Minister of Information and Broadcasting Chishimba Kambwili has urged the people of Kasama to vote for President Edgar Lungu for continued development.

Mr. Kambwili says the construction of various infrastructure such as roads and hospitals in Northern Province is a sign that the head of state cares for the people.

He says government is working on various hydro power stations to end load shedding.

Mr. Kambwili said this when he addressed a rally to drum up support for PF Kasama Central parliamentary candidate Kelvin Sampa.

Minister of Information and Broadcasting Chishimba Kambwili
Mr. Kambwili is also on a tour of Northern Province to drum up support for President Edgar Lungu and other PF candidates.

And Mr. Sampa urged the people to give him support and President Lungu.

He promised to improve the welfare of farmers, women and the youth once elected into office.

A PATRIOTIC Front (PF) group calling itself Kum’mawa for Edgar Lungu 2016(KEL2016) has appealed to people in Eastern Province to completely reject United Party for National Development (UPND) by giving 100 percent to the current Head of State and the ruling party in the August 11th general elections.

KEL2016 team leader Colonel Panji Kaunda said in a statement yesterday that giving a vote to UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema and his running mate Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba popular known as GBM would be the worst mistake of the generation as the country would never develop.

“We don’t need to be hipper spiritual to detect that the combination of the two business ‘shyrocks’ is not only unholy but also meant to tell you that there will be no room for poor people in the country if the two became on top of the leaders of our country. I am sure we all witnessed the way the UPND leader humiliated Dr Canisius Banda the party vice president who was left as a running mate in preference for GBM because he did not have money to fly Mr Hichilema around the country,” he said.

Col Kaunda who is also Home Affairs Deputy Minister said the country has seen how the core founding members of UPNBD have been sidelined just in the few days into the campaigns.

“As you can hardly hear or see Garry Nkombo, Jack Mwiimbu and many other party stewards during the countrywide campaign tours of the UPND.This speaks volumes for all of us.Infact there were many UPND figures that were hardly visible during the nomination day,” he said.

Col Kaunda said voting the UPND would in itself be endorsing ruler -ship of the people who would take all the businesses to themselves.

“They both claim to be rich people but why do they want to rule this country?.As for the UPND leader himself, there are many unanswered questions about his wealth as it is completely shrouded in many myths as how could he be the auctioneer during the day and in the night he turns out to be the owner of the property he was selling. Just the sidelining of DR Banda in the UPND party is no different from the story of Esau and Jacob in the Bible where GBM takes the role of Jacob because of his wealth to take the birth right of Esau in this case Dr Banda,” he charged.

He said for those who left PF like Dr Guy Scott and others never meant well for the country.

Col Kaunda said Dr Scott was fired as agriculture minister in the Chiluba regime because of the corrupt way of handling the swine fever disease by paying himself heft compensation.

He said this sent him into forming the failed Lima Party before joining PF where he failed to run the party as party general secretary.

Col Kaunda said it was the grace of God that late president Michael Sata kept him to the position of Vice President despite Zambians seeing his true colours how he almost put the country into flames after the death of Mr Sata.

He said it was his humble appeals to the people in the province to denounce the unholy unite of a people that do not mean well for the people of the nation by not voting them into power.

Col Kaunda also appealed to the PF party leadership in the province that they should bring unity of purpose in the party and support officially adopted by the party as directed by President Lungu.

He said supporting independent candidates was no guarantee for their party loyalty when they win as they could turn against the party.

“Let us make sure the votes for the President remains undisturbed as you are well aware of the confusion around the symbols during voting that would pose difficulties to our people,” he said.

Col Kaunda also urged the women in the province and the country at large to guard their votes by voting for President Lungu because he meant well for the nation.

He said some of the opposition leaders were self-confessed women batterers which they claim was part of love.

“And from the composition of the UPND team, it is clear there is no space for women in their leaders which is archaic and old fashioned,” he said.

He said on August 11th Zambians must endorsed President Lungu who has kept the nation far even in the events of economic hardships.

He said Zambia was now feeding Malawi, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Angola and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

MMD President Dr. Nevers Mumba has said the PF Government has continued its systematic clumpdown on fundamental democratic freedoms of Zambians which the MMD introduced in 1991 to free the country from the one-party dictatorship.

