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(FDD) vice president Chifumu BandaOpposition Forum for Democracy and Development (FDD) vice president Chifumu Banda has been expelled from the party for gross misconduct.
The FDD has also suspended with immediate effect its Lusaka province chairman James Musemuna.
Speaking this morning at a media briefing in Lusaka party national chairman Potipher Chungu disclosed that Mr. Musemuna has been suspended for bringing the name of the party into public ridicule.
Mr. Chungu has told journalists that this is in relation to his continued remarks against the party leadership.
He notes that Mr. Musemuna has since been given seven days in which to exculpate himself.
Mr. Chungu adds that his party has also reprimanded Yotam Mtayachalo for masquerading and issuing statements purporting to be FDD Chama District chairperson when in fact not.
Meanwhile Mr. Chungu has announced the postponement to a later date of his party’s national convention which was scheduled to be held on the 24th of this month.
Mr. Chungu has explained that this is due to the fact that the party has not yet managed to raise the 6 million kwacha required to hold the convention.
FILE: President Sata with SG Wynter Kabimba Flying To Mansa on Airforce one
I BEGAN to be disillusioned when late president Michael Sata started to lose grip of the State machinery and it became even more compromised when his health started failing him, Rainbow party leader Wynter Kabimba has confessed.
And Mr Kabimba has attacked Members of Parliament (MPs) for allegedly abusing the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) in a corrupt manner.
Mr Kabimba, who was Patriotic Front (PF) secretary general under President Sata until he was fired in Augusr 2014, said after one year of being in Government, Mr Sata ‘‘started getting derailed from the track by personal favours’’.
Speaking when he featured on Hot FM radio programme dubbed the “The Hot Seat”, Mr Kabimba said president Sata’s intentions were good but that progressively he started losing focus.
“I worked with Michael Sata and I want to tell this today: Michael’s intentions were very good but for me who worked with him closely I was seeing that, progressively, he was getting derailed from the track by some of the things that I have said here – personal favours.
“I asked him one day, one year after we had been in power, why Willie Nsanda should be the chairman of the board of the Road Development Agency (RDA) when there was no board, there is just a chairman,” Mr Kabimba said.
He said there was no board at the Road Development Agency but there was a board chairman. “…and one year you as a president you are finding difficult to put a board in place and Willie Nsanda is just chortling alone around Chinese and all these other people that are looking for contracts,” he said.
Mr Kabimba was responding to a caller only identified as Shakespeare who asked him (Kabimba) to rate the performance of all previous heads of State.
Meanwhile, Mr Kabimba said Members of Parliament (MPs) were fond of abusing the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) so much in a corrupt manner.
He said even the Farmer Input Support Programme had been a ‘‘bedrock of corruption’’ from the beginning. “It is a corrupt system that has benefited the politicians and that is why they cannot do away with it.
“It is like the Constitutional Development Fund, the only time when you hear the Members of Parliament in Parliament speaking in unison is during the Budget when they are all clamouring to increase CDF which they abuse so much in a corrupt manner,” Mr Kabimba said.
He said it was the only time when the ruling party and the opposition would speak with one voice because everyone was a beneficiary of CDF.
Mr Kabimba said both FISP and CDF were a disaster and that the Rainbow Party would do away with them. He said the Rainbow Party manifesto was very clear that CDF would be abolished and would redesign FISP to make the farmers graduate so that a peasant farmer was not a peasant farmer from birth until death.
Mr Kabimba said even during president Sata’s era nothing much had been done about FISP because it was ‘‘business as usual’’.
Mr Kabimba also challenged President Edgar Lungu to immediately act by dismissing Cabinet ministers and Government officials whom he publicly said were corrupt.
“If you have a minister and a group of officials that are going to cause starvation to the people that elected you, if you are having ministers and officials that are going to impoverish the people that elected you, surely don’t you owe those people a duty by making sure that this crop of ministers and officials is out of the way.
