Zambia take command of Group A
Hosts Zambia are in command of Group A after Mali and Egypt could only draw on match day one at the 2017 Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations.
Mali and Egypt played out to a 0-0 draw in the late kickoff at Heroes National Stadium in Lusaka on Sunday night.
The result leaves Zambia two points clear of the two teams heading into their penultimate Group A date with Mali on March 1 at the same venue in an 18h00 kickoff.
Guinea, who are bottom after losing 1-0 to Zambia, will play Egypt in the early kickoff at 15h00 on the same date.
President Lungu Mourns Regina Chiluba and Errol Hickey
President Edgar Lungu has said that he was deeply saddened by the passing away of late Second Republican President Mr Frederick Titus Jacob Chiluba’s widow Regina who died today after an illness.
In a statement released to the media today by State House, the President described Mrs Chiluba as a strong and supportive spouse who firmly stood by the late President.
President Lungu also extolled Mrs Chiluba’s tremendous contribution to the success of the Movement for Multiparty Democracy(MMD)particularly in mobilising the women to rally behind the former ruling party.
The President has extended his heartfelt condolences to the bereaved Chiluba and Chifunda families and urged them to find fortitude in the Almighty God as they mourn.
“Her passing away is not only a great loss to her family but also to the entire nation and particularly the womenfolk. On behalf of the Government and the people of the Republic of Zambia and indeed on my own behalf, we wish to extend our heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families. Our prayers and thoughts are with them during this difficult period. May her soul rest in eternal peace,” the President said.
Meanwhile, the President has regretted the passing away of Mr Errol Hickey, a pioneer in the development of Zambia’s first private radio broadcasting.
The President hailed Mr Hickey for his ingenuity and unwavering commitment to take radio broadcasting to the level that it is in the country today.
President Lungu has said Mr Hickey an icon in the media industry will not only be missed by the media fraternity but also the entire country.
The President has extended his profound condolences to the bereaved family and wished them God’s solace and strength as they go through this trying moment.
“On behalf of Government and the people of the Republic of Zambia and indeed on my own behalf, we commiserate with the bereaved family. May the Soul of Mr Hickey rest in peace,” the President said.
And Government has released the following statement
STATEMENT BY HON. KAMPAMBA MULENGA, MP, MINISTER OF INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING SERVICES AND CHIEF GOVERNMENT SPOKESPERSON ON THE DEATH OF MRS REGINA CHIFUNDA CHILUBA
Government has learnt with sadness the death of Mrs. Regina Chifunda Chiluba.
Mrs. Chiluba who was widow of the late Second Republican President Dr. Fredrick Chiluba died at UTH in Lusaka this afternoon after battling with cancer.
Mrs. Chiluba was former Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) National Women’s Chairperson. She worked tireless to mobilise the party at all levels.
Government conveys heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family on the passing on of Mrs. Chiluba.
We ask the Lord God almighty to strengthen the bereaved family during this trying period.
Hon. Kampamba Mulenga, MP
MINISTER OF INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING SERVICES AND CHIEF GOVERNMENT SPOKESPERSON
26th February, 2017
Zambia beat Guinea in 2017 U20 AFCON opener
Zambia made a promising start on Sunday as 2017 U20 AFCON hosts after beating Guinea 1-0 in the tournament’s opening game at the National Heroes Stadium in Lusaka.
Beston Chambeshi’s side go top of Group A on 3 points until late Sunday night before Egypt and Mali clash in the other pool match of the doubleheader at Heroes Stadium.
Guinea threatened in the early stages of the match and Naby Bangoura missed a one-on-one chance with goalkeeper Mangani Banda in the 29th minute.
Edward Chilufya then thought he had the ball in the back of the net in the 39th minute but his goal was ruled out for offside.
The winner came just after the break through striker Patson Daka of Austrian club FC Liefering in the 48th minute.
Chilufya again had the back in the back of the net in stoppage time, and again, his goal was disallowed.