He said the ZRA saga with the Post Newspaper is a mere smoke-screen to hide a wider strategy of political oppression which the PF unleashed on Zambians upon coming into power in 2011 and manifested through indiscriminate harrassment and detentions of members of the opposition, land grabbing, harrassment of journalists which has continued unabated to this day.

He urged Zambians not to allow the situation to continue, because it has potential to spill into uncontrollable political violence and general unrest.

He said all Zambians are aware that the Post newspaper played a key role in the victory of the PF in 2011 and therefore Government could have found a more responsible and civilized way of engaging them than what is happening, particularly in an election year.

Speaking on arrival at Mongu airport in the company of UPND Chairman for Elections Ackson Sejani, welcomed by the entire MMD Western Province leadership and a crowd of local MMD and UPND officials and cadres, Dr. Mumba told the crowd that he had come to flag-off the joint UPND/MMD campaigns for the forth-coming August 2016 elections. He went on to say the people of Western Province were justified in taking issue with the PF Government on the whereabouts of the Roger Chongwe Commission of Enquiry Report on the Barotseland Agreement, which gobbled collosal sums of money but is now just gathering dust at State House.

President Mumba had been on a marathon tour of five provinces, Copperbelt, Luapula, Northern, Western and Southern Provinces by air in part accompanied by UPND Party Sokesperson Charles Kadoma Chairman for Elections , to flag-off the joint UPND/MMD joint campaigns ahead of the 11 August, 2016 elections following the momentous signing of the UPND/MMD Memorandum of Understanding of the two partes’ strategic partnership on 26th May, 2016. He also took advantage of the provincial visits to hold consultative Provincial Conferences with the full compliment of MMD structures in all those centres.

The resolutions passed by the Provincial Committees were summarised as follows:

i) All MMD structures had resolved to fully embrace the MMD/UPND Alliance as approved by the MMD NEC on 16 June 2016 at Ibis Gardens and involve all members to get vigorously involved in the joint campaigns on the ground,

ii) All structures resolved to reject and condemn the illegal conference held in Kabwe as no bonafide MMD officials or approved electoral college of the party attended that gathering.

iii) All provinces to immediately embark on organizing provincial elections for new office bearers which will culminate in readiness for the National Convention to be held on a date to be announced by the MMD NEC.

iv) All provincial structures pledged solidarity behind the leadership of President Nevers Mumba, for practically demonstrating strong and dedication leadership for the party during very harsh times that the party has been through recently and roundly condemned the Mutati group for attempting sell the party to Rupiah Banda.

President Edgar Lungu will this week visit Luapula Province on a three day working visit.

State House Spokesman Amos Chanda revealed in a statement that President Lungu will arrive in Mansa, the provincial capital on Tuesday, June 28th 2016.

“State House wishes to advise that His Excellency Mr. Edgar Chagwa Lungu, President of the Republic of Zambia will on Tuesday, 28th June 2016 start a tour of Luapula Province for three days. The President will start with Mansa and later visit all districts in the Province,” Mr Chanda said.

He said President Lungu will inspect government projects, assure farmers of increased attention to fertiliser and seed distribution and of prompt payment for the crop they will sell to the Food Reserve Agency next month.

“The President will thank the farmers particularly the small scale sector for their remarkable contribution to the 2.8 million bumper harvest Zambia has recorded this year. The Head of State will make major pronouncements to guide the revitalisation of assets of the Kawambwa Tea Company in order to create jobs for the local people,” he said.

Renowned academic Professor Francis Chigunta has died.

Prof Chigunta who is also served as policy adviser at State House during the Rupiah Banda administration died in the early hours of Sunday upon arrival at UTH.

The cause of his death has not been made public but he had suffered a stroke late last year.

Prof Chigunta was development studies lecturer and researcher at UNZA at the time of his death and also worked at the University of Lusaka.

He was a Cambridge and Oxford scholar.

Former State House Spokesman Dickson Jere who worked closely with Prof Chigunta described him as an intellectual and academician who contributed greatly to Zambia.

ZAMBIA was last night bestowed with the Chairman’s Special Award at the inaugural Regional Annual Sports Awards (RASA) in recognition of the country’s leadership role in executing sport and recreation development programmes.