‘‘President Lungu should show us his actions that he was not happy with late distribution of fertilizer and that he was in charge,’’ Mr Kabimba said
Zambian Road Safety Trust (ZRST) has called on government to immediately implement life-saving measures that will save lives and prevent serious injuries as the Zambian roads have continued to be deadly,
The Zambia Police statistics released has shown an increase in casualties and incidents caused by road traffic in 2016, with no improvement in road safety since 2011.
ZRST Communications Officer said in a press statement today that the newly released government traffic data paint a sobering picture of safety on the nation’s roads as 2016 remained the deadliest year on the nation’s roads.
Mailosi Mwale said the number of people who died in road accidents reached 2,206 last year, that’s a 4.4 percent increase over 2015.
Mr Mwale noted that the total for 2016 was up 19% from the 2014 figure. The annual total for 2015 was 2,113, a 14% increase from 2014. The 2014 figure was less than 0.5% higher than 2013.
The Communications officer said out of the 2,206 persons killed, 237 were children amongst them 137 were boys and 100 girls.
He said 6,432 road users were injured seriously, some permanently disabled for the rest of their lives in 2016, and 8,456 were slightly injured.
Mr Mwale said the Zambia Police cited that most of the accidents have been attributed to excessive speed at 14.7%, misjudging clearance distance 14.6%, failing to keep to the near side 12.8% whilst cutting at 10.9%.
Statistically this means that every day six lives are lost on the roads, 20 seriously injured and reported 90 accidents.
He pointed out that the figures might not be statistically significant, urged people inform their family and friends about it.
ZRST Chairperson Danniel Mwamba said: “Our complacency is killing us. Zambians believe there is nothing we can do to stop crashes from happening, but that isn’t true, we know what needs to be done; we just haven’t done it.”
Mr Mwamba said the figures are worrying, especially that the driver’s conduct remains the top cause of crashes.
“We are clear on what needs to be done here. We call for road safety targets to be introduced by the Road Transport and Safety Agency- they are an internationally recognised way of ensuring reductions are measured and achieved, He said.
He also called for a greater focus on driver and rider quality and incentives for companies and individuals to continuously develop their skills.
Mr Mwamba said there is also need to focus on tackling pedestrian deaths, an area which is often ignored.
“We also need better pedestrian facilities to segregate traffic and vulnerable users where speeds are high, and campaigns to educate pedestrians themselves as they are most often at fault in crashes,” Mr Mwamba noted.
He said the number of pedestrian fatalities is over 60% compared to other road users such as drivers and vehicle occupants adding that efforts should be focused on making the roads safer for everyone, and especially for people travelling on foot, including the safety of children going to school.
“As our economy improves, we can expect traffic levels to continue to increase, so we must do everything we can to make sure this does not lead to even more increases in road crashes and casualties” he said.
Health Minister Dr. Chitalu Chilufya (c) confers with Western Provincial Medical Officer Dr. Francis Liyawalii (r) after the commissioning of a two story flat for the nurses at Lewanika General Hospital in Mongu last week
Health Minister Honourable Dr. Chitalu Chilufya has said Zambia is perusing a transformation agenda in the health Sector where it has shifted focus to the community and has invested in stronger public health systems where primary healthcare addresses social determinants with emphasis placed on maintenance of a healthy population as an essential contributor to national development.
Giving an update on Zambia’s Health Policies at the just ended African Healthcare Summit 2017 in London on Wednesday, Dr. Chilufya said in order for Zambia to build a healthy and productive nation, the Ministry has recognised the need to rejuvenate the health systems.
The Minister also said that with the rising middle class, non-communicable diseases today cause a lot of disabilities and pre-mature deaths. For this reason, the Health Minister will present the Social Health Insurance bill before Parliament largely to mobilise resources for Primary health interventions.
He said the Ministry of Health has created a new directorate called Health Promotion, Prevention and Control to provide health promotion packages to ensure that Zambians are kept healthy and away from the common practices that cause non-communicable diseases.
“We want to create a platform to engage other players who determine the health of our people. We want to shy away from the passive position of waiting for patients to come with diseases, being hospital centric does not change maternal and child health indicators and does not improve the health of our Zambian people. We don’t want to be a Ministry of treatment; we want to be a Ministry of health,” he said.
