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The Immigration department has deported prominent Ugandan herbalist Siraje Kasamba Lubega, 30, also known as Don Bahati and removed 38 others out of Zambia.
Immigration department public relations officer Namati Nshinka stated that the department between Friday, March 16 and Sunday, March 18, deported two foreigners, among them Lubega.
He stated that Lubega was deported on Saturday, March 17, on account of his bad character.
“Mr Lubega was on 4th March 2018 apprehended together with forty other Ugandan herbalists as he addressed an illegal meeting at Precious Moments Lodge in Lusaka’s Kamwala South. He is believed to be behind the mushrooming number of bogus Ugandan herbalists who have been defrauding unsuspecting members of the public who are desperate for mystical help,” Mr. Nshinka explained.
He added that Lubega’s stay in Zambia was marred by controversies, including scams where he portrayed himself on various platforms including social media, as a wealthy man who owned various properties, including construction companies in Zambia and South Africa and expensive automobiles, when in fact not.
“He used fake profiles to appear credible to the many unsuspecting members of the public he defrauded.
Mr. Nshinka said Mr Lubega was in February 2018 arrested and prosecuted for the offence of abrogating the conditions stipulated in his Spouse Permit and was subsequently convicted and sentenced to pay a fine of K5, 000, in default six months simple imprisonment, prompting the Department to begin the process of revoking the Spouse Permit.
He further said the 40 other herbalists remain detained, some pending prosecution and others deportation or removal.
But Don Lubega says in a Facebook Live video that he is not a herbalist and that the gathering was a wedding meeting.
“To my family and friends, sorry for the pain you have gone through, Am out and ok, but 100% no fraud charges and not a Sangoma.”
“It was a wedding meeting, then detained because of not getting permission from the police.”
“It was a setup. They invited me to a wedding meeting and before the meeting could take off, police came in and they did not allow us to talk and straight to prison without explaining, and, no court hearing.”
“My brother, just know that there are Ugandans who are in this because of enmity, hatred and they want me down, but I know how I made it and I will maintain it by God’s grace.”
While celebrating his release at a posh hangout, Lubega had to use Facebook live to show his fans that he was indeed out and enjoying life as usual, as he enjoyed his meal, several sticks of Nyama Choma were hanging right in his face.
He then told his fans to wait for him on December 28 and for his buddies in South Africa, he will be there this Sunday.
Minister of Local Government Vincent Mwale has reiterated government’s resolve to ensuring that Councils take care of running markets and bus stations.
He said to this effect government has strengthened the law that deals with anybody who illegally collects levies from market traders or licensed public transporters other than the Council.
He explained that this has been done through Statutory Instrument number 12 of 2018.
Mr. Mwale stated that in order to augment the enforcement of SI 12 of 2018, government has started appointing markets and bus stations boards to run markets and bus stations as opposed to Councils directly running them, a strategy which has failed in the past.
He added that the past strategy gave unscrupulous people room to start illegally collecting levies from marketeers for their personal enrichment.
Mr. Mwale revealed that as a pilot programme, he has appointed market and bus station boards in Lusaka, Ndola, Kitwe, Livingstone, Chipata, Samfya, Mazabuka and Choma.
He added that his Ministry will appoint boards in other towns across the country in the long run.
Mr. Mwale said government expects the law to be followed to the letter.
He said his Ministry has authorised the recruitment of 140 additional Council Police for Lusaka City.
Mr. Mwale stated that the recruits will beef up security in the markets and bus stations around the capital city to ensure effective management of the facilities by the board.
Meanwhile, Parliament yesterday heard that government has created 22,000 alternative trading places to accommodate the 8000 displaced Lusaka street vendors.
This came to light when Local Government Minister Vincent Mwale made his Ministerial statement to Parliament.
Mr. Mwale indicated that the alternative market places are adequate to absolve all the displaced street vendors.
He said government is committed to ensuring that the displaced street vendors are accommodated in a decent trading place.
Meanwhile, the Minister disclosed that an additional 140 Council Police Offices have been employed.
He explained that the newly employed Council Police Offices will help in beefing up security and maintaining order in the running of markets and bus stations.
And Mr. Mwale revealed that he has appointed Boards to superintendent the operations of the markets and bus stations.
He said the market and bus stations Boards are aimed at bringing sanity in the running of the institutions.
Mr. Mwale complained that previously there was no accountability with funds collected from the markets and bus stations.
In a related development, Parliament heard that government has intentions of constructing 50 modern markets in different parts of the country.
Mr. Mwale said government wants to see to it that traders across the country trade in decent sanitary conditions.
First Quantum Minerals Ltd has refuted a tax assessment issued by the Zambia Revenue Authority accusing the firm of failing to declare over K70 billion in taxes.
