President Edgar Lungu has warned that he is ready to abandon democratic principles and deal sternly with what he called trouble makers in order to safeguard national peace.

In what could be his sternest warning to his opponents ahead of next week’s elections, President Lungu said he is ready to use draconian means to protect the country’s much cherished peace.

President Lungu told a rally in Mufulira on Monday that Zambia has a well-known tradition of peace and tranquility which should be protected.

He said he has intelligence information that the UPND is planning to cause havoc if they lose the elections.

President Lungu added that he has already given strict instructions to heads of security to clamp down on opposition elements causing trouble ahead of the election.

The Head of State said it is meaningless for Zambia toc continue enjoying democracy when some politicians are abusing it through hate speech and violence.

He said as much as he respects democratic principles, he will not sit and watch some opposition leaders cause havoc in their pursuit to enter State House.

President Lungu said the UPND is sponsoring violence in the country through what they are calling Operation Watermelon.

He said Operation Watermelon is an evil strategy aimed at causing violence and panic among Zambia and prevent them from participating in next week’s elections.

President Lungu said no one will invest in Zambia if politicians continue to perpetuate bloodshed adding that the opposition should respect the presidency.

Contrary to popular belief Chilli con carne or “Chilli”, as it’s called in America, does not actually originate from Mexico or South America, it is said to originate from Texas.  It is a spicy stew containing chilli peppers, meat (usually beef), tomatoes, beans and seasoning.  You can make it with actual chillies or with chilli powder.  It is absolutely delicious and relatively easy to make.  It’s one of those dishes that can be eaten by the whole family; grandparents, parents and children.  You can adjust the amount of chilli that you add to it, to suit your taste buds.

So what are you waiting for? Go on give it a try, I promise you’ll enjoy it.

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 red pepper, sliced (you can also use green or yellow peppers)
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
• 1 heaped tsp of hot chilli powder (or 1 level tbsp if you only have mild)
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 500g lean minced beef
• 1 beef stock cube
• 1 can of chopped tomatoes (400g)
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 tbsp tomato purée
• 1 can of red kidney beans (410g)
• Plain boiled rice, to serve

Method

Prepare your vegetables.

Over a medium heat, put your pan on the hob and heat your oil for 1-2 minutes, until hot.  Add the onions and cook for about 5 minutes, or until the onions are translucent. Add the garlic, red pepper, chilli powder, paprika and cumin; stir well, then leave it to cook for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Increase the heat, add the meat to the pan and break it up with your cooking stick. Stir for about 5 minutes, and fry until all the mince is a similar size and completely brown.

Mix your beef stock cube into 300ml hot water and pour it into the mince mixture. Add the can of chopped tomatoes, sugar, salt and pepper; then add 2 tbsps of tomato purée and stir the sauce well.  Simmer it gently, bring it to the boil, stir well and put a lid on the pan.

Turn down the heat until it is gently bubbling and leave it for 20 minutes; making sure that you check on the pan occasionally and stir it.  If the sauce is drying add a couple of tablespoons of water and make sure that the heat is low enough. After simmering gently, the sauce and mince mixture should look nice and thick.

Using a sieve, drain and rinse the red kidney beans and stir them into the chilli pot. Bring to the boil for another 10 minutes, adding a little more water if it looks too dry. Taste a bit of the chilli and season it accordingly.

Now replace the lid, turn off the heat and leave your chilli to stand for 10 minutes before serving.  Leaving your chilli to stand is really important as it allows the flavours to set.

Serving

There are numerous ways to serve your Chilli, but I suggest that you serve it with plain boiled rice.

Kanta Temba is a cake maker and decorator. She is also the owner and founder of Kanta Kakes – cake shop.

You can find her work on www.kantakakes.com.  Follow her on twitter @KantaKakes and Instagram @KantaTemba.

President Edgar Lungu has challenged the opposition UPND to consider convening a general conference and make a review on why the party has continuously been losing general elections.

President Lungu says unless democracy is entrenched in the opposition grouping, the UPND will continue loosing elections.

The President says the UPND has been failing in past elections because the people of Zambia have seen that the party has no agenda for

He has since cautioned the people of Zambia not to experiment with leadership because the PF has delivered on its campaign promises.

President Lungu says the PF has implemented the best manifesto so far and results are there for all Zambians to see in various sectors of the economy.

The President said this at a campaign rally in Luanshya yesterday.

He said development has no finishing line adding that the PF will continue rolling out development to all corners of Zambia once given a fresh mandate.

He said the PF has the best manifesto so far among the participating political parties.

President Lungu has further promised to look into the water blues in Luanshya.

The Head of State who was flanked by First Lady Esther has urged the people of Luanshya to give him and all PF candidates a resounding vote August 11 polls.