Meanwhile during a Panel of Discussion themed “Zambia’s Health Sector Review”, Ministry of Health Director in charge of Health Promotion and Determinants of Health Dr. Kennedy Malama said the retention capacity for skilled personnel in Zambia has improved greatly and the country is attracting Doctors and Nurses from the neighbouring countries who are searching for jobs.
Dr. Malama who is also the Ministry of Health Spokesperson called on Zambian medical personnel in the diaspora to come and join the Health transformation that is taking place in Zambia.
“The retention capacity for skilled personnel in Zambia has improved greatly, now Zambia is attracting doctors from the neighbouring countries, we have doctors and nurses who are coming to ask for employment, but we also need to give an opportunity or chance to Zambians in the diaspora to come and offer a service to their people. We need to be positively biased towards Zambians to ensure they are given an opportunity. But for expatriates, those who are highly trained, the doors are opened, Zambia is willing to talk and engage them,” he said.
He said the Ministry of Health has also decentralised the internship of the training of doctors in Zambia and that young doctors will be able to be trained and mentored by specialist Doctors who have been placed in various provincial hospitals.
Dr. Malama said instead of doctors concentrating at UTH, Ndola Central and Kitwe General hospitals, almost all the provincial hospitals will be hosting intern doctors adding that Mansa, Livingstone, Katete St. Francis, Kasama and Chipata are currently intern hospitals.
“As a health sector we have been able to place specialist doctors in all these provincial hospitals we will be able to train these young doctors and mentor them, apart from these young doctors going through the process of learning, they are also going to be providing a service to our people, in a way we are expanding the scope of services and strengthening healthcare provision not only being centralised in Lusaka, Kitwe and Ndola but taking the services to the provinces in the country,” he said.
Dr. Malama said the Ministry of health was at a very exciting moment because it was receiving a lot of political will from Government.
“A health population will contribute to the social economic development of the country. There is no country worldwide that has developed with a sick population so we need to ensure that the health sector is in the centre stage because once our people are health and they live longer, then our country will develop and ultimately we will even start exporting skilled personnel to the neighbouring countries and elsewhere, in turn bring foreign exchange to our country,’ he said.
He added that the issue of brain drain in Zambia has almost ceased because government has responded to improve the conditions of service of health workers and the environment to work is becoming enabling where equipment and drugs are readily available in hospitals.
And Speaking at the same Round Table, Association of Zambian Nurses UK Chirperson Racheal Mwansa got the audience’s attention when she said she and other Zambian nurses in the UK contributed to the brain drain and acute shortage of nurses in Zambia but were reversing the trend by contributing to the Health Sector in Zambia through her Organisation.
“I am currently the First Black African Zambian Woman to become the Head of Nursing at Kings College Hospital here in the UK. I am proud of this achievement but I also feel it is my responsibility to share the skills I have acquired here in the UK with my colleagues in Zambia. This is why myself and other Zambian nurses in the UK decided to form the Association to cross pollinate ideas with our friends in Zambia” she said.
The African healthcare conference is a forum for senior level health care professionals, suppliers, manufacturers, investors and decision-makers from across Africa who gather and discuss various crucial topics in health. Zambia participated in three major events with the Honourable Minister giving a key presentation on the policy direction of the Ministry of Health. Dr. Chilufya was accompanied by Zambia’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Mr. Muyeba Chikonde, Director at Ministry of Health Dr. Malama, First Secretary- Trade Mrs. Irene Chengo Mudenda and First Secretary- Protocol Mr. Liboma Lipalile.
Minister of Higher Education Prof Nkandu Luo talks to Journalists after presentation of their quarterly report at State House on Wednesday, February 15,2017-Picture by THOMAS NSAMAGOVERNMENT has released about K70 million towards the construction, rehabilitation, renovation and completion of higher learning institutions across the country.
Minister of Higher Education Nkandu Luo told journalists yesterday that the release of the money had seen progress in the construction of Paul Mushindo University of Chinsali and King Lewanika University in Mongu.
