PRESIDENT Lungu’s three-day official visit to France has immediately yielded six deals that will see Zambia receive significant investment in the energy, aviation and other sectors.

Following bilateral talks between the President and his counterpart Francois Hollande at Elysee Palace here yesterday, France has promised to, through Airbus, help Zambia establish a national airline.

Zambia, through the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA), has also issued a licence for France 24, the European country’s largest broadcasting house, to immediately begin operations in Zambia.

Briefing the media after the bilateral talks between the two leaders, special assistant to the President for press and public relations Amos Chanda said President Lungu thanked Mr Hollande for the fruitful engagement.

Mr Chanda was speaking at Le Meurice Hotel.

“The President is very thankful to his host, His Excellency President Francois Hollande, for promising to help Zambia set up a national airline through Airbus.

“Mr Hollande said Airbus, one of the largest global aviation companies, will help train Zambian pilots, provide technical support and supply aircraft for the new airline,” he said.

Mr Chanda said Mr Hollande promised Mr Lungu that as soon as the Zambian government is ready, his administration will send technical teams to the southern African nation to begin the process.

He said Mr Hollande has also told President Lungu that his government will mobilise investment in the energy, mining and other sectors.

“The French President has promised the head of State that France is interested to invest in both the traditional hydro and alternative energy with emphasis on solar energy,” Mr Chanda said.

During the talks, a number of agreements were signed covering different sectors.

The agreements are between Zambia and the France Development Agency (AFD), ZNBC and France 24, declaration of intent between the Zambia Development Agency (ZDA) and Business France and between the University of Zambia School of Mines and Ecole Supereiere des Mines de Nantes and Telecom Bretagne.
Another deal is between Paris 1 Panthon Sorbonne University and Zambia’s Tourism Training Institute Trust.

Earlier in the day, President Lungu toured the French National Museum of Natural History where Minister of Foreign Affairs Harry Kalaba signed a memorandum of understanding with the French Ministry of Ecology for co-operation in the conservation of nature and mitigation of climate change.

President Lungu, who witnessed the signing ceremony inside the museum, called for more efforts aimed at preserving nature because climate change is increasingly threatening the human race with extinction.

France’s Minister of Ecology Aigole Royel signed on behalf of her country in the presence of the museum’s president, Bruno David.

Mr Chanda said President Hollande also echoed Pope Francis’ appeal to President Lungu during his visit to the Vatican City last week to help resolve the escalating political instability in Burundi and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

He said Mr Lungu reported that he is already interceding as he had sent envoys to mediate in the two countries’ conflicts.

Mr Lungu said he was concerned that if the two countries did not resolve their internal political wrangles, it could trigger an influx of refugees into Zambia, which could cause economic and social problems for the country.

He said the two leaders discussed a wide range of issues and pledged to work towards the strengthening of bilateral relations for the benefit of the citizens of the two nations.

President Lungu arrived at the Elysee Palace at 15:00 hours and was received by Mr Hollande.

The French Republican Guard mounted a guard of honour for the President before the two leaders went into the presidential complex for the private talks.

President Lungu attended a welcoming ceremony at the L’Hotel National des Invalides where the French military mounted a guard of honour for him.

He came out at 16:00 hours and headed for Le Meurice Hotel.

President Lungu is today expected to address a business forum to be attended by over 70 prominent French investors.

He later leaves for Lusaka in the afternoon.

GOVERNMENT has questioned why mining companies were quick to effect what they termed as cost saving measures even when commodity prices were still above worst case scenarios which they had indicated in their business cases.

In a statement released to the media by Press Secretary at the Zambian Embassy in South Africa, Nicky Shabolyo, on measures taken by mining companies in times of low commodity prices, Mr. Yaluma said there was inconsistency in the way mining companies behaved when they decided to shed off their workforce on account of low prices and that they were not able to sustain their businesses.

Mr. Yaluma said most mining companies in Zambia had indicated in their business plans that the only times when operations would become unprofitable in Zambia would be when prices for commodities such as copper started trading at US$2, 500 and below.

He questioned why companies in Zambia have rushed to retrenching workers even when copper prices were currently going for US$4, 000 per tonne, which was way above the US$2, 500 which the mining companies had put up as the worst case scenario which could trigger such measures.

He questioned why companies in Zambia have rushed to retrenching workers even when copper prices were currently going for US$4, 000 per tonne, which was way above the US$2, 500 which the mining companies had put up as the worst case scenario which could trigger such measures.

“When copper prices were above US$9, 000 per tonne, these companies made windfall profits. It is mind boggling that they do not want to refer to these supper profits when it comes to low commodity prices.

One would expect that they should have made savings to cushion effects of bad times as what we are going through today but you find that all of them have externalised these profits,” Mr. Yaluma said.

Meanwhile, government has pressed on mining companies to diversify their operations by investing in power production in order to stabilise production in the industry.

Mines Minister, Mr. Christopher Yaluma, who is leading a Zambian delegation to the 2016 Investing in African Mining Indaba in Cape Town, South Africa, told the 4th Annual Ministerial Symposium yesterday, that with the low electricity tariffs in the country, mining companies could not expect Government alone to sustain their operations.