In a statement, the Canadian based miner said claims made by ZRA regarding underpayment of customs duties are untrue.
FQM President Clive Newall said his firm confirms that it is in possession of a letter from the ZRA, dated March 19, 2018, noting an assessment for import duties, penalties and interest on consumables and spare parts of 76.5 billion Zambian Kwacha.
Mr. Newall however said FQM unequivocally refutes this assessment which he said does not appear to have any discernable basis of calculation.
He said FQM will continue working with the ZRA, as it normally does, to resolve the issue.
First Quantum’s stock dropped 12.4 percent to C$18 on the Toronto Stock Exchange before it was halted.
On Tuesday, the ZRA revealed that it had uncovered $8 billion tax scam at an unspecified “prominent mining company”, nearly double the total amount the country collected in taxes in last year.
The ZRA said it had issued a preliminary tax assessment of 76.5 billion Zambian kwacha to the unnamed company for classifying imported goods as mining machinery, which attract no custom duty.
He said the import duty on items other than mining machinery ranges from 15 to 25 percent, ZRA said adding that the company had been engaged in the conduct for the last five years.
“We have since notified both the mining (company) and the clearing agent of this unacceptable act of cheating,” ZRA said, without naming the company or the clearing agent.
ZRA’s assessment suggests the total value of goods imported goods was between $30 billion and $51 billion if about $8 billion is unpaid levy charged at between 15 and 25 percent.
Almost a year ago, ZRA Commissioner General Kingsley Chanda invited companies and people living in Zambia to declare their hidden assets in tax amnesty.
The ZRA said in a statement that Zambia, which collected 39.1 billion kwacha in taxes last year, netted 4.4 billion kwacha in hidden assets from the amnesty after smaller companies stepped forward.
The Zambia Revenue Authority may extend the period of the audit should it find a pattern of “consistent, systematic, premeditated” tax evasion, it said in a statement.
“We are announcing the preliminary assessment of 76.5 billion kwacha issued to a prominent mining company for misclassifying consumables and spare parts at importation for the last five years,” the tax authority said, without identifying the company. “The said items were declared as mining machinery, which attract customs duty at zero percent, when in fact not.”
It added, “Last year, the amnesty on interest and penalties was announced to allow tax payers to clean up their tax accounts. Those with issues were expected to engage ZRA and have a waiver on interest and penalties. A post amnesty review shows that only small and medium companies stepped forward and the Authority raised about 4.4 billion kwacha from the programme. Unfortunately, most large companies did not participate despite numerous reminders and extensions.”
“We would like to assure the public that the amnesty programme was not a joke and our promise to deal with non-compliance is real. In line with this objective, the 2018 theme for ZRA is “Rewarding compliant tax payers and punishing non-compliant tax payers to the maximum”. The Authority has therefore started detailed audits on all mining companies for compliance in all applicable tax types in order to ensure all taxes due are collected.”
The Authority said, “The planned audits will cover the statutory period of 6 years to start with. However, if the findings will review a pattern of consistent, systematic, premeditated cheating (tax evasion), we shall criminalise the act and cover longer periods to achieve the intended objective.”
“We are taking this case very seriously and we shall pursue all available options to the Authority to recover all taxes on behalf of the Zambian people. We also wish to announce that starting 26th March 2018, our investigation teams and auditors will commence the audit of all mining firms in Zambia. We are, therefore, appealing to all other companies and players in the Mining Sector that may have been involved in illicit tax activities to make self-disclosure before we discover them. This will help them minimise their exposure to penalties and interests.”
It warned, “To those that are evading tax or contemplating doing dubious activities, our warning to them is to stop immediately and start complying. The Authority will definitely catch up with them and take all measures to collect taxes, penalties and interest due.
MMD National Secretary Raphael Nakacinda has described Opposition United Party for National Development-UPND president Hakainde Hichilema as a contraceptive to national unity as well as national dialogue.
Responding to a caller who identified himself as Mubita who wanted to know what ‘rat’ was in local institutions which has led to mistrust from opposition UPND to insist on having the Commonwealth leading the dialogue process, Nakacinda said the “rat” was the UPND who wanted to use the dialogue process for selfish motives.
He said the UPND leader was a contraceptive to national unity and dialogue because he was not interested in the dialogue process but that his interests was a process that would satisfy his selfish and narrow partisan political motive that would increase his political fortunes both locally and internationally.
