Copperbelt Minister Hon. Bowman Lusambo has announced the purchase of 2,000 match tickets for Under 20 matches to be played at Ndola’s Levy Mwanawasa Stadium.

The open wing tickets at a total value of K20,000 will be distributed to all the four constituencies in Ndola to allow football fans to watch the prestigious tournament.

Hon. Lusambo said the gesture to donate the tickets is in line with President Edgar Chagwa Lungu’s vision to use sport as a unifying factor in Zambia.

“His Excellency President Edgar Chagwa Lungu has already set the tone by donating thousands of tickets to football lovers on numerous occasions and we feel this tournament is very important for the City of Ndola and fans should be accorded a chance to witness the occasion,” Hon. Lusambo commented.

The Minister who is also Kabushi Member of Parliament has since urged other Copperbelt based Members of Parliament to emulate the gesture and purchase some tickets for their constituents.

He said for tomorrow’s round of matches, the target is to have at least between 10,000-15,000 football fans benefit from the gesture hence the need for other MPs to purchase and donate the tickets.

“As leaders, I feel we have to own this tournament and buy some tickets in order to give chance to those football lovers in their areas we are coming from to enjoy the AFCON euphoria. By doing so, we will also be boosting the match attendance which is key for prospects of future hosting of even bigger tournaments.”

He said hosting the AFCON Under 20 tournament is a huge opportunity for the country to showcase its tremendous tourism offering and expose the country’s immense footballing talent.

“As Copperbelt Minister, it is my expectation that this tournament would be a springboard for some of our exciting young talents because I know there are a lot of football scouts who have descended on the country scouting for fresh talent.”

Hon. Lusambo also urged nationals of country’s participating in the tournaments resident in Zambia to come out and watch the matches and offer support to their respective national teams.

“We have a huge presence of South Africans living and working on the Copperbelt, we also have a lot of Sudanese, people from Cameroun and Senegal living here and it is important that they come out in large numbers to add colour to the matches,” he said.

The Copperbelt Minister further prodded the business community from participating countries who have set up investments in Zambia to seize the moment and offer support to their respective national sides as part of Corporate Social Responsibility by purchasing match tickets.

“A number of companies with origin from South Africa are present in Zambia and particularly on the Copperbelt, they should buy these tickets and let us fill up the Levy Mwanawasa Stadium for the remainder of the matches,” Hon. Lusambo stated.

Mr. Lusambo has also instructed the local authority not to obtain a court order for their planned auction.

He says authorities at Kitwe City Council should instead wait for a meeting of all stakeholders to be convened this weekend.

Mr. Lusambo says there is need to find an amicable solution to street vending as opposed to confiscating and auctioning goods of vendors found wanting.

He says the solution may involve finding alternative trading areas for street vendors.

Mr. Lusambo said this in a telephone interview with ZNBC News .

This failure by the PF and its Leader, Mr Edgar Lungu is not only detrimental but also a day light robbery on Zambians who have been paying tax in form of TV levy every month.

We demand on behalf the country that with immediate effect PF pays for the live transmission of the games because citizens have been compliant and if PF and ZNBC does not televise the games live, they must stop collecting tv levy as it is tantamount to theft.

ZNBC is a public broadcaster and must not only be seen transmitting live political rallies that we understand up to date PF has not paid for when Zambians have been paying TV levy.

It is also appalling to the PF leadership to continue globetrotting with a huge delegation around the world when part of the allowances they are spending could be spent paying CAF so that Citizens can enjoy the games.

ZNBC does not belong to PF but to Zambians and it must begin showing content that Zambians are pleased with and not PF political rhetoric.

When collecting TV levy, ZNBC says when you pay it will show, we further demand that since Zambians have been paying let them pay CAF and televise the games live.

This failure by PF to pay CAF and televise the games puts our country on the international spotlight as certain bodies will not be taking us serious with such world activities of great importance.

Meanwhile, we wish to once again congratulate the our Chipolopolo boys for winning the first game and today as they take on Mali we wish them all the very best.