Meanwhile, President Lungu said his administration is closely following events in the mining sector.

He is optimistic that metal prices on the international market will improve and more jobs will in turn be created.

And President Edgar Lungu has advised election monitors and observers in the country to be very objective as they carry out their duties ahead of the August 11 polls.

The President says government has been patient and allowed democracy to prevail in the elections but that the opposition are pushing him too far.

Addressing a rally in Mufulira, President Lungu said the opposition and selected media are always insulting him and he will reach a point where he cannot tolerate that anymore.

The President has further warned the opposition propagating violence that he will choose peace over democracy even if it means using draconian laws to prevent war as the country’s peace was bought at a great price.

President Lungu adds that the opposition have been planning to win the elections at all cost and may spoil the country if they lose.

And President Lungu has also said that Zambians should not be insulted by the opposition UPND who are promising to bring Anglo America to open new mines if voted for when the company has been faced with operational challenges and closing in some countries

He has promised electorates in Mufulira that he will continue with late President Michael Sata’s development agenda which is the developmental plan for the party.

The President said voting for the opposition would be retrogressive to national development.

He called on electorates to vote for Evans Chibanda contesting the Mufulira Central Parliamentary seat and Yamfwa Mukanga re-contesting the Kantanshi seat together with the mayor and councillors.

President Lungu also held a rally in Kalulushi district earlier to drum up support for PF candidates.

The Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) has disregarded a tribunal order to reopen the offices of The Post newspaper which was closed in June over non-payment of taxes.

A Tax Appeals Tribunal reaffirmed its instructions to the ZRA but the newspapers’ offices remain closed.

On July 27, 2016, the tribunal ordered tax ZRA to hand over seized properties of the newspaper until a full appeal can be heard and to initiate an immediate process through which the company could pay undisputed amounts to the revenue authority.

The tribunal’s registrar, Chola Shapi Mutambo, dismissed with costs, the ZRA’s application to set aside the order granted to Post Newspapers Limited.

In her ruling last Wednesday, Mutambo said she was satisfied that the newspaper publisher had adhered to all the requirements of the Tax Appeals Tribunal Act. The substantive case would however to heard at a later date.

“I find that the respondent’s (ZRA) application to dismiss the notice of appeal and discharge the … order has no merit to justify such action. I accordingly dismiss this application with the costs to the appellants. “Mutambo is said.

In June, officials of the Zambia Revenue Authority – according to the Post, under instruction from the government and accompanied by security officers – went to the offices of the newspaper demanding disputed tax arrears of about K53 million.

And the International Press Institute (IPI) says Zambian authorities should stop defying a court order to allow opposition newspaper The Post to access its offices and printing presses and resume regular publication while the correct amount of a disputed tax bill is determined.

The call followed Wednesday’s ruling by Zambia’s Tax Appeals Tribunal upholding the order and rejecting the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA)’s bid to block The Post from obtaining review of a 54-million-kwacha bill for allegedly unpaid VAT receipts and income tax withholding.

Registrar Chola Shapi Mutambo said in an interlocutory ruling that the ZRA’s refusal to even consider the paper’s objections to the amount gave the Tribunal jurisdiction to hear The Post’s appeal.

“It is against the rules of natural justice to simply refuse to consider objections to an assessment brought on appeal by a taxpayer,” she wrote. “This, in a way, is hindering the justice system.”

The registrar similarly rejected the ZRA’s argument that the Tribunal could not stay a seizure that the ZRA contended already happened. Noting that the execution against Post property was “a process” that remains ongoing, she opined that “[t]here was much to be stayed” when The Post sought the order in the days immediately following the ZRA’s initial June 21 seizure of its offices and printing press.

IPI Director of Advocacy and Communications Steven M. Ellis said that IPI was pleased by the decision, but that it remained troubled by the ZRA’s willingness to disobey the Tribunal’s order and its refusal to even listen to The Post’s objections to the bill.

“We are happy that The Post will finally have its day in court to challenge this tax bill, which by all indications appears to be a pretext to silence an alternative voice ahead of elections,” IPI Director of Advocacy and Communications Steven M. Ellis.

“Nevertheless, it defies belief that the ZRA would not only flout a court order, but waste time and taxpayers’ money in a fight to keep from even sitting down with The Post to resolve the matter.”

He continued: “As delegates from IPI and the African Media Initiative (AMI) noted following a joint emergency press freedom mission to Zambia last month, this case is not about taxes. If it was, the ZRA would work with The Post to reconcile the amount owed; The Post would be operating at full capacity, generating even more vital tax revenue; and private printers who have allowed the newspaper to survive since the seizure would not be suffering raids and intimidation by government agents.”

“We urge authorities to end this misguided effort, which is an affront not only to The Post’s right to publish, but to Zambian voters’ right to freely share and receive information.”

