And seven in 10 Zambians (70%) say the government is handling the fight against corruption “fairly badly” or “very badly”, representing a huge increase from 42% recorded in 2013.

Meanwhile, the police are most widely perceived as corrupt with 54% of Zambians saying “most” or “all” police officials are corrupt, and more than one in four respondents who had contact with the police during the preceding year say they paid a bribe to avoid problems or obtain assistance.

This is according to the latest Afrobarometer survey conducted on Zambia’s corruption perception.

It said around one in three respondents say “most” or “all” government officials (37%), members of Parliament (MPs) (37%), local government councilors (34%), and officials in the Presidency (32%) are corrupt.

The survey found that more than eight in 10 Zambians say it’s “somewhat likely” or “very likely” that rich people could use bribery or personal connections to avoid paying taxes (84%), avoid going to court (88%), or registering land that isn’t theirs (88%).

The poorest Zambians are especially likely to see corruption as having increased: Among those who experienced high levels of lived poverty, 1 76% say corruption has increased, compared to 58% of the wealthiest respondents.

Meanwhile, the share of Zambians who say the government is handling corruption fairly/very badly has grown to 70%.

To a growing majority of Zambians, corruption is on the rise, and the government is doing a poor job of fighting it. The police are seen as most corrupt, and rich people are perceived as gaining unfair advantages through corruption. If the government wants more than half of its citizens to believe they can make a difference, it may need to make sure that the population sees that reports of corruption are taken seriously and those who report incidents of corruption are protected,” the survey concluded.

Afrobarometer survey Afrobarometer is a pan-African, non-partisan research network that conducts public attitude surveys on democracy, governance, economic conditions, and related issues in African countries.

Afrobarometer conducts face-to-face interviews in the language of the respondent’s choice with nationally representative samples.
The Afrobarometer team interviewed 1,200 adult Zambians in April 2017.

A sample of this size yields country-level results with a margin of error of +/-3% at a 95% confidence level.

Previous surveys were conducted in Zambia in 1999, 2003, 2005, 2009, 2013, and 2014.

The last Vice President to late former Republican President Frederick Chiluba, Enock Kavindele has said that the late leader should be accorded the respect he deserves for creating a lasting middle class in the country saying the sale of houses to sitting tenants of council houses empowered working families.

And MMD National Secretary Raphael Nakacinda has asked the state through Republican President Edgar Lungu to honour the late former President by restoring all the things which were fraudulently taken away from him.

Speaking at Embassy Park at the laying of wreaths at the second Republican President’s resting place, Kavindele who served under Chiluba said there is need to right the wrongs by ensuring that the court judgements which acquitted Dr Chiluba are honoured.

He said the late leader has been velifed by his enemies who have dented his name when the truth of the matter is that he did all he could to make Zambia a better country for its people.

“Dr Chiluba had a big heart he would say that look when our people retire all they go to is misery. We are going to sale the houses to sitting tenants that they are in so that they themselves will make that decision either to sale or to continue to live in there but would encourage them to go into smaller properties for they might not have the money to maintain the houses and the empowerment started there and then, Dr Chiluba therefore created a lasting middle class in this country.

“I know of properties which were bought for K7,000 or 7000,000 in those days, there is one which I went to look at which has been sold for US 2.4 million Dollars thereby empowering that family for life forever, that was Dr Chiluba,” he said.

And Kavindele said the acquittal of Dr Chiluba should be honoured.

“Now its true I wrote to the President a few months ago about the state of the family, courts are there to give us fair judgement and indeed the cases of Dr Chiluba went to both the High Court and and Supreme Court and non of those courts convicted him so all I was saying to our current President, is President you should not be selective when we are honouring High Court judgements.

“The decision of the High Court and Supreme court say that Dr Chiluba was acquitted and therefore like my brother said everything about him should be restored. Certainly that money which they talk about which was put into the Zamtrop account it was never government money at all, I was Vice President so I know myself. All we are asking President his Excellency Edgar Lungu is that President assist in effecting the court judgement, that’s all we asking for,” he said.

And the MMD said they have exhibited civility in their conduct towards the whole matter but that it was high time the father of democracy was honoured.

