Secretary to the Treasury Fredson Yamba has revealed that Finance Minister Margaret Mwanakatwe recalled and canceled the controversial US$500 million sovereign guarantee issued to STAG African Investments Limited on behalf of power utility Zesco.

In a statement, Mr Yamba said STAG failed to make any disbursements over a prolonged period of time after the Sovereign Guarantee was issued and all the conditions fully met by Zesco.

He said the Ministry of Finance resorted to other financing options in support of Zesco’s need for the critical electricity power imports.

Below is the full statement

Lusaka, Wednesday, May 30, 2018

ON THE TREASURY GOVERNMENT OF ZAMBIA USD 500 MILLION SOVEREIGN GUARANTEE ISSUED TO STAG AFRICAN INVESTMENTS LIMITED

MOF/Debt Management – , May 30, 2018

www.mof.gov.zm

Ministry of Finance

The Government of the Republic of Zambia through the Ministry of Finance issued a Sovereign Guarantee in the sum of Five Hundred Million United States Dollars
(US$500,000,000.00) in favour of Stag African Investments Limited.

Stag African Investments Limited is a company incorporated under the Companies Act Chapter 388 of the Laws of Zambia with registration number 120150135298.

Stag African Investments Limited and Zesco Limited entered into a loan agreement through which Stag African Investments Limited agreed to make available a loan of Five Hundred
Million United States Dollars (US$500,000,000.00) for the importation of emergency electricity power, on the terms and conditions set out in the Loan Agreement.

Owing to the significant amount of the loan, a term of the Loan Agreement was that it required to be secured by a Sovereign Guarantee.

The Ministry of Finance processed Zesco’s request for the Sovereign Guarantee made pursuant to the Loan Agreement, and the draft document was duly approved by the Attorney-General.

Thereafter, the Ministry of Finance recommended the issuance of the Sovereign Guarantee owing to the critical need for electricity power to the economy which needed to be imported to cover the deficit. The Ministry of Finance facilitated the issuance of the Sovereign Guarantee accordingly.

The Guarantee was issued in line with the Loans and Guarantees (Authorisation) Act, Chapter 366 of the Laws of Zambia.

The Sovereign Guarantee was signed on 9th September 2016 by His Excellency the President of the Republic of Zambia exercising the functions of the Minister of Finance pursuant to
Article 91 of the Constitution of Zambia (as amended by Act No. 2 of 2016), as read together with Section 4 of the Statutory Functions Act, Chapter 4 of the Laws of Zambia, due to the critical need for electricity power imports. It should be noted that this happened before the President appointed his Cabinet.

Since the issuance of the Sovereign Guarantee, all the conditions were fully met by Zesco but no disbursements were made by Stag African Investments Limited over a prolonged
period and consequently, the Ministry of Finance made recourse to other financing options in support of Zesco’s need for the critical electricity power imports.

In view of these developments, on 24th April 2018, the Minister of Finance, Hon. Margaret Mwanakatwe, MP recalled and cancelled the Sovereign Guarantee issued in favour of Stag African Investments Limited.

MultiChoice Africa, the continent’s leading video entertainment services provider, announced a bold new Pan-African social investment initiative – the MultiChoice Talent Factory (MTF) – aimed at igniting and growing Africa’s creative industries into vibrant, economic centres.

“The African development story has long been defined by investment in the vast mineral wealth on the continent, leaving our creative industries to fend for themselves on the fringes of economic development for far too long. As a result, the film and television industries have not developed at the same rate as other industries on the continent, and not for a lack of talent, passion or imagination,” says Ngoza kasunga- Matakala “We are abundantly blessed in these areas, however, the space given for this expression has at best been limited and at worst, been relegated to the fringes of the mainstream economy, leaving in its wake, unfulfilled dreams, unexplored talent and unwritten stories. As an African business, MultiChoice, together with our valued partners and stakeholders across the continent, have collaborated to make a positive socio-economic impact in the communities in which we live and work through the MultiChoice Talent Factory initiative.”

For over two decades, MultiChoice has been committed to investing in the development of original African programming and showcasing it on the DStv and GOtv platforms across 49 sub-Saharan African countries. The launch of MTF forms part of the company’s new strategy of furthering this investment through creating shared value by using its core business resources, people, skills and networks to affect a positive change in society that yields benefits for the business and society.

