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FILE: President Lungu is welcomed by Vice-President of Malawi,Dr.Saulos Chilima on arrival International Airport
Vice President of Malawi Saulos Chilima has arrived in the country ahead of tomorrow’s swearing in ceremony of President Elect Edgar Chagwa Lungu at Heroes Stadium in Lusaka.
President elect Edgar Lungu will be sworn as republican president along with his running mate Inonge Wina as Vice President.
Speaking shortly after arrival at Kenneth Kaunda International Airport in Lusaka, Mr. Chilima said the presence of Malawi at tomorrow’s inauguration is due to the warm relationship the two neighbouring countries enjoy.
Mr. Chilima further said Malawi’s attendance of President Lungu’s the inauguration ceremony will strengthen the bilateral relations between the two countries.
And Tanzanian Vice President Samia Suluhu Hassan has also arrived in the country to attend the inauguration ceremony.
Her Excellence the Vice President of Tanzania was welcomed by Sports Permanent Secretary Agnes Musunga.
More delegates are expected to arrive in the country to witness tomorrow’s historical event.
Zambia will for the first time in her history swear in a President and Vice President arising from the running mate system.
President Lungu and his running mate Inonge Wina won the August 11 presidential elections after polling over 1.8 million votes against 1.7 million plus votes for closest rival Hakainde Hichilema of the United Party for National Development (UPND).
YALI President Andrew Ntewewe
The Young African Leaders Initiative has called on youths in the country to celebrate the swearing in of President elect Edgar Lungu and Inonge Wina responsibly and in a manner that promotes unity.
YALI President Andrew Ntewewe said youths should remember that what they will be celebrating to tomorrow is simply an inoguration as work of the new government i s just beginning.
He said the victors should not look at those who lost as the vanquished but as comrades who have an important role to the nation’s developmental agenda.
“Our appeal as YALI is that the celebrations tomorrow are going to be calm and peaceful. It is important that especially for young people as they celebrate to remember that this is simply an inoguration. The work for the new government begins now and so it is critical that sobriety and magnanimity in celebrations but also we call on those who participated in the elections to be gracious and being gracious means that in a democratic system of governance there are no real losers.
“We urge opposition leaders that participated to therefore accept the verdict of the Zambian people and fully congratulate those that have won the elections. We also call on them to attend the inoguration ceremony. Attending the ceremony is not a sign of weakness but a show of the strength of character, maturity and unite.
“We do not expect those that will be celebrating to look at those who participated and didn’t come out the victors as the vanquished because they have a critical role to play in national development so in that regard even the celebrations should be conducted in the manner which will be all embracing as opposed to the celebrations that we have seen in the past were people carry coffins with heads of opposition leaders that is not the way to go and that is not what we expect,” he said.
Mr Ntewewe also called on President elect to embrace opposition leaders and their ideas as the country needs everyone in its development program.
“It is also critical that some of the ideas by the opposition be brought to the fore. They must bring those ideas and try to find a way of incorporating those ideas in the Governance of the country. Our expectations is that especially from President elect Edgar Lungu as he gives his inoguration speech he should extend an olive branch to the opposition to come to the table so that we can find solutions to the many challenges that face this in country together because it’s not as if Edgar is suppose find solutions alone,” Mr Ntewewe said.
President elect Edgar Lungu and Vice President Inonge Wina are expected to be sworn in on Tuesday 13th September, 2016 a month after the 11th August polls.
The Independent Broadcasting Authority has with immediate effect lifted the suspension of Muvi TV’s broadcasting licence.
IBA Board Chairman Brigadier General Justin Mutale announced in a statement that the move follows the decision by Muvi TV management to request for an amicable settlement of the matter after they lost a court action against the IBA.
Brigadier General Mutale said Muvi TV also agreed to withdraw their appeal to the Minister of the Information and the IBA agreed to grant them a hearing this morning.
He said Muvi TV agreed to having flouted its internal editorial policy by some members of staff resulting in the production of unfair and unbalanced content during the election period.
The broadcasting licence for Komboni Radio however remains suspended.
Konkola Blades and Kabwe Academy have advanced to the quarter finals of the 2016 Barclays Cup after winning their respective preliminary round matches played as a double-header at Sunset Stadium in Lusaka on Sunday.
