President Edgar Lungu is saddened by the increasing number of succession disputes in some chiefdom.

The President has since requested the House of Chiefs to look into the matter and draft guidelines to regulate the institution of chieftaincy.

President Lungu says there is need to foster stability in chiefdoms because they serve as a foundation of the country’s peace.

He says one of the ways of minimizing succession disputes is for chiefs to prepare indisputable family tress which must be submitted to the Ministry of Chiefs and Traditional Affairs.

President Lungu has since appealed to the House of Chiefs to take interest in finding a lasting solution to succession disputes.

The Head of State was speaking when he addressed the first meeting of the fifth session of the House of Chiefs at Cabinet Office in Lusaka.

President Lungu has explained that following the constitutional amendments, it is no longer within Government’s jurisdiction to issue any statutory instrument to recognize or not to recognize a chief.

Meanwhile, President Edgar Lungu said traditional leaders have a huge role to play in ending child marriages.

Zambian Breweries has empowered five less-privileged graduates from the House of Moses (HoM) orphanage in Lusaka with sewing machines to help them start up their own tailoring business, earn some income and support their families.
The five recently graduated in tailoring from the practical skills development centre which is located at the orphanage.
Zambian Breweries corporate affairs director Ezekiel Sekele said the company was committed to helping and empowering people to improve their lives, adding that through its empowerment programme Zambian Breweries believed in bringing people together for a better community.
“We support entrepreneurs, whether directly linked to our value chain or not. We, at Zambian Breweries, believe in growing livelihoods and supporting the change that young people in business can bring to our country,” he said.
“The story of House of Moses empowerment of five graduates to start sewing business was a good project to support due to the immediate benefit that the donation will make on the families. We are also mindful of the fact that sustained growth of the business is intertwined with the prosperity of our people in the community.’’” he added.
House of Moses executive director Daisy Muzukutwa said the orphanage started an empowerment programme, this year, for vulnerable families after turning one of the rooms at the ,house of moses, into a skills development centre.
HoM is an orphanage managed by the Christian Alliance of Churches in Zambia (CACZ). Currently the orphanage has 32 children under three years old. Most of these are children that are abandoned in communities and brought to the centre by social and community development officials working with the medical personnel.

Chef 187, Magg44 and Cleo Ice Queen wow Kitwe party-goers at launch of online music streaming and distribution platform.

Kitwe came to a near-standstill on Friday (May 26) when thousands of music-loving revellers showed up at the launch of Vodafone JUMP’s music portal, which serves as a free distribution channel for up-and-coming musicians.

The spirited event, which was held at the Zambia Institute of Business Studies and Industrial Practice (ZIBSIP), showcased an entertainment platform that displayed such top acts as the renowned musical maestros Chef 187, Magg44 and Cleo Ice Queen.

In the weeks leading up to the launch of JUMP Music, a competition was created with the aim to find the most outstanding unsigned solo recording artists in Zambia from different genres of music, such as Hip Hop, R&B, and Reggae. Through a series of online auditions, a group of four finalists were selected by a panel of judges who included Magg44, Chef 187, Cleo Ice Queen and Slap Dee.

JUMP Music Manager, Mutale Kapaso said, “Many young people have a raw talent in music which remains undiscovered especially when you consider the difficulty of penetrating the music industry without funds and support. As part of JUMPs objective of empowering & developing youths, JUMP music is a unique platform for discovering young talent, mentoring and giving them a platform to reach their target audience, thereby helping them launch into the industry.”

JUMP, which is a unique online social media platform with categories in education, entrepreneurship, self-improvement, and entertainment, hosted the event and its representatives expressed their glee at the overwhelming success of the launch.

The opposition Green Party says it is extremely alarmed by Zambia’s sky-rocketing external public and private debt stock since 2011.

Green Party President Peter Sinkamba said the most unfortunate situation is that the public is kept in the dark on the total debt stock for the country.

Mr Sinkamba said in the interest of transparency, accountability and good governance, the Green Party demands that Finance Minister Felix Mutati makes a full disclosure of the current status of the external public and private debt stock as well as the domestic public debt.

He said the party is also demanding that the public disclosure be made on quarterly basis.

“Three days ago, Finance Minister signed confirmation agreement of a $246 million credit facility with Export- Import Bank of India (EXIM). Meantime, government is in the process of acquiring a $1.6 billion loan from the IMF. Several other loans have been contracted in the recent months,” Mr Sinkamba said.

