UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema took some time on Sunday to play some social football with youths of Bauleni compound in Lusaka.

The opposition leader who arrived at the football pitch wearing a Chipolopolo replica shirt scored the winning penalty for his team.

He said, “Despite our busy schedules, we always have time to mingle with our people in more relaxed settings by playing some games and participating in recreational activities, which are important for the health of the people.”

He said the UPND’s commitment is to continue with such sporting activities and make sure they improve compound sporting activities and facilities, rather than giving them over to cadres as plots for building illegal settlements.

“We are also urging our people, especially youths and women, to get fully involved in such activities which can also be good opportunities for talent identification programmes,” Mr Hichilema said.

“We have stated before that we can create a lot of job opportunities for our people in sporting activities. These initiatives and engagements are also good in keeping our youths away from illicit and illegal activities that are unhealthy for the country.”

We have read a statement by Rainbow Party secretary general Wynter Kabimba with interest. His call on the opposition political parties to boycott the election does not come as a surprise to us in PF because Mr Kabimba is in this election to merely escort real candidates. His party is a rejected lot that stands no chance of even coming in the third position.

The continued campaign against ECZ in the run-up to the August election is a scheme to psyche youths sympathetic to the opposition to prepare for violence. We now wish to believe that opposition leaders have launched such a malicious campaign to prepare ground for violence so that the winning candidate is affected.

Zambians are called upon to ignore these statements against ECZ but listen to candidates who have developmental issues to share. Mr Kabimba has mainly been associated with condemning companies that are preferred to print ballot papers
The continued accusations about rigging have the potential to reduce confidence in the Zambian people and perception is the most important component in achieving a credible election.

We want to tell Mr Kabimba that he is a very unpopular candidate and his chances are non-existent on the Zambian political scene. His position to withdraw from the race is the only option he has but we are aware that even his fellow opposition leaders cannot listen to Mr Kabimba.

Zambians need to be reminded that when he was secretary general of PF, streets protests were the order of the day and the capital, city Lusaka became a hive of political tension. It is therefore incumbent upon the people of Zambia to ignore Mr Kabimba who only appears to be popular in one media house.

His accusation that PF wants to rig elections is really laughable. It is laughable because it was Mr Kabimba who addressed several press conferences and meetings before PF formed government in 2013 to claim that the ballot paper printer, Universal Printing Group of Durban would rig elections. Under his charge, the PF spoke everyday against the use of UPG and said the company would facilitate the rigging of the elections.

But the PF went ahead and won the elections and Mr Kabimba went under instead of justifying his claim in light of the events that followed his empty lies.

We are therefore, challenging Mr Kabimba to boycott the elections as an individual candidate instead of misleading Zambians. Mr Kabimba cannot leave any impact if he boycotted an election where he is not even a factor.

We want to emphasise that the choice by ECZ of a printer should not be looked at from a suspicious point of view but purely on the basis of capacity to deliver in a transparent manner.

ECZ should ignore this malicious campaign because it is not the first time it is taking place. ECZ director Priscilla Isaac has been called arrogant before over UPG of Durban but liars like Mr Kabimba have no shame. They just kept quiet when the PF won the election instead of admitting that they lied. ECZ must therefore remain brave and do the right thing.
Paul Moonga

Riots have erupted in Lusaka’s Zingalume and George compounds where some Zambians have looted foreign-owned shops over suspicions of links to recent ritual murders in the area.

Police Spokesperson Charity Munganga-Chanda confirmed in a statement that some people looted shops belonging to Rwandese nationals in the area after word went round that some people found human body parts in one of the shops belonging to a Rwandese national.

Mrs Chanda said the residents are suspecting that these foreigners are the ones behind the ritual murders.

She stated that four shops had been looted, so far on suspicion that they are involved in the recent murders which have been happening in the area.

“More officers in full riot gear have been deployed in the area,” she said.

Some residents interviewed said they want the Rwandese to leave the country because they are allegedly bad people.

They complained that the Rwandese have also taken over all the business opportunities in the area adding that some of their businesses are not genuine.

By press time, the riots had spread to Lilanda and some parts of Chunga area.

At least six people have been found dead in the area since last month with body parts, including hearts, genitals and ears, removed.

President Edgar Lungu yesterday announced that Police arrested four people over the killings.
Residents in Zingalume burned down a community police station last month in protest over the murders.

And some UPND Parliamentary aspiring candidates for Livingstone Constituency, who declined to be named, have castigated the party’s district leadership for parading Mr Akafumba to the people of Livingstone when he was not yet an adopted candidate.

Mr Akafumba, who is vying for the Livingstone Constituency seat under the UPND, said it would be pointless for him to win the parliamentary seat if Mr Hichilema lost.

He was speaking in Livingstone on Saturday at the Livingstone Weigh Bridge where scores of UPND members turned up to welcome him.