Konkola booked a quarter-final slot after overcoming fellow Division One side Nampundwe 5-3 on penalties following a 1-1 draw in 90 minutes.
Konkola’s Kilo Mwepu snatched an 84th minute equaliser to send the match to penalties as he cancelled Nampundwe’s 57th minute goal scored by Tenson Mumba.
Konkola’s reward for advancing further in the Barclays Cup is a quarter-final date against four-time winners Zesco United.
Meanwhile, Kabwe Academy thumped Zesco Victoria Falls 2-0 in the lunch time match to storm the last eight.
Nichodemus Kabungo scored a second half brace with his goals coming in the 47th and 74th minutes.
The Kabwe outfits have won right to battle Super Division giants Nkana at the quarter-final stage.
Green Buffaloes are the defending champions of the Barclays Cup and will face Power Dynamos in the quarter-final.
The other Barclays Cup quarter-final will be between Zanaco and Kabwe Warriors.
Dr Nevers Mumba Inside a Police Cell at Woodlands Police Station
The Lusaka Magistrate Court this afternoon granted a K 10,000 bail to MMD faction leader Dr. Nevers Mumba.
Dr Mumba who was arrested last Friday for criminal trespass appeared in the Lusaka Magistrates Court this morning and has pleaded not guilty before Magistrate David Simusamba.
He was arrested and detained at Woodlands Police Station after he stormed the ZNBC Newsroom to clarify a story that was run on the state broadcaster concerning the presidential petition.
The prosecution had earlier objected to Dr. Mumba’s bail application saying he is a threat to national security and could not be granted bail because he is on record having threatened to ensure that President-elect Edgar Lungu’s inauguration does not take place.
The defence team that included Robert Simeza and Martha Mushipe argued that Dr. Mumba was a distinguished citizen who had served the country at the level of Republican Vice-President and must be granted bail.
October 4th and 6th have been set as dates for commencement of trial.
The Supreme court has dismissed an application by UPND President Hakainde Hichilema and his running mate Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba in which they sought to halt the inauguration of President Edgar Lungu.
Supreme Court Justice Nigel Mutuna before whom the application was heard this morning at 10:30 Hours read out a ruling in chambers in which he said decisions made by the Constitutional Court cannot be reversed by the Supreme Court.
He also said a single judge of Supreme Court has no jurisdiction to grant an injunction but only the full bench of the court.
Justice Mutuna ruled that the application is misconceived and has since been dismissed.
The petitioners appealed to the Supreme Court on Saturday, 10th September after the ruling of Judge Mwila Chitabo on Friday, 9th September.
They also applied before Justice Mutuna for the renewal of the same injunctive interim reliefs which were before judge Chitabo.
A similar application for interim reliefs before the Constitutional Court which was supposed to come up at 11:30 hours was withdrawn by the petitioners.
Figuring they’re all expendable, a U.S. intelligence officer decides to assemble a team of dangerous, incarcerated supervillains for a top-secret mission. Now armed with government weapons, Deadshot (Will Smith), Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), Captain Boomerang, Killer Croc and other despicable inmates must learn to work together. Dubbed Task Force X, the criminals unite to battle a mysterious and powerful entity, while the diabolical Joker (Jared Leto) launches an evil agenda of his own.
PROS
A great job was done on introducing the characters to the audience in the beginning of the film . A lot of Super Hero movies with ensemble casts take it for granted that everyone already knows the characters.
Very interesting , original, unpredictable story-line .
Excellent action and visual effects .
The movie had a good dose of humour but still maintained a form of gravitas .
CONS
There were some plot holes in the movie , for instance a certain hero was conspicuously absent while the fate of the plant was hanging in the balance.
I would have liked to see more of The Joker (played by Jared Leto) as the character was heavily hyped in the build up to the movie.
FAVORITE QUOTES
Harley Quinn: What was that? I should kill everyone and escape? Sorry, it’s the voices. hahahaha, I’m kidding! That’s not what they really said.
Amanda Waller: In a world of monsters, this is the only way to protect the country.
Deadshot: I don’t know what they told you, but I’m a hitman, not a fireman. I don’t save people!