Hakainde Hichilema
UPND PRESIDENT.

President Lungu who is visiting Israel on a five-day state visit said his entire cabinet was excited about the trip and all his Ministers wanted to follow.

He said his entire cabinet wanted to come along for good reasons but that he could only carry eight Ministers.
President Lungu has travelled with Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Agriculture, Commerce, Trade and Industry, Energy, Tourism, Water Development and Environment, Transportation and Health.

He was speaking to the media on Tuesday afternoon after meeting Prime Minister Netanyahu at his office.

“Zambia have been friends with Israel on and off and this time around we will be friends forever. My Ministers are happy to be here and the entire cabinet wanted to be here for good reasons. The relationship has been enhanced by the establishment of an Embassy here from 2015 to now we have escalated our friendship much more,” President Lungu said.

“My visit is an opportunity to explore further areas of corporation especially in Water and energy, it’s a shame that we have a lot of water and we are coming here to learn. It’s not a coincidence because you have learnt how to find water from the sea,” he said.

President Lungu also stated that Zambia went through a lot of anguish when it broke off ties with Israel between 1973 to 1993 saying it is now time we strengthen the friendship.

At its peak, some 1,000 Jews lived in Zambia, though that number has dwindled to only about 30 today.

There are three Jewish cemeteries in the country.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Netanyahu has asked President Lungu to help Israel regain its observer status at the African Union, a position it lost in 2002 and has had trouble regaining, primarily because of the objection of South Africa and the North African Muslim states.

The Palestinian Authority enjoys this status in the AU and as a result Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is able each year to address the AU annual summit, something denied to Israel.
Zambia is one of the few African countries with a military attaché in Israel at its embassy which it opened in 2015.

Israel does not have an embassy in Zambia.

Prime Minister Netanyahu said after meeting President Lungu that his country “has undergone an amazing and admirable change in a transition to democracy since the ‘90s.”

He said that Israel hopes to “deepen its cooperation with the country, which I think is important for both our countries and both our peoples. I know that you’re opening a Jewish history museum in Zambia and soon a synagogue in the capital city. I hope one day I have the opportunity to visit those institutions and to visit Zambia.”

“I want to thank you for your friendship. It was well demonstrated in our meeting in Entebbe (Uganda) and we’ve been working together to strengthen and deepen the relations between Zambia and Israel. A year –and-a-half ago you opened an embassy in Israel and many, many of your Ministers have visited Israel recently and are visiting again today in fields of water, agriculture, education and also security, defence, anti-terrorism and many, many other areas,” Prime Minister Netanyahu said.

“We hope to send our experts to help with alternative energy, with water and other areas that we’ll discuss today. I look forward to deepening this cooperation, which I think is important for both our countries and both our peoples. I know that you’re opening a Jewish history museum in Zambia and soon a synagogue in the capital city. I hope one day I have the opportunity to visit those institutions and to visit Zambia.”

Prime Minister Netanyahu said however stated that the future of Zambia and the future of so many African countries is being challenged by the rise of radical Islam and the terrorism that is espouses.
He said radical Islam and the fanaticism that it instils in young people is a challenge to countries like Zambia.

“I think that it’s a battle between the past and the future. We firmly stand on the side of the future, of modernity,” he said.

“I just showed you, Mr. President, a relic from our past. We’re very proud of our past, our Biblical past and our modern effort to come back to our ancient land but we seek to develop a hopeful and bright future for our people and we are as equally committed to do that for the people of Africa. So, I think we have to seize the future together but also work together to defeat the forces that want to take us to a dark past.”

He added, “In seizing the future, Israel is coming back to Africa in more than a verbal way. After this visit to East Africa, I’ll be going to Togo in West Africa in a few months. There will be a summit there to discuss Israeli technology in so many areas, in agriculture, in water, in cyber security, in every field of technology. I hope that we’ll be able to meet once more within a few months. But in any case, I want to assure you of our friendship and our commitment to our relationship and that is why I welcome you on a red carpet.”