National Secretary of the party Raphael Nakacinda said their leader taught them as a party to be democratic and civil in their conduct but that the party is ready to go an extra mile by demonstrating if the former President is not honoured.

He further called on Republican President Edgar Lungu to break the cycle of velifying former Presidents.

“I want to state that there is a law that governs life, its called the law or the principle of precedence. When a wrong precedence is set it has a tendency to repeat itself. From the day the precedence was set to rubbish Dr Chiluba’s legacy as President every subsequent President has suffered that and it looks like none of them learn the lesson that when you are sent to that office they have a duty to break that cycle hence our former President Rupiah Banda went through the same humiliating experience.

“Dr Mwanawasa was saved because he died in office am very sure that Mr Sata was saved because he died in office, I want to place it before President Edgar Lungu that you are in office right now and you have a duty to break this cycle by summoning the courage and ensure that justice prevails over those that suffer during this orchestrated and well calculated scheme to injure and destroy the legacy of those that fought for multipartism, I call upon President Lungu to summon courage and do the right thing, let Dr Chiluba be honoured. Let those things that have been taken away from him unjustly, fraudulently be returned, he has that power as President to restore it.

“We were taught by this great man to be democratic and as a party we have conducted ourselves in a civil manner expressing our views, we don’t intend to go out there to protesting and disturbing peace but if it will take us going to demonstrate for our father and the father of democracy to be honoured in this land it will happen one day but for now we think the message we are sending is loud and clear,” he said.

And Former Home Affairs Minister Peter Machungwa demanded that the immunity of the late former President be restored posthumously.

UPND President Hakainde Hichilema says his party values national heritage and will work to preserve it when it forms government.

Mr Hichilema was speaking during this year’s Samu Lya Moomba Lwiindi traditional ceremony in Chieftaincy Choongo in Monze.

He stated that the UPND remains committed to turning the traditional ceremony into a tourist attraction.

“This is an area where funds were raised to enable our country’s First President Kenneth Kaunda, Harry Mwaanga Nkumbula and other freedom fighters to travel to the United Kingdom to broker our country’s independence,” Mr Hichilema said.

He recounted that private meetings were held in this area and cattle sold from across Southern Zambia to raise money for air tickets and allowances which enabled founding fathers to travel abroad in pursuit of independence.

“After the sale of cattle, £300 was raised here which saw Dr Kaunda and others travel to UK for independence negotiations. These historic areas are key in upholding the origin of our country’s independence and we shall work round the clock to ensure that Samu Lya Moomba Lwiindi occupies its rightful prominent place in Zambia’s history,” he remarked.

Local artists to be joined by US mega stars for extravaganza

US mega-stars Brian McKnight and Joe Thomas will headline this year’s Stanbic Music Festival in Lusaka on October 5 and 6, 2018.
The two Grammy award-winning nominees will perform alongside local artists AfroPop rising star Kiki, the queen of Zambian R&B Salma Sky, gospel sensation Esther Chungu and the Zambian song bird, Wezi.

Now in its fifth year, the Stanbic Music Festival is one of the country’s biggest music event, and in keeping with the event’s tradition of moving forward and upward, this year’s showpiece is set to be bigger and better than the last.

Stanbic Bank Zambia Head of Public Relations Chanda Katongo said the music festival was a growing social event that not only displayed Zambia’s unique culture to the rest of the world but also gave local musicians a platform to grow their influence beyond the country’s borders.

“We always say that Zambia is our home and having been here for over 60 years, the Zambian spirit and culture are deeply embedded in Stanbic Bank’s sustainability strategy. We have helped drive the growth of many sectors of our economy including mining, energy, infrastructure, agriculture as well as arts, investing millions of dollars in the process.

“Zambians are a happy and friendly people. We love making new friends, we love our music and we certainly love to dance. What better way to celebrate all this and embrace the essence of our cultural diversity than a mega concert with a rich mix of great local and international talents from different genres and cultures.”

Brian McKnight is an American R&B singer-songwriter, producer, and musician; A multi-instrumentalist who plays eight instruments including piano, guitar, bass guitar, percussion, trombone, tuba, flugelhorn and trumpet. He has 16 Grammy Awards nominations for hits including Anytime, Love Is, and Win.