The MTF initiative will deliver three touchpoints that launch throughout the year, the MTF academies, Masterclasses and the MTF Portal. The first to launch is the MTF Academy, a 12-month educational programme aimed at furnishing 60 deserving, young, talented people who want to work and innovate in film and television production.

The MTF Academy students will be provided with skillsets to develop their talent, connect with industry professionals and tell authentic African stories through a comprehensive curriculum comprising theoretical knowledge and hands-on experience in cinematography, editing, audio production and storytelling. The programme will take place at three regional MTF Academies based in Kenya for East Africa, Nigeria for West Africa and Zambia for Southern African countries and will be overseen by acclaimed local film & TV industry experts, In Southern Africa, Mr. Berry Lwando has been appointed as the Academy Director for the hub.

“I am truly delighted to be a part of this great African renaissance, one that will not only tap into Africa’s latent but grow talent by up skilling our youths so that they can grow our creative industries,” says Lwando, MTF Academy Director for Southern Africa. He adds: “This is part of a game changing-era in which creative and productive skills will be developed to enable local content be produced and compete with the best across any genre. For Southern Africa, the MultiChoice Talent Factory answers the questions of training and advancement in film production we have asked for a long time and provides us the local content solution we have desired. Nothing can be more rewarding to our creative industries.”

During the course of the programme, MTF Academy students will produce television and film content that will be aired on our local M-Net channels across the MultiChoice platform including Africa Magic, Maisha Magic East, Maisha Magic Bongo, Zambezi Magic, M-Net and SuperSport to reach African audiences on the DStv and GOtv platforms. Upon graduation from the MultiChoice Talent Factory Academy, the MTF student will leave the Academy with the knowledge and skills to contribute professionally to the film and television industry.

The Forum for Political parties outside Parliament (FPP) have made a radical proposal that political parties should stop organising public rallies and leave the mandate to the country’s electoral body and the Zambia police so as to level the playing field.

FPP Chairperson Jackson Silavwe revealed that FPP delegates met on Monday in Lusaka as part of the road map for the all inclusive ZCID dialogue process and made a number of submissions.

He said the submissions will form part of the agenda in the dialogue process.

Mr. Silavwe said the delegates looked at the four thematic areas which included civility in politics, constitutional, electoral and judicial reforms.

He explained that the only thing that came out which was not part of the resolutions of the National Democracy Stakeholders Summit (NDSS) was the proposal to have the ECZ organise political rallies so as to level the playing field for all participating political parties.

“One the proposals that did not come from NDSS and we are passionate about it is that political parties should stop organising political rallies during campaign time and that power should be given to the ECZ (Electoral Commission of Zambia) and the Zambia Police. ECZ must have the responsibility of convening political rallies and then invite political parties that are participating in that election to be able to address the electorates. The delegates felt that the proposal will even level the playing field and there will be no big or small political party. That way we will be able to share the same platform and discuss issues.”

One of the first things the FPP looked at during the meeting was the four thematic areas that speak to the national dialogue that was also tackled at the NDSS held in Lusaka about two weeks ago.

“We looked at constitutional, judicial and electoral reforms as well as civility in politics. Further we touched on matters to do with the Public Order Act and Separation of Powers,” he said.

He added “The debates were robust and objective. As Chairperson, one of the things that really encouraged me during the meeting is for example the submission that Proportional Representation has to come back to the Constitution. This is something which was submitted by the Technical Committee also I think the Provincial Assemblies was an emphatic resolution. It also come out very strongly that Provincial Assemblies be introduced in order for us to decentralise to the lower organs of governance structures in our country. We need the Provincial Assemblies as submitted again by the Technical Committee on the Constitution review Commission”.

“The other thing that encouraged me when it comes to Constitutional reforms is the aspect that we should do away with by elections in an event were sit falls vacant because of death,” he said.

Mr. Silavwe concluded that there was a general feeling that the same party that won the election can sponsor a candidate since it will be would be under the proportion representative system.

