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Mines Minister Christopher Yaluma
Mines Minister Christopher Yaluma has directed Konkola Copper Mines to immediately stop outsourcing labour.
KCM has reportedly employed 910 expatriates with intentions to increase the number further.
Mr. Yaluma has since warned the mining company to stop employing expatriates forthwith.
He says government will not allow a situation which will lead to Zambians losing jobs because of foreigners.
Mr. Yaluma has since directed KCM to fire the said foreign employees and hire Zambians.
The Mines Minister says government has engaged KCM to understand why it wants to outsource labour when the country has the human resource to perform various tasks in the mines.
FILE: Zambia Airways Boeing 737-200Minister of Transport Brian Mushimba says Zambia’s soon-to-be-revamped National airline will maintain its old name Zambia Airways.
Mr Mushimba says plans to revamp the airline have reached an advanced stage, with an expected launch to take place next year.
He says his ministry has already compiled a document presenting three scenarios over the national airline that is currently being vetted by the Ministry of Finance before it is pushed for cabinet review.
Mr Mushimba was speaking during TV2’s Morning Live News and Current Affairs Segment.
Mr Mushimba emphasized that Zambia is economically stable for the much anticipated development.
ZDA office building
The Zambia Development Agency’s performance during the first half of the year 2017 has recorded an increase in both value of Investment Certificates of Registration issued and projected jobs compared to the same period in 2016.
The Agency issued 192 investment certificates in the first half of the year worth USD 12.581 billion and 28792 projected employment.
The agriculture sector recorded the highest pledged investment worth 7,024.6 and projected employment of 4,584 followed by the energy sector with 4,376.4 and projected employment of 14,555 thousand.
This is according to a statement issued by ZDA Public Relations Officer Russel Haamubbi.
The other sectors that contributed are the manufacturing, mining, tourism, transport, real estate, construction, energy, health, agriculture and Information Technology and Communication (ITC).
Of the investment certificates that were issued in the first half of the year, 45 enterprises have begun actualizing their investments.
Of the investments that were monitored in the first half of the year, USD 236.39 million has been actualized.
The manufacturing sector has the highest number of actualized investments followed by construction, service and real estate sectors.
Others are the energy sector, tourism, transport and agricultural sectors respectively.
The Agency is projecting a further increase in pledged investments and projected employment by the end of the year looking at the stable economic fundamentals and the political stability the country is enjoying.
In addition, the Agency has done a number of investment promotion activities both within the country and around the globe.
The newly built trains for the Addis Abeba Light Rail Transit (LRT) constructed by China. A similar project is now planned for Lusaka City
Lusaka Mayor Wilson Kalumba has revealed that China Railway is exploring possibilities of constructing a tram service in Lusaka.
A tram is a rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and sometimes on a segregated right of way.
Mr Kalumba said he recently met officials from China Railway who are currently in the country on investigations for feasibility study related to construction of light railway and operation of tram service in Lusaka.
He said the tram service will run from Chongwe through Lusaka with interconnections to some areas in Lusaka to Kafue.
The Lusaka Mayor said China Railway has already delivered a similar project in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia which is already in operation.
Mr Kalumba said China Railway will finance, build and operate the tram service.
“As LCC we have assembled a team to work with China Railway so that we are able to deliver on our objective to improve public transport in Lusaka,” Mr Kalumba said.
Mr Kambwili posing with some of the donated hospital equipment
Out of favour PF Roan Member of Parliament Chishimba Kambwili has opened about the financial stress he is currently undergoing at the hands of the PF administration.
Mr Kambwili claimed that the PF administration has financially squeezed him admitting that he is going through serious cash flow problems.
In April, Mr Kambwili using his contacts in Europe secured some donations of school and hospital equipment for his Roan Constituency but the shipment is yet to arrive in Zambia after he failed to pay freight charges.
Riverwalk School in the United Kingdom provided Mr Kambwili with 500 chairs, 250 desks, 20 head projectors, 25 interactive school boards,150 computers, 50 laptops,150 lockers, 45 cabinets,10 printers and a 20ft container containing assorted stationery and library books.
The Roan Member of Parliament also secured 120 beds, X-ray machines and various medical equipment for Section 25 Clinic in Luanshya which have also not arrived in Zambia.
