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Zambian Breweries has applauded the Zambian Revenue Authority for its recent action to thwart smuggling of almost K1 million worth of alcoholic beverages at border posts.

The company’s Country Director Jose Moran said his company is pleased to learn of the recent action by the ZRA in confiscating smuggled alcohol worth almost K1 million.

Mr. Moran said this is a step in the right direction in curbing the colossal sums of evaded tax and ensuring a level playing field for businesses and consumers.

He said this commendable action by ZRA confirms the existence of smuggling being rampant in Zambia’s border posts and boundaries and concerted efforts by all stakeholders are cardinal in curbing this scourge.

In October Zambian Breweries launched the 2018 Euromonitor market analysis of illicit alcohol in Zambia, which catalogued an appalling fiscal loss of US$103.7 million compared with US$38 million in 2014 through the smuggling of ethanol and finished alcoholic beverage products into Zambia.

According to the report, smuggled alcoholic goods range from premium spirits, sparkling wine, cider and clear beer brands usually sold cheaply at wholesale markets and also distributed directly by smugglers through trade channels.

“Throughout the ages, wherever there are borders and taxes, there has been smuggling, as unscrupulous traders attempt to dodge duties and procedures in favour of a quick profit. It’s a simple formula: if you can avoid paying customs duties and taxes then you can undercut the market price of goods or – more often – sell at the market price and pocket the difference,” said Mr Moran.

He said the 2018 Euromonitor report explains that there are different categories of organised smugglers including small traders who bypass border checkpoints completely and represent the majority of smuggled alcohol volume originating mainly from Namibia, Tanzania, Malawi and South Africa.

Mr. Moran said the large-volume smugglers mainly cross from Namibia at the Katima Mulilo border with the large illicit traders believed to falsely declare their merchandise at Customs and may proceed into Zambia using cartels that organise them, according to industry sources cited by the report.

The report names townships such as Matero, Mandevu and Chilenje in Lusaka as competing with COMESA Market in distributing smuggled alcohol and other illicit products.

The cholera clean-up conducted by the authorities from September 2017 to January 2018 resulted in many open stalls around COMESA Market, the largest wholesaler market, being removed.

Unfortunately, large amounts of smuggled alcoholic beverages are substituted or refilled and some of Zambian Breweries’ regional and global brands have been affected on the pretext of importation.

As a responsible brewer, Mr. Moran said Zambian Breweries has backed the National Alcohol Policy, which calls for targeted action in solving alcohol issues. The company pledged support by encouraging licit business along the value chain and partnerships with its stakeholders in providing well-researched and informed pragmatic recommendations to the authorities to ensure the complete removal of smuggling.

Mr. Moran also emphasised the need for private and public partnerships to help solve the problem, under which government and industry can pool resources, expertise and intelligence to develop workable solutions.

UPND has not appointed Sean Tembo to replace Dr. Canicius Banda-UPND

Headlines

Chief Editor

December 12, 2018

UPND has not appointed Sean Tembo to replace Dr. Canicius Banda-UPND

The UPND has dispeled information circulating on social media suggesting that they have appointed Patriots for Economic Progress Leader Sean Tembo as Vice President for Politics replacing Dr. Canicius Banda .

UPND Secretary General Stephen Katuka said the information is false and malicious as the Vice President for Politics is Dr. Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba, while the vacant position is that of Vice President for administration.

Mr. Katuka said the party has a system guided by the party Constitution through the National Management Committee which handles such matters.

“At no time did the NMC sit to deliberate on such matters. We urge our people to ignore the social media publication”, Mr. Katuka added.

He said the UPND remains open to engage various stakeholders on many issues bordering on liberating citizens from the Patriotic Front’s induced poverty.

High Commissioner Chikonde honoured with Freedom of City of London award

General News

editor

December 12, 2018

Zambia’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Mr. Muyeba Chikonde (R), being bestowed with the honour of Freedom of the City of London by the Remembrancer, Paul Double, at the Great Hall of Guildall in Londonon Monday, December, 10, 2018. Picture by Abigail Chaponda

Zambia’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom His Excellency Mr. Muyeba Chikonde has been bestowed with the Freedom of the City of London, becoming an honorary citizen of the City. He has been honoured for his contribution to Diplomacy.