Operation Young Vote has said the Zambia Center for Interparty Dialogue (ZCID) in its current standing has no capacity whatsoever to lead or facilitate the National dialogue of the magnitude Zambia requires at the moment. OPV director Guess Nyirenda said under the current regime, Zambia and Zambians have become very polarized.He said it is regretable that the efforts by the Commonwealth through Madam Patricia Scottland and Professor Gambari to bring about genuine dialogue in Zambia,were hijacked by very ill intended maneuvers.He said the ruling party’s rejection and mobilization of its sympathizers through government machinery to reject the Commonwealth from Facilitating the National Dialogue was not only ill conceived but also extremely faulty and mainly meant to safe guard personal and partisan interests and wrong doing.Mr. Nyirenda said the ZCID’s silence on a number of atrocities by the PF,the failed National Democracy Stakeholders Summit organised by the ZCID among others are evidence of the ineptness of the ZCID.

Below is the Full Press Statement

OYV shall forever regard dialogue as one of the surest ways of diffusing tension and also finding commonly acceptable ground between and among conflicting parties. It is also unarguable that the level of polarization and tension in Zambia calls for focused and genuine dialogue between and among stakeholders on a number of unresolved matters, processes, policies and practices including legal frameworks.

Genuineness in dialogue takes into account many factors which include the structure of the dialogue (who leads/facilitates), the agenda, where and when the dialogue takes place. How the players and stakeholders are invited to the meetings and so on and so forth.

Operation Young Vote (OYV) would like to, without any reservation and apology to anyone, pay tribute to the Commonwealth (through Madam Patricia Scottland and Professor Gambari) for its effort to initiate concepts to bring about genuine dialogue in Zambia.
Unfortunately this very well intended effort has be hijacked by very ill intended maneuvers meant to dupe unsuspecting members of the public and the world at large that there is interest among the ruling elite to dialogue with stakeholders and others with divergent views when in fact not.

OYV said it before in a statement issues on 14th April, 2018 and will say it again that the ruling party’s rejection and mobilization of its sympathizers through government machinery to reject the Commonwealth from Facilitating the National Dialogue was not only ill conceived but also extremely faulty and mainly meant to safe guard personal and partisan interests and wrong doing.

Zambia has an opportunity to resolves it’s current tension scenario for many years to come through the Commonwealth or any other local body which is impartial and seen to be impartial and commands the confidence of the stakeholders and citizens and otherwise will be a smoke screen. We say so because it is very clear to everyone that under the current regime, Zambia and Zambians have been polarized to the bone.
Without any malice, we have said before and will say it again. The Zambia Center for Interparty Dialogue (ZCID) in its current standing has no capacity whatsoever to lead or facilitate the dialogue of the magnitude Zambia requires at the moment.
Below are some of the reasons OYV is convinced that ZCID is incapacitated to handle/lead/facilitate/anchor or whatever term you prefer to use, the much desired and deserved dialogue.

1. Its silence on a number of atrocities the party in power (the PF) and government are committing and has continued to commit against the opposition and all those with divergent views. It is very clear to all that there are unprecedented levels of inertia within ZCID to act on one of its mandate of ensuring that political parties co-exist in diversity while there is clear fear of the PF – as party in government – government who is their major funder;

2.  It must be doubtless in the minds of the Doubting Thomases that ZCID is inept as evidenced by a number of factors among them the failed so called “National Democracy Stakeholders Summit – (NDSS)”. We are of the conviction that this was a failed project due to the following reasons:

• Who was invited to the NDSS and how the invitations were done – A summit of such a name and magnitude requires serious planning on how the programme would flow. Who to invite/Delegates matter a lot on how a forum is perceived and how the product/outcome is taken seriously by society. Most of the delegates to the NDSS did not have the caliber (with due respect to the Zambian intelligential) for the forum – it looked like the motivation was to have enough numbers regardless of the caliber, knowhow, experience and relevant one was to the process and discussions. We noted (unless otherwise) that some stakeholders who would have added value to the process and the deliberations who included LAZ, Traditional Leaders, the Church Mother Bodies other Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) were absent. We tried to ask questions and the best response we got was that we had an agenda to discredit the ZCID, and that the United Party for National Development (UPND) was invited but shunned the meeting even when the question did not mention the UPND. We challenge ZCID to tell the national which stakeholders were invited to the NDSS and what mode of invitation was used. Just on this point alone one would clearly see that this was hastily done with intention to dupe the public due to it’s ill conception which any person can figure out;
• When OYV through Mr. Guess Nyirenda questioned on the absence of many other stakeholder who would add value to a national undertaking of the magnitude of Dialogue and that the characteristics of the people present was not reflective of a national nature – the only and best response the audience got was that Mr. Guess Nyirenda was among those that had ill agendas to disrupt the work of ZCID – This response was and is still sad and shameful to say the least.Among most “Delegates” present that did not speak was due to the fact that they did not comprehend with the issues/subject matter while on the other hand some of, if not most of those that spoke and stole the precious time of the nation were parallel to the issues. We say this without malice whatsoever but with all due respect – How can precious time (more than 45 minutes in total) be allocated to “president” Mulyokela (a person some “delegates” claimed his party is not registered under any law in Zambia) just to tell the meeting that he had more members than all political parties and that the absence of the UPND had no bearing – and he was accorded many chances and it was like he was ready to make noise and continue talking if he was not given the floor – Anyone who would say Mr. Mulyokela was the “main speaker” at the NDSS would not be wrong. The other man was drunk and claimed all sorts of things (i.e. that he was neighbours with President Lungu at some point, he was related to Mr. Hakainde Hichilema etc.) – That is “National Dialogue” for you. Thank God two young persons from the UPPZ (if our memories serve us right) stood up to challenge the “Nonsense” and the kind of stakeholders that were stealing the show – except they were ruled out of order for using strong language. They questioned Mr. Mulyokela’s party legitimacy among other things.
• The Moderator who is able and was good was at pains to control the “Delegates” that seemed not to comprehend let alone understand why they were where they were at that time as their talk was parallel with the agenda.
• The Presentation on the Constitution by Mr. Isaac Mwanza from YALI: Without taking away anything from the presentation Isaac Mwanza made – it was a good one. OYV actually congratulated Mr. Mwanza. However the presentation was said to be a representation of the Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in Zambia – a position that was not only false and misleading but also meant to hoodwink delegates and nationals that since CSOs had made a presentation to the forum, then it was “authentic” a meeting. We challenged this within the meeting – and thank God Mr. Isaac Mwanza was magnanimous enough to correct the position to indicate that the presentation was his personal reflection – not even YALI his organization had input. But now what was on the programme/agenda and what would probably reflect in the report would be the wrong and challenged position. The question is: What was the intention of leaving this to the end until OYV challenged it – anyone can figure out the motivation;

3. The mini or near altercation between the ZCID Chairperson and the Executive Director within the auditorium in the presence of the handful delegates that included the other ZCID members and staff as a result of the objectivity of the Executive Director in handling a matter around the communiqué that was then under discussion and scrutiny left a lot to be desired. The very few people that remained around advised the ZCID Board Chairperson not to argue with the ZCID Executive Director in public but instead go to a secluded place together with other Board Members to put their house in order – a piece of advise to which they obliged to. The whole “Summit” was chaotic and ended disorderly.

• Note that among the issues in the Communiqué were: The recognition of the effort and adoption of the agenda set by the Commonwealth and Professor Gambari – which issue most members of ZCID opposed that it should not appear but were beaten overwhelmingly as the matter was subjected to a vote;
• The other was that ZCID must lead/facilitate the National Dialogue – This matter was not supported in the thematic groups that discussed it. However before it was discussed in plenary the meeting ended due to the altercation mentioned above and that the few “delegates” that had remained behind opted to leave when ZCID went to have house cleaning after altercation.

4. It is very clear that the so called “NDSS” was a Big Flop, not by accident or unforeseen circumstances but because of ineptness of the ZCID and “driving” an agenda that isn’t its own. There is clear lack of autonomy and independence of ZCID from the ruling party.