Mr Akafumba, who was accompanied by former Southern Province PF chairlady Alice Simango, said his support for Hakainde Hichilema was because the opposition leader had been consistent with what he wanted to do for the people of Zambia.

He called on members of the UPND to work hard, campaign and take their president to State House.

“I didn’t expect this reception but however am extremely very grateful for the gesture. I just have a very short message as the chair has said, the task ahead for the UPND is very huge and I have not come here to come and campaign for a parliamentary seat, to me what is important is to ensure that we take our president to State House.

“What will it benefit me to win a seat as a Member of Parliament and my president loses? It will result to zero, its better I lose and he wins. I want to assure you that being a member of parliament is nothing, its just one of those few rooms in my father’s mansion, “Mr Akafumba said.

Some UPND Parliamentary aspiring candidates, who declined to be named, castigated the party’s district leadership for parading Mr Akafumba to the people of Livingstone when he was not yet adopted.

The aspiring candidates said the party had created an impression to the people of Livingstone that Mr Akafumba had already been adopted to represent the party during the fourth coming general elections.

“The whole process is not transparent. We don’t know whether Mr Akafumba has paid them for them to be acting in such a manner.

“How do you parade someone to the people, organize members to welcome and host a party I his honor and claim that we were just welcoming him.

“Some of us feel duped and we will petition the party if it turns out that Mr Akafumba is adopted as our candidate because they want to impose a candidate on us who has been rejected twice before by the people of Livingstone under the ruling party and what magic can he now perform,” they said.

But UPND District Chairman Michael Kangai said that the party was only replicating what their national office had done by welcoming the two officials from PF.

UPND District Spokesperson advised the aspiring candidates not to blow Mr Akakumba’s reception out of proportion as the party was merely welcoming new members.

Several Members States, UN agencies, civil society organisations, academia and other stakeholders praised Zambia’s skillful diplomatic engagements that led to the earliest conclusion ever seen in the last decade as the deliberations have been dogged by inconclusive late night talks without reaching consensus on outcome documents.

Despite being tasked with a double mandate this year, Zambia concluded its chairing of the Commission by 4:30 PM Eastern Standard Time, breaking the record of the Commission as one of the most efficient and efficacious, and igniting more confidence in the body which at its 48th Session did not yield an outcome.

Closing the five-day meeting on Friday, Zambia’s Permanent Representative to the UN and Chair of the CPD49, Her Excellency Dr Mwaba Kasese-Bota, thanked the Member States and the Zambian Mission staff for their hard work and guidance in supporting the work of the session to conclude the deliberations in record time.

Dr Kasese-Bota said the session’s theme had been particularly relevant, as it had helped Member States to define indicators for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The Zambian envoy thanked the Commission as well as its Bureau members for their support in the work of the session.

Dr. Kasese-Bota commended Zambian delegation experts, Mrs Theresah Luswili Chanda (Counselor Economic) and Silvester Mwanza (Counselor Political and Administration), for their sterling work in the multilateral negations.

United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Executive Director Babatunde Osotimehin said two forward-looking and important resolutions adopted during the session were a reminder that multilateralism was alive and well in the Commission.

He acknowledged that Member States were committed to ensure that every birth and death was registered and that national data systems were a cornerstone of development in each and every country.

Mr. Osotimehin said the cooperation of Governments, academia, civil society, private sector and development partners would be critical, going forward.

“On behalf of all of us at UNFPA, I would like to thank Ambassador Mwaba Kasese-Bota, especially, for her able and wise stewardship. Her leadership was instrumental in bringing all of us to this possible outcome of the session,” said Dr Osotimehin.

Delivering closing remarks of UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs Wu Hongbo, the Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development in the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Lenni Montiel said a strong demographic evidence base would be essential for implementing many of the commitments made at the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo and in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

He said it was critical that choices about policy interventions be informed by solid evidence.

Mr. Montiel congratulated the Commission for achieving consensus on a resolution on its methods of work and on the special theme. “You have persevered through sometimes difficult negotiations, and made space for a legitimate diversity of views,” said Mr Montiel.

In a congratulatory message to the Zambian envoy, an African diplomat wrote: “Congratulations Ambassador. The Mighty Chipolopolo have not only redeemed Africa, but the entire ICPD and the Commission.”

Head of the UN Population Division, Professor John Wilmoth, in congratulating the Zambian delegation, wrote: “ Zambia rocks the house! Everyone is amazed – and very happy.”

Ministry of National Development Planning Permanent Secretary Dr Simon Miti led the Zambian delegation to the CPD49.

Dr Kasese-Bota handed over the one-year rotational chairmanship of the CPD to Qatar Permanent Representative to the UN, Her Excellency Ms. Alya Ahmed Saif Al-Thani who was elected to chair the 50th Session.