Zambia now turn their attention to Mali on March 1 at the same venue seeking a win that will send them to the semifinal finals.
Govt regrets the beating of Journalists in Chawama
The Government has learnt with regret the reported violence against Journalists in Lusaka’s Chawama Township yesterday.
Information and Broadcasting Services and Chief Government Spokesperson Kampampa Mulenga has condemned the violence that is reported to have occurred during a joint operation by the Zambia Police, Zambia Medical Regulatory Authority (ZAMRA) and Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) to clamp down on illegal drug stores in the area.
Four Journalists from the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC) and Muvi Television were yesterday beaten up and had their cameras damaged by some residents in Chawama as they filmed the operation.
Officers from DEC, ZAMRA and the police were also reported to have been beaten during the operation.
Ms Mulenga said the hooliganism and barbarism cannot be condoned in a democratic society.
“May I seize this opportunity to reiterate that the PF Government under the leadership of His Excellency the President Mr. Edgar Chagwa Lungu will not sit idle and allow the perpetrators of such crimes go unpunished,” Ms Mulenga said.
She has called upon all law enforcement agencies to ensure that they leave no stone unturned and bring all culprits behind these barbaric acts to book.
The Chief Government Spokesperson reiterated Government’s commitment to uphold and defend the rights of Journalists.
Ms Mulenga also reminded members of the public to always remember that Journalists need to be able to do their work without fear or intimidation.
She said Journalists have a responsibility to their audiences to gather news objectively and to report facts.
Regina, the Widow to Second Republican President, Frederick Chiluba has died
Widow of Zambia’s Second President Frederick Chiluba, Regina Chifunda Chiluba has died.
Family sources have confirmed that Regina Chiluba died at the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) at 12:30hrs on Sunday afternoon.
Government evacuated Mrs. Regina Chiluba to Apollo Hospital in hyderabad in India, in November 2016 reportedly battling cancer.
She however came back last week and was immediately admitted to the University Teaching Hospital as her condition was deemed terminal.
In 2002, the Ndola High Court divorced her marriage to Edward Mwanza.
She later officially married Frederick Chiluba.
At this stage Chiluba had divorced his wife of many years, Vera Tembo.
Regina spent most of her life with Chiluba in courts of law as Chiluba and herself were dragged into court on allegations of corruption by the Mwanawasa government.
In 2009, she was jailed by the Lusaka Magistrate for allegedly receiving government property but was later acquitted by the Lusaka High Court.
Chiluba died in 2010 from a heart condition he had suffered since 2006.
Regina is survived by her children Bwalya, Malama and Mando.
Funeral arrangements are will be announced later.
Misdirection in the contemporary African church
The ‘practice’ of Christianity in Africa, is gradually on the verge of a wild goose chase. The more impressive the proliferation of churches (the credibility of which cannot be truly ascertained), the higher the population of indecisive religious tourists, who continuously fall victims of marketing hype!
The second coming of Christ as detailed in the Bible, is bound to happen only “when the Gospel has been preached to the WHOLE earth as a witness”. Why then is the first instinct of an African Pastor focused solely on erecting his core congregational base within the modernized towns and cities where the gospel have, and is still being preached? The other churches are not doing it right? Or perhaps, evangelizing primarily in the rural areas where poverty and idol worship is largely obtainable would not yield much financial patronage..
We just witness a recycling of church members from one denomination to another. The Pentecostal folks, snatching the members of their colleagues next door, while the Methodist and Baptist denominations, ripping-off what they can from the Catholic! (I once attended a church where a major prayer point was for other churches within the town to bow to theirs!).
Christians “winning the souls” of other Christians! Unnecessary and unhealthy competition among churches in Africa. It was never written of Apostle Paul aiming to win over Peter’s congregation, or Matthew prevailing over Luke despite their different scriptural accounts. If each of these Apostles were keen on enforcing their individual philosophies or erecting personal empires with the gospel as opposed to the other, who would have reached the unbelievers?
