President Edgar Lungu has commended Zambia’s cooperating partners and development agencies for their continued support to the country’s economic development.

President Lungu says the continued sustained support has helped in advancing Zambia’s social and economic development.

ZANIS reports that President Lungu said this when he addressed diplomats accredited to Zambia at the annual meet and greet diplomats at State House in Lusaka yesterday.

The President has described 2017 as a fruitful and rewarding year for Zambia as a result of the many bilateral and multilateral cooperation that the country engaged with different governments and international organisations.

President Lungu said his hosting of several Heads of State in 2017 demonstrates his government’s efforts in enhancing its relations with other countries in order to spur trade.

He said this has helped to showcase the country’s manufacturing sector and market the country’s tourism resulting in several Joint Permanent Commissions being established with many countries to consolidate frameworks of collaboration in various economic sectors.

The Head of State stated that Zambia’s economy grew by 4 per cent and attributed it to largely improved copper prices and output, better rainfall which triggered productivity in the agriculture sector and relieved the energy production deficit the country experienced in 2016.

He further said his government will use the Seventh National Development Plan(7NDP) to be the foundation for the attainment of the vision 2030 of becoming a prosperous middle income country.

President Lungu added that Zambia will continue with her historical call of promoting peace and security in the region and the world through her membership to SADC, COMESA, International Conference on the Great Lakes and the African Union in devising oversight mechanisms to neutralize rebel forces in war ravaged countries.

The President said as Zambia assumes the Chairmanship of the SADC Organ Troika on Defence, Peace and Security in August this year, it will continue to play a pivotal role in mitigating political instability in the region and support measures aimed at ending guns and violence in Africa.

He also called for more international support to help the country address the challenges faced and posed by the escalating influx of refugees in the country.

President Lungu said though tremendous strides have been made to address the challenges of re-settling thousands of refugees entering Zambia, there is need for continued assistance to meet basic needs of the over 14,000 refugees who are largely in Nchelenge district.

The Head of State noted that Zambia will continue to invest in youths because Africa’s future lies in its young people who comprise the majority of the population that need equal access to opportunities.

He pointed out that the country will continue to campaign against early and child marriages stating that Zambia’s efforts in combating the vice have been rewarding following a reduction of child marriages by 10 per cent.

And speaking on behalf of the diplomats, Dean of the Diplomatic Corp Balbina Da Silva who is also Angolan Ambassador to Zambia commended President Lungu for availing them time from his national duties to meet them.

Ambassador Da Silva further praised President Lungu for steering Zambia to economic and social advancement despite a global economic and financial slow down in 2017.

She said Zambia continues to remain a model through her continued efforts in promoting peace and security in Africa and the world at large.

Ambassador Da Silva also conveyed condolences to President Lungu on the

deaths of over 60 people that have died from the prevailing cholera pandemic in the country where over 3,000 cases have been recorded.

And Mr Hichilema has accused those pushing for the relaunch of Zambia Airways of planning to use the airline to bring in drugs, money laundering activities and corruption.

Mr Hichilema said the project to relaunch Zambia Airways which was defunct in 1994 is a waste of public resources as the project is not economically viable.

He was speaking on Thursday when he featured on a live Hot Seat radio programme on Hot FM.

Mr Hichilema advised the Zambian government to start constructing toilets in markets than forming an airline.

“An airline in Zambia today, given our geographical position in the center with so many neighbours and the nature of the business as our national airline is not viable. Have you seen what’s happening with South African Airways, that is a huge airline where they are putting in billions of dollars every so often. Why are national airlines not viable?”

He added, “I know the emotions, that you own a national airline, I am a business man. Sometimes you must walk away from emotions as a business man and look at the dynamics of the business and the dynamics of the business are that Zambia national airline will not work, it will be a waste of tax payers money.”

“Why? Because the dictates commercially do not allow, the dictates do not confirm that you can run a viable airline. British Airways as big as it as it is struggling every now and then. Now look at it, you can’t manage Cholera here in Kanyama, how would you manage an airline that requires more intellect, a lot capital,” he said.

And Mr Hichilema has alleged that the people pushing for the restart of Zambia Airways are only interested in serving their selfish interests.

“These people are pushing for an airline because they want to use it for corruption, move cash around using diplomatic passports, they want to move drugs around. We hear those who are friends of the President are pushing for the airline because they want to supply food to the airline and other supply services. They are looking at personal gains,” Mr Hichilema said.