“Mubita said what is the rat with institutions that we have established ourselves such as ZCID, I can tell him that at the moment the rat we have is the UPND. I can describe Mr Hichilema as a contraceptive to national unity and national dialogue because he is not interested in that process; he is interested more in a process that will give him as an individual some political mileage, its no longer about national dialogue, its not no longer about advancing democracy…it is basically about a political agenda and we cannot allow that. Otherwise if we allow such contraceptives in our society, we will not be able to conceive the idea of national unity in diversity, we will not be able to conceive the idea of having a democracy that will mature to the point where we differ but still call each other brothers and sisters,” he said.
Earlier Nakacinda had belaboured to explain that there was no need for the country to have foreigners captaining the country’s dialogue process when there are institutions such the ZCID, NGOs and Church mother bodies who can be used to settle disputes.
He noted that in Kenya the challenges which seemingly were bigger than ours as the losing candidate went as far as swearing himself in have been sorted out without the involvement of foreigners, while here the country is still grappling with the same issues for more than 2 years.
“If Kenya can have elections argue and resolve their issues within a shortest possible time in the interest of their country, here 2 years people are still referring to a non issue thereby creating unnecessary tension.”
He further wondered what has gone wrong with ZCID in the eyes of the UPND leader for him to have so much contempt towards the institution he belongs to and which his party was chairing few months ago.
And Nakacinda has urged government and the ruling party to stop being dismissive in their response to concerns raised by citizens.
Commenting on a number of corruption and reckless spending allegations by government Nakacinda said corruption was a cancer which needs to be fought against without a bias.
He said both the opposition and government should not use corruption as a tool for fighting political opponents because it is a cancer with the potential to collapse operations of government institutions and cause havoc in the governance of the country.
Further Nakacinda advised that those charged with the responsibility to govern the country should communicate facts to those asking questions because they are duty bound to do so.
“The back starts with those in government, it is expected that people will raise issues and say that we are not comfortable with certain transactions, the issues raised on fire tenders, don’t be dismissive. What is so wrong in trying to find out….after all you have a duty as government, as President and everybody else responsible to peep where people are asking questions….that is why you were elected, you did not go there by imposing yourselves, you are enjoying the mandate of those that put you in office…so clarify issues, if you can establish an inquiry on a licked dossier, why can’t you do the same on the Fire Tenders, just clarify issues.
“Government has a duty to communicate facts and put to to rest these issues. If there is an issue raised against any individual let them step aside so that they can be cleared and if they are cleared they continue,” he said.
On the speech in parliament by the President last Friday, Nakacinda said the speech should be reflected in the governance of the country.
He said the contents of the speech should trickle down to government departments and how the people conduct themselves both those in government and opposition viz a viz corruption and integrity.
Minister of Housing and Infrastructure Development Ronald Chitotela has revealed that the construction of the Kenneth Kaunda International Airport (KKIA) is progressing well.
Mr. Chitotela said the design and construction of KKIA is at a total contract sum of 360 million United States Dollars provided by the Exim Bank of China.
He stated that out of the $360 million over $250 million has so far been spent on various project items.
The Minister said this when he presented a ministerial statement in Parliament today.
ZANIS reports that Mr. Chitotela said with regard to the terms of the loan, the maturity period of the loan facility is 240 months or 20 years with a grace period of 84 months or 7 years while the loan is expected to be repaid within a period of 13 years.
He further stated that the applicable interest rate on the loan is 2 percent per annum while the rate applicable for the management fee is 0.25 percent while the rate for the commitment fee is also 0.25 percent per annum.
Mr. Chitotela explained that the project will continue to contribute to employment creation.
He disclosed that as of end of January 2018, the total number of Zambian employees on the project was 1185.
Mr. Chitotela noted that the project is poised to provide impetus towards industrialisation and transformation of Zambia into a transport hub in the region and beyond.
Benny Muziyo (Red) knocking out Malawian boxer Elias Kassim (Blue).Courtesy of OYDC
2014 Commonwealth Games Boxing bronze medal winner Ben Muziyo is confident of collecting another medal at next month’s Games in Australia.
Muziyo warmed-up for the Gold Coast Games on Saturday with a first round knockout of Malawian boxer Elias Kassim during an international friendly tournament held at Olympic Youth Development Centre in Lusaka.
“I feel good. My next target will be to win a medal during the Commonwealth games in Australia. My fellow boxers and I are ready for our fights,”Muziyo said.
Muziyo will be one of five boxers representing Zambia at the Commonwealth Games that will run from April 4-15 on the Gold Coast.
Midfielder Enock Mwepu says Zambia are ready for Wednesday evenings Four-Nations Tournament semi-final game against Zimbabwe.
Chipolopolo meet Zimbabwe in an 18h00 kickoff at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola.
Their semi-final doubleheader will be preceded by the South Africa versus Angola match at 15h00.
“It is a good thing that both the professionals and the locals have all come in time and we are all looking good so far,” Mwepu said after Tuesday morning training at Arthur Davies Stadium in Ndola.
