The Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) has said that claims by the Post Newspaper that they are being fixed by the institution are not true because ZRA collects tax on behalf of Government and that the Post Newspaper is not the only company affected, but a lot of other institutions have been pursued.

Reacting to claims by Post Newspaper General Manager – Finance Rowena Zulu that the move is meant to fix the Newspaper and that Post Newspaper does not owe ZRA any money, ZRA Spokesperson Mumbuna Kufekisa said that he newspaper was aware about the matter as his office under the legal department had been engaging the company on late payments of penalties and interest accrued from the previous amount demanded.

Mr Kufekisa explained that the Post Newspapers Limited has been given 10 days to reconcile its tax accounts with those of ZRA.

He advised the Post Newspapers Limited to visit his organization if they felt the need to dispute the amount given other than claiming that the action was aimed at ‘fixing’ it.

“Take note that we are not fixing the Post Newspaper as they claim, we collect tax on behalf of Government , a lot of institutions have been pursued not necessarily the Post alone as they put it,” Mr Kufekisa

This morning, the Post Newspaper was served with two warrants of Distress demanding payment of over K16 million in taxes and tax arrears.

The first notice the Post Newspapers Limited was served with is a Warrant of Distress of K6, 954,911.75 in taxes and K9, 969,483.29 in Pay As You Earn and tax arrears in a second Warrant of Distress with a demand for these payments in full with immediate effect.

Officers from the Zambia Revenue Authority this morning raided the privately owned Post Newspapers and served the newspaper with a K6, 954, 911.75 warrant of distress.

And the Post Newspaper has accused State House of using the ZRA in an attempt the fix the publication which is now critical of the PF administration.

The Post Newspaper said this is confirmed by the fact that even the media was being informed by State House about their coming to its offices on Bwinjimfumu and mobilised to cover the event.

It said there is no doubt politics is at play in this matter.

Below is the Press Release issued by the Post Newspaper:

For immediate release

At 08:00 hours this morning, Zambia Revenue Authority officers invaded Post Newspapers Limited offices along Bwinjimfumu Road in the company of a number of armed police officers. They served a warrant of distress on the newspaper for an amount of K6, 954,911.75, demanding that to be paid immediately. They claim this amount comprises of late payment penalties and interest. These amounts have never been brought to our attention before and the demand to which they claim they relate was settled a long time ago.

Although we paid the K26 million they had demanded, we had disagreements over the way the penalties and interest they had made us pay were calculated and there is numerous communications from our side to this effect asking for reconciliation.
They have never discussed this figure with us; all they bring to us today is a warrant of distress in the amount of K6, 954,911.75.

This is difficult to understand. Our only and simple explanation is that they are simply out to fix us. And this is confirmed by the fact that even the media was being informed by State House about their coming to our offices and mobilised to cover the event. There is no doubt politics is at play in this matter.

This is also accompanied by a demand notice of K9,969,483.29, which they claim comprises of K1,202,387.32 VAT and K8, 767, 095.97 Pay As You Earn, inclusive of penalties and interest. We do not owe ZRA any such amounts on VAT. Our VAT account is up to date and their figures are wrong.

On the outstanding amounts on Pay As You Earn, we have brought to their attention that as a result of the K26 million demanded, which we paid our wage bill fell behind in terms of payments.

And this meant that our Pay As You Earn was also going to fall behind because Pay As You Earn is a withholding tax, which should be paid on a paid basis. They do not agree with this view. They hold the view that Pay As You Earn should be paid on an accrual basis.Clearly, there is a dispute here that needs to be resolved.

There is an attempt to cook up figures and make it look as if The Post owes the Zambia Revenue Authority a lot of money, despite the fact that over the last 11 months, we have paid the Zambia Revenue Authority over K40 million.

Last week, there was a judgment in the High Court over the judicial review matter we had brought. This matter was resolved in their favour, but we decided to appeal and applied for a stay. The court has given Monday, November 9, 2015 as the day for inter parte hearing. They could not even wait for that hearing and they have swung into action against us. What does this mean? This is where things stand and the interpretation is simple.

Rowena Zulu
General Manager – Finance

Ms Phiri accused the Post newspaper which reported the incident of twisting stories to suit their own agenda.

She said the Post story was a ‘‘total fabrication and misrepresentation of what transpired’’ during the whole period President Lungu was on the Copperbelt as no single person booed him because people were happy to see him in person and to acquaint himself with the challenges they were facing.

She said it was shameful that the Post newspaper had ‘‘embarked on publishing lies’’ in order to brand President Lungu a bad person simply because he had ‘‘cracked a whip’’ on the cartel for its wrongs.

She said she was with the President throughout his stay on the Copperbelt and that at no time was he booed as reported by the tabloid.

She was not surprised that the paper misrepresented the President’s visit on the Copperbelt because it had an agenda against him for taking a bold stance to ‘‘give the cartel no room to manipulate the Government to suit itself’’.

“What else can you expect from the Post newspaper? It is lies as usual because it has an agenda against Government and the President and that is how come it finds it easy to report things that have never happened so that people can think that the President is not wanted on the Copperbelt.

“The truth of the matter is that we were well-received and the crowds that thronged our gatherings are testimony to the fact that contrary to insinuations that the PF is losing grip on the Copperbelt, people have hope in this leadership. So, for me I never heard anyone booing the President; it is all lies,” Ms. Phiri said.

She explained that people on the Copperbelt will not be fooled by cheap propaganda, malice and lies allegedly being peddled by the tabloid because they understood that the challenges facing the country were as a result of the slump in global market prices for copper which was the main export commodity for Zambia.