Mr. Yaluma said mining companies should consider going into joint ventures with Zambians and invest in a mix of power sources.

Others in the delegation are Mines Deputy Minister, Mr. Richard Musukwa; Finance Deputy Minister, Mr. Christopher Mvunga; Zambia’s High Commissioner to South Africa, Mr. Emmanuel Mwamba, senior officials from the Ministry of Mines and the High Commission of Zambia in Pretoria.

“We need some serious energy mix and mining companies must play a clear role. It is regrettable that we allowed the investors to do away with power plants when they took over the mines because they saw a cheap source of power in Zesco. We should go back to the ZCCM days when all divisions had their own power sources. I raised these issues at the Ministerial Symposium and the mining companies present acknowledged.”

The Minister pointed out that it could have been a lighter burden on Government had the mining sector shown willingness to support the proposal to take electricity tariffs to cost reflective levels.

Zambia currently ranks among countries charging the lowest electricity tariffs on the continent, a situation Mr. Yaluma said had made it difficult to attract private sector investment.

Currently Zesco pays about 11 cents per kilowatt for electricity generated locally and about 19 cents per kilowatt for imported power. The utility company in turn sales this at about five cents to the mines.

Currently Zesco pays about 11 cents per kilowatt for electricity generated locally and about 19 cents per kilowatt for imported power. The utility company in turn sales this at about five cents to the mines.

Mr. Yaluma said Government was working on normalising this as mandated by last year’s meeting of SADC Ministers of Energy which resolved that all member states should attain cost reflective tariffs by 2019.

He said this year’s mining indaba was taking place at a difficult time not only for Zambia but the African continent. He said it was gratifying that the African Union (AU), under the African Mining Vision, had directed countries to standardise instruments governing mining investment in all countries.

Mr. Yaluma said Zambia’s challenges stemmed from factors over which Government had no control citing the low water levels that have reduced the country’s energy generation capacity. This has consequently led to reduced low production in the mining and various other sectors. The challenges have been compounded by the low commodity prices which have greatly reduced on the country’s foreign exchange inflow.

LIKE a script from a Nollywood movie, the Kabushi Local Court heard how one Ndola husband got his wife’s used sanitary towels as well as her pubic hair and used them as charms to boost his fish business.
Could hear a pin drop in the packed courtroom as Vainess Musonda explicitly narrated how her husband Lawrence Chileshe also stole her underwear for his rituals to boost his fishing business in Mpulungu district.
Musonda complained before presiding magistrate Serah Bwalya and senior court magistrates Besa Mushibwe and Mildred Namwizye and A woman of Ndola’s Mushili township that since the incidence, she has not been able to have her monthly period.
“I do not know where he took my pubic hair, my used sanitary towels and underwear. I no longer have my monthly period since then. And he never gives me a reasonable answer when I ask him,” she said.
Musonda, 32, said problems in their eight-year-old marriage started when she was pregnant with their second child.
“He requested that he will be shaving me because I was pregnant with our second child. But he got my pubic hair which he then used as part of a concoction to boost his fishing business at the banks of Lake Mweru,” she said.
Musonda who sued her husband for divorce said she has also been having difficulties sleeping at night.
“But when I wake up to pray, he gets upset and starts insulting me saying I disturb him with my prayers. I know he is a ritualist because he openly confessed to me once and said he gets his charms from Kaputa before going fishing in Mpulungu. He is now wealthy and has acquired a lot of property,” she said.
However, Chileshe denied using his wife’s pubic hair and used sanitary towels as charms to boost his business.
“I touched them but I never got them. I cannot consent to the divorce because I still love her,” Chileshe said.
The court advised the couple to seek spiritual guidance to resolve their problems.

(DailyMail)

Two MMD factions today crashed at the party’s Secretariat in Lusaka as a group calling for a convention tried to deliver a petition to the secretariat was stoned by supporters of Nevers Mumba the MMD President.

However, the fight did not take long to end as the the group calling for the convention over powered the Nevers Mumba faction who were just a handful.

The cadres went on to break windows of the secretariat offices and Deputy National Secretary Wine Zalomis’s vehicle a bus belonging to Flash buses has had it windows shattered as it was caught up in the fracus.

And addressing the media, Lusaka Province Youth Chairperson Elison Monday Malambo said they had gone to the secretariat to petition the party to go to the convention but that supporters of Nevers Mumba started stoning them.

He said it was disappointing that a leader who is a man of God can go to such an extent just to hang onto the Party Presidency adding that Dr Mumba was paying thugs to defend his illegal stay as party President.

Meanwhile Inspector General of Police Kakoma Kanganja through a whatsapp message said the conduct of the cadres is abuse of the freedoms people are advocating for. He said police will no longer tolerate it anymore as Enough was enough.

The unruly cadres were only dispersed after police fired tear gas canisters after which Ms. Winnie Zaloumis was rescued by police from her hiding place but failed to make a comment on the matter