Seals’ Admiral Burns: These are villains, Amanda. What makes you think you can control them? Amanda Waller: Because getting people to act against their own self-interest for the national security of the United States is what I do for a living
CONCLUSION
Suicide Squad is a movie I had waited a long time to watch. It came with a lot of hype .Upon its release it was received with mixed reactions. Some loved it, some hated it.
As the movie begins you may feel like the story line will be predictable as it seems to be going in a leaner direction, but as it gets going there are a lot of twists and turns .
Will smith and Margot Margot Robbie both gave tremendous performances of the characters Deadshot and Harley Quinn respectively . The Harley Quinn character at first glance may seem to be frivolous and sexist, but as the movie progresses who a get a deeper appreciation for the her.
This being a super-hero movie, our “heroes” did not have super powers per se (apart from a few) . So it gave a sense of ordinary humans being faced with an extraordinary challenge as they took on the evil Enchantress .
Suicide Squad is a must watch movie for fans of the super-hero movie genre, it will certainly leave you with something to talk about.
JK perfoming Dununa Reverse at a PF rally in Siavonga
Many people have condemned the dununa reverse of the Constitutional Court (ConCourt) on HH’s petition. I sympathize with HH and the UPND, but at the heart of the ruling are the unchallengeable powers of the ConCourt as well as the illogical national Constitution. People are justified in condemning the ConCourt’s ruling—yet there is need to move beyond HH and UPND. It is not new to Zambian politics for losing candidates to claim that they are robbed of the election – President Sata did so twice, and so did HH last year.
Indeed, it is part of HH democratic rights to petition the ConCourt. Nonetheless, we need to acknowledge that short history of the ConCourt. It is for this reason that I am highly disappointed at the failure of analysts to re-examine the Constitutional basis of the ConCourt’s ruling. The first “dununa reverse” of the ConCourt happened on Friday September 2, 2016. This was after the ConCourt made its ruling in favor of the PF—forcing HH’s lawyers to walk out. After HH addressed to the bench, the ConCourt “dununa reversed” its own ruling—announcing the continuation of the hearing of the petition the following Monday. Yet people did not see this as unconstitutional or unheard of. Besides, the PF and Lungu would have equally contested this ‘dununa forward’ of the ConCourt. Could it be that the ConCourt realized the unconstitutional basis of its action, thus the U-turn on Monday?
[pullquote]We risk doing more harm to mother Zambia if we ignore the legal confusion within our Constitution[/pullquote]
As a nation, need to admit that our current Constitution is packed with many illogical clauses—from the role of the Speaker to the petition to the ConCourt. Article 101 under which the HH petition was filed conflates the first election with the re-run—making it vague. Clause 101: 5 also allows the ConCourt to hear the petition “within fourteen days.” Is “hearing the case” the same as disposing of the petition; how are these days counted, and what happens when the case is not resolved within 14 days as was the case of HH. I suggest that the Constitution should give power to the ConCourt or the Supreme Court to extend the time of the hearing—thereby addressing this shortfall.
Also our Constitution has unfair clauses. Clause 101: 7, and 103: 4 state that the ConCourt’s decision “is final.” These clauses are further stamped by Article 128: (4) “A decision of the Constitutional Court is not appealable to the Supreme Court.” Thus due to the un-appealable clause, HH, GBM, the UPND and its allies can make as much noise as possible—but the case is constitutionally closed!
The claim that Lungu acted unconstitutionally by not handing power to the Speaker of the National Assembly is equally illogical. Indeed, article 82 presents the Speaker as an elected official, whose role remains active even after the dissolution of Parliament under article 72. But the Speaker has no power to “(a) make an appointment or (b) dissolve the National Assembly.” This clause is ridiculous— how can the Speaker dissolve that which does not exist? Again there is the need for the Constitution to clarify why the Speaker should outlive the life of the Parliament which elected him.
Further, the Speakership is a partisan office in itself. Currently, the outgoing Speaker is PF, thus he exists to protect the interests of the Party which sponsored him. In this case, handling over power to the Speaker is to the advantage of the Party with many MPs. Similarly, the appointment of judges to the ConCourt bench is in itself political. It is one thing to argue for the independence of the judiciary, but that independence is highly political—after all the appointment to the bench is at the President’s discretion.