“As at now, with the three university colleges in Kabompo, Katete and Nalolo, there are procurement activities taking place. In terms of our trade schools, Isoka and Kalabo trade schools have been completed,” she said.
Prof Luo said the money was also being channelled towards putting up new bed spaces at tertiary institutions in Chipata, Lundazi, and Mwense districts, among others.
“In a nut shell, there is a lot of activity going on in terms of higher learning education infrastructure. We have just concluded our discussions on the Frederick Chiluba University so that procurement can also start,” she said.
And Prof Luo said, however, it was unfortunate that some Zambian contractors had abandoned rehabilitation works on some tertiary institutions after being paid.
She said works on Choma’s Mawagari Trade School, Kasiya College in Pemba and Northern Technical College (NORTEC) on the Copperbelt University have stalled because contractors working on them had not been on site since Government paid them.
She said her ministry would report the matter to the Ministry of Home Affairs so that appropriate action could be taken against such contractors.
Prof Luo said such behaviour by local contractors was making Government lose confidence in them.
President Edgar Lungu addressing journalists at city airport shortly before his departure for North Western ProvincePresident Edgar Lungu has said that he is not going to relieve PF Secretary General Davies Mwila of his duties. President Lungu has said that he has no reason to drop the PF Secretary General.
He was responding to a question from journalists upon arrival at Lusaka City Airport from Solwezi on calls by some Chiefs in Luapula Province and party Central Committee Member Mwenya Musenge that Mr. Mwila has failed to mobilize the party.
The President said Mr. Mwila has only been in office for a short time adding that the party is being mobilized.
He has also questioned the interest of the Chiefs in the matter.
President Lungu whose plane touched down at City Airport at 15:20 hours was received by Minister of Justice Given Lubinda, Minister of Health Chitalu Chilufya and Sports Minister Moses Mawere along with senior PF officials.
Meanwhile, President Lungu has warned of stern action against civil servants and PF officials who will be peddling falsehoods with a view to frustrate Government programmes.
The President said that he will not tolerate dissent because his Government is in a hurry to deliver the PF’s 2011, 2015 and 2016 election campaign promises.
President Lungu said that time for witch-hunting and politicking elapsed with the August 11, 2016 general election and that now is time for everyone to work together to develop the country.
The Head of State was speaking when he addressed civil servants and party of officials last evening in Solwezi.
President Lungu also called for co-existence between Patriotic Front (PF) officials and civil servants in North Western Province for the sake of development.
President Lungu said he is disturbed by reports of friction between the two parties which ideally should work in harmony for development to happen.
He said Government is determined to succeed but that it is only possible when civil servants accept to work with the party in power.
In a vote of thanks, Provincial Medical Officer Andrew Silumesi praised the President for the timely guidance.
And Patriotic Front Deputy Spokesperson Frank Bwalya has said that the party needs to convince North Western Province residents that it is not diverting resources meant for the province to develop Muchinga Province where late President MICHAEL SATA came from.
Mr. Bwalya said that some people are being told that the province is under-developed because its resources are being spent to develop Muchinga.
Mr. Bwalya said that the party needs to immediately break such reports because they are not true.
Mr. Bwalya has told ZNBC News in Lusaka that President Edgar Lungu has demonstrated commitment to taking development to all parts of the country.
Mr. Bwalya said the President has on several occasions visited North Western Province to show that he has nothing against the people in the region.
Kariba DamTHE rise in water levels at Kariba dam is a positive development for hydro-power generation, Business Monitoring International (BMI) has said.
BMI, a research firm that provides macroeconomic, industry and financial market analysis, says hydro-power generation will help address the power deficit the country has been experiencing.
Zambezi River Authority reported last week that water levels at the lake rose by 0.26m representing a steady climb of 26 percent.
The authority also said the Lake closed the week at 479.15m on February 9 in comparison to last year on the same date, when the lake level was 477.19m representing a 12 percent rise.
Lake Kariba was created and designed to operate between levels of 475.50m and 488.50m with 0.70m freeboard at all times.