Freedom of the City is the highest honour that the City of London can bestow. It is given to individuals who have made a significant impact in their field. This includes Politicians, Diplomats, the Clergy, Actors, Sportsmen and Musicians, among others.

The presentation ceremony took place in the Chamberlain’s Court of the historical Guildhall building. In attendance was the Remembrancer of the City of London, Paul Double, whose traditional role dates as far back as 1571 of being the channel of communications between the Lord Mayor and the City of London, on the one hand and the Sovereign, royal household and Parliament on the other.

The award is also a demonstration of the existing good relations between Zambia and the United Kingdom. Since his appointment, High Commissioner Chikonde has facilitated several high profile visits, among them by the Lord Mayors of the City of London to strengthen business ties between Zambia and the UK.

In February 2016, The Lord Mayor of the City of London, Jeffrey Mountevans, led a business delegation to Zambia in order to strengthen bilateral trade between the two countries.

And in February 2017, The Lord Mayor of the City of London, Alderman Dr. Andrew Parmley visited Zambia. The Lord Mayor’s visit marked the start of a new collaborative campaign by the UK’s financial and professional services sector to build relations with international partners as part of a Commonwealth expansion programme.

Zambia and the UK have both benefitted from strong relationships bilaterally, which have deepened in recent years.

High Commissioner Chikonde joins world leaders including; Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Late Princess Diana, former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, The Queen, Actor, Morgan Freeman, Florence Nightingale, General Eisenhower and former American President Theodore Roosevelt and High Commissioner Anderson Chibwa among others.

The Freedom of the City of London is an honour conferred by London City Corporation upon a valued member of the community, a visiting celebrity or dignitary. The City invites individuals who have made a significant impact in their field to take up the Freedom to acknowledge their particular contribution. The Freedom of the City of London dates back to 1237 where beneficiaries were able to undertake trade in the city.

Though, some of the traditional privileges associated with the Freedom, such as driving sheep over London Bridge, are not commonly practiced presently, the Freedom has maintained many other privileges in addition to providing the receiver a link with the historic City of London and one of its antique traditions.

Issued by: Abigail Chaponda (Mrs.)
First Secretary | Press and Public Relations
Zambia High Commission in the United Kingdom.

Mr Eazi Launches EmPawa in Zambia

Headlines

Entertainment Editor

December 12, 2018

from left: Adrian Chipinda (NAC), Davy Mvula BetPawa, Mr Eazi & Tivo Shikapwashya

Nigerian artist popularly known as Mr Eazi has introduced EmPawa; an initiative designed to scout, groom and support talent in African countries. EmPawa is a Pan-African platform seeking upcoming musicians in various countries such as Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania including Zambia. Through EmPawa, a group of 100 musicians of which 10 will be from Zambia will be adopted into the programme. The talent selection is through Instagram, a social media tool easily accessible to artists across the continent. Music industry experts and Mr Eazi himself will monitor and evaluate all entries aiming to find a group of 100 independent and emerging artists. All of the 100 artists will receive financial and promotional support in recording and releasing a music video valued at $3,000.

Speaking at a press briefing held yesterday, Mr Eazi has confirmed that the top 10 from these 100 artists will be flown to South Africa from February 4th to March 4th 2019 with established artists such as Diplo, Guilty Beatz, EKelly, Sarz and other professionals in the business of music. “This project goes beyond the music videos, these artists will be exposed to the wider community of the music industry in Africa and abroad. They will not only get to work with top talents but also receive mentorship from business lawyers on how to protect their talent and music. I will be giving these artistes the tools, in-depth industry knowledge, network, and funds necessary for them to not only achieve their full potential but to also sustain the independence they need to become music entrepreneurs.”

In the presence of media, talent managers and musicians, Mr Eazi was joined by President of Zambia Association of Musicians Tivo Shikapwashya and Adrian Chipindi, Director of National Arts Council of Zambia. Speaking at the event; Shikapwashya stated that the Empawa 100 is a timely movement, “Mr Eazi’s dedication to African musicians is commendable and we can only hope that corporates and any other entities will emulate his dedication to grooming African talent”. Mr Shikapwashya followed by awarding Mr Eazi an Honorary Membership of the Zambia Association of Musicians.

Details of EmPawa can be found on www.empawaafrica.com. Aspiring candidates can continue to submit their entries until the deadline on 15 December 2018. Interested parties can follow the campaign via Instagram using the hashtag #Empawa100 and #Empawa100Zambia.