“We have recently played Zimbabwe, losing two and drawing one, but we are looking forward to meeting them and are confident that we shall carry the day.”
This will be coach Wedson Nyirenda’s fourth meeting against Zimbabwe after two defeats and one draw.
One of those defeats was in competition action last July when they lost 3-1 in the 2017 COSAFA Cup final in Rustenburg, South Africa.
Meanwhile, Zambia is at full strength heading into the tournament with only striker Patson Daka absent due to injury.
Mwepu including his fellow European-based compatriots Emmanuel Banda and Fashion Sakala were all part of Tuesday training.
The South African-based quartet of Justin Shonga, Augustine Mulenga,Salulani Phiri and Roderick Kabwe have all arrived for the tournament Zambia will host at Levy Stadium from March 21-24.
The winners on Wednesday will meet in the final on March 24 at 15h00 while the semifinal losers clash in a third-and-fourth playoff match at 13h00.
Speaker of the National Assembly Patrick Matibini has suspended Lusaka Province Minister Bowman Lusambo from the service of the house for the maximum period of thirty (30) days.
The Speaker said the conduct of Mr. Lusambo of assaulting a fellow member, within the precincts of Parliament is unbefitting of the conduct expected of a Member of Parliament and more so a Minister.
This is during a ruling by the Speaker on a point of order raised by Chishimba Kambwili against then Minister for Copperbelt Province Bowman Lusambo in Parliament today.
“This is a House of honour, decorum and dignity and I am duty bound to ensure that the honour, decorum and dignity of the House is protected and preserved at all times”, said the Speaker.
He stated that he will not tolerate indiscipline and misconduct from Mr. Lusambo or any other Member.
ZANIS reports that Dr. Matibini requested Mr. Lusambo to reflect on his conduct more so as a Minister and trusts that he will change and conduct himself in a manner befitting a Member and Minister.
The Speaker acted in accordance with section 28 (2) of the National Assembly Powers and Privileges Act which requires a resolution to suspend a member from the House with Members voting positively to the question.
He revealed that during the suspension, Mr. Lusambo shall not enter the precincts of the Assembly extending to the National Assembly Motel.
Dr. Matibini also stated that he shall not participate in any activity of the Assembly or any committee that he is assigned in, in his capacity as Member of Parliament.
He also noted that he shall not be paid a salary or allowance that he is entitled to as a Member.
And Lands Minister and Mandevu MP Jean Kapata survived her seven day suspension as she had apologised and reconciled with Mr. Kambwili
Ms Kapata’s seven day suspension was recommended by the Parliamentary Committee on Privileges but was put through a vote.
MPs voted 35 for and 66 against Ms. Kapata’s suspension for pouring water on Mr Kambwili after an altercation.
The Committee recommended that both Mr Lusambo and Ms Kapata be suspended as their actions were unparliamentary.
Mr Lusambo was asked to take a walk of shame out of Parliament through the main entrance after his suspension was handed down by Speaker Patrick Matibini.
State House Spokesman and media advisor to the Head of State, Amos Chanda, has castigated sections of the media for grossly peddling lies. The issue of ‘bad’ media has been of great concern to me and several other citizens who seek for professional journalism. I also believe it is in the power of authorities to make ‘bad’ media irrelevant in the eyes of the public.
MY EXPERIENCE: I have shared on this Facebook page before about my many encounters with President Michael Sata at the time I served as Director General of ZNBC. One of the incidents related to his anxiety about broadcasting the proceedings of the Barotseland Convention. He suggested blacking out the story in national interest and I countered that doing so would give credence to private and social media who would grossly distort information, forcing his ministers to later seek to ‘correct the record’ on an event public media never covered in the first place. He withdrew the suggestion, we covered the event.
In another meeting attended by public media heads (ZNBC, Times of Zambia and Zambia Daily Mail), and George Chella, the Media Advisor to the President at the time, concerns were raised to the President about the gratuitous interference by some ministers in our operations. President Sata’s response in summary; ‘I want more voices, critical voices from Kanyama, Mandevu, Matero…I want to see their cries on ZNBC to help me know the truth about what is happening; do not censor them….Do not only cover (Wynter) Kabimba attacking GBM (Geoffrey Bwalya) or GBM attacking Kabimba. Cover both so that I analyse them better.’
There were challenges in the ZNBC newsroom of editors failing to reform, shutting off certain voices despite the instruction to project balanced, objective and fair information. One editor said, ‘Sir, we are doing this to protect government and your job.’ The contrary view, which I still stand for, is that Government is not protected by half-truths or distorted information. On the contrary, the best way to destroy the integrity of government is to hide correct information; by doing so, the public begins to mistrust their own government, an extremely dangerous state in governance.