In an interview, Mr Kambwili admitted that he is failing to raise money to fund the shipment of the donated items.
He said he is not ‘liquid’ these days and points the finger at the PF administration accusing it of withdrawing contracts and holding up his payments to his company Mwamona Engineering Services.
Mr Kambwili revealed that he has failed to bring in a consignment of hospital equipment sourced from the United Kingdom for a local clinic in Mpatamatu, Luanshya because he cannot pay freight charges.
“Things are not going well for me cash wise. This is the reason I have failed to ship the donated hospital equipment and sadly government doesn’t seem to care. I have failed to raise the financial resources to pay for freight,” Mr Kambwili said.
He accused the PF government of financially squeezing him because they consider him to be a political rival.
“Right now, I am not very liquid and a lot of things have suffered but I am just putting things in the hands of God. I am sure things will be Ok,” he said.
Mr Kambwili inspecting some of the donated school iitemsThe school equipment which was sourced by Mr Kambwili
Kunda speaking people of Mambwe district perform the Nsongwe dance during the Malaila traditional ceremony held at Lubanenu grounds in Mambwe over the weekend.Newly installed chief Jumbe (right) and chief Malama (left) read the translated bible in Kunda, Mbila iweme, which mean the good news of the book of Luke which was presented to them during the Malaila traditional ceremony of the Kunda people in Mambwe held over the weekend.Senior Chief Nsefu listens to proceedings during the Malaila traditional ceremony held at Lubaneni grounds over the weekend.Hunters present the statue of a dead lion to senior chief Nsefu during the Malaila traditional ceremony over the weekend which was killed after it terrorized people in the area. The killing and presenting of the beast to the chief marks the climax of the ceremony..Hunters carry a statue of a lion which symbolizes the climax of the Malaila traditional ceremony of the Kunda people. The lion was believed to have been terrorizing people in the area during the olden days.Government officials watch as senior chief Nsefu passes by when he entered the main arena during the Malaila traditional ceremony of the Kunda people over the weekend.Traditional Cousins of the Kunda speaking people, the Yao speaking people, carry Senior Chief Nsefu of the Kunda people as he entered the main arena during the Malaila traditional ceremony over the weekend.Chiefs Nsefu (second right), Malama (middle) both of the Kunda speaking people in Mambwe and invited chief Chinyaku of the Ngoni people in Chipata lead the procession into the main arena during the Malaila traditional ceremony of the Kunda people of Mambwe district over the weekend. Bind is senior chief Nsefu being carried by traditional cousins of the Kunda people, the Yao speaking people.Local Government Minister, Vincent Mwale, is welcomed by Senior chief Nsefu of the Kunda people in Mambwe district. Mr. Mwale was guest of honour at this year’s Malaila traditional ceremonyGovernment officials greet Senior Chief Nsefu ( in red) and Invited Chief Chinyaku of the Ngoni people in Chipata, shortly before the Malaila traditional ceremony of the Kunda people in Mambwe district
Works on progress on the Lusaka-Ndola dual carriageway costing $1.2 Billion in chibombo DistrictWorks on progress on the Lusaka-Ndola dual carriageway costing $1.2 Billion in chibombo DistrictDisplay of the equipment’s shortly before the commissioning of the construction works of the Lusaka-Ndola dual carriageway-Chinese Ambassador to Zambia Yang Yaming welcomes President Edgar Lungu at the commissioning of the construction works of the Lusaka-Ndola dual carriagewayChiefs of Central Province following the proceeding during the commissioning of the construction works of the Lusaka-Ndola dual carriagewayChina Jiangxi Manager Xu Guojan gives a demo bridge to President Edgar Lungu during the commissioning of the construction works of the Lusaka-Ndola dual carriagewayPresident Edgar Lungu delivering his speech at the commissioning of the construction works of the Lusaka-Ndola dual carriagewayPresident Edgar Lungu looking in the microscope during the commissioning of the construction works of the Lusaka-Ndola dual carriagewayPresident Edgar Lungu flanked by Chinese Ambassador to Zambia Yang Yaming unveiling plaque for the construction works of the Lusaka-Ndola dual carriagewayPresident Edgar Lungu inside the caterpillar during the commissioning of the construction works of the Lusaka-Ndola dual carriagewayPresident Edgar Lungu disembark from the Caterpillar during the commissioning of the construction works of the Lusaka-Ndola dual carriageway costing $1.2 Billion in chibombo DistrictPresident Edgar Lungu commissions the construction works of the Lusaka-Ndola dual carriageway costing $1.2 Billion in chibombo District
MTN CEO Charles Molapisi has reaffirmed the companys support for Zambian football
MTN Zambia will continue its long-standing support of Zambian football, recently announcing its unwavering sponsorship deal to Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) for the MTN/FAZ Super League and National Football Team.