Bank of Zambia has not used the foreign exchange reserves to stabilise the Kwacha-Mwanakatwe

Economy

Chief Editor

December 12, 2018

Finance Minister Margaret Mwanakatwe says the Central bank has not used the foreign exchange reserves to stabilise the kwacha.

Mrs. Mwanakatwe says the current trading price for the Kwacha is market driven.

She said this in parliament today following a question from members of Parliament who include Chinsali MP Kalalwe Mukosa during the question for oral answer session.

The local currency has been trading slightly below 12 Kwacha against one U.S dollar.

And Mrs. Mwanakatwe said the current statutory reserves stand at one point seven billion United States dollars translating into two months of import cover.

She however said the government will next year grow the reserves to three months of import cover and further expand it in 2020 to four months of import cover.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Finance has stressed that government will continue encouraging exporting companies including the mines to be offloading some of their dollar earnings onto the local market and help strengthen the kwacha.

Mrs. Mwanakatwe however stated that government has no immediate plans of regulating the foreign exchange market saying Zambia is a free market economy.

When Giving Life Ends in Death: The Face of Maternal and Infant Mortality in Zambia

Columns

Chief Editor

December 12, 2018

By Linda Kasonde

I recently came across the story of a young African-American man, Charles Johnson IV, who is fighting for legislation to increase the quality of health care to reduce maternal mortality among African-American women. His own wife died after delivering a healthy baby via caesarean section. She bled to death because doctors at a very prestigious hospital in the U.S. ignored her haemorrhaging for several hours. Her name was Kira Dixon Johnson. She was very well educated and reasonably well-off and yet she became another statistic. In America, African-American women are 243% more likely to die to child-birth than their white American colleagues. Even wealthy, educated African-American women are still more likely to die in child-birth than white women. Earlier this year, tennis star Serena Williams revealed that she too had suffered a near-death experience following the delivery of her daughter due to post-delivery complications that her care-givers were not taking seriously. In America, black women are more likely to die in child-birth because of poverty and racial bias in terms of the quality of the care they receive. In Zambia, women are more likely to die in child-birth because of poverty and because of a lack of access to good quality health care.

When women get pregnant, they assume that their pregnancy will go smoothly and that nine months later both mother and baby will emerge glowing and “cherubescent” respectively. That is not the reality for hundreds of thousands of women across the world. In 2016, I was Kira Dixon Johnson. My pregnancy was complicated right from the beginning. I had placenta praevia (low lying placenta that covered my cervix completely). It meant that I bled on and off during my entire pregnancy. I would later learn that this condition is life-threatening as it meant that at any time the placenta could erupt causing me to bleed out in a matter of minutes. Added to that, I was gaining weight excessively (I later found out that it was due to fluid retention) and a few months on I began to experience shortness of breath.

My first doctor down played the seriousness of my placenta praevia and other symptoms insisting that I could more or less continue my life as normal. But because I was not satisfied with his lack of explanations and information; I was reading up on my symptoms on my own. I became so concerned at the lack of information that I was getting from my doctor that I changed doctors when I was about five and a half months’ pregnant.

My new doctor was great. She listened to me and answered my questions. On my first appointment my urine was tested and it was found that I had protein in my urine and my blood pressure was above normal, both indicators for pre-eclampsia – in addition to my placenta praevia. Eclampsia is a condition in which pregnant women experience unexplained high blood pressure. It is not stress related. It can lead to seizures and can affect internal organs either pre- or post-delivery. My new doctor put me on complete bed rest for the rest of my pregnancy which I strictly observed. There would be several occasions when I would be completely relaxed and having lain in bed all day only to be perplexed to find that my blood pressure was very high. My new doctor took a blood sample and ordered a supply of blood to match my blood type to prepare for blood transfusions in the event that my placenta praevia erupted suddenly. It proved to be a life-saving move. I was later to develop a very severe form of pre-eclampsia called HELLP syndrome which was also life-threatening.