PROACTIVE ENGAGEMENT: I strongly advise those responsible for Government communications to be very proactive in the handling of information. This, to some extent, destroys ‘bad’ media. For example, government can easily publish all institutions, by name, that benefitted from the three Eurobonds. That is public information and we do not want any manner of speculation on information of this nature. On the recently published Presidential trips, government can quickly call the Auditor General to publish the correct information. Imagine what that would do to the media house that published this information. Only irresponsible and unpatriotic citizens would spend a dime on such a newspaper because the truth would have been laid bare.
LEARNING FROM IMF: This institution has revolutionised its media engagement after learning the hard lesson during the 1998 Asian Crisis. It’s media engagement policy at that time was, ‘never say anything to the media; you are safe that way.’ Today, the IMF has moved from about three communications experts in the 1990s to nearly 130 today, all focused on proactively engaging stakeholders on providing information, even on things of low public interest. The 2014 IMF Global Opinion Survey we carried out at the time I served as Communications Advisor, revealed that the IMF is now among the world’s most trusted organisations; not that the public agrees and supports its policies, but that many believe what it says is highly authentic.
In short, my young brother, Amos Chanda, the gentleman I hold in high esteem, can easily apply two Bible verses that have shaped my thinking about increasing trust and credibility,
‘For you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free’ John 8.32. ‘For we can do nothing against the truth but for the truth.’ 2 Cor 13.8
President Edgar Lungu meeting with The Israeli Prime Minister BENJAMIN NETANYAHU at His office in Jerusalem on Tuesday 28-02-2017- Picture by Eddie Mwanaleza/Statehouse.
President Edgar Lungu says Zambia is eager to learn from Israel how that country has utilized the military to boost its agriculture and the economy.
The President Lungu notes that Israeli military has helped the country boost agriculture stating that the Zambian military should learn from that country.
President Lungu said this when he met Israeli Minister of Defense Avigdor Liberman at state house today to discuss how Zambia and Israel can boost their economies through agriculture.
The head of state noted that the bilateral relations between Zambia and Israel should result in economic growth if best practices especially in agriculture which Israel has implemented well are emulated.
He said during his visit to Israel last year, he learned how the defense had helped boost agriculture, technology growth and other industries.
The President stated that he met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Kenya where they agreed to scale up cooperation in various sectors including peace and security.
President Lungu said he was glad that the Defense Minister considered coming to Zambia during his visit to Africa as he was looking forward to his visit.
He said Zambia is also looking forward to the much anticipated Israeli – Africa summit which he said would scale up cooperation between Israel and the region.
And Liberman commended Zambia for the efforts to scale up bilateral cooperation with his country following the meeting between his Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Lungu last year.
Liberman said President Lungu’s visit to Israel has contributed greatly to the strengthening of bilateral relations between the two countries.
The Israeli Minister of Defense was accompanied to state house by non-resident Ambassador to Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia Gershon Kedar, Ministers Chief of Staff Sharon Shalom, Advisor of International Relations to the Minister Sigalit Chaham, Director Policy and Political Military Bureau ZoharPalti and Minister Military Secretary Yair Kulas.
The Israeli Minister of Defense’s visit is a follow up to the visit President Lungu undertook last year when he was invited to that country for a state visit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Inspector General of Police Kakoma Kanganja has implored Police officers to be disciplined and observe human rights when carrying out their duties.
Speaking when he addressed officers in Chinsali district of Muchinga Province at the council chamber yesterday, Mr. Kanganja said adherence to discipline and codes of ethics form the backbone of the Police service and should not be compromised adding that officers should always check their conduct where they see deficiencies.
Mr. Kanganja charged that officers should be role models to members of the public by raising their levels of discipline as this year’s Police theme advocates.
The Inspector General of Police further urged the men and women in uniform to also desist from all forms of corrupt practices as well as to avoid their participation in partisan politics.
He has however, commended the officers in Muchinga Divison for their hardwork and commitment to duty.
He lamented that officers have remained committed to serving the nation despite working under difficult conditions.
He further disclosed to the officers that Government through the Ministry of Home Affairs is working tirelessly to improve the conditions of service for the officers.
And Speaking when the Inspector General General paid a courtesy call on him at his office, Muchinga Province Permanent Secretary Jobbicks Kalumba expressed disappointment with the pace of the new Police Headquarters construction works.
Dr. Kalumba lamented that the contractor in charge of the project has been too reluctant despite funds to complete the ultra-modern facility being released.
The Permanent Secretary has however, echoed a warning to the contractor to get back on site and finish the remaining works or risk having their contract terminated.