In its yesterday’s edition, the Post newspaper reported that President Lungu was booed by miners in Luanshya on Tuesday when he addressed them over the need for the Baluba mine to increase their allowances.

Finance Deputy Minister Christopher Mvunga said the money would be channelled towards improving urban and rural roads.

Mr Mvunga was responding to UPND Milambo Member of Parliament (MP) Austin Milambo, who wanted to know which projects would be financed using the bond which was issued this year.

“The major allocations include $410.7 million for the improvement of road infrastructure, including rural roads,” Mr Mvunga said.

He said $268 million had been set aside for domestic debt swap and clearance while $40 million would be spent on the maintenance of canals and procurement of maritime equipment.

Mr Mvunga said $45.2 million and $20.3 million had been allocated towards infrastructure development in the education and health sectors, respectively.

“A total of $20 million has been allocated for water and sanitation projects. Other allocations include; $45.2 million for citizens and youth empowerment and $21 million and $15 million for the agriculture sector and on-lending to state-owned enterprises, respectively,” he said.

Mr Mvunga said the balance of the fund had been earmarked as part of financing for the 2016 National Budget.

On repayment, Mr Mvunga stated that the bond was structured to be redeemed in three equal instalments of US$416.7 million in July 2025, the same amount in July 2026 and July 2027.

“To ensure that Government does not default, a sinking fund shall be established in line with the requirements of the loans and guarantees authorisation Act Cap 66 to accumulate money to be used for the repayment of bonds at maturity,” he said.

Similar sinking funds have already been established through the issuance of Statutory Instrument (SI) 75 of 2015, to facilitate the repayment of the $750 million and $1 billion bonds which were issued in 2013 and 2014 respectively.

Egg Fried Rice

Sometimes budgeting and busyness can really put a dampener on how interesting we make our food.  In fact they have a direct impact on how much we experiment in the kitchen. When we are on a tight budget we are more likely to buy the same old ‘safe’ and cheap ingredients to make the same old ‘safe’ meals that we always have.  Similarly when we don’t have time to spare, we are likely to fall back on those very same ‘safe’ meals.  But that doesn’t have to be the case – take rice for example, there are so many ways to spice up your rice….literally.  So today I am going to show you just that – what to do with your left over plain rice to make it more interesting.  By simply changing your cooking method and a few ingredients you can literally create a completely new dish. – Exotic and delicious oriental Egg fried rice.  Because egg fried rice is so awesome it can be eaten with any meaty dish or completely on its own; and there are no limits to the veggies that you can mix with it.  So, don’t be afraid to throw in a few extra veggies, and make sure the family are getting their ‘5 a day’.

Whilst your family and friends sit there, admire your cooking skills, and liken you to Gordon Ramsey; we both know that you made this tasty and inspired dish essentially from 5 ingredients and yesterdays leftover rice….but I won’t tell if you don’t…it’s our little secret.

Preparation & cooking time: 20 – 30 minutes

Serves 4 people

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 200g  long-grain rice (uncooked weight), cooked and left
• 100g  frozen peas, defrosted (rinse under warm water to defrost)
• 4 spring onions, finely chopped
• 1-2 tsp soy sauce
• 2 pieces of bacon, roughly chopped (optional)
• 1 small red pepper, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 2 large eggs
• 1 heaped tsp mixed spice (optional)
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp ground sea salt

Method

Always make sure that your left over rice is stored correctly i.e. in an air tight container and in the fridge.

If you are not using left over rice, cook your rice as normal by; boiling hot water and salt in a pot.  Pour in your rice once the water begins to boil vigorously, stir once and reduce the heat to let the rice boil more steadily.  For stickier rice, boil with the pot uncovered, without stirring.

Fill a separate pot with water, bring to the boil; boil your peas for 2 minutes and drain.

Heat the vegetable oil in a wok, or wide pan and stir-fry the bacon for 3-4 minutes until crisp. Tip in the red pepper, spring onions and the garlic cloves and stir-fry for 2 more minutes.  Add the rice,  fry for another 3-4 minutes, followed by the peas until the mixture is completely heated; season well with soy sauce, salt, pepper or mixed spice.  Now push the rice mixture to one side of the pan.

Beat the eggs, pour them into the other side of the pan, and leave for about 10 seconds so they begin to set. Using a chopstick or fork briskly swirl the egg around to break it up and then toss around with the rice. Stir-fry for a further minute and serve straight away.

Serving

Serve your rice whilst it’s still steaming hot.  You can serve it with a side of beef or chicken stew; but it goes down just as well, if not better on its own.

To serve this as a vegetarian dish, simply forgo the bacon.

Kanta Temba is a cake maker and decorator. She is also the owner and founder of Kanta Kakes – cake shop.

You can find her work on www.kantakakes.com.  Follow her on twitter @KantaKakes and Instagram @KantaTemba.

Zambia will this year showcase its designing styles by participating in African Fashion design event in Paris, France.

According to a statement released to media yesterday by the African Fashion Reception, the event will take place on November 21st 2015 at the prestigious and historic Venue-Salle Wagram.

More than 30 African countries and media houses will be present at the event.

During the event, Zambia will have a runway showcase and exhibition pavilion where the exhibitors will promote their fashion, life style products and touristic potentials to the world.

The African Fashion Reception is organized by Africa’s foremost fashion promotion company, Legendary Gold Limited in collaboration with the Africa Union and the Nigerian Embassy.