In the last seven years, MTN Zambia directly injected a hefty amount of money into the sport, during which Zambia has won the senior Africa Cup of Nations, U20 Africa Cup of Nations and seen the Super League grow in popularity both locally and on the African continent.
Speaking to journalists after the Zanaco and Zesco Football Club match at Heroes Stadium in Lusaka at the weekend, Charles Molapisi, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for MTN Zambia, said following a positive impact as witnessed by the company on Zambian football, MTN Zambia has been encouraged to continuously invest in Zambian football.
“There is no possibility of pulling out from the FAZ sponsorship deal. We will be in the next round of contractual discussions to renew contacts with FAZ.
“We are committed to the growth of football in Zambia and we have seen it working for us and the nation during the past seven years we have been at the forefront of supporting the sport.
“Hence we will continue doing so with absolute confidence that the sport is improving.”
Molapisi said, “If you look at the successes of Zambia at the Nations Cup, the Under 20 and World Cup qualifiers, MTN has always been supportive. As a company we want to be part of the success and we have spent a lot of time building and cultivating the relationship.”
On possibilities of increasing sponsorship support, he said he would leave that to the discussions between FAZ and MTN and would not want to pre-empt on what will happen.
“Remember, we have a common vision of shaping football in this nation with a common interest of taking football forward and with this common interest we will continue working together to find a mid-point to complement each other.”
Meanwhile, the statement comes at a time when Vodafone has been challenging MTN Zambia over branding rights at the now deserted Woodlands Stadium. Vodafone is reportedly said to having been orchestrating a plan to lure FAZ to accept its proposal to sponsor the country’s topflight football league in the forthcoming soccer season.
On resolve the matter, MTN said, “We are guided by FAZ, they are the custodians of the game in the country, we get instructions on how we proceed from them. And we will continue to seek wisdom from them on the way forward. Our interest is to make sure that we deliver the support so that Zambian football moves forward.”
Harvard sophomore Sela Kasepa, a native of Zambia, launched and mentored her country’s inaugural FIRST robotics team. (Photo provided by Sela Kasepa.)
Sela Kasepa first heard about the Pan-African Robotics Challenge while channel surfing in her living room in Kitwe, Zambia. The program enthralled her. Kasepa thought a robotics competition could inspire her fellow Zambians to take an interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) subjects, fueling technical advancement in the developing Central African nation.
“Many people would say robotics is a far-fetched idea, but there is so much more involved than building a robot,” said Kasepa, who is now a sophomore. “You think, ‘I have made this with my own hands, and I could make more things.’ Robotics can drive a change in mind-set. If we can help young people have that feeling, that can drive technological advancement.”
Kasepa began looking for a robotics competition Zambian youth could join, and found FIRST Global, an annual student robotics Olympiad founded by inventor and entrepreneur Dean Kamen. Zambia was not among the 162 countries participating, so she asked about future contests. Organizers urged her to launch a team for 2017, even though other nations had already begun raising money and training students.
Students on the Zambian FIRST Global robotics team take a much-deserved break while working to finish construction of their robot. Photo courtesy of Sela Kasepa
“It felt like such an outside idea. I wondered if it was even possible,” she said. “I decided to take up the challenge. If you never dare to start, you probably will never end up starting at all.”
Kasepa called her mentor, Peter Lungu, director of the Zambian Institute for Sustainable Development (ZISD), a nongovernmental educational outreach organization that had awarded her a scholarship, setting her on a path toward Harvard. Lungu agreed to help recruit students and mentor the team in Zambia, since Kasepa was now deep into her college coursework.
They enlisted seven students, set up a robotics shop at ZISD headquarters, and ordered the FIRST Robotics kit of materials to build the machine and basic construction guides.