5. Our recommendation is that if we are to avoid going round circles and hold genuine dialogue, heal the nation, reconcile and move forward and neutral and impartial body – such as the Commonwealth should be allowed to facilitate this undertaking of course assisted by a steering committee composed of local stakeholders who will include ZCID, the Church Mother Bodies, Civil Society Organisations, Traditional Leaders, Professional Bodies among others. It is indeed sad to note that the only crime/sin and disqualification that the Commonwealth – the initiators of this much need dialogue and reconciliation is being foreign – a notion that can be argued – as we have seen that our governments now and before have claimed legitimacy regarding winning elections on the pretext that Foreign/International Observers had said so – food for thought;

6. While we appreciate the calls to have the Church Mother Bodies lead, we still are convinced that we will end up at square one as some of our Church Leaders have shown partiality in the past and parties and stakeholders will reject some of or the entire outcome. Therefore it would be catastrophic for the nation to waste its precious time knowing that processes and reforms to some laws and legislation must be done way before 2021;

7. We must understand that the kind of dialogue we must all envisage is where tough and difficult questions will be asked and those to respond must be as genuine and transparent as possible. There must be admittance of wrong doing and pledging with practicalities to reform and begin on the national building (with love for all) trajectory. It is not where people would come with titles and intimidate and threaten those with divergent views but where mutual respect will take center stage. We all know that it hard to swallow a bitter pill – which unfortunately we have no option but to do so if we desire genuine dialogue, reconciliation, peace and unity as a people. We at OYV are convinced that we can and should allow the Commonwealth to Facilitate our National Dialogue to be stirred by a Steering Committee of Local Credible men and women including Young people and Persons living with disabilities

For and on behalf of OPERATION YOUNG VOTE
Guess Nyirenda (Mr.)
Executive Director

By Sishuwa Sishuwa

Last Friday, 25 May 2018, marked Africa Freedom Day. Like every year, our political leaders and foreign dignitaries gathered at State House to offer platitudes on African unity and freedom. Earlier, they had gone to the Freedom Statue where they laid wreaths in honour of those who died in pursuit of the freedom of Zambia and Africa. This is an appropriate time to reflect about this day and ask: what is it that we are celebrating or commemorating? What does Africa Freedom Day mean for the ordinary citizen? What is it that Zambians are free to do on Africa Freedom Day? If those individuals celebrating independence in October 1964 could have seen a vision of what Zambia would be like in 54 years’ time, they would undoubtedly have been disappointed. Take the sorry and shameful case of Mpundu Mutembo. Many Zambians, especially residents of Lusaka, will know what this man looks like although they have never met him and he does not occupy a prominent position in public life. This is because Mutembo is the model for the famous Freedom Statue on Independence Avenue depicting a man breaking the chains of colonial oppression that had shackled Zambia’s people.

Mutembo himself has little to celebrate. This man, on whom one of our national symbols is based and who appears on the Kwacha, lives in poverty. Successive governments have forgotten him. Promises to provide an income, housing and food security have all been broken. Even the land he lives on in Mbala, Northern Province, was not a gift from the government. It was in fact granted to him by the last colonial governor of Northern Rhodesia. The governments of an independent Zambia have given him nothing. They all have forgotten him. Yet every year, on 25 May, our leaders go to the Freedom Statue to pay homage to a sculpture that he inspired. “I am suffering. I walk on foot. I don’t eat properly. Some of my children have died in poverty. I can’t even take my children to school. Where do I find the money? Very shameful,’ Mutembo told News Diggers on Africa Freedom at a braai organised by opposition National Restoration Party leader Elias Chipimo to raise funds for him. A few metres away from the venue of the braai, those for whose freedom the starving 82-year-old had fought and who have since neglected him, were having a buffet. It is not too late to provide Mpundu with some dignity in his old age. Those who go to pay homage to the statue depicting him will do well to provide something for the man himself and for his fellow citizens who live in the same conditions of squalor. Chipimo deserves credit for inviting Mutembo to Lusaka and holding a braai meant to raise funds in his honour. This freedom fighter is surely owed more than a square meal or a medal. I plead with our political leaders to give this man some dignity. Please help him before he dies.

