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FAZ general secretary Ponga Liwewe says Football House will find other coaches if Zesco United withdraw George Lwandamina from the Chipolopolo bench.
Media reports suggest that Zesco have withdrawn Lwandamina and Nkana have recalled his assistant Aggrey Chiyangi from the national team bench.
But Ponga said the two clubs have not communicated to FAZ over their alleged decisions to recall the two coaches.
He assured stakeholders that Zambia will have a full technical bench ahead of COSAFA Cup that begins on Saturday in Namibia.
“There is no official communication from the clubs (Nkana and Zesco) being quoted in the media. So we can’t make a decision basing on media reports,” he told Radio Icengelo.
Lwandamina is attached to the national team in an interim capacity.
“We will have a technical bench at COSAFA that will be a fact of life. And I think there are a lot of coaches around who are capable of taking up the national team duty,” Ponga said.
Zambia will launch their COSAFA Cup campaign on 19 June with a quarter-final match against Group A winners.
Group A teams are Zimbabwe Swaziland, Seychelles and Madagascar.
Felix Mutati
MMD President Felix Mutati has advised his tribes men, the Lungu people of Mpulungu district to use dialogue when settling their differences as opposed to violence and fighting.
Speaking at the burial ceremony of the late Chief Mukupa Kaoma who was killed due to succession wrangles Mr Mutati said the Lungu people had come far for them to be spilling blood due to leadership wrangles.
Mr Mutati said there is nothing insurmountable which cannot be resolved through dialogue and that nothing should lead to people killing each other as that paints a bad picture of the people who belong to the tribe.
“We should not have allowed what happened here to happen. We should not fight for leadership, we can over other things but not leadership. We should not kill each other for the sake of leadership because we will end up failing to govern ourselves.
“The entire nation is now looking at our tribe and wondering how we govern ourselves? Why have you done that? But it’s only God who knows best, we have gone through a lot as a people and we should not be spilling blood over leadership,” he said..
And Mr Mutati has said that the power of installing traditional leadership has been given back to the people of respective tribes hence the is no need for people to fight over it.
Chief Mukupa Kaoma was killed recently after he tried to take over the traditional leadership of the Lungu people as rival groups fought running battles using pangas, axes and other unconventional weapons.
UPND President Hakainde Hichilema with his Vice President Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba during the Consecration of Rev. Fr Justin Mulenga as Bishop at St Joseph’s Cathedral in Mpika
UPND President Hakainde Hichilema says it is rude for anyone to question his decision to pick his vice president for administration Geoffrey Mwamba as his running mate.
Mr. Hichilema says as party president it is his right to chose who should be his running mate.
In an interview with QFM by telephone from Northern Province where he is campaigning, Mr. Hichilema it is unfair for people to continue questioning his choice for running mate when no one is talking about other political parties.
He has wondered why people are not questioning President Edgar Lungu’s choice for running mate vice president Inonge Wina.
Mr. Hichilema has reiterated that party vice president for political affairs Canisius Banda who some people expected to be his running mate still has value to the UPND.
He however, stated that he has not spoken to Dr. Banda over his decision not to be part of UPND campaign team that currently on the campaign trail in Eastern province.
Meanwhile, UPND Vice President for Politics Dr. Canisius Banda refuted claims suggesting that he withdrew from the party’s Eastern Province campaign tour led by former vice president Guy Scott and former Chongwe Member of Parliament Sylvia Masebo because he is bitter for being overlooked as presidential running mate.
Dr. Banda told QFM via telephone that such claims were cheap propaganda which should not be taken seriously.
Dr. Banda said that he harbors no ill feeling after UPND President Hakainde Hichilema picked his Vice President for Administration Geoffrey Mwamba as his running mate.
Dr. Banda said that his absence from Eastern province campaign team has nothing to do with him being overlooked as a presidential running mate, but that something personal came up and he decided to remain and attend to those matters.
Dr. Joseph Kasonde, Minister of Health of Zambia, addresses the High-level meeting of the General Assembly on HIV/AIDS Implementation of the Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS and the political declarations on HIV/AIDS
Zambia Health Minister Dr Joseph Kasonde has told a High-Level Meeting of the General Assembly on ending HIV/AIDS that Africa is strongly committed to fight pandemic.
The High-Level meeting, convened by the President of the General Assembly His Excellency Mr. Mogens Lykketoft, adopted the Political Declaration on the fast track to accelerate the fight against HIV and to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030.
Addressing the 2016 High-Level Meeting at UN Headquarters in New York, Dr Kasonde, speaking in Zambia’s Capacity as Chair of the African Group at UN for the month of June, said the 54-Member African Group believes that “zero new infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS deaths are attainable before 2030”.
