SOME Patriotic Front members of Parliament who will not be readopted in their constituencies on account of member rejection or under-performance plan to defect to opposition political parties so that they can try their luck on new party tickets, PF deputy secretary general Mumbi Phiri has revealed.

She has however said the PF would not adopt serving MPs who have lost popularity on account of having failed to perform in their constituencies because such candidates could only jeopardise the chances of the ruling party to retain power.

Mrs Phiri said the ruling party was also aware that a number of its MPs would in May after the dissolution of Parliament resign from the ruling party but has challenged them to leave now rather than later.

She said in an interview that the PF was not going to adopt unpopular candidates at both parliamentary and local government levels on ‘‘humanitarian grounds’’ and in the process ruin the chances of President Edgar Lungu’s re-election..

Mrs Phiri said the adoption process would ensure that only the best candidates were picked and that those who had made the PF unpopular in their constituencies should know that their time was up and they would not be considered.

‘‘I want to tell them to just go now rather than later. If you are not popular, you will not be adopted because we do not want to take chances and ruin our chance of retaining power. We are on top of things and we know that some of the unpopular MPs will be defecting to the opposition,” Mrs Phiri said.

And Mrs Phiri has charged that the PF would soon be taking action against former vice-president Guy Scott for having endorsed UPND president Hakainde Hichilema when he (Scott) was senior member of the party and central committee member. Dr Scott has however said he did not endorse Mr Hichilema but that his party, the deregistered Democratic Front (DF), supported Mr Hichilema.

Mrs Phiri said the PF was unmoved with the decision by Dr Scott to endorse Mr Hichilema because the former vice-president had always been against President Lungu.

She said there were many other people in the PF who had lost value to the ruling party and were only acting as excess baggage and should therefore leave the party and continue flocking to the UPND which she said had become a political dumpsite for rejected politicians.

Mrs Phiri said President Michael Sata (late) knew Dr Scott very well and never trusted him and that was why during the life of the late president, the Lusaka Central MP was never allowed to act as president.

She said Dr Scott was a bitter man because President Lungu started as his deputy minister in the vice-president’s office but that the Head of State kept on rising as Home Affairs minister, Defence and Justice Minister as well as the PF secretary general before being elected President in January 2015.2016 elections given greenlight

LUSAKA High Court Justice Florence Lengalenga has dismissed the petition challenging the constitutionality of holding the 2016 presidential elections as well as determining President Edgar Lungu’s tenure of office after the January 20 2015 election.

And spokesperson for the petitioners, Zambia Republican Party president Wright Musoma says they would not sit and watch the Republican Constitution being abrogated due to failure to interpret appropriate clauses, as they have already instructed their lawyers to appeal to the Supreme Court.

This is in a matter in which Richard Mumba, Simemeza Syachoke and Mr Musoma petitioned the Attorney General for the determination of a presidential tenure of office following the incumbent’s sudden death.

The petitioners cited the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ), the Attorney General and the 11 presidential candidates in the January 2015 presidential election as respondents, but later removed the candidates and retained the ECZ and the Attorney General.

The petitioners challenged the constitutionality of the 11 August 2016 presidential elections when President Lungu was still within his five-year tenure mandated by both the old Constitution and the newly assented to Constitution respectively.

Mr Musoma said while they respected the ruling of the High Court, they were already in the process of appealing to the Supreme Court.

“To us the judge erred because the petition was not heard, and based on the preliminaries given by those who joined the matter, she dismissed the petition.
“We have been treated unfairly. We are appealing because we are not satisfied with the ruling,” he said.

Mr Musoma explained that while the Ms Justice Lengalenga ruled that the petitioners lacked locus standi to bring the matter before court, he said every Zambian had the right to defend the Constitution when they felt the law of the land was being abrogated.

“Both the old and new Constitution states that when a President dies, his term ends. And that is why in Zambia, we do not hold presidential by-elections, and each presidential tenure has a five year mandate.

“So we already have a substantive President and there is no need to hold another presidential election 20 months into President Lungu’s five-year term,” he said.

Heritage Party president Brigadier General Godfrey Miyanda joined the respondents against the petition, terming the applicants as President Lungu’s agents to defer the 2016 presidential election.

The petitioners requested the High Court to defer the 2016 presidential election to 2020 to allow President Lungu finish a five-year term of office as prescribed in the Republican Constitution.Cholera cases rise

Kanyama Member of Parliament (MP) Gerry Chanda has said the constituency has experienced unprecedented development during his tenure of office.

Colonel Chanda, who is a Patriotic Front (PF) MP, said Kanyama constituency had only two tarred roads in 2008.

Col. Chanda, who was elected Kanyama MP in 2011, said there were now over 15 roads that have been upgraded to bituminous standards.

The Kanyama lawmaker said this in an interview with ZANIS in Lusaka.

“Kanyama constituency has seen unprecedented development under my tenure and l am determined to develop it further in all key sectors of the economy to benefit the electorates in my area,” he said.

He named some of the roads that have been worked on a Kanyama-Mtandabantu, Kanyama-Garden House, Kanyama-Zingalume, Kanyama-Mbasela and some roads within Kanyama compound.

Col. Chanda, who is also Home Affairs Deputy Minister, said a good road network was vital for accelerating economic development.

He explained that the perennial flooding has greatly reduced in the area.

He has since urged the people in the area to visit the Kanyama constituency national assembly office to get updates on their area and to interact with him.

The MP has meanwhile commended non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and some investors that are operating in his area to supplement the efforts of government.