The order that the ZRA is was challenging directs the ZRA to release The Post’s bank accounts and hand back its premises and equipment so that it can conduct business.

The order also requires The Post to pay whatever portion of the bill that it believes it actually owes while turning over other property in the value of 53 million kwacha to serve as security in exchange for the property released.
IPI and other observers have raised concerns that the ongoing seizure of The Post is an attempt to limit critical coverage of President Edgar Lungu and the ruling Patriotic Front party government in advance of next week’s elections.

MMD President Dr. Nevers Mumba on Saturday 30 July, 2016 joined thousands of Copperbelt residents in tumultious chants of ‘BYE, BYE BA LUNGU ,’ at whirlwind mammoth rallies within 24 hours, sweeping through Luanshya Baluba, Mindolo, Chingola and finally Kwacha township in Kitwe with alliance partner UPND Vice-President Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba, in their continued Zambia United non-stop campaigns to drum up support for the election of UPND President Hakainde Hichilema for Republican President in the 11 August election.

Dr. Mumba reminded the people that the PF had lied to them about ‘more jobs’ when they campaigned to take over power from the MMD in 2011 but instead have destroyed over 7,000 mining jobs on the Copperbelt due to their confused mining policies, which have reduced miners to beggars. He said they lied about bringing a pro-poor economy to the people of Zambia but instead hiked the price of the Zambian staple food ‘mealie-meal’ from K37.00 per bag left by the MMD to K100.00 per bag at the moment. He further said instead of improving on what the MMD was giving farmers in the farmers’ input support programme of 4 bags urea and 4 bags D compound fertilizer they lied and have reduced this to just 4 bags in total in theory but in practice only give a total of 2 bags.

He further said the value of the kwacha to the dollar which the MMD left at K4.7 has deteriorated to K11 per dollar, causing a sharp rise in the cost of living and prices of basic commodities far beyond the reach of most poor people.

He told the people that they voted for both Mr. Rupiah Banda and Mr. Lungu in tears during periods of national mourning and gave them sympathy votes in 2008 and 2015 respectively but urged them to now wake up and vote wisely as they are no longer in mourning but are suffering. He told them that the party for which Mr. Sata and Dr. Guy Scott sweated to put in power in 2011 had now been highjacked by Mr. Lungu who has given it to the people who used to insult Mr. Sata and that all those who sweated with Mr. Sata have now been thrown out and replaced by strangers.

Dr. Mumba further urged President Lungu to feel free to play with anything, including whisky if he so wished, but should be careful to give due honour and respect to God’s name which he was now carelessly dragging into politically-motivated prayer meetings aimed at deceiving Zambians and to advance his own political ambitions. He said Mr. Lungu on the one hand looks humble during the day and calls for prayer meetings, but at night summons senior police officers to State House and instructs them to deal firmly with the opposition, which unfortunately recently resulted in the death of a young UPND cadre at the hands of armed police officers.

He called on all Zambians, particularly MMD members country-wide, to unite with their UPND colleagues and other progressive Zambians to vote for Hakainde Hichilema as president, emulating their fore-fathers who united across ethnic lines in 1963 and 1991 to remove the colonial masters and the UNIP government respectively to achieve a bigger cause of rescuing Zambians from suffering.

United party for National Development (UPND) Vice-President for Administration and Running Mate Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba has said that UPND Cabinet yet is yet to be appointed and dismissed any document circulating as a fake document authored by our political opponents.

In a statement released to the media this evening, the UPND running mate said that the document circulating is counterfeit and the forging of the signature of UPND Secretary General Stephen Katuka is a very serious offence indeed and urged people to pay no attention to it at all, as it was not authored by any of the UPND team.

Below is the full statement

OFFICIAL STATEMENT

UPND Cabinet yet to be appointed

It is sad to see how some politicians are now resorting to divisive talk as the elections draw closer in an attempt to distract people from the important issues.

While UPND talks policies and solutions, what we hear back is personal attacks and statements designed to stir up tribal sentiments.

We want to reassure the people it is not long now until a UPND government is appointed. It will be an inclusive government that works in the interests of all.

It has come to our attention that a fake document authored by our political opponents is being circulated and supposedly sets out several appointments for the incoming UPND government. This is a counterfeit document and the forging of the signature of UPND Secretary General Stephen Katuka is a very serious offence indeed. We urge people to pay no attention to it at all, as it was not authored by any of our team.

As UPND we are determined to have a strong hard working government that can deliver our 10 Point Plan for Zambia. We are ready to show that we are men and women of action ready to serve the people. We wish to make it clear that no government members have been appointed; only Dr. Canisius Banda’s appointment to Cabinet has been confirmed, as announced by HH himself.

Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba
UPND Vice-President for Administration and Running Mate