Therefore, rather than being shortsighted, must explore how we can move forward and avoid similar problems in future. I understand the tribal and partisan emotions involved in this case, but the bigger picture needs addressing. We risk doing more harm to mother Zambia if we ignore the legal confusion within our Constitution. I submit that HH may feel unjustly treated by the ConCourt and rightly so, but he must also understand that he entered the muddled water of the unchallengeable powers of the ConCourt when he filed the petition—knowing too well that its ruling is final.
Finally, I disagree with the claim that Zambia is becoming a “failed State” as some scholars have argued. Neither do I agree with HH’s call to his voters to stop the inauguration of Mr. Lungu. Such calls ignore the fact that the election was not only very close but also ethnic based—creating conditions propitious to intra-ethnic violence. Leadership means sacrificing oneself for the greater good—I pray that HH and the UPND will take this opportunity to unite rather than divide the nation.
UPND Secretary General Stephen Katuka(c) having an interview with the JournalistsUnited Party for National Development (UPND) Secretary General Steven Katuka has expressed confidence that Chief Justice, Irene Mambilima will not swear in President elect, Edgar Chagwa Lungu and his running mate Inonge Wina tomorrow amid pending court matters filed by the UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema and his running mate Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba in the courts of law, reports Pan African Radio Journalist Hermit Hachilonde.
In a statement made available to the media today the 12th September, 2016, Mr. Katuka stated that Chief Justice Irene Mambilima is among the best legal minds in Africa and it is common knowledge that she will not swear in President elect Edgar Lungu under the prevailing circumstances where a number of legal issues pertaining to the 2016 Presidential election have not been fully resolved by the Constitutional Court.
He said both Mr. Hichilema and Mr. Mwamba have maintained that Mr. Edgar Lungu and his running mate Inonge Wina, in collusion with the Electoral Commission of Zambia and other known stakeholders stole votes belonging to the UPND and the party have tangible evidence to substantiate the Presidential petition.
Mr. Katuka has since expressed his displeasure in the manner the Constitutional Court handled the petition, stating that concourt handled the petition in a sinister manner as evidenced by the party denied time to be heard or to produce evidence as enshrined in the constitution.
“We would like to strongly and confidently state here that knowing how credible, distinguished and law abiding Chief Justice Irene is, Lungu must forget about being sworn in as Republican President, but instead prepare to face the law because Justice Mambilima understands the law to the fullest” he said
Meanwhile, veteran Politician Vernon Mwanga has charged that the 11th August, 2016 General elections has left Zambia a deeply divided country, reports Pan African Radio Journalist Hermit Hachilonde.
Dr. Mwanga said half of Zambia’s population is celebrating and the other fifty percent is bitter and angry about the failure of the constitutional court to hear a petition.
He noted that the UPND was within its right to pursue a legal path by going to the concourt to present whatever evidence they had and let the matter be decided purely on its merit .
Dr. Mwanga said justice in Zambia has become a bridge too far due to the the path the concourt took which sadly denied UPND time to be heard.
He added that something has seriously gone wrong and national soul searching is called for in a country which has been acclaimed the world over as a beacon of peace and constitutionalism .
Dr. Mwanga also noted the election has left friends and family divided because of irresponsible statements by some of the political leaders who are fueling tribal animosity in a country.
“A deeply divided country is the last thing we want to see at this difficult time. Dialogue at the political level is desperately needed and even if it is promoted by SADC or the AU, to address the deep differences which have emerged and which will not go away on their own”
“Arrogance of power in situations like this will not bring us peace. we need dialogue for the better good of mother zambia, because peace once lost, is very difficult to re-establish as experience has shown in other countries”
“As the old adage goes “power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely”. The country faces gigantic economic , social, political and constitutional problems which will require consensus building inside and outside parliament. We still have a very defective constitution which has be exercabated by the rejection of the referendum which would have introduced a new bill of rights” he said
The long-awaited judgement on the heavily disputed August 2016 Presidential election which has been petitioned in the Constitutional Court by the UPND will leave an indelible mark on the illustrious legal leacy of Chief Justice Irene Mambilima depending on which way she chooses to proceed to ‘Swear-in or not- swear in’ Mr. Edgar Chagwa Lungu.