“Low rainfall was the reason why dam levels plummeted contributing to power woes. However, despite the above normal rainfall on the back of La Niña effects during the 2016/2017 season, water levels at Kariba have started to climb steadily to 26 percent (479m levels) compared to 12 percent as at February 9 this year,” BMI has observed.
It says 2015 and 2016 were characterised by El Niño weather that caused drought that resulted in low crop yields in Africa despite Zambia recording bumper harvests.
Meanwhile, BMI says crops were at risk due to armyworm infestation (which has since been contained) is among the downsides of the rainy season which the country is experiencing.
It says despite the challenges, Zambia, however, still projects another bumper harvest this year.
“The country has undertaken a robust agriculture diversification programme for 2017 with US$45million injection into its cashewnut industry to reduce dependency on maize only,” BMI notes.
THE remarks may have come off as unnecessary to some or completely irrelevant to others, but Minister of Higher Education Nkandu Luo had her own reasons for advising female students at higher learning institutions against cooking for their boyfriends.
According to Professor Luo, female students are at school to learn and not to practise their culinary skills by cooking for their boyfriends.
Her sentiments were shared when she made a visit to Kwame Nkrumah University in Kabwe last week and met some female students who are studying there.
Professor Luo advised the female students to take their education very seriously.
“What I know is that you come to school to learn and not to cook. Anybody who is doing that must stop and pay attention to school,” Professor Luo said during her visit.
The trend of cooking for one’s significant other is not uncommon at Zambia’s higher learning institutions and many seem to see nothing wrong with the gesture.
Some female students spoken to at National Institute of Public Administration (NIPA) considered Professor Luo’s advice unnecessary.
“Food is just food,” remarked NIPA student Angel Chewe over the minister’s advice. “If my boyfriend is hungry and I am also hungry and prepare food for us to eat, it does not mean that I am losing focus on my studies.”
It comes down to who one is and what principles one has, according to Salima Zulu, who says there is no direct effect on her studies as a result of cooking for her boyfriend.
Salima says she cooks for her friends, including her male friends, and they too cook for her purely on a mutual basis.
“When they visit me in my room, I cook for them out of the kindness of my heart and when I visit them, they also cook for me, so it is not a one-sided thing,” remarks Salima.
Niza Sichone of Evelyn Hone College sides with Professor Luo, saying female students need to place more focus on what really matters.
“We do have boyfriends but it’s just not really proper. The time used to cook can be used for studying instead,” she says.
Niza explains how in some cases female students cook for their boyfriends and carry the meals they prepare all the way to their boyfriends’ rooms to serve them, as would happen in a home.
This she says is done on an exchange basis whereby a boyfriend returns the favour by helping his girlfriend with an assignment.
Another student named Precious Mwewa supports Professor Luo’s advice because according to her, that is something which should take place in a marriage and not while students are studying at college or university.
“I don’t agree because it is time wasting and you don’t even know if that person is the one you will marry, and that time you are wasting cooking for him can be used for something more important.
“I think dating should remain dating if you’re in school because cooking for your boyfriend is like getting married in school since that’s literally the duty of marriage partners,” the no-nonsense-sounding Precious says.
But for Jane Ngwira, unless there is some statistical data to prove that cooking for their boyfriends or for their friends in general affects their scores, Professor Luo’s advice is not relevant.
Jane feels as long as one knows why they are in school, it does not matter who they cook for. In her view, it is absolutely possible to balance a successful academic life as well as a romantic relationship, which includes showing care by cooking for your partner.
She insists some boyfriends are actually very supportive of their girlfriends and even encourage them in their studies.
“For me it is a give and take kind of situation. If you cook food for your friends, whether male or female, how does that come out as a distraction?” she wonders.
“If your boyfriend buys food and brings it to your room to prepare because you are both hungry, I don’t see how that can become a distraction because you are simply dealing with your hunger.”
Professor Luo’s advice did not just end with food, however. She also said government would not condone lecturers who resort to having relationships with students.
She advised female students to guard against being lured into relationships by their lecturers.
“If there are any lecturers who want you, anyone should pick up the phone and report to me so that I phone your vice chancellor [Racheal Kabeta],” she said, and proceeded to give the students her mobile number after they demanded to have it.
