A TAXI driver  of Jenda area of Paramount Chief Mpezeni in Chipata District
has been  attacked by unknown people who stabbed him in the chest before
going away with a motor vehicle.

Eastern Province Police Commissioner Alex Chilufya confirmed in Chipata on
Thursday and identified the victim as Gideon Phiri who sustained deep cuts
in the chest.

Mr Chilufya said the bandits  robbed him of his Toyota Corolla
registration number ALM 491 valued at K30 000 and two phones each valued at
K400 making total value of K30,400.

He said the incident happened on Thursday at about 19:00 hours at Chikungu
area in Chipata.
Mr Chilufya said the victim was receiving medical treatment and no arrest
have been made so far.

Chingola  Municipal Council security wing  has flushed out all street
vending from the town center and collected all makeshift tables to force
them back to a legalized market place where they used  to operate from
and  to prevent outbreaks of diseases.

Last Monday business in town center came to a standstill after the
marketeers and street venders clashed over the selling points outside
Shoprite stores because street vendors resisted to move from the
streets to go back to the market place.

Recently Chingola Municipal Council issued a directive that by
December 15, 2016 all street vendors should stop selling from the
streets and they should go back to the market place which is a
legalized place for marketeers.

Despite the directive from the council to leave the streets by
December 15, 2016, vendors did not adhere  to it and continued selling
in the street.

The others who remained in the market place are not selling owing to influx
of street vending.
To the surprise when vendors arrived in town they found that selling
points has been taken over by the  other marketeers and the fight started
which in process a lot of produce such as vegetables and tomato
were destroyed during the confusion.

Chingola Police Officers had tough time to control the situation but later in
the day both marketeers and venders where advised by police to meet the
Mayor Titus Tembo who will in position to solve their problem.

Later in the afternoon the mayor addressed both parties at the
Chingola Municipal Council were he advised street vendors to go back
to the market place because the law does not allow anyone to sell in
the street.
“Government has issued directive to all local authorities’ country
wide to put measures that street vending should be stopped by all cost
to prevent people’s life so that no outbreak of diseases shall be
recorded” Mr Tembo said.

Mr Tembo warned that any street vendors who will  be found selling in the
street will not be spared, but the law will visit that person.

And Chingola Town Center Market Chairlady Vera Chishimba said most of
the vendors who are selling in the streets has tables where they use
to sell merchandise, but left some tables vacant and started selling from streets.

Ms Chishimba said marketeers who remained in the market place are not
selling because people are buying from the street.

“As marketeers we do not want politicians to bring confusion in the
market, because street vendors are boasting  that some
officials allowed them to sale merchandise in the street because there
are the majority who voted for the Government” Ms Chishimba said.

Zambia’s Ambassador to the United Nations and fellow ambassadors of Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs) this week held discussions with the UN Secretary-General designate António Guterres and his deputy Amina J. Muhammad, focusing on the developmental needs of LLDCs.

According to a statement released to the media by First Secretary for Press and Public Relations Permanent Mission of the Republic of Zambia to the United Nations Mr Chibaula Silwamba, Mr. Guterres and Mrs. Muhammad – the Minister of Environment of Nigeria, will take up office on 1st January 2017.

Secretary General Designate assured landlocked developing countries of his unwavering commitment to support their development needs.

He said it was his moral obligation to take up concerns of the countries in special situations, and faced with different vulnerabilities, such as LLDCs.  

In aligning objectives of the LLDCs priorities with implementation of the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development, Mr. Guterres said there was need for countries to focus on developing their own plans to realize the benefit of the outcomes in development framework.

He indicated that this was an area of work in which the UN system would engage in, and work with member countries.

The Secretary-General Designate said his office will take up the issue of water development, including Water Transport, as one of the key priorities during the tenure.

Mr. Guterres said reforms of the UN System was vital to ensure coordination and accountability.

He indicated that the issues pertaining to development will be coordinated by the Deputy Secretary General Mrs Muhammad, who is also acquainted with development needs of the LLDCs.

In responding to some of questions from LLDCs Ambassadors, Mr. Guterres encourage countries to focus on economic and regional integration, promoting competitiveness in primary and secondary sectors, optimum use of aid and strengthening partnerships.

Mr. Guterres said he had taken note of the LLDCs’ request to strengthen the UN Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (OHRLLS) on coordination of LLDCs matters.

Speaking on behalf of the Group earlier, in her capacity as chair, Zambia’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative Her Excellency Dr Mwaba Kasese-Bota, urged Mr. Guterres to mobilise UN support and global partnerships towards addressing the needs of landlocked developing countries.
“We call upon you to give priority to our special needs especially in the context of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the other development agendas,” she said.