At exactly twenty-eight weeks of pregnancy, my placenta praevia erupted and coincidentally my blood pressure was becoming uncontrollable due to the pre-eclampsia. I had to have an emergency caesarean section. My baby, Mazuba (sunshine) was born on 5th August 2016. He was small but perfectly formed. He was born underweight due to my condition at around 1 kg but fighting for his life. We both were. I was at one of the most prestigious hospitals in Zambia and yet its maternity wing did not have an infant respirator to help him breath. Mazuba died in the early hours of 7th August 2016. The fact that he was underweight had made his chances of surviving slimmer. It was one of the hardest things I have ever had to experience. I cried for hours until the next morning I was told to stop crying and remain positive otherwise I risked falling into depression which would aggravate my own condition. I had to suck it up. By then the HELLP syndrome had kicked in and my liver and kidneys were breaking down. I needed several blood transfusions.

I can point to the day I nearly died. I needed another transfusion and the hospital did not have enough blood. My mother, who is a medical doctor, managed to arrange for some more blood and that is how I survived. It took me two months to physically recover from my condition, which also included sepsis, a severe bacterial infection that I picked up at the hospital after my operation. The trauma of losing my baby and nearly dying led to me suffer post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and post-partum (post-delivery) depression for a period of time. Contrary to popular belief, these conditions also affect black African people and are far more widespread than is accepted because no one wants to talk about it. I could not have gotten through it without supportive friends and family who loved and cared for me during what was a very difficult time. Like millions of mothers before me, I had to pull it together and life had to carry on.

I am alive today because I was educated enough to question my doctor, because I had enough money to go to one of the best hospitals in the country and because I was lucky enough to have a mother who is a doctor. Many thousands, if not millions, of Zambian women do not have those advantages. In Zambia, many women deliver babies at home or at health posts that are not staffed by qualified doctors and that do not have access to life-saving equipment. According to 2015 UNICEF estimates, the maternal mortality rate in Zambia is 224 deaths per 100,000 live births (a 2015 estimate). According to another 2015 UNICEF estimate, 36 babies die every day before reaching their first month. These are shocking statistics. And yet our government is paying for overinflated roads, fire engines, ambulances, cars and even jets while our women are dying trying to give life and our children are not being given a chance to live. That makes me very angry and sad – as we all should be.

December 12th marks Universal Health Coverage Day. I believe that health care should be affordable and accessible for all. I am not talking about politicised health schemes that will do little to improve the lot of Zambians. I am talking about adjusting our financial priorities by reducing expenditure and over-expenditure on non-essential items and increasing budgets for healthcare that will help increase the number of qualified doctors, medicines and facilities countrywide. We need to give our mothers and babies a fighting chance.

The author is a lawyer and civil rights activist. She is a 2014 Archbishop Desmond Tutu Leadership Fellow.

Finland pledges continued support to Zambia

General News

Chief Editor

December 12, 2018

Finland pledges continued support to Zambia

The Embassy of Finland in Zambia has reiterated its continued cooperation with Zambia towards the reduction of poverty in the country.

Embassy Sector Adviser, Elizabeth Njobvu said the government of Finland has continued to offer technical and financial assistance in various sectors of the economy which include, agriculture, energy, mining, governance and education sectors, in order to improve the lives of people in Zambia.

She said her country values the relations that are shared between the two countries, and as such, will always stand ready to render assistance for the benefit of the two peoples.

Ms. Njobvu said this during a handover ceremony of a three roomed bulking centre to Caritus Zambia and farmers of Mutanda community in Kalumbila district in North-western Province, constructed at a cost of K70, 000.

She disclosed that the bulking centre has been constructed using money from the civil society environment fund phase two, a project aimed at supplementing government efforts to help farmers with storage.

Ms. Njobvu added that the embassy also plans to facilitate and link the bulking centre to companies that want to buy honey in large quantities.

Meanwhile, North-western Provincial Assistant Secretary, Beatrice Muyambango has commended the Finish Embassy for constructing the centre which she said will cut on transportation costs spent by farmers to take their produce to Solwezi district for sell.

Ms. Muyambango said the embassy and other stakeholders such as the church and civil society organisations are playing a major role in improving the lives of people in rural areas such as Mutanda.

She further urged the cooperative groups to take good care of the bulking centre in order to increase on productivity and efficiency in the province.

And speaking of behalf of farmers, Born Kalota thanked the Zambian and Finish governments for coming to their aid by implementing various agricultural projects which they are currently benefiting from.

Mr Kalota called on his fellow farmers to also follow the right procedure in accessing services at the bulking center.