He said the continent was convinced that Political will at the High Level, national leadership and ownership, were key in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
He said the rate of new infections has declined or stabilized in many African States, and AIDS-related deaths were declining as treatment programmes expand.
“Despite this progress, there is still much more left to be done. About 2.1 million people were newly infected with HIV in 2015, two thirds of whom were in Africa which remains the epicentre of HIV,” Dr Kasonde sad. “We note with alarm the sustained vulnerability of young people, especially young women and adolescent girls to HIV infections in Africa.”
Dr Kasonde, who is leading the Zambian delegation, said the African Group applauded the achievement of reaching 15 million people living with HIV with antiretroviral therapy before the December 2015 deadline.
“The African Group recognises that poverty and unemployment exacerbate HIV and AIDS. The Group therefore, calls for the increased resources devoted to HIV and AIDS responses, including the implementation of the Addis Ababa Action Agenda and Official Development Assistance (ODA) to support national strategies, financing plans and multilateral efforts aimed at combating HIV and AIDS,” Dr Kasonde said. “The African Group is concerned that until now Sub-Saharan Africa remains the worst affected region, exceptional action is required at all levels to curb the devastating effects of this epidemic.”
The Minister said the AIDS response was failing children and young people in Africa.
“AIDS is now the leading cause of death among adolescents in Africa and the second leading cause among adolescents globally,” said Dr. Kasonde, who is leading the Zambian delegation to the High-Level meeting.
Zambia Ambassador to UN H.E. Dr. Mwaba Kasese-Bota and her Swiss counterpart H.E. Lauber Jurg co-facilitated the High-Level Meeting.
UN Secretary-General H.E. Ban Ki Moon called for global efforts to end HIV/AIDS.
Mr. Lykketoft said the global community was united in its resolve to end AIDS within the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals
“This meeting is laying the groundwork for future progress in creating healthier outcomes for everybody affected by HIV and building stronger societies prepared for future challenges,” said UN General Assembly head.
UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibe said the world has an opportunity to end AIDS, which had defined public health for a generation.
“The decisions made here, including the commitment to zero new HIV infections, zero AIDS-related deaths and zero discrimination, will provide the springboard for the implementation of an innovative, evidence-informed and socially just agenda that will end the AIDS epidemic by 2030,” said Mr. Sidibe.
Charles KakomaUPND has backtracked on its statements that the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) can print ballot papers anywhere and is now demanding from Zambia Public Procurement Authority (ZPPA) documentation in the procurement process authorising the tender awarded to the Dubai Company, A1 Ghurair Printing and Publishing Plc.
On Wednesday, UPND spokesperson Charles Kakoma said ECZ could choose to print the ballot papers for the August general elections anywhere in the world but that would not stop the UPND from emerging victorious and take over the governance of the country.
But according to the letter which was written and signed by UPND Secretary General Stephen Katuka, the UPND charged that the party was of the view that the procurement process was not followed as stipulated by the Zambia Procurement Act.
“Following the continued but not concluded discussions and uncertainty surrounding the procurement of ballot papers from the Dubai Company, A1 Ghurair Printing and Publishing Plc, it has become necessary for my office on behalf of UPND to request for documentation on the procurement process.
“Your silence as a national public procurement regulator has not helped the situation as things have become more uncertain to the extent that the Zambian people have been left wondering on the motive and intent of the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) and Government of the Republic of Zambia,” reads the letter in parts.
The letter demanded that ZPPA should authenticate the procurement process and the leading institutions involved in the process.
The UPND has requested for the appeal letter written by Ren-form, the South Africa-based company against the award of the tender to A1 Ghurair Printing and Publishing Plc of Dubai.
“Since the Appeals Committee from your institution deliberated on the appeal, you must have given ECZ some guidance. We, therefore, request for the letter you wrote to ECZ explaining the guidance, your response to Ren-form, the South Africa-based company,” reads the letter.
The UPND has further requested for the response received by ZPPA from ECZ on what the Commission had done differently to correct the errors they made during the evaluation, technical, commercial and post evaluation stages.
“Since you are the regulator, you must have presided over the ECZ response and given them further direction. We, therefore, demand for the letters you gave to ECZ, which letters shows that you, as ZPPA, authenticated and cleared the procurement process to warrant award of the Tender to A1 Ghurair Printing and Publishing Plc,” further reads the letter.
But Mr Kakoma said the opposition party had no intentions of boycotting the forthcoming general elections despite the ECZ having decided to print the key voting materials in Dubai.
He said the UPND would ensure that all manner of electoral misconduct was curtailed systematically.
Mr Kakoma claimed that there was no chance for the Patriotic Front (PF) of retaining power because according to him, the ruling party had been a story of failure and mismanagement and that Zambians were now fed up.
Political Scientist Neo Simutanyi has observed that the selection of Geoffrey Mwamba as Hakainde Hichilema’s running mate is death blow on the PF’s campaign efforts.