The ill-treatment we have accorded Mutembo should be a matter of deep shame for our country, but perhaps it is appropriate that our national symbol is a forgotten hero of our nationalist struggle living in poverty. It is at least consistent with how another national hero was treated. Mpundu Mponde Mutale, the singer of Africa my Africa, a song that has effectively become the official anthem at celebrations to mark Africa Freedom Day and which has brought a tear to the eye of successive generations of Zambia’s political leaders, was solely forgotten. He too lived in squalor and was literally left to die. Every year, on Africa Freedom Day, a very expensive car from State House would arrive in Chibolya, an impoverished slum in Lusaka, behind SOWETO Market, where he lived alone in a single-roomed shack made of cardboard and worn metallic sheets, partitioned in the middle by a filthy piece of well-worn cloth. Possibly the only time in a year that he rode in a car, it would collect and bring him to State House, where he was asked to sing the song, to convey history through music, and feted for a few hours in what constituted a brief acknowledgement of his role. After the celebrations, Mutale was again discarded, only to be remembered the following year on 25 May.

Evidently a pauper with cracked lips and matted hair, the scruffy-looking Mutale had no decent house, no job, no income, no running water, no electricity, no proper clothes and no access to healthcare. He went for days without a meal and only survived through the kindness of a fellow struggling neighbour who shared the little that she occasionally gathered. This is a historic wrong and injustice, one that now cannot be righted, as Mutale is dead. Although the official cause of his death was diabetes, a disease that is easily manageable when the necessary support is available, Mutale was killed by our inhumanity – the same cold-heartedness that is about to take another life of an outstanding patriot of our country. For a long time, like Mutembo, Mutale cried for help from the government and other well-wishers, but his cry always fell on deaf ears. “I feel my life is falling apart. Misfortunes are happening in quick succession. First, it was diabetes. Now, I am too broke to support myself and to have my music and film on the market. I have been calling for help for a very long time”, complained Mutale in July 2006, a few days before he died. On 25 May that year, our national leaders listened to his enlightening and incriminating track while they were drinking and eating. They have been doing the same thing before and ever since. His words still bring a tear to the eye, but those crying are not crying for him.

Mutembo and Mutale are unfortunately representative of the awful plight of freedom fighters: impoverished, without the essential basics, neglected and waiting to be freed by death. There is no national policy to even identify and locate former freedom fighters, let alone acknowledge their roles. Many live in obscurity and degrading human conditions in the land they fought to free. If this is the way we treat freedom fighters, then what hope does the common man or ordinary citizen have? During a recent visit to Muchinga and Luapula provinces, I was stunned to see the degrading and dehumanising conditions under which rural citizens continue to live in independent Zambia. Housed in grass huts, with no provision of services, struggling to earn a basic living from subsistence fishing, agriculture and selling charcoal, I could not hold back my tears. No human being, let alone a fellow Zambian, should live that way. However, I know that what I saw in Luapula and Muchinga is representative of how millions of rural Zambians and the urban poor in other parts of the country live. What has 54 years of independence meant for these people? How can they be expected to live in this way? Where is our humanity? How do Zambia’s leaders sleep at night?

A key reason that made the generation of Mutembo and Mutale great was their genuine humility, their sense of vision, their spirit of sacrifice, service, community and their ability to care about others and in many cases to help provide for them. Today, I fear that we are losing these humane values and becoming a nation of self-centred individuals with no interest in the future of Zambia. Millions of Zambians, with their expectations of independence thwarted, live as Mutale did. The haunting story of Mutembo, like that of Mutale before him, is a Zambian story; it is one that represents the plight of the common man, who is free only to rot in poverty. For the ordinary citizen or common man, Africa Freedom Day or Independence Day is simply another day of struggle. Political leaders today have no vision or clear strategy to bring about the badly needed change. They are content to bicker over inane and trivial matters, or to use their time in public office as an opportunity for personal accumulation and self-enrichment. Just where does our hope lie?

The inaugural Castle Africa 5’s provided communities with a rare opportunity to form bonds on the field of play, but also unlocking the future of African Football. African football legend Samuel Eto’o said the standard of football he witnessed in Lusaka was spectacular and the sportsmanship displayed by the teams was a great foundation to form amazing friendships in and outside the football fields.

South Africa’s Milano FC were crowned the ultimate champions of the inaugural Castle Africa 5’s tournament, after defeating the tournament hosts, Stout One FC of Zambia 3 -1 in the final held at the Futsal & Sports Complex in Lusaka on Sunday,27 May 2018.