More beneficiaries identified for Fertilizer Support Programme

Rural News

Chief Editor

December 12, 2018

More beneficiaries identified for Fertilizer Support Programme

The fertiliser distribution to Farmers has started , in the picture,
Kabwe District Commissioner (DC) Patrick Chishala (right) with Kabwe
District Cooperative Union Chairperson Gabriel Ngosa (left) during the
flagging off the Fertiliser distribution exercise in kabwe

Government has increased the number of beneficiaries to receive farming inputs under the Fertilizer Support Programme (FSP) in Mungwi district, Northern Province.

Mungwi district Community Development Officer Grace Yaluma told ZANIS that the government has increased beneficiaries of the farming inputs from 300 to 506, during the 2018/2019 farming season.

During a Food Security Pack Committee meeting today, Mrs. Yaluma said the increment of 206 new entrants is a clear testimony that the government is committed to reduce hunger and poverty at household level.

She said this also meant that more people will this year benefit from the Social Protection programme in the district.

Mrs. Yaluma said the farming inputs which include fertilizer, groundnuts, beans and maize seed, are expected to be received in the district within the week.

She appealed to the beneficiaries among them female and child headed households, orphans, the terminally ill and the aged, to strictly follow the FSP guidelines if they are to continue benefitting from the programme.

However, some committee members have appealed to the authority, to decentralize the procurement of farming inputs for swift implementation of the poverty alleviation programme.

They complained that some seed might not perform according to expectation considering the fact that the inputs will be received after the commencement of the planting period.

Among the areas that will benefit from the FSP programme are Ngulula, Makasa, Kayambi, Nseluka, Rosa and Mungwi Central.

Introduction of ICT in all government departments intended to help curb corruption

Headlines

Chief Editor

December 12, 2018

Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet for Smart Zambia Dr. Martine Mtonga

Deputy Secretary to Cabinet Martin Mtonga says the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in all government departments, is intended to help curb corruption.

Speaking when he addressed civil servants in Mansa today, Dr. Mtonga explained that Information and Communication Technology is the most clear and easiest way that government can use to trace corruption across the board, hence the need to enhance the exercise.

He noted that the introduction of ICT through Smart Zambia will help bring about transparency in all government departments and also improve efficiency in the workplace.

Dr. Mtonga has since warned civil servants in Luapula Province, to change their working culture by embracing the new and efficient mode of work or risk losing their jobs.

He observed that most civil servants are still static and do not want to evolve in their work.

And Dr. Mtonga has handed over a vehicle to the Luapula Province Administration, in order to make it easy and more conducive for Smart Zambia personnel, to carry out their duties around the province.

Meanwhile, Luapula Province Acting Assistant Secretary Charles Daka says electronic governance is the most efficient avenue of doing business.

He said the province is developing economically and investors coming to the province want to ease their job hence the e-governance system is one type of system that will ease their work.

Zambia Chamber of Mines welcomes new president

Economy

Chief Editor

December 12, 2018

Zambia Chamber of Mines President Nathan Chishimba during an interview on Radio Phoenix recently

The Zambia Chamber of Mines has appointed Goodwell Mateyo as its new president.

He succeeds Nathan Chishimba, who is retiring after two consecutive terms.

Seasoned industry veteran Nicolas Bowen will serve as Vice President.

Mr. Mateyo takes over the policy lobby group at a time when the mining industry is facing an imminent change in its fiscal regime, as outlined in the 2019 National Budget, announced by the Finance Minister, the chamber said in a statement issued on Tuesday.

He also disclosed that members of the chamber were reviewing their operations and might have to consider scaling back substantially while reducing capital expenditure by over $500-million over the next three years.

He added that this was likely to result in about 7 000 direct jobs, and more than 14 000 indirect jobs, coming under threat.

“While feedback on our representations to the Ministry of Finance is awaited, the membership remains hopeful of averting such an outcome and are strongly committed to robust engagement above and beyond the process outlined by the Minister in which the reconstitution of the Tax Policy Review Committee was announced,” Mr. Mateyo said.

Seychelles expected to recruit more teachers from Zambia to address shortage

Headlines

Chief Editor

December 12, 2018

Seychelles expected to recruit more teachers from Zambia to address shortage

VEEP conferring with some school teachers

The Seychelles Ministry of Education is expected to recruit more teachers from Zambia to compensate for the shortage of teachers in state schools, said a top official.