Dr Simutanyi who is also Executive Director of the Centre for Policy Dialogue says the spin to discredit Mr Mwamba mainly by PF officials will work to UPND’s advantage.
He said Mr Mwamba’s political and mobilizational skills are well known to the PF and he cannot be dismissed outright hence the spin is to discredit him and hope that the electorate will be convinced not to vote for the HH/GBM ticket.
“Why should PF’s leaders be concerned who Hakainde Hichilema chooses as his running mate? Will it not be to their advantage if HH’s choice for running mate is inappropriate? It is my view, that HH’s choice of running mate, is a coup de grace on the PF’s campaign efforts,” Dr Simutanyi said.
Below is Mr Simutanyi full statement
Campaign of the Underdogs
With two months to go before the general election and the completion of filing of nomination papers by nine presidential candidates, the election campaign, has entered its most decisive phase.
Political parties are using different strategies to market their manifestos and candidates.
These have ranged from exhortations on citizens to recognize past performance, campaign promises of policy changes, hate speech and personal attacks on leading candidates to violent confrontations with rival political opponents.
These strategies have been used before in our elections and are not new. However, considering that our multiparty system will be celebrating 25 years this year, we expect more maturity in how election campaigns are conducted by our leading politicians. It should not be forgotten that Zambians are suffering from electoral fatigue, having had four elections in the last ten years, an average of one election every two and half years.
Thus the August 11 general election will be the fifth since 2006. But the quality of debate and policy discourse remains very low and surprisingly mediocre to fire the imagination of the Zambian electorate.
Two themes have dominated the political discourse in the past week. These are the selection of United Party for National Development (UPND) vice president for administration Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba (GBM) as Hakainde Hichilema’s running mate and a negative smear campaign on the UPND’s political future.
GBM’s selection as running mate was unexpected and has thus been a subject of discussion. Many commentators and politicians from rival parties have described it as ill-advised, would lead to a split in the party and affect UPND’s electoral prospects in the forthcoming elections. Surprisingly, these concerns are coming predominantly from non-UPND members.
Why should PF’s leaders be concerned who Hakainde Hichilema chooses as his running mate? Will it not be to their advantage if HH’s choice for running mate is inappropriate? It is my view, that HH’s choice of running mate, is a coup de grace on the PF’s campaign efforts.
GBM’s political and mobilizational skills are well known to the PF and he cannot be dismissed outright.
Thus the spin is to discredit him and hope that the electorate will be convinced not to vote for the HH/GBM ticket. But will that work? This smear campaign against GBM, in my view will work to UPND’s advantage.
The more the PF campaign against GBM, the more people will be drawn to him and his party. Was that not the case with the late Michael Chilufya Sata?
Michael Sata endured ten years of negative campaigns, at one time with almost all the media houses against his candidature.
He was called all kind of names; of having been a foreigner; of using vulgar language; of being a tribalist and leading a tribal party, among many other invectives.
A long-running documentary on ZNBC and columns in newspapers catalogued his shortcomings and denounced him as unworthy to lead this country. But despite all that, he was elected Zambia’s fifth president in September 2011.
If Geoffrey Mwamba was someone we did not know, it would be possible for people to be persuaded to consider him in a different light.
However, he played a pivotal role in PF’s election victory in 2011, he twice served as Kasama Member of Parliament, was Defence Minister in Michael Sata’s government, resigned from government on a question of principle (the non-recognition of Chanda Sosala as Chitimukulu of the Bemba-speaking people of Northern Province) and was expelled from the ruling PF as he was perceived to have presidential ambitions.
Paradoxically, those politicians who only joined the PF after Sata’s death and were at the centre of campaigning against him in 2006, 2008 and 2011 are today in the fore-front of attacking GBM. Is that not political hypocrisy?
There are merits and demerits in the selection of running mates. For example, Vice President Inonge Wina’s selection could not be said to have been based on attracting the support of Western Province, as it is improbable that such support will be forthcoming, going by recent voting trends in that region.
Further, age may act as another disadvantage to Edgar Lungu’s choice of running mate. But one hopes that the decision to retain her may have been informed by a desire to woo the female vote and to ride on her exposure as republican Vice President.
Thus it will be up to the voters to give their verdict on whether or not her choice was a correct one. Similarly, while there are merits and demerits in the selection of GBM as HH’s running mate, I would think that the decision was based on balancing the ticket to ensure that the UPND extends its electoral appeal beyond its traditional areas of support.
In my opinion, political strategy will be an important factor in the forthcoming election than reliance on past electoral performance.
Thus it is imperative for the leading political parties to be more persuasive in their electoral messages and avoid personal attacks which may attract sympathy votes.