Zimbabwean side, Dairy Board FC, claimed third place in the tournament with a 4 – 1 victory over Tanzania’s BMM FC, who fought a good fight to not only get to the play-offs but also throughout the tournament.

The Final match started off on an interesting note when the home team, gave the SA side an unexpected lead in the 9^thminute when Doisy Soko released a brilliant shot to give his side a lead.

South Africa maintained possession of the game in the first half as Kyle Koert who was later awarded the Most Valuable Player award attempted multiple shots on target in a quest to find a goal against the not easily penetrable Zambian defence.

The reward came early in the second half for Koert when he blasted past the Zambian backline to score an equalizer, Sibusiso Makhoba and Luciano Van Heerden soon followed suit to seal off the deal.

This unique tournament has been proclaimed as acclaimed Africa’s biggest five-a-side social tournament and brings together teams from Lesotho, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe, Zambia, South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland who haves won their respective National Finals as well as invitational teams in the reigning champions & media select.

To illustrate the magnitude of the CASTLE AFRICA 5s, the tournament is backed by of one of the World’s greatest athletes from Africa, former Cameroonian National Team striker, Samuel Eto’o who is a four-time recipient of the African Footballer of the Year award and has played in three World Cup tournaments.

Eto’o headlined a cast of former footballers that included Zambia’s AFCON winning captain Christopher Katongo, Brian Baloyi {SA}, Lehlohonolo Seema {Lesotho}, Tinashe Nengomasha {Zimbabwe}, Ivo Mapunda {Tanzani} and Siza Dlamini {Swaziland} who served as mentors for their respective teams in the campaign.

Castle Lager has sponsored football on the continent for over 60 years, and continues to provide fans with the opportunity to live-out their passion for the beautiful game through this unique and exciting five-a-side tournament.

Castle Lager’s Brand Director, Vaughan Croeser said that the 2018 edition of the Castle Africa 5’s was a resounding success and that Castle Lager’s aims to grow its footprint in the continent through this five – a – side tournament.

“The tournament has been a huge success and. Castle Lager has always fortified the bonds of belonging and true friendship. We believe that social football is an ideal platform to sustain these significant societal interactions.”

“We are proud to have introduced this five-a-side tournament, which is a progressive, fast paced and accessible way to play the beautiful game,” Croeser concluded.

The ultimate prize for the winning team is a trip to the 2018 World Cup in Russia, hosted by football legend, Samuel Eto’o from the 24 – 28 June 2018.

Thousands of music fans and tourists from across the region converged on Livingstone on Friday (May 25) for the Mosi Day of Thunder music festival.
The line-up of artists included well-established names such as Wezi, Bobby East, T-Sean, Ma Africa, Afunika, King Illest, DJ Sebastien Dutch, DJ Nano and Vjeezy, and brought in Livingstone-based artists such as Edma, DJ Justin and DJ Dell Fresh, as well as surprise appearances by Slap Dee and Roberto, who joined Nigerian rap supremo Patoranking.
An estimated 10,000 turned up for the Zambian Breweries-sponsored event, which is now in its third year.
Festival-goers also gained free entry to the Mosi-Oa-Tunya (Victoria) Falls as part of the company’s on-going partnership with the Ministry of Tourism and Arts and the National Conservation Commission to promote Zambia tourism, arts and culture.
The Mosi Day of Thunder, which took place on Africa Freedom Day, also coincided with the Zambia Tourism Agency’s annual cultural tourism festival, the Livingstone International Cultural and Arts Festival (LICAF).
Speaking during the event, Zambian Breweries Head of Marketing Sibajene Munkombwe said: “The atmosphere is absolutely amazing; the crowd is excitied; the performances have been tremendous. We are happy to be associated with promoting the music industry in Zambia and also partnering with international acts to give people an exciting time.”
In addition to promoting Livingstone as a destination for domestic, regional and international  tourists, the Mosi Day of Thunder created additional employment for Livingstone people who provided security, catering and support services.
Throughout the event, Zambian Breweries worked hard to ensure that all participants enjoyed the Mosi Day of Thunder to its fullest, emphasising the importance of not drinking and driving, and enforcing its policy to stop under-age drinking.

PICTURES FROM THE EVENT

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