Dr. Kalumba further commended Government for considering the Police service in the construction of new Police infrastructure in Muchinga Province.
Dr. Kalumba who also accompanied the Inspector General when he toured the new Police Headquarters under construction in Chinsali, urged police officers to continue serving the public diligently.
Mr. Kanganja is on a 3 day working visit to inspect and interact with officers as well as to check on the progress of infrastructure construction projects in Muchinga province.
The 2018 Hipipo Music Awards, are Uganda’s most prestigious awards, the awards give fans across Uganda and the world 70% power to vote for their favourite artists.
Zambian artist Roberto won in the Best song Southern Africa category for his hit single “Into you” .
Others nominated in the Best song Southern Africa included: AKA – Caiphus Song, Babes Wodumo Ft. Mampintsha & Danger – Umngan’wami , C4 Pedro – Vou Ter Saudades , Cassper Nyovest – Tito Mboweni , Jah Prayzah Ft. Mafikizolo – Sendekera , Kwesta Ft. Wale – Spirit , Mafikizolo – Love Potion , Nasty C – NDA , Shekhinah – Suited.
This is a new recipe which I recently tried, and it was definitely a hit. If you are trying to reduce the amount of meat that you eat you can start by switching up a couple of your meals per week, and this Red lentil chilli is a great recipe to start with.
Ingredients
1 onion, diced
6 cloves of garlic, minced
1 red pepper, diced
4 tablespoons tomato paste
2 bay leaves
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons chilli powder
3 teaspoons smoked paprika
A large can (780 grams ) whole or diced tomatoes
1 cup (215 grams) red lentils, rinsed
A large jar (570 grams) kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup (240 ml) vegetable stock
2 tablespoons maple syrup (or brown sugar)
1 teaspoon salt
Pepper, to taste
Lime slices, to serve
Optional toppings: coriander, jalapeños, hot sauce, diced avocado, green or red onion, sour cream
1 tbsp vegetable oil
Method
In a medium-sized pot, over a medium-high heat add vegetable oil and sauté the onions and garlic, until the onions are soft; and then add the red pepper and cook for a few minutes to soften. Once most of the water has evaporated, add the tomato paste, herbs and spices and stir for about 30 seconds to release the flavours of the spices.
Add the tomatoes (if using whole, break them up with your spoon), lentils, beans and vegetable stock. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cover. Allow the chilli to simmer very gently until the lentils are soft – about 30 minutes. If too much liquid evaporates, add a touch more stock or water. If it’s too watery once the lentils are cooked, uncover and allow it to reduce.
Finally, stir through the maple syrup, salt and pepper. Taste and adjust the seasonings as necessary, adding more spice or sweetness to your taste.
Serving
Serve with fresh lime to squeeze over and your choice of toppings, as listed above.
Kanta Temba is a Cake maker and decorator|Lusaka Times Food columnist|TV show host
Dr Sishuwa Sishuwa taking some notes during a public discussion organized by the Oasis Forum in Lusaka on Tuesday evening
By Sishuwa Sishuwa
Last Friday, I met a minister serving in President Edgar Lungu’s Cabinet who, upon seeing me, insisted that contrary to my recent observations, given at a public discussion organised by the Oasis Forum, that Zambia is in crisis, ‘the country is doing very well on all major fronts and most Zambians are happy with our record in office, so far. So, I do not know what crisis you are seeing or were talking about, Dr Sishuwa’. My critic did not attend the event and his dismissal of my comments emanate entirely from the bits that he read and heard. Arising from that encounter, I thought I could use today’s column to explain and hopefully persuade the minister – and those who think like him – to better understand my point of view. Instead of engaging with a functional illiterate who operates at a completely different level of comprehension of the distinction between cause and effect, or between actual causes and mere symptoms, I prefer differing with someone who has a good level of appreciation of issues and who retains that intellectual integrity of one who, though not lacking in urging their own opinions, is both respectful and willing to abandon his or her point of view, if its weakness could be shown.
When I talk about Zambia being in a crisis, I am not simply referring to the filthy behaviour of our current politicians that disgusts the middle class over concern with ‘morality’, ‘stability’, ‘respect for the rule of law’, ‘order’, ‘democracy’ and such states of mind. More importantly, and broadly speaking, I mean two things.
First, a real crisis occurs in any community or country when the economy is no longer able to sustain the life of the majority of its people, who usually are the working class and the vast unredeemed rural poor populations, most of whom are eking out a living tilling the land. The social manifestation of this true crisis are extreme mass poverty, widespread national unemployment (systemic, structural and absolute unemployment), and extreme inequalities characterised by the fact of a tiny minority gobbling up a proportionately large share of national income and the vast masses living on a tiny share. In real terms, therefore, Zambia (using 2017 official statistics) is in crisis because:
Of the population that is able and willing to work, 53 years into our ‘independence’, 86% still rely on some agricultural activity to survive, only 6% have an industrial job, and a mere 9% are employed in services. According to official estimates, agriculture – a sector with extremely low wages, if any at all – contributes a paltry 5.4% of our GDP.