To the extent that the Electoral Commission of Zambia has validated the nomination of presidential candidates and their running mates, political parties should concentrate on the work at hand to convince the electorate why their parties and candidates are the best placed to move this country to the next level.
Let the conversation and policy discourse be on the alternative choices on offer and how different parties think they are better placed to bring the desired change that this country so badly desires.
The other issue that caught my attention is the tendency towards negative campaigns by some party leaders.
Some of these leaders, have argued that there is no difference between the PF and UPND in their policies and that they have embraced defectors from other parties such as the MMD.
For example, Rainbow Party leader and presidential candidate, Wynter Kabimba is quoted as saying: “PF and UPND do not care about the calibre of people joining them because they have an insatiable appetite for power…. The UPND has been losing election after election. They are now fighting for survival…if UPND loses this election… it will go into extinction, it will die.” Kabimba further states that, “PF is desperate to win this election and remain in power. On the other hand, the UPND are also desperate to get into power not for purposes of serving the country but their survival” (The Post, June 7, 2016). Why should a leader of a political party and presidential candidate use such bitter language?
As a student of politics I found the sentiments attributed to Wynter Kabimba most unfortunate and uninspiring.
First, it would appear to me that the Rainbow Party is going into this election as an underdog and acknowledges that the contest is between PF and UPND.
Second, a broad condemnation of UPND and PF puts Rainbow on a pedestal as a party of angels who have had no links to either MMD, UPND or PF.
Third, there is lack of seriousness for a presidential candidate to accuse other candidates of having an “insatiable appetite for power.”
If my good friend and brother, Wynter Kabimba, does not want political power, why is the Rainbow Party contesting the presidency?
It is my understanding, that all the nine political parties that filed their nomination papers to contest the presidential election, are serious and all want to win the election. If they really do not want to win power, why then spend their family resources contesting an election they know they will lose? How do they expect their supporters to believe in them, if they doubt their own victory?
As a democrat I believe in everyone’s right to form a political party and offer themselves for elections. However, I get concerned when the discourse tends to assume that we Zambians suffer from collective amnesia, not to remember where we have come from.
The PF that is today being vilified by some of the loudest political commentators in opposition, was the same PF they served, in senior capacities. Sata’s PF that won power in 2011 did not have identifiable members, but had supporters.
Most of its present membership only came on board after the party won power. Some of the people who were appointed to senior cabinet positions never at any time supported Sata publicly or addressed a PF rally.
I don’t remember there was any screening of members from MMD and UPND who defected to PF when Sata was still alive?
This is when Wynter Kabimba held the powerful position of secretary general of the PF. Surely, what is this talk about the calibre of people joining the party coming from?
Did it really matter, then or has it ever mattered what kind of people political parties attract? The point is all parties, including Rainbow, have benefitted from defections from other parties. The core membership of Rainbow today is derived from PF and can also claim to have UPND and MMD defectors in its ranks.
This is the case in all other parties, including FDD, UPND and PF. So to discredit other parties as having low calibre members is not only hypocritical, but goes against historical experience.
Lastly, I do not understand the relevance of the reference to UPND’s extinction after the election.
Why should participants in this election wish other parties disappeared from the political scene? Is it really fair to wish another opposition party to go into oblivion?
In my view, reference to UPND’s ‘extinction’ is rather ill-informed, considering the party’s history. Unlike, many other opposition parties, the UPND has been in existence since 1998, has contested five major elections and has maintained a political presence on the ground and in parliament.
Our multiparty system needs the Rainbow Party to maintain a political presence and offer checks and balances, even if it lost the forthcoming elections. Is it not encouraging that UNIP is still around, despite not having a single member of parliament?
I would want to see party leaders and presidential candidates raise issues that will excite our imagination and make us dream of a new future for our country.
Petty political jealousies will not help win an election. Zambians want a leadership that will articulate alternative policies that will lift the majority of our people from abject poverty.
We know a lot about the leading personalities that have offered themselves to lead us, what we want to hear is what distinguishes them from each other.
Mourners at Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Lusaka, paid their last respects to Zambia Daily Mail reporter Munide Zulu 29, her husband Sylvester Zulu, their 12 year old son, Dalitso Zulu and Sikota Situmbeko. The family and two other people died on Sunday in a road traffic accident which involved four vehicles on the Great North Road in Kapiri Mposhi. They will be put to rest today at Mutumbi cemetery in Lusaka.
President Lungu has described the death of Mrs Zulu, her husband, Sylvester, and three others as tragic and saddening. American Ambassador to Zambia Eric Shultz, has expressed sadness at her death and that of her family members in a statement issued in Lusaka.
Some of the delegates at the Infrastructure Africa Business Forum at Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg on 9th June, 2016
Participants at the on-going Infrastructure Africa Business Forum in Johannesburg, South Africa, have called for the urgent abolishing of travel and trade restrictions if Africa is to truly integrate.