Mrs. Mambilima is faced with what seems to be pressure from the PF to proceed with the inauguration of Mr. Lungu inspite not having satisfied the constutional requirement of hearing the UPND petition which was to argue and provide what is thought to be overwhelming evidence that Mr. Lungu lost the election to UPND’s Hakainde Hichilema, influenced largely by the pro-UPND voting pattern in the Lusaka constituencies of Kanyama, Chawama, Mandevu, Munali, Matero and Bauleni.
It is alleged that information leaked and was presented to Mr. Lungu sometime during Saturday 13th August, two days after election day and he thereafter made a decision to concede defeat and announce to the nation on Sunday 1th August, 2016.
But alas, when Mr. Lungu was about to concede, it is alleged that he was intercepted by a former president, a Zambian Ambassador to a country in the region and a chief cadre at State House and others, persuaded Mr. Lungu not to concede and asked for time to ‘work’ on the rusults. This explains the silence and delay from the ECZ to announce the Lusaka results which were coming from polling stations in close proximity to the ECZ totalling centre. ECZ Director-General Esau Chulu was at pains to explain the cause of the delay. The 2016 elections were held in the dry season and therefore the issue of logistical challenges related to weather which had been used as an excuse for delayed results in previous elections could now not hold. This raised tensions throughout the country and pressure was mounted on ECZ to begin announcing results. Surprisingly, they started announcing results of far-flung areas leaving Lusaka results which they only managed to announce at the of the end of the process.
It is believed that PF were in shock that even their pre-election rigging strategies failed to pull a positive result due to the overwhelming UPND showing that the only way was to start physically changing the results at the totalling centre by engaging a foreigner to access the computer server and manipulate the results at ECZ.
When even that failed to find enough votes to achieve a majority for the PF candidate, the last ditch attempt was to start unreasonably inflating results even in areas where the results for PF were higher than the number of registered voters.
The last ditch attempt was to stop the hearing of the petition at all costs, which is where the country finds itself right now, a path which has shocked local, regional and international bodies and legal commentators.
Our last appeal to Mr. Lungu is not to proceed with the inauguration on the basis of a stolen election as this shadow will never go away and may cause governance challenges which may never be overcome in the long run. Let him take a few steps backwards, back to his original position where he had decided to concede defeat peacefully and ignore those voices which came to push him not to concede so that he lives with a clear conscience.
The whole nation knows the former president in question is power hungry and wants to recover from his own failure to have results ‘doctored’ when it became clear that he had lost the 2011 election and now wishes to stay ‘in power’ through the back door perpetually. We appeal to Mr. Lungu to think of his new ‘Christian’ image. How will he proceed from here?
What about Justice Mambilima’s shining international legal legacy? Will all this be sacrificed? We say to Mr. Lungu, its not too late. Defend Zambia’s newly amended constitution, if not, which way Zambia?
Smartphones in Zambia have emerged as one of the top consumer purchases as users look for products that offer value for money and technology innovation.
Tapping into the growing consumer market for smartphones, Huawei Consumer Business Group has announced the arrival of its latest P9 smartphone on the Zambian market, setting a new standard in user experience and quality while delivering industry-leading innovation.
Building on the stylish Huawei P Series of premium smartphones, Huawei has once again excelled in fashioning devices combining exquisite style and outstanding performance, driven by the company’s relentless commitment to user satisfaction and world-class engineering.
Huawei has demonstrated industry-leading innovation with its latest device, which features a dual camera. The two cameras capture a photo at the same time and then both create a single image that is unmatched in quality by other devices on the market.
Country Device Manager Li Mao says the P9 takes smartphone photography and industrial design to a new level, as Huawei set new benchmarks in imaging and manufacturing excellence for a superior user experience and aesthetic.
“For the first time, P9 users are able to draw on the unsurpassed imaging capabilities of Leica, which is joining Huawei in a partnership to redefine smartphone photography. The partnership between Huawei and Leica empower P9 users to capture photographs with unmatched richness, clarity and authenticity,” says Li Mao.