How many Muslims and Atheists can the average African church claim to have converted, as compared to the number of Christians they’ve won over from other churches? (with their fancy choirs & lavish buildings). How many of the BIG and revered churches (with giant net worth & audacious faith) are spreading to the Middle East and other volatile areas like North Korea for evangelism? Little or None right? With such humongous amount of faith they preach!
[pullquote]Some Pastors surround themselves with bodyguards or substantial amount of protocol teams. For what exactly?[/pullquote]
But why I ask? For fear of persecution? Oh! They’ve got families they love and care for, so it’s practically unwise to die for the gospel at this time. It’s more comfortable to preach about the great exploits of Apostles who died for the sake of the gospel, but when confronted with the same feat in real life, they rather not tread the same path (after all, wisdom is profitable to them that have it!).
Some Pastors surround themselves with bodyguards or substantial amount of protocol teams. For what exactly? To protect themselves from people? Or shield themselves from any impending form of persecution? The target of the gospel in Africa, now reverses from the originally intended evangelical spread of the gospel across borders, to the building of magnificent empires, otherwise nicknamed “building God a house”.
Every church now wants to ‘build God a house!’ (God is everywhere after all, so He’s big enough to live in all of them!). God doesn’t need a house! Even if He needed one, your architectural design doesn’t qualify! He needs you to dust off the materialism, and evangelize around the world!
If African churches can convert the vast resources invested in building and sustaining large congregations, into carrying out evangelical trips across villages (where voodoo is mostly practiced), and to nations that forbids Christianity (without fear of persecution, which is originally the main idea), we would be halfway towards receiving the second coming of Christ!
By Nimi Princewill
Twitter: @princewill_nimi
Errol Hickey dies
Iconic broadcaster Errol Hickey has died.
He died at a hospital in Lusaka on Sunday morning after a long battle with cancer.
Mr Hickey as Chairman of Radio Phoenix was respected by many for having pioneered commercial broadcasting in Zambia after founding Radio Phoenix in 1996 in the aftermath of Zambia’s return to multipartism.
A few years ago, Mr Hickey lost his wife Ursula to cancer.
He had given up control of Radio Phoenix two years ago as his health started failing and some private investors from Botswana bought shares in the radio station.
He also operated a Lodge, Sunset Villas and an events management company called Events.
Mr Hickey was born in Salisbury, in pre- independent Zimbabwe, but came to Zambia over 50 years ago.
He is survived by a daughter Joana.
Simba deny Lwandamina Dar derby win
George Lwandamina’s elusive wait for his first Dar-es-Salaam derby win continues after Young Africans were beaten away by 10-man Simba.
The result saw Lwandamina still without a win over archrivals Simba in two meetings since he took over in late December.
Simba rallied to beat Young Africans 2-1 after Zambia winger Aubrey Chirwa had put them 1-0 into the break from a 5th minute penalty spot.
Simba then lost Novatus Lufunga through a 55th minute red card but equalised 11 minutes later through Laudit Mavugo before Shiza Kichuya sealed the win for ten-man Simba in the 81st minute.
Young Africans defeat was also Lwandamina’s first in the Tanzanian league since his arrival three months ago.
Simba initially denied Lwandamina a win last January when they beat Young Africans 4-2 on post-match penalties in the Mapinduzi Cup semifinals in Zanzibar after the match had finished 0-0.
Simba now lead the table on 54 points from 23 games while Young Africans are 2nd on 49 points with a match in hand with overall seven rounds left to play.
Meanwhile, Young Africans will on March 11 hosts Zanaco in a 2017 CAF Champions League first round, first leg match in Dar-es-Salaam.
Nkana and Power Dynamos win 2017 pre-season friendlies
Nkana on Saturday beat lower league side Zesco Vic Falls FC in a 2017 pre-season friendly played in Livingstone.