Dr Kasese-Bota said LLDCs heavily rely on primary commodities, making them highly vulnerable to commodity price and demand volatility.
The Zambian envoy said many LLDCs have been experiencing deindustrialisation.

“The landlocked developing countries have an inherent lack of territorial access to the sea, which is the backbone of global trade. Hence our countries suffer remoteness and isolation from world markets, dependence on transit countries, additional border crossings, cumbersome transit procedures, inefficient logistics systems, and poor infrastructure, results in substantially higher transport and other trade transaction costs for the LLDCs when compared to coastal countries,” said Dr Kasese-Bota, adding that the 32 countries Group has a total population of about 470 million people.

“The LLDCs are also beset by other challenges such as joblessness, extreme poverty, declining productivity in agriculture, and limited resilience to internal and external shocks including the impact of climate change, desertification and land degradation.”

The Zambian Ambassador said the LLDCs currently account for a very low proportion of global exports of only one per cent, demonstrating their marginalisation from the global markets.

“The development of LLDCs is on average 20 per cent lower than what it would have been were the countries not landlocked. Studies have further shown that the high cost of transport and infrastructure challenges have cost the LLDCs as much as 1.5 to two percent of their growth rate per annum and volume of international trade of a landlocked developing country is about 60 per cent of the trade volume of comparable coastal countries,” said Dr Kasese-Bota.

And Deputy Secretary-General designate Mrs. Amina J. Mohammed highlighted the importance to implement the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development, leveraging resources both public and private and the need to invest in youth in LLDCs.

Mrs. Mohammed previously served as the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on Post-2015 Development Planning during the Ban Ki Moon administration.

THE Civil Society for Poverty Reduction (CSPR) has thanked Zambians for being peaceful and resolved in pursuing national development during the political elections.

CSPR Advocacy and Communication Program Coordinator Maxson Nkhoma said in his end of year press release yesterday that Zambians must be commended for their exemplary peaceful conduct during the two years in which the country held two peaceful Presidential and general elections in which the Patriotic Front(PF) emerged victorious.

“The two years were politically charged and divisive as Zambians supported different political parties in line with democratic principles which allows any Zambian to support a political party of their choice without being forced to so,” he said.

Mr Nkhoma said despite the year 2015 and 2016 being politically charged and divisive, Zambians have remained united in their diversity and eager for national development.

He said that now that the elections were over, in 2017 the onus was on the Government to make decisions that were aimed at national building and reconciliation in order to create a socially, economically and politically conducive environment for the delivery of development across the country.

Mr Nkhoma said the national peace and unity was a pre-requisite for national development, wealth creation and cornerstone in maintaining the One Zambia One Nation Motto.

On the economic front,he said Zambia’s economy shifted into a lower gear in 2016 with sluggish reform implementation and tight credit conditions added to the woes caused by the commodity price slump.

He said it was against a background of dwindling copper-related revenues, the Government failed to limit public spending in order to rein in the widening fiscal deficit.

“However, the 2017 National Budget presented by Finance Minister Felix Mutati foresees a fiscal deficit of 7.0 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) a substantial improvement from the shortfall projected for 2016,”he said.

Mr Nkhoma said in a bid to avoid reducing Government expenditure, Mr Mutati announced the refinancing of US$ 2.8 billion in Eurobonds next year.

He said CSPR hopes that Government would maintain a high fiscal discipline by spending public funds on planned projects.

He said as the Government starts the implementation of the Seventh National Development Plan(7NDP) CSPR was hoping that Government would prioritize poverty reduction programmes and expedite prosperity which was better shared to achieve acceptable human development standards to end hunger and poverty. He said CSPR was also expecting that Government would reduce on external borrowing during the implementation of the 7NDP so as to avoid burdening Zambians with huge debt.

PF Secretary General Davies Mwila has described the current PF structures through out the country as the winning team that delivered victory in the August 2016 presidential and general elections.

Mr Mwila said this in Mambwe district when he addressed party officials in the district as part of his tour of Eastern province which started on Tuesday 20th December 2016. Mr Mwila said the party was not going for elections because the term for the current officials would expire in 2018.

He urged all elected party officials to ignore calls for fresh elections and concentrate on mobilising the party. Mr Mwila called for close ties between members of parliament and party officials. Speaking at the same meeting members of the PF Central Committee Ms Dorothy Kazunga, Dr John Phiri and Frank Bwalya called for unity and common purpose in the party and urged the officials to work hard so that PF can stay in power long and deliver meaningful development.

The meeting which started around 15 hours was characterised by song and dance. Councillors also attended the meeting. The PF SG will address officials in three districts namely Chadiza, Katete and Sinda on Friday 23rd December 2016.