The participants have pointed out that efforts by the African Union and those of the continent’s fore-fathers to unite the 54 countries will be futile as long as individual nations continued placing emphasis on restrictions on citizens’ movement across the continent.
Speaking during a ministers’ debate on the theme ‘Regional Integration and Gender’, Uganda’s Minister for Public Works and Transport, Mr. John Byabagambi, said countries should lessen export restrictions in order to help the process of Africa’s integration.
Mr. Byabagambi noted that leaders should realize that integration will eventually be realised whether they liked it or not as evidenced from the free interaction that has naturally taken place across borders in various parts of the countries.
“This integration will come whether we like it or not because people have always felt that by nature they needed to socialise without being hindered by some form of laws or visas or passports,” Mr. Byabagambi said.
The Minister hailed the eastern African bloc which he said had taken remarkable steps towards integrating Africa. He pointed out that the region had abolished the requirement for work permits for a national of any of the member countries to work in another country for as long as they had the right qualifications.
African Union (AU) Commissioner, Dr. Elham Ibrahim who agreed with Mr. Byabagambi disclosed that as part of attaining continental integration, the AU had introduced passports for commissioners working in the organisation and that this would be extended to Heads of State and their Foreign Affairs Ministers at the next AU Summit to be held in Kigali.
The AU passport exempts holders from prior visa applications and allows them to obtain these at the port of entry whenever they travelled on the continent.
“Regional integration is a must for Africa. This is a flagship project that will contribute to real integration. This Univisa will be distributed further at the Kigali meeting to Heads of State and their Foreign Affairs at the next meeting of the African Union,” Dr. Ibrahim said.
Malian Minister of Works, Transport and Integration, Mr. Mamadou Koumare also spoke against restriction of movement by people on the continent through instruments such as visas.
Mr. Koumare urged individual countries to ensure that they implemented decisions made at regional level if the continent was to make meaningful progress on issues such as integration.
And speaking earlier, Mrs. Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi from the African Development Bank (ADB) said infrastructure was key to Africa as this was the “DNA” of today’s world. Mrs. Fraser-Moleketi said the state of infrastructure in any country determined how much that country would be able to trade and eventually grow its economy.
“In today’s world, a country’s infrastructure has to be top class. If Africa’s infrastructure is second class, then Africa will be second grade,” Mrs. Fraser-Moleketi said.
Dr. Ibrahim pointed out that it was time that infrastructure development in Africa was treated as a business and not as a mere social aspect of the economy.
She also urged countries to extend transportation infrastructure to rural areas where 70 per cent of the population lived, with women and children having to walk long distances carrying heavy loads to get to a point where they could get some form of transportation.
The AU Commissioner urged the continent to better manage the available water resources so that this could easily be made available whenever needed.
“Without infrastructure, it is impossible to attract investment. We need to look at investing in the energy sector where we have a lot of potential as a continent.”
This year’s event being held at the Sandton Convention Centre has brought together a gathering of public sector, private sector and civil society representatives from across the continent.
And an infrastructure expert, Ms. Tas Anvaripour from Abraaj Group, has advised that governments have to partner with the private sector through public-private-partnership models as these were the best infrastructure development vehicles. She said the private sector, which had the finances, could build infrastructure, operate and later on transfer to government.
Ms. Anvaripour said the advantage of this approach was that the government would not need to borrow for such purposes.
She further advised that governments should also cut down on awarding contracts through the tendering process as this was inclined to wasting a lot of time. She said governments should instead engage with the private sector through an “open book” approach where bilateral terms were considered.
“The fear of corruption is taken care of as the private sector would be openly talking to a number of officials in the process of arranging for a contract. Besides, there is still the risk of corruption even in the tendering approach,” she said.
This statement was released to the media by Nicky Shabolyo, the Press Secretary at the Zambian Embassy in South Africa.
Malian Minister of Works, Transport and Integration, Mr. Mamadou Koumare, African Union Commissioner, Dr. Elham Ibrahim and Uganda’s Minister for Public Works and Transport, Mr. John Byabagambi during a panel discussion at the Infrastructure Africa Business Forum at Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg on 9th June, 2016Zambia’s High Commissioner to South Africa, His Excellency Mr. Emmanuel Mwamba exchange notes with Mrs. Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi from the African Development Bank at the Infrastructure Africa Business Forum at Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg on 9th June, 2016Zambia’s High Commissioner to South Africa, His Excellency Mr. Emmanuel Mwamba with First Secretary for Economic & Trade, Mr. Mande Kauseni following proceedings at the Infrastructure Africa Business Forum at Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg on 9th June, 2016Mrs. Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi from the African Development Bank, Ms. Tas Anvaripour from Abraaj Group and African Union Commissioner, Dr. Elham Ibrahim during a panel discussion at the Infrastructure Africa Business Forum at Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg on 9th June, 2016
A widow Mary Kabala 46, of Luano 12 crying out towards Chingola DC Mary Chibesa to be given land where she does farming activities.