The 12-time champions are currently on a week-long training camp in the Tourist Capital where they also played their first pre-season match since they began training for the 2017 campaign in January.
In game one, Nkana beat Zesc Vic Falls 3-0 thanks to goals from Austin Muwowo, Fred Tshimanga and Golden Mulowa.
Nkana again won their second match this time 2-0 thanks to a Ronald ‘Sate-Sate’ Kampamba brace.
Zeddy Saileti’s side is set to return to their Kitwe base on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Nkana’s Kitwe rivals Power Dynamos were also in action on Saturday when they hosted division 1 club Roan United at Arthur Davies Stadium.
Power won the first game 1-0 courtesy of a Martin Phiri goal and drew 0-0 in the second match.
The friendly came three days after Power demolished another lower tier side Damiano Academy FC 9-0 and 8-0 away in Mufulira last Thursday.
Zambia U20 set for U20 AFCON opener
Zambia Under-20 national team captain Solomon Sakala says the hosts want to make the country proud on Sunday with an opening win at the 2017 U20 AFCON.
Zambia will face Guinea in both sides opening Group A match at National Heroes Stadium in Lusaka.
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“It is the first game and it is an important game for us. We are ready to handle the pressure, we are home and we will go out there to enjoy the game,” Sakala said.
” Morale in camp is high and we are ready for the game.”
Beston Chambeshi’s side is gunning for the 3 points to settle the team in a tough Group A.
Group A also contains perennial Under-20 campaigners Mali who have promoted their 2015 FIFA U17 World Cup runners-up team and four-time champions Egypt who will play in the 18h00 kickoff at the same venue.
Meanwhile, Zambia also need to shine at home to exorcise their disastrous 2015 U20 AFCON campaign that saw them lose all their group games in Senegal under then coach Hector Chilombo in what was their worst ever display at the tournament.
Standard and Poor’s maintains Zambia’s ‘B/B’ Ratings, negative outlook
Rating agency Standard and Poor’s says the Zambian government’s financing position remains very tight, with access to external debt markets and available domestic capacity both limited.
And the agency has maintained the country’s ‘B/B’ credit rating with negative outlook.
It said the negative outlook reflects the downside risk that fiscal financing pressures could increase further in the face of high maturities over 2017, while economic growth momentum has weakened.
In its latest report on Zambia, S&P says it expects that fiscal deficits will remain wide over the forecast, in part because of high and increasing interest and other expenditures, but also as accrued arrears estimated at 9% of GDP are gradually cleared.
It however expects that an International Monetary Fund program, which should ease financing conditions and require the implementation of a firm fiscal consolidation plan, will be in place by the middle of 2017.
“We are therefore affirming our ‘B/B’ ratings on Zambia. The negative outlook reflects the downside risk that fiscal financing pressures will increase further in the face of high debt service over 2017 and weaker economic growth momentum,” it said in its analysis.
It said government revenues have increased only incrementally and the agency has revised its economic growth expectations downward.
“Domestic debt redemptions in 2017 are almost double that of 2016, at 1% of GDP, and Eurobond coupon payments are also estimated at just
over 1% of GDP. Offsetting these strains, we expect an International Monetary Fund (IMF) program to be in place by the middle of the year, bringing with it financing support and a firm policy anchor,” it said.
“If needed, we expect the government will meet maturities by diverting revenues earmarked for other purposes or, in extremis, by asking the central bank for an interim loan, although we note bridge loans are already close to their permitted maximum. The new government has stated that the clearance of arrears is a priority action as part of its “Zambia Plus” strategy for economic recovery.”
It says it expects that the IMF will require the estimated 9% of GDP of arrears
accrued over 2015 and 2016 to be cleared over the course of the program, and this will keep headline fiscal deficits wide over the forecast horizon.
It adds that it expects the underlying fiscal consolidation to act as a break on economic growth as public consumption reduces.
“Conversely, we expect that the recent climb in copper prices could be an impetus for growth, particularly after an IMF program is in place.