The competition theme was clean drinking water, and robots were designed to collect and sort color-coded bowls signifying clean and contaminated water. Kasepa coached the team via Skype and recorded demos of fabrication techniques on YouTube.
Passionate and dedicated, the students worked from sunrise to sunset as they caught up with their international competitors. Kasepa’s long-distance encouragement boosted team members when they hit roadblocks, like when parts broke and they lost valuable time waiting for replacements to pass through customs.
“With every building process, just when you think it works, technical or design faults always develop,” she said. “The robot had to be rebuilt a number of times.”
But as the robot came together, a new worry emerged — how to fund the journey from Zambia to the international competition in Washington, D.C., in July.
Kasepa began making cold calls, but couldn’t get a response. Then she shared her frustrations during a casual conversation with Evelyn Hu, the Tarr-Coyne Professor of Applied Physics and Electrical Engineering. Hu offered to help, and secured a grant from the Office of the Vice Provost for Research that would cover travel expenses for the three team members required to qualify. Using Lungu’s contacts at an Ethiopian airline, they negotiated sharply discounted airfare and were able to pay for all seven teammates to attend. Kasepa was elated, but lacking funding for her own travel, she would have to watch the competition streamed live online.
The first match ended early for the Zambian team; one of the robot’s chains was displaced and they were unable to fix it before time ran out. Devastated, the students worked into the night making repairs.
On the second and final day of competition, Kasepa tuned in, leaning close to the computer screen as the day’s frenzied contests began. The Zambian robot ran seamlessly. When the dust settled, her team had earned 32nd place out of 163 national teams.
“I am extremely proud of them,” she said. “I hope they learned that they are more than capable of being innovative and creating something. As a nation, Zambia needs to drive toward innovation, and these students can be leaders in that arena.”
Kasepa, who also organized a robotics showcase for Zambian children during a school holiday, wants the country’s participation in FIRST Global to continue. She hopes that with the support of mentors and the excitement of the young students who saw their country compete on a global stage, they will be able to sustain the program.
“It is now clear to me that a country’s greatest resource is its people,” she said. “If you have people who are willing to work toward something, I definitely think a country’s future can be bright. The minerals or raw materials in the earth are not as valuable as the ideas that people step up to achieve together.”
I am an ardent fan of Mumba Yachi’s music and have all his albums. His Afro-beat is clearly in his own class and league only comparable to the likes of the legend Fela Kuti.
Not until his recent incarceration, I never thought he had issues with his citizenship. But what struck me was his passion and well-informed lyrics on the now infamous “Lumpa Church” or “Ba Lenshina” and the connection to Mokambo in the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo. So, his predicament made me go on a soul-searching through various literature in order to understand this Lenshina stuff, whose history remains buried and told in a bias way. We grew up to believe that the Lenshina followers drunk urine and believed they had a passport to heaven. They were evil doers.
However, yesterday, as part of the literary week, I stumbled on an interesting book titled “A Time to Mourn” that provides a good and unbiased read on this obscure history of Alice Lenshina. Authored by John Hudson, a former District Commissioner of Isoka, the book is an eye witness’ personal account of the 1964 Lumpa Church Revolt in Zambia.
It gives his personal experiences of the Rise and Fall of Alice Lenshina Mulenga who formed the Lumpa church in Chinsali even though it spread to other parts of the country. The book is descriptive and for all intend and purposes, what transpired to the Lumpa followers could be best described as “genocide”. The author places the blame on the authorities at that time who mishandled the conflict between the Lumpa Church and UNIP supporters which led to thousands of people to be massacred in cold-blood.
Official statistics show that the Lumpa church had the biggest following than any other church in Chinsali, Kasama, Mpika, Isoka and Lundazi and their biggest crime was to refuse to join UNIP or participate in politics at crucial time of independence struggle.
And so, the long and the short of it is that the Lumpa supporters were attacked, raped, maimed and made to surrender including their leader Alice Lenshina. But a group of faithfuls refused to submit to UNIP’s threats and consequently fled to the neighboring Zaire now DRC where they established themselves especially in Mokambo in Lubumbashi on the border with Mufulira.
