Opposition Alliance for Change leader Andyford Banda this morning failed to file in his nomination papers for the August elections after his running mate Patrick Bowa failed to show up.

Mr Banda who arrived at the nomination Centre at the Mulungushi International Conference Centre in Lusaka with a handful of his supporters discovered that his running mate, Mr Bowa was nowhere near the venue.

Efforts to contact him revealed that he had decided to pull out.

Mr Banda had a tough time convincing ECZ officials to allow him up to Tuesday to find a replacement.

But Assistant returning officer Chomba Chellah explained to Mr Banda that the Commission cannot extend the nomination period beyond what is provided by law.

Mr Chellah stated that the Government Gazette has prescribed the period for receiving nomination papers and that extending to Tuesday would fall outside the gazetted period.

He allowed gave Mr Banda up to 15 Hours today to find an alternative and present his papers before the ECZ.

“Please go and put your house in order, we are giving you up to 15 Hours today to come back with an alternative. We cannot extend the nominations until Tuesday as that would be illegal,” Mr Chellah said.

And Mr Banda told Journalists outside the nomination Centre that he does not understand why Mr Bowa decided not to show up.

He said he has been working with Mr Bowa as his potential running mate for over four months and there was no sign that he would back down.

Mr Banda suggested that Mr Bowa could have been intimidated by some state agents forging him to pull out.

“He is such a distinguished gentleman and I don’t understand why he has done this. I mean, he has held very senipr roles including that of assistant Commission at ZRA but I am not so sure weather he was intimidated, he said

Based on a True story . On Sept. 11, 2012, Islamic militants attack the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, killing Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens.Stationed less than one mile away are members of the Annex Security Team, former soldiers assigned to protect operatives and diplomats in the city. As the assault rages on, the six men engage the combatants in a fierce firefight to save the lives of the remaining Americans.

PROS

• Amazingly realistic and extremely tense action scenes that make you feel like you are right in the middle of it . It has periods of explosions and shootouts, marked with intermittent quiet that prepares for the next onslaught.
• The cast did a great job showing the range of emotions the soldiers go through during a battle.

CONS

• The movie was one sided as we were not told what the Libyans were fighting for . It was presented as a simple “Good VS Evil” movie . With the American playing the heros and the Libyans the villans . Being that this is based on a true story ,it does not give an accurate depiction of what occured ,as things were not black and white .

FAVORITE QUOTES

Jack Silva: “You can’t put a price on being able to live with yourself.”

Jack: “You’re not giving orders. You’re in my world now.”

Dave ‘Boon’ Benton: “All the gods, all the heavens, all the hells are within you.”

CONCLUSION

13hours is based on the actual events that took place on the days leading to and on  september 11 2012 in Libya. .

The movie is directed by Micheal Bay who brought us the Transformers movie trilogy so you just know that the action is immense and intense .Despite all the action the movie still has a great story ,the soldiers are not depicted as over the top super heroes but as real people fighting to save their fellow Americans . “How willing are you to die for your country? Because I’m ready to go right here, right now.”  That quote alone shows just how passionate the American soldiers were about their country .

The levels of emotion in this film will have you rooting for them to all survive. You may not agree with the one sided narrative , but the underline story of soldiers fighting for the lives of themselves and there fellow country men should resonate with everyone .

The only negative about this movie , as mentioned , is that it is a one sided story . Even though the events took place in Libya , only an American perspective is given . They could have simply added some meaningful Libyan characters to give the movie more depth without straying from the main plot .

RATING 

4 out of 5

BY KAPA187

MTN Zambia has launched its annual staff volunteer programme; 21 Days of Y’ello Care. The campaign started on 1^st June 2016 and is expected to end on 21^st June 2016.

The 2016 21 Days of Y’ello Care initiative will see MTN staff in Zambia conduct ICT training In Lusaka and Copperbelt Province.  The team will provide primary school, secondary school and special-needs teachers with tools and training to enhance their ICT teaching skills. In this regard, trained facilitators will host a 1-day workshop for 110 teachers in Lusaka and Kitwe. Employees will also refurbish containers into libraries for students in these areas. MTN Zambia will also host a marathon on 18 June, in order to raise funds for computers which will be donated to identified schools.

MTN Zambia Chief Executive Officer Charles Molapisi said The 21 Days of Y’ello Care initiative was instituted by the MTN group in 2007 as a demonstration of MTN’s commitment to look beyond its main operations by encouraging its employees to reach out to the communities.

‘The 21 Days of Y’ello Care initiative began ten years ago as a way of MTN Group responding to social needs in the communities in which they operate. In over 22 countries in Africa and the middle-east, will be the mood of giving and giving. This will be done by identifying needs related to the development of ICT in education under the theme ‘Investing in education for all’. Through this initiative, we have built classroom blocks, computer laboratories, donated ICT equipment, provided shelter, helped fight malaria and many other interventions through our collective efforts”, he said.

“As MTN Zambia, we are excited by the theme as we appreciate the importance of enhancing education in our country.  We plan to train 110 teachers in ICT from both Primary and secondary schools; we will also hold a fundraising marathon on 18 June, to enable us buy computers which we will donate to select schools. We will establish two libraries in Lusaka and Kitwe and promote a tech learning program offered by Edulution Zambia in Lusaka-based community schools and at the end of it all provide a school bag to select pupils in community schools. We believe these initiatives will encourage the teachers and pupils as well as remind them of the continuous need to learn and sharpen their skills in ICT. These projects will be done at a cost of K500, 000,” said Molapisi.