We view both as important for investor confidence, as the earning potential in mining operations becomes more tangible, and government policy over public finances firmer.”
It added, “As to government policy, we expect an IMF program to help deliver a decision on the final mining tax regime, which has been a key source of
uncertainty for a number of years and particularly since commodity prices
started to fall.”
It says the increase in copper prices could provide an important boost to government revenues and support foreign currency inflows into Zambia.
It however, the government’s fiscal position remains difficult with average interest rate on domestic debt issuance remains above 20% across all maturities.
“In terms of the consolidation path, we expect that capital expenditures, transfers, and subsidies (including to the Food Reserve Agency, which purchases corn from farmers) will be targets for cuts, despite social sensitivities surrounding them.”
“On the revenue side, we expect that changes to mining-related taxes are also likely to be finalized,” it said.
“The outlook is negative, reflecting the downside risk that fiscal financing pressures could increase further in the face of high maturities over 2017,
while economic growth momentum has weakened.”
It added, “We could lower the ratings over the next year if there are further material delays to plans to put public finances on a sustainable path, including
securing debt financing.”
“We could also lower the ratings if levels of investment, including FDI, remain low or worsen, increasing external financing needs and potentially compounding already weaker economic growth. We could affirm the ratings at their current levels if sustainable fiscal and economic policies are implemented efficiently, thereby leading to assured financing conditions and an acceleration of economic output.”
People suing the Litunga have no locus standi -Lawyers
The high-profile case failed to take off in the Mongu High Court on Friday in a dramatic turn of events and the respondent’s lawyer Christopher Mundia has asked the court to dismiss the matter for incompetence.
“The applicants have further not provided their addresses for service in conformity with the rules of procedure and practice and as such rendering this action incompetent. I now crave the indulgence of this honourable court that this matter be dismissed for incompetence,” said Mr. Mundia.
A senior Mongu High Court official told the Daily Nation in a telephone interview from Mongu that the matter came up on Friday morning before the Deputy Registrar who did not have jurisdiction to preside over the case and referred it to the Lusaka High Court Judge-in-Charge for allocation to a High Court judge who might be required to travel to Mongu to hear the case.
This is in a case where Nabiwa Imikendu, Litia Charles Mutemwa, Mukubesa Ilukena and Mumbisho Liswaniso have sued Litunga Edwin Lubosi Imwiko in his capacity as ruler of Western Province, seeking an order that he resigns or abdicates his role as traditional ruler.
And another lawyer for the Litunga Sakwiba Sikota has argued that the jurisdiction of the High Court to hear and determine the matter was questionable as allegations imputed therein were against a constitutionally created office of the Litunga of Western Province.
“The applicants’ affidavit contains extraneous matters and is mostly based on hearsay. In the premise the said affidavit offends the High Court Act. Neither the Attorney nor the Local Government authorities have given the applicants the right to raise issues of State land, markets or bus stops on their behalf.
‘‘The applicants have no locus standi to raise some of the issues set out in their application. I humbly pray that the originating notice of motion be set aside for irregularity,” Mr. Sikota said in his affidavit in support of notice to raise additional preliminary issues.
Mufulira residents want by-law to collect 10% mining revenue for community development
MUFULIRA residents have petitioned the council to pass a by-law authorising 10 percent of the total revenue collected from all mining activities to be allocated towards community development.
The residents have also petitioned the local authority to create a local mineral revenue sharing mechanism that will be managing and administering the 10 percent allocation.
Speaking on behalf of the 1,000 petitioners on Wednesday, representative Martin Kampamba said the allocation was expected to foster development in host mining communities.
Mr Kampamba said such communities had suffered negative effects such as water and air pollution, displacement and environmental degradation due to mining activities.
“Following a consultative meeting with stakeholders held on December 8, 2016, we agreed to petition our local authority to pass a by-law authorising 10 percent of revenue collected through property rates and annual business fees to be ploughed back to our communities for development,” he said.