To celebrate the start of summer in Lusaka Zambia, Chainama Hotel & Bar Code Eighties Lounge brings to you the “Divas Summer festival”. It is a show that celebrates women in music with mega Divas stemming from different genres of music. The Divas have all experienced the pride and joy of having a number of hit songs.

The event will be filled with our very own divas: Kantu, Wacheda, Kay Figo, Nina,Bombshell, Amanda, Tiwonenji, Brisky, Mimi Krazy, Abby and many more.

The show is to be hosted by Lungowe & Jekafella from Zambia’s most popular radio station, Hot FM.

The Divas Summer Festival aims to showcase Zambia’s upcoming and leading Female Musical talent on the scene and will showcase the finest DJs/MCs in town. The Concert will take place at Chainama Hotel on 3rd September 2016 from 11H00 till late.

Dancers, BBQ, Outdoor Bar, Kids Activities will be available on the day.

Tickets are on sale at K50.

For tickets Call +26 0977 579 981

ARTIST BIOS

KAY FIGO

Born Cynthia Kayula Bwalya popularly known as Kay Figo is one of the best female artists still holding top positions in the Zambian Music Industry. Kay Figo was born in a small mining town called Luanshya. Her music style includes a mixture of rhythms like Ragga, RnB, AfroBeats and Pop. She is also famous for the Zambian style Dunka Dunka that dominated the Zambian Music Industry a decade back.

TIWONENJI

Tiwonenji is a Zambian female MC that started music 3yrs ago under the name J-dash and got signed by Secret records in Lusaka and was under their management for 2yrs. In 2015 she changed her stage name from J-dash to TIWONENJI and decided to go solo and be under the management of Platinum72 a renowned rapper from the music duo Alpha Beta Class (ABC). Her genre of music being Hip Hop with a fusion of dancehall she has elevated into an exceptional Artist. Drawing her inspiration from the likes of Kanye West, Jhene Aiiko and Chef 187, Tiwonenji has always had an urge to be an entertainer quoting from her words ”always had a rush to be on stage”.

BOMB$HELL

Born Bwalya Sophie Chibesakunda also known as (Bomb$hell) is a Zambian bred musician and model. She grew up in various parts of the country, did her early education at Ibex Hill high. Hip-hop is no stranger in the home she grew up in. She got her inspiration at an early age from her uncles who introduced her to Rap music and th Hip-Hop culture. She started rapping at age 11,as she could recite lyrics and sing along the joint she heard her uncles play. She is best known for her solo works, as well as numerous collaborations She is also an Ambassador for Peace and Unity and Muvi TV

WACHEDA

Born on 13th May, in Lusaka, Wacheda wrote her first song at the age of 9 . In 2014, Wacheda released her first single Oyu Moye. Although it was meant to be released as a hobby, Oyu Moye struck a chord with audiences and became a successful song which she performed for live audiences and as part of a band. Propelling Wacheda to moderate fame, she went on to release her hit singles Iron Man (2015) and Swagger Lover (2016). With Iron Man, Wacheda has topped several charts and broken records such as the longest standing video at number 1 on Zambezi Magic’s Zed Top 10. In tandem with Zambia’s election year, Wacheda is leading a line-up of female artists for an exclusive Peace concert dedicated to promoting peace & upholding democratic values.

KANTU

Kantu Siachingili popularly known as kan2 is a Zambian award winning female performing artist, vocalist and songwriter. Kantu has released hit songs like Mungeli, Alangizi ft Slapdee, million ft T-Sean and many more. Kantu is also a champion for Education and Gender and is currently a good will ambassador for the Triple V campaign alongside B-flow as well a Climate Change Ambassador for the Youth Environment Network in partnership with the Zero Waste Center For Africa.

NINA

Born on 23 December, she is a Singer, a Songwriter, a Performer and business woman, she completed her education at D.k and Started doing music during her primary school days though she took it serious in 2011. she has worked with major artist in Zambia such as Macky 2, Ben the future, Tyce etc. She also worked with major producers such as kb k-army and Jerry fingers.

She has topped several music charts. Her single Wakuside video is currently toppings on Dstv Zambezi magic zed top 10 on number 1, And on millennium radio Top 20 count down currently on number 3. Nina is one of the leading female artists on the line-up for an exclusive Summer festival concert dedicated to promoting female artists, peace & upholding democratic values.

AMANDA BUKU

Stage name; Amanda the Red Rose. Amanda was Born in the late 1980s in Lusaka, Zambia. She attended primary and a year of secondary school in Lusaka then completed her education in London UK.

Among the many academic achievements, Amanda is a food technology graduate backing up her second passion for cooking. She is the last born of three. Amanda started singing professionally at hotels in her hometown doing cabaret inspired by her love for Jazz and R&B which led her in her 20s to finally visit a recording studio, Romaside Studio.

What keeps Amanda going is her mindset of the phrase pray for a long life but live like today is your last!

Macky 2 released the video for his latest single “Thinking of you”

BY KAPA187

By Dr Tarcisius Mukuka

Open Letter to Hakainde Hichilema

Mwapona nobakwesu

I have never written an open letter to anyone but the gravity of the matter at hand warrants such a course of action. I want to begin on a personal note. My father and mother moved to Mazabuka in 1970 when I was about 12 years old. You were only 8 years old. My father was transferred to Mazabuka to work in the Sugar Refinery. Most of my brothers and sisters were born there.

Today I use them as an example of their hybrid status. In any one day they spoke Nyanja, Bemba, Tonga and Lozi. To this day four of them still live in Mazabuka and consider Mazabuka their home as did my late father. My father is buried at the cemetery near Mazabuka hospital.