Settlers of Luano National Forest in Chingola district have appealed to the President Edgar Lungu to offer them the 1,000 hectares of land they have occupied for more than 40 years.
Luano national forest is situated near the eastern part of Chingola, where more than 300 peasant farmers had settled to do farming activities.
Munsenga ward aspiring councilor on PF ticket Dickson Mwewa explaining a point to the DC when she addressed Luano residents
Chingola District Commissioner (DC) Mary Chibesa and District Forest Officer Darius Angolwishe who visited the place to address them over the same, found thousands of people chanting Patriotic Front (PF) slogans saying “fintu ni Lungu sonta epowabomba” all things is for Lungu, point where you had worked.
Residents said they also want to be pointing where they have settled and doing agriculture because that is what they depend on.
[pullquote]Government should consider human beings first than keeping the land dormant when people have no land for cultivation[/pullquote]
Luano 12 chairperson Harrison Mwansa told the civic leaders that residents are crying for land which they had settled for many years and through the DC they are on knees asking the President to offer them the land since they have no alternative.
Mr Mwansa said since 2009 they had been asking for offer letters to own farm settlements but ever since nothing has been done.
After seeing no response for many years Mr Mwansa went to Lusaka last month and met PF general secretary Davis Mwila who advised him to present all concerns to the DC of Chingola who will do everything for them saying she cannot fail.
He said Luano 12 has eight cooperatives that every year exhibit at district agriculture show and that feeds people in the urban area.
“As the mother of this district we are on our knees, most of this land is occupied by widows, orphans, disabled, unemployed and retired people, hence a need to be given land” Mr Mwansa said.
Mr Mwansa said Government should consider human beings first than keeping the land dormant when people have no land for cultivation” Mr Mwewa said.
However, the DC assured the residents to that she will present all complaints tabled to her to the higher authorities in a short period of time because PF Government under Edgar Chagwa Lungu is a listening Government.
“As at now continue staying and do farming the way you have been doing I will be back together with my team to tell you the outcome after presenting all your complaints ” Ms Chibesa said.
Ealier the District Forest Officer Darius Angolwishe made clear it to the residents that the land is still in Government’s hand and he has no proof of documents allowing people to settle in the national forest of Chingola district.
Mr Angolwishe said Luano national forest had 16,000 hectares and 8,000 hectares has been given to people in form of settlement farms.
“It is up to the Government to hear the demand from the residents who would want to be offered the 1,000 land they had settled for many years” Mr Angolwishe said.
Mr Angolwishe urged residents not to start selling land which has not yet given to them.’If found the law will take its cause, because we had been receiving information that the land is been sold to other people.’ he said.
And Munsenga ward aspiring councilor on PF ticket Dickson Mwewa appealed to the Government to offer land to the residents because its what they depend on to feed their families and pay school fees for the children.
Mr Mwewa said the rate of poverty, unemployment and robbery can increase if residents will be removed from the places they have established already.
He said small scale farmers that had occupied the area in question supplies people in the urban area of Chingola and land will be granted to them they will utilize it to the fullest.
“Government should consider giving 1,000 hectares of land to residents of Luano 12 because they are Zambians and hardworking people who keep orphans, widows and paying for school fees” Mr Mwewa said.
A widow Mary Kabala 46, who walked towards the DCs table and lay down while clapping saying she has nowhere to go if she will be removed from where she has settled because she looks after 16 dependents among them are orphans.
“You are our mother! Please give us land where to feed our children and keep livestock to sustain us” Ms Kabala said.
Bishop Dr Edward Chomba Permanent Secretary Water Development Ministry of Energy and Water Development
Government has received a loan of about US$ 786, 000 dollars which is about K8.3 million from the World Bank to construct a Dam in Zimba District of Southern Province.
Energy and Water Development permanent secretary Edward Chomba who handed over the Dam site to the contractor Victor Matebeke from Savenda Constructions of Zimbabwe, in Zimba District yesterday said the dam would be used for water for domestic animals, households and also irrigation.
Bishop Chomba said the construction of the dam was expected to start soon and was expected to be completed before the end of the year.
Bishop Chomba said government was taking a holistic approach as it wanted the people in the country to have access to clean and safe drinking water.
“The Dam will benefit the local people as some will be employed during the construction process. Government is working vigoursly so that everyone can have access to clean and safe drinking water,” Bishop
Chomba said.
He said the World bank was also funding the rehabilitation of the Ndondi Dam of Pemba District which was constructed in 1958.
