Floods  have hit Luangwa District in Lusaka Province owing to  the rising water
levels in the Luangwa river and Zambezi river displacing some households, affecting
the movement of people, destroying crop  in the fields, and business in the area.
A check by Acting Luangwa District Commissioner, Ngoni Moyo and some
members of the District Disaster Management Committee (DMMU) in Chief Mphuka
chiefdom on Sunday  found that more than ten families in Mandombe
village have been left homeless as aresult of the collapse of their houses.

Some villages such as  Amoro and Kanyenze have been cut off from areas
where they access services such as health and education  because of the streams
which have flooded.

The business centre at the Boma Township has  also been submerged in water
affecting business as shop owners have closed their shops.

Mr Moyo and the DMMU members  have described the
floods as sad incident as many  people in the area have been affected
and they failing access social amenities such as health and education.
The floods have also covered some portions of the Luangwa D145 main
road making it difficult  to motorists to pass freely.

The most affected areas are Mandombe, Amoro, Kanyenze, the Boma
Township and Mphuka where the team found that Chief Mphuka’s palace
has been cut off as the main road leading to his palace
has been covered by water.
The ten families whose houses collapsed in Mandome have since been
moved to the community hall while awaiting further assistance.

Mr Kalaba said the President will return on Sunday.

He said the summit will provide a platform for dialogue and exchange of ideas on strengthening and deepening regional integration among the 15-member states.

Mr Kalaba said the key issues to be discussed at the summit include consideration of the report of the ministerial retreat on the ‘SADC We Want’.

He said the report will also focus on the review of progress on the implementation of SADC programmes, the current challenges and prospects in SADC and explore alternative sources of financing for enhancing trade and market integration.

Mr Kalaba said the summit will also consider expanding SADC membership by looking at the applications from Burundi and the Comoros to join the regional organisation.

“The discussions at the summit will also focus on fast-tracking industrialisation and regional integration. You may wish to know that in 2015 SADC adopted the regional industrialisation strategy and this time the summit is expected to adopt the action plan and roll it out for implementation in member states,” Mr Kalaba said.

He said President Lungu is expected to make several interventions at the summit and use the platform to promote Zambia’s national interest for the benefit of the Zambian people.

“I must stress that it is important for President Lungu to personally attend this important summit to ensure that Zambia is not left behind in the process of making-decisions that shape the direction and future of our region and continent,” Mr Kalaba said.

POLICE have arrested 12 pupils at Monze Boys Secondary School in Southern Province for participating in a riot sparked by the confiscation of 100 cell phones sneaked into the institution against school regulations.

And the Ministry of General Education has warned pupils country-wide not to sneak mobile phones into schools, especially those who are in boarding.

Spokesperson Hillary Chipango said in an interview yesterday the ministry last week confiscated 100 cell phones at the school which had been illegally sneaked in by the learners.

Mr Chipango said 12 pupils were arrested after they destroyed school property in protest but eight were released.

He said four are still in police custody.

Mr Chipango said the ministry has in the recent past been receiving reports of pupils sneaking their cell phones into schools, a practice which is banned.

He appealed to parents to ensure children left their cell phones at home to enable them to concentrate on their studies.

Mr Chipango said the pupils were using sophisticated and dangerous ways to re-charge their phones thereby posing a danger to school property and people’s lives.

“All the phones are in the custody of school authorities as Government policy does not allow the use of cell phones in schools,” he said.

“Cell phones usually disturb the learning process for the pupils as most of them just go on social media,” Mr Chipango said.

He said it is Government’s mandate to ensure children grow into responsible citizens without any hindrance.

“Most of these children who sneak in phones do not perform well in their studies, which is a source of concern for us,” he said.

Mr Chipango warned of stern action against any pupil found in possession of a mobile phone in school.

April 8th 2017 has been set as the date for the 2017 edition of the prestigious Kuomboka traditional ceremony of the Lozi speaking people of Western Province.

The ceremony which is a big tourist attraction is held to mark the shifting of the Lozi King Litunga from his traditional palace in Limulunga to the day parts in Lealui.

The last time the ceremony was held was in 2012.

Low water levels on the Zambezi plains and the death of the Queen have been officially blamed for the hiatus.

The date for this year’s ceremony was announced by Induna Mukulwakashiko yesterday.