“When Alexander Chikwanda was Minister of Finance, he had an open door policy on the fiscus issues. He used to publish quarterly bulletins in public media of expenditure and other information. This made it easier for the public to track budget expenditure and conduct debt sustainability analyses on regular basis.”

He added, “We are aware that at the end of 2014, Zambia’s stock of external public and private debt stood at $6.9 billion or 24 percent of GDP compared to $3.6 billion or 15 percent in 2011. We are also aware that the domestic public debt increased from $2.8 billion or 12 percent of GDP in 2011 to $3.8 billion or 17 percent of GDP in 2014.”

Mr Sinkamba said, “After issuing separate sovereign bonds in September 2012, April 2014, and July 2015, the country’s public debt to international investors significantly increased by about $7 billion, through Eurobonds alone.”

“Meantime, government has since 2014 borrowed more funds from private banks and other investors. It has been very difficult to track government these loans, especially from China, Middle East and other Eastern Asian States. It’s hard to know how much the country owes other external debtors, besides Eurobond debtors, since the public is not given updates.”

Mr Sinkamba said the Green Party is extremely worried because the share of central government’s debt from multilaterals has fallen sharply since 2012, while the share owed to private banks and investors has increased.

“Further, though inflation has reduced from 22 percent to 6-7 percent, we are worried that the fiscal deficit is on the increase and may reach as high as 20 percent, if stalled infrastructure projects countrywide have to be financed this year or next. We foresee a situation where government may be tempted to borrow more from private banks and investors,” he said.

“Though easier to obtain, such funds tend to be more risky to the nation than multilateral loans because of potential of the loans being acquired by vulture funds. It is in this regard that we find it imperative for the Finance Minister to make quarterly full public disclosure of the debt stock so that the public not only keeps track of the fiscus but also becomes aware of the bottom line of national balance sheet as well as potential risks at play.”

He added, “After all, government is managing the funds on behalf of the public. So, the public must be in the know.”

Mr. Mwila has since advised members who may have ambitions for the presidency to cancel them as the party already has a candidate.

He said this during the PF provincial Fundraising Dinner for Northern Province in kasama last evening.

Mr. Mwila also reiterated that the PF will on the first of July 2018 start conducting Elections for the party structures that will build up to the General conference in 2020.

And Mr Mwila has challenged PF structures to rise above the differences that engulfed the party before the elections.

He said the party Central Committee has resolved that members who stood as independent candidates and their supporters can come back to the party but only as ordinary members.

The PF Secretary General said this is for the purpose of discipline because the party does not want to promote the mentality that it is acceptable to contest as an independent candidate without the PF Central Committee blessings.

Mr Mwila was in the province to assess the general condition of the party structures in all districts and to thank the party structures for their efforts which led to the Patriotic Front’s victory in the August 11, 2016 general Elections.

And Patriotic Front Chairperson for Mines and Minerals in the Central Committee Yamfwa Mukanga called on Party structures in Northern Province to rally behind President Edgar Chagwa Lungu as he works hard to deliver on the 2016-2021 election manifesto.

Addressing Provincial, district, constituency and branch officials in Mungwi on 26th May 2017, Hon Mukanga said President Lungu had proved himself worthy of the 2021 candidature and all structures must rally behind him without exception. He also called for loyalty and dedication to duty in the Party. “Loyalty and dedication are signs of a disciplined party. All of us as members of the party must be loyal to the leadership we have and make sacrifices. Late President Michael Sata founded this party on sacrifice and that is one attribute the party must never lose sight of”, he said.

Speaking at the same meeting, Patriotic Front Chairperson for Land and Natural Resources and the Party’s first Member of Parliament in 2001 Hon Musonda Mpankata thanked Mungwi and Malole Constituency for being a dedicated PF stronghold as demonstrated by the votes President Lungu and Vice President Inonge Wina and Patriotic Front received in the 2016 elections.

Hon Mpankata called on PF structures to mobilize and educate the electorate in Northern Province against voter apathy. “There is something Northern Province must learn from Southern Province’s voting pattern. We must aim for zero voter apathy in 2021. That is what democracy expects us to do. As structures, that is a challenge before you – we have the numbers and we must create interest in our people to fight voter apathy”, he said.

The Secretary General Mr. Davies Mwila is in Northern Province mobilizing Party structures from Wards up to the Province and to understand their challenges in recruiting new members. He winds his tour of duty tomorrow, 27th May 2017 after addressing a meeting of Party officials in Kasama District.