Government has lifted the ban on the movement of maize and maize products into Mushindamo district which was effected a few weeks ago.

This follows stringent measures government has put in place to help curb the smuggling which was rampant in the district.

Northwestern province minister Richard Kapita says government will only allow a total of 1,000 bags of maize and mealie meal to be transported into Mushindamo district per week .

Mr Kaputa said no further movements will be allowed once the total number of bags are exhausted.

He said no individual will be allowed to transport all the 1,000 bags in one week and that residents in the area will be allowed to procure up to five bags of maize or mealie meal for consumption without a permit.

Transport permits will be signed by the Provincial Agricultural Coordinator’s office, Mushindamo district council and the Zambia National Service (ZNS), he said.

“The Provincial Joint Operations Committee will carry out a comprehensive assessment to determine the right quantities that should be sent to Mushindamo and adjustments will  bemade accordingly,”  he said.

Mr Kapita was speaking in Solwezi  in a statement read for him by Provincial Permanent Secretary Ephraim Mateyo during a press briefing.

Recently , government banned the movement of maize and maize products following increased reports of smuggling of the staple food into neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo.

Repair works on the damaged portion of the Luangwa/Feira D145 main road have commenced.

Contractor China Geo who confirmed the development , today, says the works will not disturb the movement of the travelling public and goods.
Speaking when Acting Luangwa District Commissioner, Ngoni Moyo visited the site yesterday, Site Engineer, Wang Xiteng said all the required equipment was on site.

Mr Xiteng said the works might take fifteen to twenty days but he assured the District Commissioner that the works will go on smoothly as a deviation along the Luangwa river has been done to allow the travelling public to connect to their destinations.

Meanwhile commuters have commended government for providing an alternative for them to travel to and from Luangwa District.

Rodrick Lungu a trader said the initiative by government to provide banana boats to ferry people coming from outside the District and those going out was a commendable job as it has not affected their businesses.

 
Mr Lungu said the provision of two banana boats on the Luangwa river which are ferrying people free of charge was a welcome move as they were not incurring additional expenses.

 
In another development, the District Administration has postponed the commemoration of the Kavalamanja/ Kakaro involvement in the liberation war of Zimbabwe which was to take place on the 4th March, 2017 to a later date within the month of March.

The organization committee resolved to postpone the commemoration because of the road work repairs on the Luangwa/Feria main road as it has been closed to motorists apart from essential vehicles such as those from Ministry of Health, Security wings and others that bring services to the District.
Mr Moyo, however said even if the road has been closed to other motorists the District was safe in terms of food stuffs and fuel for ZESCO to supply power until the works are finished adding that even boarding schools had enough rations to last for the period.

He disclosed that there was an increase of 93 RTAs between 2015 and 2016 translating four percent adding that in 2015, the country recorded a total of 2,113 RTAs while in 2016, 2,206 RTAs were recorded.

He attributed the causes of accidents to poor road and vehicle conditions, unregulated road systems, undesignated road services, lack of driving skills and training among the drivers.

Mr. Mushimba also bemoaned that training of drivers is not mandatory in the country yet other countries are offering that course/service.

The Minister told the parliament that he will soon be presenting the 2016 RTAs Report for the benefit the Zambian people.

And Mr. Mushimba has stated that the Statutory Instrument 76 of 2016 on night ban for public service vehicles (PSVs) is still enforce.

The Minister hinted that eventually, all vehicles in the country would have speed limits as a ‘major’ measure to curb RTAs on Zambian roads.

He said government is focused on policing aspect instead of training drivers as well as garages working on vehicles.

The statement was received with mixed feelings from amongst parliamentarians.

“I will not undo what my predecessors did simply because I am a new President as doing so would make the country fail to move forward,” Mr Lungu said.

He said this in Livingstone yesterday when he addressed stakeholders in the tourism industry and heads of government departments.

The President was reacting to Livingstone Tourism Association representative Pater Jones who expressed concern about the relocation of the provincial capital from Livingstone to Choma.

Mr Jones said while moving the provincial capital from Livingstone to Choma makes sense to the province, it has not helped the city of Livingstone.

The President wondered whether Livingstone is currently a ghost town following the relocation of Provincial capital to Choma.

“Let’s learn to abide by decisions of predecessors and move forward. We have to live with certain decisions, let’s build Choma and rebuild Livingstone,” President Lungu said.

He said he will not blame his predecessors but focus on developing the country.