Professor Luo also urged female students in Zambia to aim high and not end at getting degrees because, she stressed, there is nothing exclusive for men. She insisted women can do anything.
Zambia captain Rainford Kalaba has an opportunity to set the record straight this Saturday as to why he should have won the 2016 CAF African-based player award.
The TP Mazembe midfielder lost out on the accolade to Mamelodi Sundowns and Uganda goalkeeper Denis Onyango.
This is after Onyango inspired Sundowns to their debut victory in the 2016 CAF Champions League and also conceded just two goals in the 2017 AFCON qualifiers to lead Uganda to their first tournament appearance since 1978.
Kalaba too shined for Mazembe with his eight goals in the 2016 CAF Confederation Cup that included a brace in a 4-1 final leg victory at home over MO Bejaia of Algeria to lift the trophy 5-2 on aggregate and see the DR Congo giants collect their debut title in the same competition.
This Saturday evening, Kalaba and Onyango will come face-to-face in Pretoria when Mazembe and Sundowns meet at Lucas Moripe Stadium in the final of the 2016 CAF Super Cup.
Meanwhile, Zambia’s interest in the Super Cup will be strong with midfielder Nathan Sinkala and defender Kabaso Chongo also in the Mazembe 18-member team that has travelled to South Africa.
Zambia number one goalkeeper Kennedy Mweene is again set to be on the bench for Sundowns.
Mazembe are the current holders and three-time winners of the CAF Super Cup and are chasing another back-to-back win after back-to-back triumphs in 2009 and 2010.
Sundowns will be chasing their first title win and will be hoping to emulate their beleaguered Gauteng rivals Orlando Pirates who won it in 1995.
Al Ahly of Egypt are the record winners with six and a victory for Mazembe will see them become the second most successful club in the competition to leave Zamalek on three titles.
Zambia Airport Corporation Limited (ZACL) intends to spend USD120 million to develop Mfuwe international airport in Mambwe district of Eastern Province.
ZACL Director Agness Chaila said the corporation intends to build a
600,000 passenger terminal building, new air traffic control towers, a
hotel, shopping mall, cargo facilities and a rescue fire station among
others.
Making a presentation at the ongoing Eastern Province symposium on
development in Chipata district this morning, Ms Chaila said her
organization is currently negotiating with potential developers to
upgrade the only international airport in the province.
She explained that ZACL plans to complete the project
by 2019.
Ms. Chaila also stressed the need to increase bed space in lodges in Mfuwe
saying the airport has a capacity to handle a 373 airplanes but currently has inadequate accommodation.
She also noted that currently Zambia is recording low domestic
travel adding that the corporation has been recording a reduction from
28,000 to 25,000 currently on domestic travel per annum.
She noted that the corporation will also engage the Zambia Development
Agency (ZDA) to reduce the costing of doing business around airport
areas by establishing tax free zones as a way of attracting more
investments.
And a Zimbabwean firm has expressed interest to invest in Zambia’s
aviation sector.
NOCART Marketing Director Manasa Tsvangirai disclosed that his
organization will in the next four days present a comprehensive
document to ZACL to state which areas they can invest in or projects
that they can fund.
The organization is currently funding various projects in six African
countries and nine European countries.
I learnt of the arrest of my wife Mutinta and harassment of my lawyer Nchima Nchito with deep sadness. This was inhuman, unacceptable and done in bad faith. The invasion of my home in my absence was and is a cowardly and desperate act. President Edgar Lungu and his agents ought to have known I was out of the country visiting the USA and Jamaica. The warrant to arrest me was therefore a farce. It was meant to enter, search, intimidate, harass and humiliate my family. My wife, just like any humble and respecting citizen should do, complained against this injustice. She was insulted and assaulted for defending her home. Her arrest and detention as well as the continued harassment of my lawyer is an affront against any sense of fairness and justice. It is a total abuse of the judicial process.