The recruitment will be done through a memorandum of understanding that will be signed with the Zambian Ministry of Education.

The principal secretary for early childhood, primary and secondary, Odile De Commarmond, told the press that this move will help the ministry in addressing a shortage of teachers.

“For the time being, we have 46 vacancies available at the secondary level. However, it doesn’t mean that we are going to fill all these vacancies with teachers from Zambia only,” she said.

De Commarmond added that “this is because there are some specific subjects such as religion, French and physical education which we do not require or cannot be taught by Zambians.”

There are 35 primary and secondary state schools in Seychelles, a group of 115 islands in the western Indian Ocean. Presently, there are 1,050 teachers, including 173 foreigners, working in state schools on the three main islands of Mahe, Praslin, and La Digue.

Early this year, the Ministry of Education took in a group of Zambian teachers to work in the educational sector, mainly at the secondary level.

“For these teachers, we are still looking at the pace of their adaptation to the system to see if there are any setbacks and how we can move forward,” said the principal secretary.

De Commarmond explained that for the Zambian teachers the first thing that the Zambian needs to adapt to “is the school curriculum as in their country they have their own examination system and they do not train students for International Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE).”
The Zambian teachers will be teaching science, maths, geography, information communication and technology (ICT), and design and technology which are subjects in Zambia’s educational system.
De Commarmond said Zambia has offered to help because it has a surplus of professional teachers.
Apart from Zambia, the Ministry of Education is also recruiting teachers from Mauritius and is exploring possibilities with Fiji, Madagascar and Philippines.

Zamtel SIM cards should be our primary cards-Mushimba

Economy

Chief Editor

December 12, 2018

Transport and Communications Minister Brian Mushimba speaking during the launch of ZamPay

Communications and Transport Minister Brian Mushimba has appealed to Zambians to fully support the transformation that is currently taking place at Zamtel.

Mr Mushimba noted that Government through Zamtel is making huge investments such as the construction of 1009 communication towers across the country at a cost of US$280 million.

He said the members of the public should play their role by making Zamtel SIM cards the primary card for calls and internet.

Mr Mushimba said Zamtel is currently positioning itself to play a central role in the country’s digital transformation journey hence the need for public support.

He was speaking on Tuesday when he officially launched ZamPay, a new electronic payment solution which uses a Quick Response (QR) code installed on the mobile phone device.

He jokingly suggested that it should be made a crime for any adult Zambian not to own a Zamtel SIM card.

Mr Mushimba said the launch of ZamPay is a big deal as it will significantly contribute to the creation of a cashless society in Zambia.

“Today, I successfully launched ZamPay, a new way to support a cashless society, developed in-house by Zamtel. I actually was the first to use the platform and bought some groceries from spar supermarket using the platform (app downloaded onto my Zamtel line and scanned the bar code at the cash register in spar and boom, I paid for the groceries). Technology amazes me every day and we must evolve with it or we will be left behind,” Mr Mushimba further stated.

“I made an appeal that we support Zamtel, our own baby as Zambians, by embracing their products and using Zamtel SIM cards as our primary cards for phone calls and internet. It will make a difference,” he said.

He added, “allow me to explain further why this initiative is great. The benefits of buying local products is beneficial to our economy. When you buy local, it stays local. More jobs will be created in your town, the community will prosper, and people will be more connected than ever to their own town. Your money helps revamp local businesses to flourish. This will be meaningful to you, as well as neighbours close to you. I urge everyone to promote local products.”

Mr Mushimba also recommend the buying of local products in order to help support your local business men and women.

“When you buy a product from a local service business, you are not only supporting the local economy, but also supporting your neighbors. Let me give an analogy: The citizen down the road, the shoe cobbler that owns the local repair shop, or the woman that sells her homemade skincare and bath products, appreciate their customers so much more. Why? Not only do they get to warmly meet you, a person who uses their products face to face, but also your support helps them and their businesses excel. You help feed their families, pay their bills, and put a roof over his or her family’s head. This chain goes on and on. It is a huge deal to buy locally for these reasons.