Col. Chanda however regretted that cholera has continued to afflict the people in the constituency but commended government through the Ministry of Health for efforts towards addressing the waterborne disease.

He has since reapplied to recontest his Kanyama parliamentary seat on the ruling PF ticket on the August 11, 2016 general elections.

The UPND says the PF has taken the country more than 30 years backwards when people were queuing for commodities.

UPND Spokesperson Cornelius Mweetwa said people are now queuing up for mealie-meal and are being forced to buy one bag per person because of PF government’s failure to plan for eventualities.

Mr Mweetwa said despite advise from various stakeholders for government to ensure that the country has enough food stokes before exporting the PF ignored them and now the country is grappling with the shortage of the commodity.

He said it was only during the UNIP days that Zambians were forced to queue for commodities and that it did not make any economical sense for people to be forced to only buy one bag mealie-meal when they can manage more.

“We have been taken back to more than 30 years of UNIP days queuing for mealie-meal even now when go to shoprite and you have money we are being told you can only buy one bag yet we told the Minister of Hon Given Lubinda please can you announce the maize flow price so that it can influence market prices and for farmers to have an option to sale to government or the private buyers so that we can have household and national food security but they were busy saying we are monitoring moisture content now look at the moisture content which they are monitoring we are threatened with food security which is also a national security issue,” he said.

He added ” we are now being proud of impounding 30 trucks or trying to export maize to our neighbours when they are the ones who were telling as that now we want to promote the private sector to be able to export maize when you have no vision.”

The country has been facing mealie-meal shortages with some shops being directed to sale only one bag per individual.

On Monday Chingola residents accused government of not being strict with the people smuggling the commodity to the neighbouring DRC. The residents queued for hours at Pick n Pay Chingola were the commodity was available.

ASSOCIATION of Vendors and Marketeers (AVEMA) president Able Chikwa has urged street vendors across the country to rally behind the leadership of President Edgar Lungu because of vision to empower through Presidential Fund Initiative.

Addressing street vendors at the council chamber in Chipata on Tuesday afternoon, Mr Chikwa said President Lungu had a heart for the street vendors and marketeers alike.

He said President Lungu had embarked on various programmes aimed at alleviating poverty as well as uplifting their wellbeing as street vendors.

Mr Chikwa said President Lungu had shown commitment in alleviating the people’s welfare more especially street vendors by allowing them to sell in the streets.
“A good example is in Mansa where street vendors were removed from the streets but after the intervention from the central Government, the vendors are back on the street,”he said.

Mr Chikwa said that President Lungu was a caring leader who was siding with the street vendors and marketeers across the country.

He said people should re-elect President Lungu in the August 11th general elections so that he could continue empowering them with loans.

He also said the Presidential Initiative Empowerment Fund in Eastern Province has been marred with challenges of people who were not marketeers applying for the loans.

He said that most of the people that have applied for the funds were not real traders adding that the situation has led to the number of applicants increasing beyond the targeted number for most districts.

Mr Chikwa emphasised that the only true beneficiaries of the funds were Zambian marketeers and street vendors whom he said would not be removed from the streets.

He said that the Presidential Initiative Fund registration process would ensure that no foreigner was registered for the loans considering the fact that the province shares borders with Malawi and Mozambique.

He said all applications that would be approved by his association are those that were accompanied with a photocopy of a Green National Registration Card (NRC).
The meeting was attended by Patriotic Front(PF) Provincial Secretary Eddie Kapalu, AVEMA vice president Kunda Chitotela and AVEMA provincial chairperson Susan Ngoma.

The team is currently gifting soft loans to street vendors and marketeers in Chipata district.

THE Livingstone Magistrate Court has acquitted two suspended United Party for National Development (UPND) councillors who were facing one count of obtaining money by false pretences.

This is in a matter in which the Milford Mambo,46, who is former Livingstone Mayor and former UPND councilor for Simoonga Ward, as well as Ziwa Ziwa, 39, former UPND Musitunya Ward Councillor, were facing one count of obtaining money by false
pretense contrary to section 309 chapter 87 of the laws of Zambia.

It is alleged that on a date unknown but between April 27, 2015and January 18, 2016, the duo jointly whilst acting together did obtain K47,000 from Davy Ngulube by falsely pretending that they had a plot for sale when in fact not.

But when the matter came up before Livingstone Magistrate Michael Mulalelo yesterday for the commencement of trail, the complainant Joan Ngulube who was in the witness’s docket raised her hand to the surprise of the state and told the court that she had an application to make.

Ngulube old that court that her application was that of wanting to withdraw the matter because she had been given her money in full by the accused persons.

The state then objected to her application saying that the matter was a criminal case which meant that it was now the state verses the accused persons and the complainant had no right to withdraw the case.

“The witness must note that this is a criminal matter. The state is not ready to accept her application and we object to that. This is a criminal matter where the state has interest in. There is no
documentation which shows that the complainant did receive the money.

“We are therefore applying for an adjournment to April 13, 2016for commencement of trail because it appears the witness is not ready today. We also want to verify whether she has been paid and also consult authorities,” the State said.

However, the complainant who was scheduled to be the first witness insisted that the matter be withdrawn because she has documents showing she was given back the money.

“I have the documents showing I have been paid. This is why I find it convenient to withdraw the matter. I had even left but I was called to come back,” she said

The state again attempted to object saying that she was merely a witness who has no right or say in the matter as the state had already stated.

This prompted Magistrate Mulalelo to make a ruling and acquitted Ziwa and Maambo.

“The witness being the complainant in this matter has the right to withdraw the matter. I will allow her application and the two accused persons are hereby acquitted,” he said.