Hudson writes: “in all, nineteen thousand Lumpas went to the Congo between 1964 and 1968. Efforts were made to induce them to return after an amnesty declared in 1968 but only three thousand did so.”
I am told that among those who fled and refused to return was Mumba Yachi’s grandmother hence his birth and upbringing in Mokambo, a border town which features prominently in his songs. And he sings proudly about it!
So the Lenshina migration is believed to be the first known, after Zambia’s independence, where Zambians fled their country to seek refuge elsewhere.
“It was estimated in 1993 that there were up to fifteen thousand followers of the church in the Congo. Up to September 1994, only one thousand, six hundred had arrived in Zambia,” Hudson writes.
“The majority remained in the Congo; if they see that those who have come back do not encounter any hostility, more can be expected to return,” Hudson writes on page 63 of his Book.
How then do you treat these Zambians and their offsprings?
PF S.G Davies Mwila addressing party cadres from Eastern Provincecalling for the removal of Felix Mutati at the party secretariat.Patriotic Front Secretary General Davies Mwila says the party has received petitions against Minister of Finance Felix Mutati from three provinces.
Mr. Mwila says the PF members are petitioning that Mr. Mutati who is also MMD president should choose whether to continue as Minister of finance or remain as MMD president.
He says the positions are from Eastern, Central and Northwestern Provinces.
ZANIS reports that Mr. Mwila said in Ndola in an interview that his office submitted the petitions to President Edgar Lungu who is the appointing authority on Friday adding that it is up to Mr. Mutati or the appointing authority to decide on the matter.
MMD and the PF entered into an alliance during the August 2016 General elections.
Meanwhile, Mr. Mwila has appealed to both UPND and PF cadres to refrain from all acts of violence in the ongoing campaigns for council chairpersons in Lavushi Manda, Kanchibiya, Itezhi-Tezhi and Lunte district.
He said Zambia has always been a peaceful country stressing that the PF wants to see the continuation of peace which the country has enjoyed for the past 53 years.
Mr. Mwila, however, condemned the acts of violence where the UPND and PF cadres clashed in Chilanga district saying the move was unfortunate.
Lusaka Province Minister Japhen Mwakalombe has advised opposition United Party for National Development (UPND) Leader Hakainde Hichilema to practice mature politics and not dent the image of the country.
Speaking during the weekly PF Media Interactive Forum, Mr. Mwakalombe said that it was really unfortunate that the opposition leader made false statements about the country’s parliament and judicial processes during his visit to South Africa.
Mr. Mwakalombe said that it was disappointing that Mr Hichilema has allowed politics to create hatred and division despite it being a service to Zambians.
He says it is unfortunate that the same person who was recently released from incarceration did not take time to start reorganising his party but rushed to misinform his funders on various issues pertaining to the country’s executive.
Mr. Mwakalombe says it is important for the opposition leader to be objective in giving his checks and balances to government and not always discredit what is done to benefit the Zambians.
Mr. Mwakalombe said that the opposition leader does not care about the country’s well being because if he did, he could have protected the image of the country he has been campaigning to rule.
Mr. Mwakalombe said that after failure of several elections, the opposition should learn to live an exemplary life, than trying at all possible costs to ruin the country’s reputation.
Mr. Mwakalombe added that government has been working tirelessly to attract foreign direct investment, but wonders why a presidential aspirant would draw government efforts backwards by altering remarks with the potential to the country’s investment opportunities in jeopardy.
Meanwhile, Mr. Mwakalombe has stated that the Patriotic Front will not divert from its pro-poor mandate. Mr. Mwakalombe said that government will therefore not remove any vendors from the streets of Lusaka, but find interventions that will maintain the cleanliness of the city without necessarily affecting their daily operations.
Mr. Mwakalombe said that his ministry has been in talks with companies that have conducted feasibility studies, to put up a power plant to generate electricity from waste.
Simona Cement Manufacturing Company which is being constructed in Chongwe will start producing electricity from the waste generated from production of cement when it starts operating.
Mr Mwakalombe said that the construction of the Chinese cement production plant is 85 percent complete and that what has remained is the installation of equipment.
“There is an extension of the plant, it will be making pan bricks other than generating electricity from the waste produced from cement production. This project has already been approved but what is being awaited is an environmental impact assessment,” Mr Mwakalombe said
