’’We are happy that the African Union has committed 30,000 dollars for holding two workshops for the media and defence and security personnel in order to increase awareness and sensitization on the Amnesty month,’’ the Minister said.

The 29th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Union, held on 3-4 July 2017, in Addis Ababa, declared the month of September of each year, till 2020, as “Africa Amnesty Month” for the surrender and collection of illicit small arms and light weapons (SALW).

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Chingola Area Member of Parliament Mathews Nkhuwa says works of upgrading roads in his constituency are progressing well.

Mr. Nkhuwa said his constituency is yielding maximum benefits from the C400 road project being undertaken by AVIC International Holding Corporation.

He told ZANIS in an interview in Lusaka today that the community and his office are delighted with the quality of works which currently stand at 50%.

“The rehabilitation and construction of roads in my constituency is impressive. AVIC INT. is doing a commendable job and the whole community in my area is delighted. The work is now at 50% and once it’s complete, am very sure that it will boost the business fortunes of the district,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mr. Nkhuwa who is Minister of Energy said the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) for 2017 has been allocated to the needy areas in the constituency.

He said some funds were channeled towards the construction of the only modern police station in the district which has been stocked with computers to ease the work of the officers.

The Parliamentarian further emphasized that women empowerment programmes in poultry business and the construction of classroom blocks in Kakalo area are among the programmes which will up lift the living standards of people in his constituency.

THE Chinese company constructing a multi-storey building in Lusaka’s Roma Township has defied a directive by the Lusaka City Council (LCC) directive to halt construction and avail necessary documents and has continued building, two weeks after the order was made.

Den Yu Qiang, the Chinese firm is constructing a multi-storey building on stand No. 226/441a at the corner of Zambezi and Kasangula roads much to the chagrin of Roma residents who had written to the council over failure by the developer to follow laid down procedure.

Director of city planning Godwin Chinoya wrote to the company last week ordering it to cease construction, present the relevant documents to the council, and address the challenges raised by the community, failure to which, the council would demolish the structure.\n\n“It has been brought to the attention of the Lusaka City Council that you have continued construction on stand No. 226/441a without the necessary consultative meeting with the Roma community as agreed earlier on.

“You are hereby ordered to stop all construction works being carried out on the named piece of land with immediate effect and you are further required to provide all necessary documents pertaining to development of the property and address all the issues raised by the Roma community. Note that failure to comply with this notice shall compel the Lusaka City Council to remove the said structure without any further notice,” Mr. Chinoya said.

This followed a protest by Roma residents to the local authority through a letter dated August 14, 2018 which was addressed to the Town Clerk in which they objected to the development saying the community was never consulted and that no public notice was erected outside 226/441 to inform them on what was being constructed.

They argued that other than towering over neighbouring structures in the residential area thereby denying them their basic right to privacy, the multi-storey building would compromise the sanitation situation in Roma as no facilities had been out in place to transform the area from being a residential to mixed development zone.

But a check by the Daily Nation revealed that the Chinese company had defied the council’s order to halt construction works until it rectified all the shortcomings as workers were found plastering the erected building with other auxiliary works taking place.

All the works are done under strict secrecy as all entry points to the premises are locked with some workers, seemingly conducting surveillance, taking turns to scan the surrounding from an aerial view

SUSPECTED PF cadres in Mount Makulu in Chilanga have defied orders by district commissioner Edith Muwana to stop illegal plot sales on land belonging to the Ministry of Lands.

The cadres continued illegally demarcating and selling land to unsuspecting members of the public at K550 to party members and K15, 000 to non-party members.

A fortnight ago, Ms Muwana who confirmed warned of stern action against cadres allocating land illegally in the district and ordered the cadres to stop immediately.

Ms Muwana told the Daily Nation that she was aware of the illegal land allocation by cadres adding that her office had already reported the matter to both the Ministry of Lands and the police who would soon arrest and prosecute the culprits.

However, a source who asked for anonymity disclosed that despite the warning, the cadres had continued demarcating and selling land

In June this year, the  girl was erroneously reported to have `resurrected` from the dead by a family in Masala but another family emerged and claimed that it was their daughter who had a mental condition and just strayed from home.

She was taken under State custody for two months until DNA tests showed that she belonged to the Gondwe`s, the second family that laid a claim.

The Mother, Ms Irene Gondwe said in an interview in Ndola yesterday that the family had decided to shift to Chambishi in Kalulushi to start a new life for the sake of the girl`s peace of mind.

Ms Gondwe of house number 0824 Mine Masala said her daughter, Mwaba Mwape, was doing fine although she had been isolating herself.The mother said she was isolating herself because some people refer to her as the girl who once died.

“She doesn’t leave the yard because she keeps hearing people refer to her as the girl who once died. This has led her to question whether she had died or not. Hence as a family we have decided to move to Chambishi so that we could all start over again,” she said.

She said the family would also get a school place for Mwaba at a Catholic institution to encourage her spiritual growth.

Ms Gondwe said Mwaba was however interacting well with the rest of the family members and a few friends that visited her