He further said the “Nalikwanda” will carry 180 Paddlers making it the biggest ever.

The Nalikwanda’s previous capacity was 120.

Induna Mukulwakaahiko further said that interested Paddlers must see and register themselves to Mutwaleti and those chosen will undergo rehearsals to revamp their paddling skills.

NUMSA’s response to the Zambian High Commissioner to South Africa Emmanuel Mwamba

13 March, 2017

‘We condemn the decline into Tyranny”

and we condemn the rapid decline into tyranny in Zambia..

We are also very familiar with the political situation in Zambia, especially just before, during and after the last national elections, in 2016.

We feel and suffer terribly, the pain of poverty, unemplyment and extreme inequalities affecting the majority of the people of Zambia. Therefore, in South Africa

To the High Commissioner, Mr. Emmanuel Mwamba, we note his request for a meeting with us. As NUMSA we cannot refuse an offer to engage, however, in his widely published letter to us he casts negative aspersions over the authenticity of our statements and doubts whether the views expressed in the statements are indeed those of NUMSA. By doing so he has exceeded his diplomatic and ambassodorial duties and strayed into the political arena to defend his political and paymaster, Mr. Lungu. We therefore see no value in meeting with him, as he would simply exploit our meeting with him for his own political purposes.

Let us first set the record straight for the Zambian High Commissioner in South Africa, Mr. Mwamba: all the statements and articles we have published are indeed the views of NUMSA. They correctly reflect the views of the union on the fast deteriorating media and other freedoms in Zambia, and indeed our views of Mr. Lungu’s government.

Further, we will implement our programme to encourage boycotts against trade with Zambia and we will galvanise international working class solidarity for the Zambian people. We will stage pickets at the embassy in South Africa, and we will encourage our partners elsewhere on the continent and overseas to do the same. And if necessary we will encourage the South African government other nations to impose sanctions on Zambia because of the subversion of democratic culture and the rise of tyranny

In our global struggles for justice, we remain always mindful of what Martin Niemöller, an outspoken priest said about Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime during the Second World War. Niemöller perfectly explains why it is our revolutionary duty to defend democracy with all our might everywhere where it is threatened:

“First they came for the Communists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Communist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.”

It is worrying for us as NUMSA when a head of state can confidently and publicly issue death threats against one of its own citizens, as Lungu did in September 2015, in Solwezi in Zambia, against Dr Fred M’membe. M’membe is a man of integrity and his personal reputation as a journalist and champion of media freedom and workers’ rights are well documented, not only in Zambia, but around the globe.

Anywhere in the world businesses often have issues with tax. These issues can take many years to resolve. We are confident that millions of Zambians have not been fooled into beliveing that The Post Newspaper is under provisional liquidation because of tax challenges. Zambians know that The Post Newspaper is supposed to be up and running, following the decision from the Zambian Tax Tribunal, which ordered the Zambia revenue authorities to hand over all impounded assets of The Post, and return it back to the paper. This order has been contemptuously ignored by the government of Mr. Lungu.

We also know that in order to prevent The Post Newspaper from challenging and preventing its liquidation, the government has been working very hard behind the scenes to obtain ex parte court orders to destroy The Post . As we speak, another arrest warrant has been issued for Dr M’membe and his attorney!

NUMSA will not stand silent in the face of injustice, anywhere in the world. And we owe no one the duty to ask for permission to fight for human rights and dignity. We are a socialist inspired trade union and we believe in the global struggle for justice and equality.

We are well aware of Zambia’s role in the liberation of our people. We know that were it not for the solidarity shown to us as South Africans in our time of need, we would never have defeated the scourge of Apartheid. We will forever be in the debt of the Zambian people for their sacrifice on our behalf. And it is precisely that same principle which prevents us from keeping quiet in the face of unspeakable repression and gross abuse of state power by Mr. Lungu and his party, the Patriotic Front.

The bedrock of every democracy are freedoms of thought, speech and the press. Journalists and media workers should be able to operate in an environment which is free from tyranny and repression. Journalists are not praise singers. Their role is to remain independent and to highlight the suffering of the most vulnerable members of society. As NUMSA we know that self-criticism is the bedrock of Socialism. We have been critiqued by the press and sometimes it can be unpleasant. But we recognise it as an opportunity for self-reflection and analysis. As NUMSA we will never endorse or support a government which suppresses press freedom.