I will be coming back home in a few days time. Edgar Lungu and his agents should be patient enough to wait and give me the chance to answer any charges against me. The destruction and removal of my personal property in my absence is shameful. There is no piece of asset or machinery at my home that belongs to Post Newspapers Limited. My integrity in this regard is unquestionable and borne out of highly principled stand in life. Money and wealth have never been the driving forces behind my life and actions. The assets of The Post they want to steal in broad daylight were built over a period of 25 years of hard and selfless work. It is against all that I stand for to keep such assets at my home for personal use.
The liquidation of The Post is supposed to be a civil issue. The use of the police, intelligence officers and the entire state machinery, including State House, is unwarranted. It is impunity of the highest order.
Meanwhile, my children, wife and relatives residing at my home have to be left alone. The policemen and state agents should vacate my home. It is me President Edgar Lungu is after. He should have the patience to wait for a few more days.
Terry Schwartz SDA Secondary School pupils (in front) and other delegates during the official launch of the School on Wednesday
Scores of Parents in Kasama district have expressed concern over the delay by the team investigating the sexual abuse scandal at Kasama Girls secondary school in Northern Province.Parents are demanding that the findings be released.
They told ZANIS that they wanted the investigation results to be announced soon to avoid panic among parents.
One of the parents, Josephine Mutambo who spoke on behalf of other parents said it is way after three weeks since investigations started and to date no update has been given to the public.
Ms. Mutambo added that the announcing of investigation results will simmer down suspicions on the matter .She called on women organizations championing the plight of the girl child to rise to the occasion and ensure justice prevails on the matter.
Ms. Mutambo also appealed to other relevant authorities to intervene in the matter so that the findings into the alleged child molestation at Kasama girl’s secondary school is accelerated.
*Below is the confession by a pupil that went viral:*
The Tears of Kasama Girls Secondary School pupils
Dear Editor,
I am writing this letter to all Zambian on behalf of all sexually abused pupils at Kasama Girls. I am in Grade 12 and have been at the same school for 4 years now.
Mothers and Fathers, Brothers and Sisters; the problem we have been having here is that of being sexually abused by our watchmen and some few male teachers. I say few male teachers because majority of male teachers here are very respectful to us except for a few.
Well, we have a problem at this school. Our night watchmen (plus some few male teachers) like having unprotected sex with a lot of pupils at night to the extent that a lot of us have been aborting. Last year alone, about 22 girls were impregnated by these merciless members of staff (Teachers and Watchmen). I am also one of these victims. On the fateful day last year, I happened to come late from town and found the gate closed. Unfortunately, I was out of bounds illegally and I was supposed to face the wrath of school rules. I found the watchman at the school gate who threatened to report me to the administration for further judgment. At Kasama Girls, when you are taken to the administration for out of bounds offence, you are either expelled or asked to call your parents, and a lot of girls who rather sacrifice their bodies than reaching these extreme levels.
Fearing to be punished and sent away on CP, I humbled myself before the watchman and pleaded for his mercy. The watchman agreed to forgive me on condition that I give him sex. I tried to explain to him that I was about to start attending and that my parents back home taught me not to have sex with any man outside marriage but my plea fell on deaf ears of the sexually excited man whose primary desire was to destroy my virgin just as he (together with his watchmen and teachers) has been doing to other girls for years. He cheated me that he had a special medicine (umuti) that prevents him from impregnating school girls.
After more than 40 minutes of refusing, I gave in after he threatened to terminate our discussion and report me to the T.O.D (uncompromising female teacher). He is old (40) as my uncle who keeps me but his sexual activity was like that of a 25 year old man on sexual drugs. He warned me not to shout as that would attract other people’s attention.
I am 17. After that brutal sexual encounter, he allowed me to go to my dormitory and never reported me to the administration the following morning. I was affected emotionally and my close school mates detected my change in behavior, I became mood and lonely, but never disclosed to anyone abort my sexual encounter with the school watchman.
But alas, during the holiday (December 2016), I started feeling week and discovered I was three months pregnant for this watchman. I was forced to abort without the knowledge of my uncle and untie and I am now back at school for Grade 12 Term One.