Government has apologised to Kasempa farmers for the late delivery of Urea Fertiliser in the 2016/2017 farming season.

Speaking in an interview with Kfm news, Kasempa District Commissioner (DC) Goodson Sansakuwa said Government is aware that fertilizer distribution in the district was delayed this year.

The DC said the delay was caused by the suppliers who could not deliver the input in time despite being paid on time by Government.

Mr. Sansakuwa, however, was pleased to say that about 90% of the farmers have received the input and only about six truck loads are remaining to complete the consignment.

The DC said he  does not anticipate a bumper harvest this year but assured the farmers that government will put its house in order to deliver the input early in the coming farming season.

Source Kasempa Radio

All People’s Congress Party (APC) President Nason Msoni has called for massive demonstration across the country to force President Lungu to act and ensure that the people involved in the Malawi maize deal are conclusively investigated.

Speaking when he called in during Hot FM’s breakfast show Mr Msoni said the opposition, students unions, the civil society, and worker unions in the country who are worth their sort should conduct massive peaceful demonstrations across the country so as to force Edgar Lungu to act on the people involved in the maize gate scandal.

Mr Msoni  said stakeholders have advised the President to drop Dora Siliya so as to pave way for investigation but the President is spiting in the face of the people advising him by flying with the same minister to engage in more corrupt deals together.

He said he is disappointed with the ACC who have seemingly remained mute on the matter when their colleagues in Malawi have done the work for them by naming the people involved in the deal from Zambia.

Mr Msoni said asusual they are waiting for instructions from the President like they did on former Information Minister Hon. Chishimba Kambwili.

commenting on the  posting on his Facebook page, the outspoken opposition leader said the breakdown of morality in the PF government is striking and worrying.

He said no one believes that a minister who is still subject to on-going serious allegations of improperiety could be seen flying high with the President of the country to an international engagment without first being absorbed or cleared of the questionable role she played in the Maize deal.

The APC leader  said the defiance by the Head of State to openly take on board a scandal laden minister sends a bad signal on the fight against corruption.

He also said the move also pokes the country’s neighbour in the eye who are still reeling from the Maize scandal in the eye.

He said the action by the President was a bad Judgment and reinforced the view that there is a mutual cover-up in the Maize deal.

The delegation to Israel includes cabinet ministers from Foreign Affairs  Harry Kalaba  , Agriculture Dora Siliya, Health Chitalu Sampa , Commerce and Industry Margaret Mwanakatwe, , Energy David Mabumba, , Tourism and Arts Charles Banda , Transport Brian Mushimba, among others.

Meanwhile the country’s largest student body has added the voice to have the minister of agriculture dropped from cabinet.

ZANASU Vice President Eddie Miyoba said Ms Siliya was not fit to be in the position until her name is cleared of any wrong doing in the exportation of maize to Malawi.

Miyoba said it is because of people like Dora Siliya that the country continues to be rated as one of the most corrupt country in the world.

“We  the students  demand the dismissal of Dora  Siliya with immediate effect,we purely believe that she is not fit to hold any government position she is no longer a woman of substance and honesty if at all she was.

Ms Siliya was in past allegedly involved the  Airport radder Installation scandal, the Pr Capita zamtel evaluation scandal, and now the Malawi maize scandal.

“It is because of people like Siliya Zambia now ranks amongst the most corrupt countries in sub Sahara Africa, according to the corruption perception index  Zambia ranks 87 from 76 in 2014 representing a huge increase in corruption,” Miyoba said.

He advised the President to drop some of the Ministers involved in corruption if he cares about creating a legacy for himself.

“We really think that the President needs to surround himself with people that care about his legacy, he needs to know he still has enough time to turn things around and that is by letting go of people like Siliya, doing the right thing like fighting corruption works to the benefit of the majority,Sata left the legacy of building roads at least we can ‘SONTA’ but we are still waiting for the current President’s legacy and the direction of his presidency, we are really eager to understand what he wants to do, is it ‘corruption’ or will there be something to ‘SONTA’ in 2021? I guess we have to wait and see,” he said.