I often introduce myself as belonging to the Lamba-Bemba-Tonga hybrid tribe. This personal preamble will help you to appreciate the disquiet and worry I feel at the recent state of affairs after the recent general elections in Zambia.

In all my years of living in Mazabuka I never had the feeling I was a foreigner until now. At least from what I can tell from my brothers and sisters. For the first time they are being discriminated against on tribal grounds. In practice they are not any less Tonga than a Hichilema or Hamusonde.

My sister who speaks Tonga as if she was from Kwa Monze tells me that for the first time as a business woman people are saying, “We cannot buy from a non-Tonga.” Some have had the misfortune of having their businesses and houses ransacked or torched simply because they bear the wrong surname.

My brother Hakainde Hichilema, I am appealing to you as a fellow Tonga and a Christian to put aside your disappointment of losing the general elections and whatever the outcome of your petition may be and put the interests of Zambia first.

As someone living in the Diaspora I have had the honour of boasting that in Southern Africa, Zambia is the only country where the different tribes live side by side in peace.

Please, do not let the contrary be imputed to you as part of your legacy to Zambia. Just as you have managed to rally the people of Southern and Western provinces in particular, together, since 2006 when you entered public politics, it is now within your grasp to prevent Zambia from blotting its copybook.

I urge you to go flat out to rally the people who have supported you to embrace Zambia and peace above everything else.

I urge you as we say in Tonga, “Kulanga chibende” (to look straight). It is the future of your children and children’s children which is at stake here.

People who have suffered genocides like Rwandans and Burundians must be thinking that Zambians are like the proverbial child playing with fire.

Lest you think I am singling you out, I am not. You are simply the focus for many people of what has gone wrong in the country we love. I also think Edgar Lungu also bears some responsibility. He needs to swallow his pride and apologise for his part in the fracas. But this letter is not addressed to him.

I for one thought you would have been a good breathe of fresh air in the current stale environment of Zambian politics of patrimony but if you do not rally your supporters to work for peace, you will have lost my esteem. But if you do the right thing, you will have put down a marker for the next time around.

Today the Court dismissed an application by Constitutional Court Registrar Kelvin Limbani that there is no space to keep election materials following the request made to the court by the UPND to have all presidential election materials used in the just ended elections in the custody of the court.

Constitutional Court Judge Annie Sitali ruled that the affidavit should be filed by another person other than the Registrar of the Constitutional Court.

And Judge Sitali has said that she will consider hearing the application by the petitioners to amend the petition on Monday.

Meanwhile, UPND Lawyer Gilbert Phiri has told journalists that his team is confident that the petition will be disposed off within the constitutional fourteen days.

Mr. Phiri stated that the court is on course in hearing the petition and that there are no unnecessary delays in handling the matter.

The matter has been adjourned to Monday for continued hearing of preliminary issues

Fitch Ratings says the opposition’s decision to challenge the result of Zambia’s recent presidential elections will delay agreement on IMF support, although we think a programme is still likely after groundwork was laid earlier this year.

It says if successfully implemented, an IMF programme would mitigate external financing risks and support foreign exchange reserves, reducing pressure on Zambia’s sovereign rating.

An IMF visit in March and preliminary discussions in April set the stage for formal programme negotiations after August’s elections.

However, it says these may be on hold until a post-election government is firmly in place.
The Electoral Commission of Zambia said on 15 August that Edgar Lungu of the Patriotic Front had been re-elected with 50.4% of the vote.

His closest opponent, Hakainde Hichilema of the United Party of National Development (UPND), disputed the outcome, and on Friday the UPND filed a petition asking the Constitutional Court to nullify the vote.
This has delayed Lungu’s inauguration.

According to Zambian law, the opposition’s petition must be settled within 15 days of its receipt.

If the Constitutional Court nullified the result, a new election would have to be held within 30 days.

The run-up to polling had seen clashes between the two parties’ supporters and a 10-day suspension of campaigning in Lusaka, although EU observers said that election day was “generally well-administered and peaceful”.

The rating agency says any lasting deterioration in political stability as a result of disputes about the outcome would be negative for Zambia, where political stability has been much greater than in ‘B’ and ‘BB’ category peers.

It added that the inauguration of the new government once the challenge to the results is resolved would pave the way for formal programme talks.

“Ultimately, an agreement looks likely whichever candidate emerges as president,” it said.

The IMF said in March that there was “a shared understanding” of Zambia’s economic challenges, and the government subsequently indicated that it would pursue electricity and fuel tariff reform and amend the mineral royalty tax regime.

Edgar Lungu said after the vote that “tough decisions will be made” to support growth and control expenditure.

Hakainde Hichilema has said that the UPND and the IMF are “singing from the same hymn sheet”.

An IMF programme would provide balance of payments support and unlock other sources of external financing, easing the risks from falling export earnings as lower copper prices and falling copper production have pushed the current account into deficit.

Subsidy and mining tax reform would contain fiscal deterioration caused by lower growth and mineral royalties and a failure to scale back capex.

An IMF programme would also provide an anchor for fiscal policy.

The IMF has identified deficit reduction as a key priority, but previous consolidation efforts have been slow or as with plans to raise electricity tariffs reversed.

Fitch forecasts the 2016 deficit to be 7.1% of GDP and financing options are limited

It says improving Zambia’s external and fiscal positions could ease pressure on the country’s ‘B’/Negative sovereign rating.

“Our revision of the Outlook to Negative in February reflected persistent and large fiscal deficits and a doubling of gross general government debt since 2012. Our sensitivity analysis shows that in the absence of fiscal consolidation that reduced the primary budget deficit, GGGD could eventually rise to 100% of GDP, which we would view as incompatible with the current rating.”