He adds that for more than a century, Leica has been regarded as the global leader in imaging, trusted by generations of the world’s best photographers to capture history’s most iconic moments, from space exploration to defining political events. “Zambian consumers are increasingly active with photography, sharing their special moments with friends and families through platforms such as WhatsApp and Facebook. The P9 will enhance their user experience, delivering the best photography possible by a smartphone,” Li Mao notes.
The P9 features demonstrate Huawei’s commitment to top design, resulting in a visually stunning smartphone with diamond-cut edges. The gadget is more than good looks, with super speed of up to 300Mbps for internet connectivity. This feature is designed for people who need seamless connectivity to cellular and Wi-Fi networks, to fully harness the power of the mobile internet no matter where they are in the world.
With security and personal data now a priority for smartphone users, the P9 retains Huawei’s world leading biometric recognition technology with an enhanced fingerprint sensor that allows owners to personalize and safeguard their devices.
The new enhanced fingerprint sensor on the P9 captures and assesses fingerprints in 3D for increased accuracy, lowering the possibility of fraudulent or unintended access to the device.
Patriotic Front Media Committee Chairperson Frank BwalyaPatriotic Front (PF) has said that the behavior the opposition United party for National Development (UPND) is exhibiting has demonstrated what UPND would have done if it were in government and lost the general elections.
PF Deputy Spokesperson Frank Bwalya said that no one can doubt at this point that the UPND would have refused to hand over power to another political party.
Mr. Bwalya said that this is also enough evidence that the opposition UPND is a dangerous political party that should never be allowed to be in government.
Mr Bwalya called on the law enforcement agencies to take seriously the muted plan by the UPND that it will use to fight for justice and that law enforcement agencies should not to allow the UPND’s plan to materialize as it believes the plan is evil and will lead to bloodshed in the Country.
Meanwhile, the ruling PF in Shibuyunji District has described as unacceptable UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema’s continued accusation that the August 11th general elections were rigged.
PF Shibuyunji District Chairman Joseph Kasonde has wondered why Mr. Hichilema participated in the elections when he knew that he would be defeated.
And Mr. Kasonde says he is particularly concerned that UPND members are not being sincere to Mr. Hichilema by not helping him accept the fact that he lost the elections.
He says Mr. Hichilema’s continued public utterances clearly shows that he is still in denial of the loss he suffered to President Edgar Lungu.
Mr. Kasonde has appealed to the Church, elderly statesmen and other counseling groups to help the UPND leader understand that President Lungu will remain in charge of the Country until 2021.
A Water facility for SOUTHERN Water and Sewerage Company (SWASCO)SOUTHERN Water and Sewerage Company (SWASCO) has refuted claims that its sewer ponds are to blame for the increase in the number of mosquito population in various parts of Livingstone.
Several Livingstone residents have complained of swarms of mosquitoes in their homes, eating places, markets, churches, schools, lodges, work places and many other premises of habitation.
Last week, Southern Province Medical Officer Jelita Chinyonga said the sewer ponds as well as Livingstone streams namely Maramba and Dambwa alongside the broken sewer systems and broken water reticulated piping systems were potential mosquito breeding sites that contributed to the increased number of mosquitoes in Livingstone.
Dr Chinyonga said the Southern Province Medical Office and the Livingstone District Medical Office had started holding consultative meetings with stakeholders and the community to map up the way forward.
“We are also doing cascade training of sprayer operators in readiness for indoor residual spraying that will commence soon,” Dr Chinyonga said.
She also urged the public to use already existing interventions such as personal protection through the use of insecticides treated nets and mosquito repellants.
But SWASCO Corporate Affairs Manager Liversage Mulinda said the claims linking his organisation, which managed the sewer ponds as well as the water reticulation systems in Livingstone, were unfounded.
Mr Mulinda said the water utility company had no plans of introducing foreign elements in their sewer ponds.
“As you may already know, the ponds are primarily meant to treat sewage to acceptable environmental standards before it is discharged into the environment. This process largely depend on the presence of bacteria in the ponds to help in digesting organic waste.
“We, therefore, do not need to introduce anything in these sewage ponds that will kill the bacteria or indeed make them ineffective as doing so would make the efficiency of the whole sewage treatment process compromised and we also know as a fact that, spraying the sewage ponds is not the only mechanism of mosquito control available, “Mr Mulinda said.