We are now ranked number 139 on the Human Development Index (HDI) of 188 countries (remember the HDI measures longevity and healthy life, access to knowledge and decent standard of living) and have a youth dependency ratio of 89.7%.
Less than 3% of Zambia’s population is expected to grow older than 65 years with the rest of us condemned to very short miserable lives at a time in human history when some countries have a problem of too many old people.
We have a high unemployment rate of about 60%, and especially acute among the youth, and somehow pray and hope that a miracle will cure our social ills.
More than 54% of our population is poor – very poor – and almost half of our country’s children are stunted. In absolute terms, there are more Zambians living in poverty now than in 2010, when the national poverty rate stood at 62%.
We are among the top ten hungriest nations, globally, notwithstanding our natural wealth, illustrated by the fact that we are among the top 10 copper producing countries in the entire world.
Our national economy is dominated by the service sector, which accounts for almost 60% of GDP, and yet this sector employs only 9% of our labour force.
In terms of household income or consumption by percentage share, the top 10% gobble up a whooping 47.4% while the bottom 10% survives on a tiny 1.5%.
To sustain itself, the government spends more borrowed money than it can collect from the people of Zambia through countless and high taxes. We are, therefore, chronically indebted. We are an appendage of our creditors as a country; we are not sovereign.
Corruption permeates all levels of our society and has become so entrenched that to be incorruptible is to risk alienating oneself from the majority. Government contracts are inflated, ministers steal from the treasury with reckless abandon, nchekeleko is now a cultural trait, and an incumbent President finds no shame in effectively encouraging corruption, declaring ‘ubomba mwibala alya mwibala’!
It is these figures and verifiable facts which feed and stoke the HIV and AIDS pandemic, nationwide cholera epidemics such as the one we recently experienced, the ballooning number of orphans, festering mass discontent, and a quite useless and impoverished middle class fit for hire by anyone with some money. All this means we have a large share of our population vegetating, with a large number of Zambians permanently hovering over the pit of death.
Second, a real crisis occurs when there is sustained institutional deterioration and heightened political divisions. In our case, many of our key national democratic institutions such as the judiciary, civil society organisations (many of which have been co-opted or silenced), the police and Electoral Commission no longer enjoy public confidence. In the case of the judiciary, for instance, the crisis is not that the opposition lost a disputed election; it is that the legal mechanisms of, for example, resolving post-election conflicts are largely ineffective: the Constitution is unclear and the judiciary takes forever to dispose of cases that should take little time. There is also a general lack of respect for the rule of law by those in power, intolerance of opposition and critical opinion, intimidation, harassment and arrest of opposition figures on trumped up charges, and tolerance for and active promotion of impunity by ruling party supporters who engage in acts of violence, hooliganism, and can even beat police officers and get away with it.
Elections (an orderly and effective mechanism of maintaining or changing governments) and the Constitution (important in ensuring that everyone plays by the rules of the game) are increasingly under threat, especially under the watch of the Patriotic Front, and this is worrying because these are the institutions that should be consolidating our democracy over time. We are a deeply polarised nation, especially since the 2016 elections, and the actions of those in power have only fuelled this split, which has mainly taken ethnic and political expression. Our leaders continue to bury their heads in the sand when our national unity is at stake, and appear to be punishing people for their voting choices.
There are other significant indicators of the extent or reach of Zambia’s crisis. These include:
Uncertainty, expressed through the absence of coherent, concrete and realistic plans of what is to be done to relieve the situation. Our national leaders, from politicians to those in civil society, do not put forward in grounded realistic terms what they will do, nor do they build local structures to realise any plans. For example, it is well enough to talk about supporting small-scale farmers, but is a ground-up structure being created and supported to allow this? The cooperative movement before at least managed this – they supported the creation of local structures that fed into the wider movement.
Fragmentation. This has become a characteristic of Zambia’s oppositional politics. There are certain sectors where it is in the best interest for everyone to pull together, particularly when it comes to guaranteeing the fundamental interests and security of citizens. For example, a unified voice against the exploitation of Zambian workers or the dispossession of rural residents of their land and livelihoods; the prevention of instability in the country by avoiding business deals and political arrangements that would plunge the country into conflict (i.e. uranium mining, nuclear energy, asylum for warmongers etc.) or more debt.