The Dam’s spillways had collapsed and during the rehabilitation process the dam walls would be elevated.
Bishop Chomba also toured the rehabilitation works for Ndondi and Nachibanga whose works started in April this year.
He said similar projects were also being undertaken on the Copperbelt,North Western and Luapula provinces.
Earlier Bishop Chomba with his team from the Ministry of Energy paid a courtesy call on Southern Province Permanent Secretary Sibanze Simuchoba where he said that the supervision of the construction and rehabilitation of the Dams should be done by the provincial administration.
And Mr Simuchoba assured his counterpart that the provincial administration would ensure that the contractor was effectively supervised.
He said the there was a realisation amongst the local people on the effects of deforestation which has also affected the area.
President Edgar Lungu is saddened by the shooting to death of a Grade seven pupil of Nahumba Primary School Gift Silungwe aged 15, and business executive Jose Kambeu popularly called ‘Panado’ of Choma.
The duo were shot to death in unclear circumstances and the Police have since launched investigations in the matter.
Southern Province Minister Nathaniel Mubukwanu who delivered the messages of condolences on behalf of the President Lungu to the bereaved families in Chandamali Township in Choma said government was saddened in manner the duo were killed.
“ On behalf of President Edgar Lungu I would like to send a message of condolences to the bereaved families on the death of your relatives who were killed by the gun man, May the Good Lord comfort you during
this trying moment,” he said.
He appealed to the police to quickly investigate the matter so that the gunman faces the law.
Government also donated some food stuffs and also bags of mealie meal to both families to assist them during the funeral gathering.
Mr Mubukwanu was accompanied by Southern Province Permanent Secretary Sibanze Simuchoba and other government staff from the provincial administration.
Southern Province Police Commissioner Godwin Phiri, who confirmed the shooting that occurred on Tuesday evening around 20:00 hours said Mr Kambeu 48, was shot by an unknown person.
Mr Phiri said the same person went on to shoot Silungwe 15, in the chest who was outside house in Chandamali area.
“In the same compound one male juvenile was shot in the chest in unclear circumstances, he was pronounced dead upon reaching the hospital,” he said.
He said no arrests had been made and the police have launched investigations in the matter.
Some eye witnesses claimed the gun man was dressed in military attire.
Maureen Mwanawasa speaking inside Radio Phoenix studios
Former First Lady Maureen Mwanawasa says her decision to contest the post of Lusaka Mayor is not a demotion.
Dr Mwanawasa who featured on a special interview on Radio Phoenix said she has always been a down to earth person who interacts very well with the grassroots.
She said her love for the ordinary person was manifested in her decision to set up and run the Maureen Mwanawasa Community Initiative during the tenure of her late husband President Levy Mwanawasa.
The Former First Lady observed that her community efforts were sometimes overshadowed by the fact that she was living in State House.
“I am a social worker, I have been a social worker all my life and I like working with the vulnerable in society but sometimes when one is in State House, those qualities are sometimes overlooked as people only see you as the wife to the Head of State,” Dr Mwanawasa said.
Dr Mwanawasa said if elected Mayor, she would use her grass root working abilities to improve the lives of women and children.
She said coming from a legal background, she would help reenergize the revenue side of the city council by encouraging the council to venture into revenue generating activities.
“I don’t see a reason why the Council cannot buy shares in thriving businesses? The Lusaka City Council is ought to be the richest in the country and we can help realise that dream,” she said.
“I grew up from the Township so I am familiar with having to go with no water and having to go and answer the call of nature outside the house. So I want to become Mayor so that I can help our women address some of these issues,” she said.
Dr Mwanawasa revealed that she will soon be meeting officials from the Millennium Challenge Account to understand why it is taking long to operationalise the modernisation of the Lusaka water and sanitation project.
“On our agenda are meetings with several stakeholders such as the Millennium Challenge Account and the business community in the city, we want to hear from them and get to understand their challenges,” she said.
File:Chief Mazdimawe chairing the House of Chiefs when the house resumed sitting in Lusaka
Senior Chief Mazdimawe of the Ngoni speaking people of Eastern Province has refuted media reports that all the Chiefs in Eastern Province have endorsed President Edgar Lungu for the August general elections.
According to some newspaper reports, Paramount Chief Mpezeni and all the Ngoni chiefs have endorsed President Lungu’s candidature in the August 11 general elections.
Paramount Chief Mpezeni is said to have held a meeting with village headmen at Ephendukeni palace telling them to advise their subjects to vote President Lungu.
But Chief Mazdimawe has denied the media reports saying the meeting at Ephendukeni was not about endorsing any candidate.
[pullquote]we are permanent leaders of our own people. Politicians will come and go, but the traditional leadership will remain as long as God almighty decides[/pullquote]
He has since cautioned the media to at all cost thrive to report issues correctly as they unfold.