But on Tuesday this week when I told my friends what had happened to me, I was shocked to be told that a lot of them had similar experiences. Starting from Grade 8 – 12, most girls are sexually abused by teachers and watchmen especially if you are caught OB. Even people cooking for us have also joined. Some hungry campus girls sell their bodies in exchange for extra food from the school cooks.
At KG (Kasama Girls), when you are caught with a phone or Outside Boundaries, you are forced to Call Your Parents. And in order to avoid calling your uncompromising parents or guardians some of whom are situated in far flung places, you are forced to sleep with Watchmen and Teachers who are size of your same parents. And when you come from poor family where your parents don’t give you enough pocket money, the school cook becomes your sexual friend, just for bevula.
Now fellow citizens, how can you help us? Some of us wanted to get a transfer s to our sister girls boarding school Chinsali in Muchinga Province, but we were warned by girls there that the situation was the same if not worse. We were told Kasama was much better now because teachers fear Mr Kalumba the P.E.O. Our PEO can be the best in Zambia because he doesn’t tolerate nonsense. But unfortunately, his close jurisdiction is not extended to these sexually abusive auxiliary officers. I wish he (PEO) could visit our school and address us in secrete (outside teachers’ presence) so that we could air our views.
So how can you help us fellow Zambians? We are your children. If this has not affected you directly, it must affect u in the other way because nearly all of u have female relations who are still in school, whether boarding of day. A lot of girls here are complaining, but we are fearing to be sent back home to call our parents. Some girls have lost their lives while trying to abort these unwarranted pregnancies coming from the same people that are supposed to take the positions of our parents or guardians. While, it is true that some of the girls enjoy having sex with teachers and watchmen plus cooks, majority of us are just being forced. I am a living example.
I will never forget when the watchman forced me to have sex with him and ended up aborting his baby boy pregnancy. Please help us, also help girls at Chinsali Girls. Help before most of girls finish school with pregnancies and HIV/AIDS. It is outside majoritarian girls’ instincts to open legs to people that are our parents academically.
SEXUALLY ABUSED KASAMA GIRLS PUPILS (20th JANUARY 2017).
Lusaka magistrate Faides Hamaundu has granted Post Newspapers in liquidation Editor-in-chief Fred M’membe’s wife Mutinta a K3,000 bail in her own recognizance.
Mrs M’membe 39 of plot no.7345 Nangwenya road has been charged with obstructing police officers who had gone to her residence to execute a search warrant.
Magistrate Hamaundu has since set 3rd March,2016 as the date for commencement of trial.
The Lusaka Magistrate court on Tuesday, 14th February issued a warrant of arrest for Mr M’membe for failing to deliver to the provisional liquidator the real and personal property, books and documents under his custody or control being the properties books and documents belonging to the Post newspapers Limited in liquidation.
It’s during the execution of this warrant that Mrs M’membe had an altercation with Police officers leading to her arrest and subsequent detention in Police custody.
Government is phasing out the Farmer Input Support Programme(FISP) during the 2017/18 farming season.
Agriculture Minister Dora Siliya said when she featured on a special live Programme on Breeze FM in Chipata on Thursday that Government was planning to complete phase out the FISP during the upcoming season.
Ms Siliya said the government would now concentrate on the Electronic Voucher(E-voucher) system.
The Minister said the was phasing out of FISP in the next farming season is meant to curb the cheating of farmers.
”The Government is planning to phase out FISP to E-Voucher in the next farming season.This is to ensure that we curb people who were benefiting from the conversational farming,”she said.
She said it was sad that since the introduction of the FISP in 2003, farmers have not graduated much because the same farmers have continued receiving the inputs.
Ms Siliya said initially 100,000 farmers were put to on FISP but as to date 1.6 million people were benefiting from the government subsidised programme.
The Minister also said there was a delay in the delivery of farming inputs during the 2016/17 farming input owing to the election petition.
She said she was aware that the farming inputs distribution was delayed because of the petition.
Ms Siliya assured that Government would improve in the distribution of farming inputs in the next farming farming season.
She said this was because the government would start planning early for the next farming season.