He claimed that the people accusing the water utility company of being behind the spread of mosquitoes in the city were those who had encroached on the embankments of the ponds.
“You may also wish to know that this complaint mainly comes from people that have been allocated plots and built houses closer to the sewage ponds and SWASCO warned of such consequences at the time plots were being allocated to these people. In order to protect the integrity of the embankment walls and prevent seepage into the nearby environment, we raised concerns over the allocation of plots near and in some instances on the embankments of the ponds as the case is at the Main ponds near the Zambezi River and Airport ponds and nothing was done about it.
“True to our fears then, people are now complaining of mosquitoes after building next to our sewage ponds at the same time posing a serious threat of weakening the embankments of the ponds. That said, we are not to blame as SWASCO because there is nothing outside our normal operations that we have done or not done to cause the problem being complained of,” he said.
PF Lusaka Province Youth Chairman Kennedy Kamba says civil servants should not expect any improvement in their conditions of the service because they did not vote for President Edgar Lungu.
In an interview, Mr Kamba said majority of civil servants abandoned the PF on the August 11th polls and they do not deserve to benefit from its stay in government.
He advised President Lungu to focus on improving the livelihoods of the poor in compounds whom he said turned up in large numbers to vote for the PF.
Mr Kamba said it will be unfair for government to start increasing salaries of civil servants who did support the party’s re-election bid.
“Our message as youths in Lusaka is that those that should benefit from this government are the people in Kombonis (compounds). The people in Marapodi, Kuku, Jack and places like Chipata compound. Those are the ones that supported us,” Mr Kamba said.
He added, “Civil servants betrayed us by siding with the other party and now that we have formed government, they should not expect anything from us. Our focus should be on making sure that the poor people in the compounds benefit.”
Mr Kamba said the PF is a party for poor people but noted that some civil servants who received salary increments three years ago did not vote for the PF in 2016 due to their own reasons.
PARAMOUNT Chief Mpezeni speaking during the commissioning of a bore hole at Chipata General Hospital in ChipataPARAMOUNT Chief Mpezeni of the Ngoni Speaking People of Eastern Province has offered land at Feni Sub-Centre in Chipata District for the construction of a modern market.
Luangeni Patriotic Front (PF) Member of Parliament Charles Zulu disclosed during the official opening of Feni Clinic in Chipata on Saturday that the Paramount Chief had offered land for the construction of the market.
Mr Zulu said the construction of the market was expected to start soon and finish the construction works within six months. He appealed to people to unite towards the construction of a modern market at Feni Sub-Centre.
The lawmaker who donated pockets of cement towards the construction of a market said he was optimistic that the works were going to be expedited in order to allow the marketeers to sell in a decent place.
“The Paramount Chief (Mpezeni) has offered land for the construction of modern market here (Feni Sub-Centre) and the market is expected to be completed within six months,” he said.
Mr Zulu also commended the electorates for voting for the PF in the August 11th general elections.
He said he even President-elect Edgar Lungu was happy with the votes he received from the people of Luangeni.
Mr Zulu said he was happy that the people of Luangeni listened to the campaign messages and made them to make the decision to vote for PF. He pledged that he would continue fighting for the developments in Luangeni constituency.
He said he would personally contribute for the well-being of the people of Luangeni assuring that he would not go to sleep to let the people suffer.
“This is not time to campaign and let me state that I will not go to sleep but continue working hard for the benefits of the people of Luangeni Constituency,” he said.
Mr Zulu also said the Government was committed to the completion of the roads network such as Chipata-Vubwi-Chadiza and Chipata –Chadiza-Katete in Eastern Province.
He said the works have slowed down due to numerous challenges which the country had faced since 2014 after the death of president Michael Sata.
Speaking at the same function, Eastern Province Permanent Secretary Chanda Kasolo asked the people along the border to help Government against illegal smuggling of maize.
Mr Kasolo said there were reports of rampant smuggling of maize across the borders which he said it must come to an end through vigilance of the people.
And Headman Lupoko who represented Chief Mpezeni at the function asked the Government to complete the Chipata-Vubwi-Chadiza roads.
He wondered why the road network had taken long to be completed saying the people were eagerly waiting for the completion of the road which a Chinese company was undertaking.