Joe Thomas is an American singer, songwriter and record producer, born in Columbus, Georgia, the son of Evangelist preachers and the man behind the platinum selling song, All That I Am.

“Our goal is to give the public something to look forward to each year in the most Zambian way we know how; which is good music, friendship, dance and an all-round good time. Social and cultural events like the Stanbic Music Festival bring people together and promote the spirit of oneness. They help us focus on what unites us even through our diversity – which is the spirit of Ubuntu,” said Ms Katongo.
The National Arts Council (NAC) and the Zambia Association of Musicans (ZAM) have endorsed the Stanbic Music Festival.

NAC director Adrian Maaka Chipindi said: “We are very grateful and excited for this festival. It’s an opportunity to create jobs for the sector. We also see it as a platform to enjoy and see some of the best artists in Zambia. Government supports this initiative and we hope that many more Zambians will support it.”

ZAM President Tivo Shikapwasha said: “We are very, very excited to be supporting this as ZAM. The Zambia Association of Musicians would like to commend Stanbic Bank for their continued efforts in bridging the gap between the world renown musicians and our extremely talented Zambian musicians.”

The Stanbic Music Festival has so far been headlined by internationally acclaimed artists like Hugh Masekela, Oliver Mtukudzi, Mi Casa, Earl Klugh, Zonke, UB40 and the iconic R&B group Boyz II Men just last year. The foreign acts always share the stage with some of Zambia’s best performers including K’milian, Wezi, Chef 187, Abel Chungu and many more.

Over 10,000 people attended the 2017 Stanbic Music Festival, with some fans travelling from as far as Uganda, Kenya, Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe.

The Green Party has expressed dismay at the unregulated financial transaction charges in Zambia, a situation which the party says has led to unabated exploitation of the masses, especially the rural populations.

Speaking in Kitwe this morning, Green Party President Peter Sinkamba expressed dismay at the lack control of transaction charges by the Bank of Zambia to benchmark which has led to banks, financial institutions and financial businesses to charge customers whatever amounts, without any form of recourse to the vulnerable public.

Mr. Sinkamba explained that banks charge anything from K5 to K500 for clients to access their money through the ATMs and over-the-counter transactions, while mobile money providers charge anything from K2 to K100 to send or receive money.

He noted that while the Banking and Financial Services Act No. 7 of 2017 empowers Bank of Zambia to benchmark interest rates and ban compound interest, it appears that the Act does not do so on the regulation on the transaction charges.

“We have noted with dismay that Bank of Zambia regulates and benchmarks interest rates that banks, financial businesses ,and financial institutions charge, however, it lacks power to do so for transaction charges. This lacuna has created a situation where vulnerable customers are exploited by these institutions without any form of recourse to the public,”Mr. Sinkamba said.

He said that while ATM charges range from K5 to K10 per transaction, over-the-counter charges range from K50 to K500 for premium clients.

“The trouble with clients who use banks is that most of the time, the queues at ATMs are too long or ATMs are dysfunctional forcing clients to use over-the-counter transations and thereby are charged exhorbitantly,”Mr. Sinkamba said.

“As for mobile transations, ZOONA for example, charges anything from K2 to K100 depending on the transaction amount. In my view, the transaction charges should not dependent on the amount being sent or amount being received, but on the number of transactions that are conducted, just like is the case with ATM charges. There must be a maximum limit per transaction just is the case with ATMs and Shoprite Money. Basing charges on transaction amount is exploitive behaviour. We therefore urge Bank of Zambia to move in and curtail this exploitive behaviour,”Mr. Sinkamba said.

He said the most affected population is the rural populace where there are very few or no ATMs and Shoprite Money, and therefore rely solely on mobile money provided by ZOONA, Airtel Money and MTN Money. He has challenged Bank of Zambia to issue a policy statement on this issue stating that the Bank has a statutory duty to protect vulnerable customers for exploitation from financial transactions.

“Bank of Zambia is the mandated institution to regulate banking and financial transactions in the country. The Bank should not turn a blind eye to exploitation of the masses. We there challenge the Bank of Zambia Governor Dr Denny Kalyalya to immediately clarify on this policy issue,”Mr. Sinkamba charged.

Issued by Green Party Media