Commenting on the energy deficit, President Lungu said there is need to explore alternative sources of energy to sustain the supply of power and mitigate the impact of climate change that has hit the country.

“I am excited to hear that our dams are picking up now but that won’t stop us from going into solar and other alternative sources of energy,” President Lungu said.

He said sustained economic growth and constant power supply at reasonable prices throughout the year can only be guaranteed if Zambia adopts alternative sources of energy

Mr Lungu is also concerned about the growing trend among some people who are always waiting for the President or Government to do something for them.

“We believe the private sector will drive the economy and the role of the government will be to provide a favourable environment for the private sector to thrive,” he said.

He said the Patriotic Front (PF) promised to lower taxes and put more money in people’s pockets but money will have to come from the private sector and not Government.

He urged the private sector to work with the government to make money and create jobs.

Earlier, Mr Jones proposed the creation of a bypass road in Livingstone to avoid destruction of roads in the central business district by heavy-duty vehicles.

And in a vote of thanks, Minister of Tourism and Arts Charles Banda commended President Lungu for planning to elevate his ministry to an economic one.

Mr Banda said the tourism sector contributes four percent to the gross domestic product (GDP) but that there is potential to do more.

“Let’s target to solve most problems by 2030 and make Zambia one of the top tourism destinations globally,” he said.

THE Law Association of Zambia has been joined to the proceedings in a case in which four leaders of the opposition are seeking the Constitutional Court’s interpretation on whether President Edgar Lungu is eligible to contest the 2021 presidential elections.

Constitutional Court Judge Margarate Munalula yesterday adjourned the hearing of the petition to February 27, 2017 to allow more interested parties to file formal applications if they were interested to join the proceedings.

LAZ had stated that it was an interested party and, as such, it should be allowed to join to the petition where the president of the Christian Democratic Party Dan Pule, president of the Zambia Republican Party, Wright Musoma, Peter Chanda of the News Congress Party and Citizen Democratic Party leader Robert Mwanza want the Constitutional Court to interpret the law on whether Mr Lungu is eligible to stand for the 2021 presidential elections.

According to the affidavit filed by LAZ lawyer John Sangwa, of Simeza, Sangwa and Associates, LAZ submitted that under Section 4 of the Act, one of the statutory mandates of LAZ was to seek the advancement of the rule of law and the rights and liberties of an individual.

Mr Sangwa said it was for this reason that LAZ was interested to be joined to the proceedings and that the court would benefit from its input during the proceedings.

He stated in his submission that LAZ was seeking to know whether Mr Lungu’s election of January 20, 2015, which expired on August 11, 2016 did not constitute a term of office pursuant to Article 106 (b) of the Constitution of Zambia Amendment Act number 2 of 2016.

Mr Sangwa said the court should also determine if Mr Lungu was eligible to stand as a candidate in the presidential election of 2021 or other future elections.

Heritage Party President Godfrey Miyanda and United Party for National Development (UPND) have so far applied to be joined to the proceedings.

Mr Miyanda has also applied to be joined to the proceedings telling the court that he will be objecting to the matter that Mr Lungu is eligible to contest the 2021 presidential election.

He argued in his affidavit in support of an application for joinder that he had sufficient interest in the petition and was asking to be joined in opposition to the originating summons as an interested party.

Mr Miyanda also submitted that the four opposition leaders had not indicated to the court that President Lungu had delegated them to file their application on his behalf as a prospective nominee in 2021.

UPND secretary general Steven Katuka has asked the court to join him to the proceedings, arguing that Mr Lungu was not eligible to contest the 2021 presidential election.

Mr Katuka has stated that UPND is an interested party and should be joined to the proceedings.

The four Opposition political party leaders petitioned the Constitutional Court seeking a declaration that President Edgar Lungu is eligible to contest the 2021 Presidential election.

The petitioners stated that there had risen a political debate of the tenure of office of President Edgar Lungu and his eligibility to stand as presidential candidate in the 2021 General Election.

They affirmed that President Lungu’s election of January 20th, 2015 as President when he ruled for one year and six months did not constitute a full term of office as per article 106 section 6 sub section B of the amended constitution of Zambia Act number of 2016.

The petitioners said that that President Lungu’s election of August 11th, 2016 for a term of five years was his first full term as President of Zambia.

They also wanted the Court to declare that President Lungu is eligible to stand in the 2021 general election as Presidential candidate, where once elected it will be his second and final term of office.

The petitioners want the court to declare that President LUNGU’s first term of office commenced on September 13th, 2016 when he was sworn in as President for a term of five years.