“Our meeting which took place at Ephendukeni palace on Tuesday was not about endorsing anyone amongst the candidates as we treat all those contesting in these elections as our own children and we are not going to take sides in any way,” Chief Mazdimawe said.
He added, “So let no one from the social media start insulting us on issues he or she does not understand coz we are conversant with electoral code of conduct.”
Chief Mazdimawe however said Chiefs have the duty to discuss and scrutinize candidates with their subjects as it is only chiefs who remain with their subjects without development in an event that elected representatives disappear after being voted into office.
“In short we are permanent leaders of our own people. Politicians will come and go, but the traditional leadership will remain as long as God almighty decides.”
The Misty Jazz Restaurant and Café at Levy Mall in Lusaka will on July 1st have a memorial fundraising dinner for one of Zambia’s most celebrated musicians, Professor PK Chishala.
The show, expected to feature the PK Chishala Band, Junior Mulemena Boys and Masasu Band,will see fees split between The Misty and the late PK’s widow in support of their children and family.
Charges are K500, and this includes a three-course meal. The show, expected to start at 20:00 hours, is for diners only. PK Chishala (Peter Kalumba Chishala) is known for a number of kalindula hits including Church Elder, Na Musonda, Ku Bwaiche, Muchibolya, Ichupo Ninsansa and Common Man.
The “Professor”, who attended Mambilima Primary School in Kawambwa and Sefula Secondary School in Mongu, debuted with Icisosa Cipamano, which he recorded at Malachite Studios during his school days. Although it was not a huge success, the song gave an indication of what he was capable of doing.
He followed it up with Ba Pastor, which took a swipe at the immoral behavior of pastors. Naturally, it did not go down well in religious circles. Some sections of society thought that the song was a true story, but PK refuted that. Some called for it to be banned saying it was blasphemous. But despite the controversy, it went on to win the Song of the Year award in 1985.
He followed it up with the album Church Elder, released under Kariba Label by Teal Record Company, and whose title-track exposes the misdeeds of one church elder by the name of Pole Pole.
The album had other songs like Impumba Mikowa, a lament from orphans complaining about their plight, and Mulele, a Luvale song advising a school girl to first complete her education instead of rushing into marriage.
The title-track won PK the 1987 Soloist of the Year Award, and made him the country’s flag bearer at the 1988 World of Music and Dance (WOMAD) Festival, an annual event held in the UK.
He was sponsored by Teal Record and was backed by the Masasu Band.
One of the songs that he performed there, Umuti wa Aids, was featured on the WOMAD compilation album.
After that, he released Na Musonda, on which he introduced his wife Harriet on backing vocals. The album also had the humorous song Kubwaiche.
Thereafter, he released the controversial common Man, which chronicled the suffering of the people, particularly the workers.
The song was originally composed and performed by Bennet Simbeye.
The album also had the satirical Muchibolya and the danceable Lelo ni Weekend, which is highly popular at weddings.
Vice President Inonge Wina says the development seen in the last five years is the beginning of the transformation the PF government wants to bring for Zambians.
Ms Wina who is also President Edgar Lungu’s running mate for the August 11th general elections said this yesterday during a PF rally at National Square ground in Serenje district.
Ms Wina noted that for the first time the country has ambulances in all the hospitals, good township roads, trunk roads connecting districts and provinces, construction of hospitals in all the districts and has also seen the early distribution of farming inputs.
“The next five years will bring Zambia to another level and I want you to be part of the development. I want you to be part of the transformation so that our country can be a different Zambia from what it is today.” Ms Wina said.
Ms Wina who earlier met chiefs from Serenje and Chitambo districts toured the construction site for the Serenje district hospital.
She said the PF government is still determined towards ensuring that it not only brings infrastructure development to the country but also development in the lives of the people for the next five years.
The Vice President called on the people of Zambia to vote for President Lungu on 11th August to make the transformation of the country a reality through massive development.
She pointed out that the PF government does not segregate in the distribution of infrastructure development because it wants all Zambians to have equal access to the facilities.
On developmental projects that have stalled, Vice President Wina said government will ensure that before the end of the month, some of the projects will start being worked on.
“Government is aware of the projects and we will ensure that before the end of this month, some of these are operational. President Edger Lungu is committed to ensuring that all construction that was left by the MMD government will be completed by us.” Vice President Wina assured.
Ms Wina also said government is determined to see more than one million youths given skills to improve their lives hence it is constructing skills development centres in all the districts across the country.
She further said President Lungu’s government has a place for women and girls and encouraged them to aspire to greater heights by taking up leadership positions in the country.
And PF Serenje Central aspiring Member of Parliament Philip Kosamu appealed to the people of Serenje to vote for PF candidates in the fourth coming elections.