According to the statement released to the media by Press Secretary at he Zambian Embassy in South Africa,Nicky Shabolyo, the RASA, which were held at a well-attended colourful ceremony in Johannesburg, are organised under the auspices of the African Union Sports Council (AUSC) Region Five which comprises Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The award which was presented by Angola’s Minister of Youth and Sport, Goncalves Muandumba, is bestowed on a country that has taken a leadership role in the implementation of the AUSC Region Five programmes and has excellently executed sport and recreation development programmes. Deserving countries are also expected to have produced athletes and teams that have excelled in bringing home medals from international championships and events.

Zambia’s Acting High Commissioner to South Africa, Ms. Philomena Kachesa, who received the award has described the accolade as encouraging as it served to show that the efforts that the Zambian Government was making in promoting sports in the country were being noticed and recognised by not only Zambians but the international community as well.

Ms. Kachesa cited the construction of sports infrastructure such as stadia and sports development centres around the country as some of the areas in which the Government had been resolved and ensured that substantial amounts of financial investment were made in order to help develop sport across the country.

South Africa’s Deputy Minister of Sport and Recreation, Mr. Gert Oosthuizen said that the athletes, coaches, administrators, journalists and all other teams who received awards for their outstanding performances were champions of African unity.
Mr. Oosthuizen urged everyone to continue to use their positions in society to advocate for a united, free and better Africa that was prosperous for the benefit of its people.

AUSC Region Five General Manager, Mr. Stanley Mutoya said the accolades were bestowed on athletes, coaches, member countries, journalists and teams that had produced outstanding performances in sport at regional and international level.

The awards, dominated by South Africa, were in 11 categories namely Junior Sportsman of the Year, Junior Sportswoman of the Year, Sportsman of the year, Sportswoman of the year, Sportsman of the year with a disability and Sportswoman of the year with a disability. The others were Sports team of the year, Coach of the year, Sports Journalist of the year, Confederation of the year, Chairman’s Special award Region Five Programmes and Sportsperson of the year.

The Sportsperson of the year award went to South Africa’s track and field 200 and 400 metre sprinter, Wayde van Niekerk.
The AUSC Region Five is the sports arm of the African Union, whose main aim is to use sports to achieve peace, integration and unity in Africa. It aims to use sport as a vehicle of encouraging people to develop and come together, irrespective of colour, economic status, political, class, or gender.

The AUSC divided Africa into seven competition zones due to the vastness of the continent and for financial prudence. The main consideration was the countries’ geographical positions. It is from this that AUSC Region was born.

United Party for National Development (UPND) southern province information and publicity secretary Neto Halwabala has has said that the warning issued by Inspector General of police (IG) Kakoma Kanganja should have been directed at PF cadres, reports pan African Radio journalist Hermit Hachilonde.

In a statement made available to the media, Mr Halwabala said that UPND members do not move around with stones, hoes, pangas, Machetes, axes, crowbars, guns in public like what he termed PF thugs do and urged the Police to direct their effort at PF cadres.

Yesterday Inspector General of Police Kakoma Kanganja disclosed that the police has noticed a proliferation of items that are dangerous which are being used to cause insecurity in Zambia.He said the items include air gun pistols which have become common,machetes (pangas),taser guns and catapults among others.

The police IG in his warning message to the general public said Section 84 of the Penal Code Act states clearly that any person who goes armed in public,without lawful occasion in such a manner as to cause terror to any person commits an offence and his arms may be forfeited.

He stated that the police will not hesitate to arrest anyone found armed in public in a manner that causes public terror even if such persons are licensed fire arm holders.

The police command therefore directed all police officers to ensure that all those who are found armed in public and causing terror regardless of their political affiliation are arrested and prosecuted without any due delay.

Mr. Kanganja dismissed claims that the police are tolerating supporters of the ruling party.

He said Zambia Police service has never taken any sides in any case, adding that they are always and will remain professional and fair in their dealings.

The IG also noted that people with such thoughts that police tolerate cadres from the party in Government must not be entertained at all.

“The police have been non violent in their execution of their duties. We shall therefore remain non partisan” he said

Below is the UPND’s response to Police Chief

OPEN LETTER TO THE INSPECTOR GENERAL OF POLICE KAKOMA KANGANJA

Dear Mr Kanganja – IG Police

Yesterday you issued a public warning to political parties and members of the public that police will now arrest anyone moving with offensive weapons in public especially during this time of campaigns “regardless of political affiliation”.