“Why do you want to form an airline instead of building toilets in the market? This thing is not viable,” Mr Hichilema charged.

FORMER Public Service Pension Fund (PSPF) chief executive officer, Richard Mwiinga says that he is not part of the clique that has been claiming that the termination of his contract by President Edgar Lungu was based on tribal lines.

UPND chairperson, Mutale Nalumango accused President Lungu of not renewing the contract of Dr Mwiinga because he was Tonga.

Dr Mwiinga told the Daily Nation that he did not know why his contract was not renewed as there were no reasons given for the termination.

When asked whether he was part of the group claiming that his dismissal was based on tribe, Dr Mwiinga said he has never commented on the matter.

He distanced himself from the clique, which included former Secretary to the Cabinet, Sketchley Sacika, adding that he had never discussed his dismissal with anyone.

“No, I have never discussed anything about the termination of my contract with anyone, that’s why I said I can’t comment. I was never given reasons why that contract was not renewed so I have not commented anything,” said Dr Mwiinga.

Meanwhile, a former PSPF employee, Joseph Zulu, whose contract was also terminated wondered why President Lungu was being accused when it was the board that proposed such action.

Mr Zulu said that there was no way Dr Mwiinga’s dismissal would have bordered on tribalism, when his contract was also not renewed despite him coming from Eastern Province.

Mr Zulu reiterated that it was sad that the UPND had been incensed by the departure of Dr Mwiinga because he was a Tonga, when the same party had been quiet over many others who had suffered the same fate.

And several PSPF former employees also said in separate interviews that there was nothing sinister about Dr Mwiinga’s termination of contract.

Dr Mwiinga was appointed in 2014 to act as PSPF chief executive for administrative convenience during the period of Mr Thomas Phiri’s suspension.

The headline shouldn’t have come as a surprise: “Zambia police arrest 55 in riots over cholera control rules”.

Zambia’s response to the cholera outbreak, which began in October and has killed more than 70 people, has in the last few weeks been a show of force.Earlier in January, President Edgar Lungu took to the streets of Lusaka flanked by soldiers in a clean-up operation that saw unhygienic markets and restaurants shuttered. He railed against the city council’s failings. Street vending was banned across the city.

But then the government began introducing regulations that granted powers to suppress, starting with a ban on gatherings of five or more people.The interdict encompassed weddings, funerals and sports events. In one instance, police used tear gas to break up a church service.To prevent travel, Lusaka’s main passport office was closed, while the start of the school year was postponed.In the badly affected Kanyama township, an 18:00 curfew was declared. The residents felt otherwise about the situation. Last week, they rioted.

That Zambia wants to be seen attacking the cholera outbreak head-on is understandable, but some of its chosen tactics are questionable at best.Cholera doesn’t spread through the air, or even by casual person-to-person contact. It has to be ingested through contaminated water or food.

A December report by the country’s National Public Health Institute pointed to water drawn from shallow wells for household use and drinking as the main driver behind the outbreak.And when the fundamentals of cholera prevention – like access to clean water – are missing, markets and public gatherings can indeed become places of transmission.

But Lungu’s heavy-handed response to the crisis is a distraction from the fact that his government has failed to provide those fundamentals – and provides one more chapter in a presidency marked by autocracy.

In April 2017, opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema was jailed and charged with treason after his motorcade failed to give way to Lungu’s as they both headed to the same event.The midnight arrest was an over-the-top affair, with about 100 police officers reportedly damaging property and assaulting employees before Hichilema was taken into custody.It would be another four months before he was released.

Then, in July, Lungu declared a partial state of emergency following a string of fires at some of Lusaka’s major markets – a declaration that allowed for meetings to be banned, premises shut down and curfews implemented, while people could be arrested and properties searched without warrants.

The government says its fight against cholera is bearing fruit. The rate of infection is slowing, and schools and markets are expected to reopen soon.But any success Zambia is experiencing has less to do with curfews and crowd control than with leaning in to the basics of cholera management: clean water, proper sanitation and good hand hygiene.

Cholera is a regular event in Zambia. No small wonder: about 4.8-million Zambians don’t have access to clean water, according to Unicef, while 6.6-million – half of the population – have no access to sanitation facilities.And this year’s outbreak has hit the country particularly hard, with more than 3,200 cases reported.

The next outbreak will only be prevented by investing in access to safe water and hygiene now. Curfews and arrests will be futile in the fight.

By LT Blogger