Transport and Communications Minister Brian Mushimba ready to pay for his shopping using ZamPay during the launch of the product at Spar Arcades on Tuesday

And Zamtel Chief Executive Officer Sydney Mupeta stated that his firm has embarked on a transformational journey towards digitization and will be coming up with innovative products and services which are relevant to the lives of the customer.

“As Zamtel we recognize the fact that our customers today have become extremely busy and require products which are “On the Go!” yet are safe and secure. Just last month, we announced the launch of our 4G network on mobile on the Copperbelt which has resulted in our customers enjoying faster internet speeds. The launch of ZamPay today is yet another response to our customers for a need to have a seamless payment solution which addresses their busy lifestyles,” Mr Mupeta said.

He added, “a number of business houses in our country today, large and small, have grappled with the problem of cash related risk exposure mainly through thefts. ZamPay will eliminate the risk of handling sums of cash and will bring about efficiencies in the cost of running business. The need to spend money for “Cash in transit” security services will become a thing of the past.”

Zimbabwe end Zambia’s COSAFA U20 final dreams

Sports

sports

December 11, 2018

Zambia Under-20 tumbled at the semifinal stage of the 2018 COSAFA U20 Cup following a 2-1 loss to Zimbabwe at Nkana Stadium in Kitwe.

The 11-time champions’ defensive frailties that Mozambique exposed in the final Group A match that ended 1-1 on December 8 returned to haunt the tournament hosts again on Tuesday.

Charles Bwale’s team went ahead in the 36th minute but two minutes later goalkeeper Bradley Mweene and his defenders found themselves in communication crosswires and Zimbabwe defender Andrew Mbebe punished them for that when he headed-in the equalizer.

Zambia then huffed and puffed their way throughout the second half and Zimbabwe then deservedly took the lead in the 71st minute when Delic Murimba beat Mweene as the hosts’ attack continued to offer very little quality or bite for that matter.

Meanwhile, Zambia will face Angola in the 3rd and 4th place playoff on Thursday.

Zimbabwe will play defending champions South Africa in the final later on the same day after the latter beat Angola 1-0 in Tuesday’s early kickoff.

Constitutional Court dismisses Fred M’membe petition to remove Judge Nkonde removed from Office

Headlines

Chief Editor

December 11, 2018

Former Defunct Post Newspaper Editor in Chief Fred M’membe has lost his quest to have Lusaka High Court Judge Sunday Nkonde removed from Office.

This follows the Constitutional Court’s decision to dismiss his petition.

Delivering the Judgement on behalf of two other Constitutional Court Judges Annie Sitali and Enoch Mulembe, Judge Martin Museluke noted that Dr. M’MEMBE’s petition was improperly before the court.

Dr. M’membe petitioned the Constitutional Court after the Kitwe High Court nullified the Judicial Complaints Commission recommendations to suspend Judge Nkonde when it had established a Prima-facie case against him.

But the Constitutional Court quashed his arguments that the High Court has no Jurisdiction to preside on the matter as it bordered on constitutional interpretation.

The Constitutional Court ruled that the High Court based on Article 28 of the constitution has jurisdiction to hear matters on bill of rights.

The Court also dismissed Dr. M’membe’s application to dismiss the Kitwe High Court’s Consent Judgement as he was not part to it.

Dr. M’membe had last year filed a complaint before the Judicial Complaints Commission, citing allegations of Professional Misconduct against Judge Nkonde.

He alleged that Judge Nkonde misconducted himself in the manner he handled the Post Newspaper in Liquidation Case.

But, Judge Nkonde commenced an action in the Kitwe High court, stating that the Judicial Complaints Commission did not give him the right to be heard.

The Kitwe High Court in a consent judgement upheld Judge Nkonde’s plea that he was not afforded the right to be heard.

The consent judgement was between the Attorney General and Judge Nkonde.

More than 5,000 Chipata girls under 20 became pregnant

Rural News

Chief Editor

December 11, 2018

More than 5,000 Chipata girls under 20 became pregnant

More than Five thousand girls have been impregnated in the third quarter of 2018 in Chipata District alone in Eastern Province.

Chipata District Commissioner Kalunga Zulu has disclosed that the pregnancies where recorded from girls below the age of 20 years old.

He said some of the girls are in schools while the others are out of school.

ZANIS reports that Mr Zulu was speaking as guest of honor at the official opening of a two days Chipata District Adolescent Health Technical Working Group in Chipata today.