As UPND, we welcome your statement with a pinch of salt. First and foremost, our members do not move around with stones, hoes, pangas, Machetes, axes, crowbars, guns in public like PF thugs your office seem to condone.

Our members do not even have unimpeded access to buying weapons like guns because of your thorough and stringent screening processes for one to buy a firearms. We doubt how possible that would be than how easier it is for PF thugs to acquire such fire arms.

Therefore, it is not only misdirecting yourself sir, but also misleading and meant to hoodwink the public by wholesomely warning all political party members against moving with offensive weapons in Public instead of directing that warning to PF.

This piece of law as UPND we have know it even before PF was born and we have not moved with Such weapons in our life time as the largest and oldest opposition party forming government in less than 46 days now. we are a peaceful party, we value peace, unity and oneness as a people of this great land of mother Zambia.

Secondly, your statement that “Police will arrest anyone regardless of their political affiliation” is weak and shooting in the air sir. Your statement should have been more directed and given force of power by saying, “police will arrest anyone whether PF, UPND, UPP, UNIP, or PAC” member found with weapons in public.

Better still, your statement should have been more succinctly directed at PF thugs by warning that “police will now arrest any PF member found with any offensive weapons” in public.

Why do we say so, Mr Kanganja sir you know very well that it is the PF thugs who move around in public with guns, pangas, axes, stones and all sorts of weapons and have you have seen and what havoc PF cadres have wrecked on the UPND and other defenseless members of the public.

And again we repeat and challenge you sir, if you want to prove for yourself who is causing all this violence, we give a simple research method. We will give your officers our UPND regalia to wear and go to Intercity, Northmead, or anywhere and see what happens. Next we will ask the PF leadership to give your officers the PF regalia and in a similar manner your officers should go to the same places and see if they will be attacked. We challenge you sir, provided no tricks will be entertained!

Our members have never attacked PF, they have been, beaten, assaulted, killed, undressed in public, shot by PF thugs like Max Chongo your policemen and women have failed to arrest to date, and you are now issuing an empty statement targeting the UPND while PF chief thug Max Chongo is still eating T-bone and chips at some Lodge of a PF senior officer, isn’t this double standards sir?

Mr Kanganja sir stop playing PR, before you issue that statement, We challenge you to go and arrest Max Chongo for shooting our member in Northmead on the last day of filing nominations by our party president, go and arrest PF thugs in Shiwang’andu and their chief thug Kampyongo who wanted to bring down the helicopter carrying our president Hakainde Hichilema and his Running Mate GBM, go and arrest those known PF cadres in Tendelele in Mafinga who were hurling all sorts of missiles against our leaders two weeks ago than playing hide and seek service to the public.

You even know that the Shiwang’andu incidence amounts to serious crimes like terrorists act which imposes huge criminal sanctions for anyone who attempts to bring down such a vessel carrying persons. We are still challenging your office to arrest chief thug and master minder of the Shiwang’andu showdown Kampyongo!

And while the UPND may somehow commend police in Shiwang’andu for trying their best under extreme circumstances to stop that violence, we cannot say the same of your Police officers in Tendelele who exhibited highest levels of lethargy when PF thugs were attacking our members.

You must lead by example, first arrest these thugs otherwise your statement amounts to nothing but playing to the gallery.

You must first of all withdraw all such weapons from hands of PF thugs and the make that pronouncement. It is not UPND members who are a problem but the failure by your office to stop the PF thugs panga, stone, hoes, axes, and gun culture which is a problem. Unless you address that problem urgently with the PF government, your statement will be of no effect and consequence.

As a country we are in a serious crisis, there is no law And order largely because PF thugs are above the law, you have clearly failed to take pre-emptive and decisive measures against them. You move swiftly on small thugs like those in Kanyama who attacked our innocent children at Lady Dianna school yet the commanders are still on the street because of their connections to senior PF members.

When it is UPND members accused of causing violence or attacking someone, you swiftly arrest and within a day even without your own personal conviction in your mind, and the accused appears in court immediately! This is bringing tension and you must stop it sir.

Why don’t you do the same to PF cadres?

NETO HALWABALA
IPS UPND SOUTHERN PROVINCE