Breakdown of the moral order. This aspect of Zambia’s crisis has intensified since Frederick Chiluba and his friends in the Movement for Multiparty Democracy sought to take advantage of the deregulated financial and legal framework for their own corrupt and criminal aims. For the poor, in a setting where the powerful and wealthy are morally bankrupt, they begin to create their own moral frameworks to justify survivalist strategies, leading to the normalisation of subversion of rules and social order – in effect creating a moral crisis.
Religious fanaticism. At a time when others elsewhere are talking about a ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’, are we regressing into some of the most backward, primitive and irrational modes of thought, beliefs and practices, thanks largely to a retarded Christian theology colonialism bequeathed to us. This may be unpopular, but the time must come soon when we must ask difficult questions about the impact of Christianity on the native mind in us, and how to grow beyond this. Christian fanaticism is more of a psychological issue in that the protracted, unrelieved experience of suffering leads many people to doubt their capacity to change the situation, and instead turn to magical thinking. In the short term, this provides a convenient explanation (albeit fantastical) for the crisis. In the long term, however, it sets the situation for further social instability as it is exploited by religious charlatans who take the poor’s money for their lavish lifestyles on the false assurance that ‘God will reward you’, and by politicians who, Bible in hand, pander to the interests of the faithful while looting the national treasury.
An expansion of a population that does not have access to the basics of decent shelter, nutrition, health, and education. Land, where people could provide even a subsistence for food, has been commoditised (the proposed National Lands Policy aims to destroy any bit left of a commons). The provision of these services is now increasingly being privatised, with the state’s role being reduced to that of facilitating the pillaging or theft of our natural wealth by Western, Chinese and South African multinationals and privatising national assets with little public consultation.
I must clarify that Zambia’s crisis did not start with the Patriotic Front or President Lungu – though its degree in certain areas has increased considerably under them. The country has been in a protracted crisis since the early 1980s, but one that grew in particular intensity from the 1990s when Chiluba and his government set about dismantling the forms of social protection that mitigated its worst effects – hunger, illiteracy, destitution and ill-health. In short, the failure of our economic and social system to sustain over a prolonged period of time the lives of the majority of Zambians and the deterioration of state institutions has been an incremental process, stretching over a long historical period. The current trajectory, however, is worrying because we are not seeing a rebalancing towards ‘normality’. In addition to the increasing intensity of our national crisis, whose features I have already mentioned, the balance of forces is pushing us towards this becoming more severe.
Resolving these challenges requires a competent, qualified and effective national leadership that acknowledges the existence of a crisis in our country, that understands its form, content and nature, and that seeks to take corrective measures, including uniting and coalescing our energies towards a shared or common goal. In other words, the solution to any crisis is to be found in the very economic system that is failing the people and this requires us to carefully identify the actual causes of our crisis, not the symptoms. A fundamental weakness of the discourse on ‘crisis’ is the problem of confusing causes and symptoms, and how these feed into each other – the middle class and so-called ‘experts’ of all hues do tend to overemphasise the social manifestations of crisis, its expression in social and political instability, at the expense of unravelling the real foundations of any crisis – the mode of production of the material means of life and the system of ownership – which then are reflected in the social and political life of the community or people. As a result, leaving the mode of production of the material means of life and the system of ownership intact but tinkering with the social and political arrangements does not resolve the crisis. This has been our experience of ‘independence’ in Africa. After some time, the accumulated unmet social and political needs from an untransformed economy catch up, inevitably throwing the entire system into a cycle of instability, disorder, civil wars, military coups, and so on.
So, my dear minister, there you have it! Send your counter response and I will have it published on this page next Monday.
Zambia awarded licenses to start a fourth mobile-network operator to a company part-owned by Isabel Dos Santos, the daughter of Angola’s former president whose influence is waning in her home country.
Unitel International Holdings BV, in which Dos Santos owns a 25 percent stake, pledged to invest more than $350 million through a local unit to be called UZI Zambia Mobile Limited.
Her expansion into Zambia comes less than four months after new Angola President Joao Lourenco announced an auction for a new operator in the oil-rich African nation, challenging Unitel in its home market.
Dos Santos, Africa’s richest woman, was stripped of her role as chairwoman of Angola’s state-oil company last year as Lourenco sought to reduce the influence of the family of predecessor Eduardo Dos Santos, who he succeeded in September elections.
Isabel this month denied wrongdoing related to a transfer of $38.2 million from the oil company, Sonangol, following allegations by its chairman, Carlos Saturnino.
Two companies including Unitel expressed an interest in the licenses, the Zambia Information & Communications Technology Authority said in a statement Monday.
During the first half of 2017, active mobile-phone subscriptions in Zambia increased by 3.4 percent to 12.4 million, according to the finance ministry, compared with a population of about 16.5 million