What we want to know as NUMSA is where are the leaders of the Zambian Congress of Trade Unions to feel the pain and heed the call of workers in Zambia? Over 2000 workers from The Post Newspaper lost their jobs last year and yet the ZCTU says nothing. President Lungu is allowed to act with impunity and abuse state resources and you are silent. Where is your revolutionary conscience comrades?

During Apartheid independent journalists lived in fear of the regime. Many were harassed, others were tortured and killed. Media workers and journalists in South Africa took on the hateful regime through their writing. Their photographs and videos told the story of the brutality of the repressive regime. They ensured that the voices of our people were heard across the continent, and carried across the Atlantic Ocean all the way to Europe and eventually the America’s. If it were it not for the work of media workers and journalists in this country, the South African struggle against apartheid brutalities would have continued.

Issued by Karl Cloete
NUMSA Deputy General Secretary

Mr Mwila said the majority Zambians had accepted that President Lungu was duly elected and for the UPND to continue crying foul is a waste of time.

He said the UPND should change their attitude, stance and mind set, because President Lungu had since ruled for six months and he had a five years mandate, hence they should accept the reality on the ground.

“President Lungu is in-charge, so the UPND should just start preparing for 2021 general elections and it ends there,” said Mr Mwila.

Mr Mwila said it was unfortunate that the UPND could still be the ‘doubting Thomases’ about President Lungu who won the republican presidency through a popular vote.

He said it was an insult of the worst kind for the UPND to undermine President Lungu’s victory which had been widely acknowledged and recognised by major governments and credible institutions world over.

Meanwhile, Mr Mwila has urged the senior members of the ruling party to refrain from differing anyhow and maintain discipline, stating that the members of the central committee resolved that no one should go to the media to discuss issues that must be discussed internally, failure to which disciplinary actions would be taken against them.

Mr Mwila said Roan MP Chishimba Kambwili uttered bad words but he could not be disciplined because he had immunity, hence he would not condone lawlessness in the party, but to exhibit good morals towards one another.

Mr Mwila urged his members to continue being loyal and work together as a party if the country was to achieve meaningful development and whoever was not ready to work should be left out.

FAILURE by top PF leadership to reprimand Chishimba Kambwili for all the problems he has been causing in the party since he was fired from his ministerial position will create a very bad precedence, PF in the Northern Province have warned.

Provincial deputy elections chairperson Chibwaya Muma said the writing was on the wall and visible enough for all to see that Mr. Kambwili was not loyal to the PF.

The provincial leadership further warned that Kambwili’s tantrums if not handled properly had the potential to cause mayhem in the near future.

Mr Muma challenged Mr. Kambwili to resign from the PF and form his own political party that would challenge the ruling party if he was convinced that he had the political stamina and acumen to vie for the presidency.

Commenting on the recent hegemony in which Mr. Kambwili openly blasted presidential Affairs Minister Freedom Sikazwe.

Mr. Muma said. Kambwili had continued attacking anyone from a common party member to the senior-most, including those in Governmnet because he was convinced that the party could do nothing over his behaviour because of the perceived huge following he commanded.

He equated Mr. Kambwili’s behaviour to a booby trap out to smash everyone within range and that the party will have no one else to blame but itself should the environment become volatile in the party for failing to take action while the situation was still manageable.

He said many PF members were expectant of a positive result from the on-going reconciliation talks between Mr. Kambwili and Luanshya mayor Nathan Chanda which are being facilitated by vice president Inonge Wina.

But the current developments were giving a signal that nothing would be achieved because Mr. Kambwili was not ready to cooperate.

He challenged Mr. Kambwili to step out of the PF boat and into his political waters if he thought he was strong enough not to be swept away by the current.

“Mr. Kambwili feels he has made it politically. He feels his popularity can be equated to that of President Edgar Lungu and our only appeal to him is to step out and face us in the 2021 so that he can prove his strength since he feels the PF is where it is today because of his following.

“How can you have a person saying his people in the party are being persecuted? That means he has parallel structures within PF which he wants to use when he feels time is ripe to become president. Mr. Kambwili should have just exercised patience rather than using antagonism to get to the top,” he said.