“As we all might be aware ICT was introduced in schools and we wish to congratulate our government for doing that.  Though we may have a long way to go in catching up with global trends, MTN Zambia believes that we are headed in the right direction. The era we are living in is driven by technology and the growth is being experienced at a very high rate, as such we almost feel obligated to assist in increasing the number of teachers and learners who have access to technology ,” said Molapisi .

 “Our vision is to lead the delivery of a bold new digital world. Let’s go digital together,” he said.

Zambia’s youngest commercial pilot ,Kalenga Kamwendo . “Mr 1000”

Illustrations by Black Rose The Artist

follow him on twitter @BlackRoseThA

The ruling Patriotic Front has made a raft of promises in its latest manifesto as it seeks to win a fresh mandate from Zambia in this August elections.

In a foreword to the 79 paged document, President Edgar Lungu stated that the PF has delivered on its campaign promises of 2011, and is best placed to lift Zambia and all Zambians to greater socio-economic heights.

“Through appropriate interventions, such as raising the tax free income threshold threefold from K1, 000 in 2011 to K3, 000 in 2014, revision of the minimum wage, salary increases, the Patriotic Front has fulfilled its pledge to put more money in people’s pockets,” President Lungu said.

He said by building infrastructure, the PF has also saved people time and money as they travel to access services and facilities.

But in its new manifesto, the party has gone a step further to make a wide ranging promises it hopes will attract the voters as it seeks a new five-year mandate.

In the energy sector, the PF is promising to accelerate and scale up public-private partnership investment in hydro power generation to raise the installed capacity in order to meet national demand and generate surplus for export and to attain cost reflective tariffs by 2019.

The PF Manifesto for the Period 2016-2021

It also promises to allow ZESCO to make a profit and recapitalise and that it will unbundle the electricity industry into generation, distribution and customer service to improve efficiency.

The PF however says that transmission of power will still remain under the government’s jurisdiction
In the mining sector, the party says it will rump up copper production to 2 million tons per annum by the year 2017 and promote ownership of large scale mines by indigenous Zambians.

It also promises to increase the contribution of the mining industry to governments’ revenue base in line with trends and best practice in the mining sector emerging markets.

On governance, the party says that it will introduce a law to enable Zambians living in the diaspora to exercise their entitlement to be registered as voters and vote in an election.

“Our party the PF, is campaigning for the Yes Vote during the August 11, 2016 referendum. We will also review the Non-Governmental Organisations Act of 2009 and we will review and reconcile the provisions of the Official Secrets Act and the Freedom of Information Bill of 2002 in order to enact the Freedom of Information Bill of 2002 into law,” it says.

The PF also promises to support self-regulation of the media in Zambia.

In the education sector, the PF says it will continue with upgrading of the remaining 1,800 Basic Schools into Day Secondary Schools and sustain the Fast-Track upgrading programme for teachers in Mathematics and Science.

It also promises to amend the 2011 Education Act and review the 1996 National Education Policy including the 1996 TEVET Policy

The PF is now promising to construct and establish universities in Eastern, Northern, Southern and North-Western Provinces and launch the University Student Loan Scheme to replace the Bursaries Committee arrangement.

Below is the link for the Full PF Manifesto

The PF Manifesto for the Period 2016-2021

UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema has given a slight hint of the difficulties he has faced in picking his running mate for the August elections.

Writing on his Facebook last evening, Mr Hichilema who is expected to unveil his running mate as he files in his nomination papers today said it has been a busy week.

He quickly went on to caution his officials that winning the election should not be about titles.

It is widely expected that the choice of Mr Hichilema’s running mate may make or break his election bid which many analysts feel has given him the greatest chances ever of ascending to power.

But Mr Hichilema did not hesitate to call for unity from party members.

“On the eve of nomination filing. As we prepare for a big day tomorrow I want to thank all our supporters and party members for their efforts. It has been a busy week but next week will be busier still as we tour the country, and come August 12th we expect to be this busy every week serving the interests of the Zambian people,” Mr Hichilema said.

He added, “Our call this evening is for unity. There are many talents in our team and we can achieve a lot together. This should not be about anyone one person’s position or title but it has to be about the progress we can make as a team for the betterment of our nation.”

Mr Hichilema has told his officials to put personal interest aside if they want to develop the country and build a future in which every child, no matter their gender, tribe or financial status is able to have the same opportunities in life.

“For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.” 2 Timothy 1:7. God bless.”

Many analysts are saying that the race to be Mr Hichilema’s running mate heavily favours Vice President for Administration Geoffrey Mwamba.

And UPND Vice President for Politics Canisius Banda opened up about the happenings in the party ahead of the filing in of nominations in a creative writing piece posted on his Facebook page last evening.

“As a man thinketh so is he. We all have assets and liabilities. Life is a constant interplay of the two. The management of these two will determine whether one succeeds or fails. It is not uncommon for the foolish to ignore the assets that they have and focus on accruing liabilities,” Dr Banda wrote.

“…bankruptcy soon follows. The end/outcome in such a lifestyle, you see, is premised on the attitude. It is predictable – dismal failure. Manage your assets well, Pilgrim. Divest yourself of liabilities. Success or failure is intrinsic to the management style of your life. Blame no one.”

He added, “Come on now. Take my hand. Let’s go. We have got liabilities to get rid of…the future awaits!”

And Mr Kabimba told the media that he is confident that he will win the 2016 general elections.

And United Progressive Party leader Saviour Chishimba and his running mate Sinanzeni Chuma have also filed in their nomination papers.

After presenting their documents to the returning officer, the duo addressed their supporters who had gathered at the Mulungushi conference center grounds to re-assure them of victory in the August polls.