ZAF Interfering With UPND Campaign Again

Once again we are seeing the Zambian Air Force interfering with our campaigning schedule after cancelling our flying permit to Luapula at late notice with the sole intention of disrupting our rallies, draining our resources and further fanning the tensions on the ground being felt across Zambia. The following airspace clearance certificate demonstrates the illegal and provocative behaviour we face. We have now lost a major rally plan.

The Zambian Air Force is funded by the tax payer and their role is to be neutral. Unfortunately senior officials within the Air Force, including Colonel Jere, are abusing their power, corrupting our society, and demolishing the public’s faith in democracy. It is time for them to go.

We have made it clear to these officials that they need not fear us when we come into power. We are not the tyrannical brutes that we see in the PF, we just want to do the best for our country, create jobs for our people and fix our broken economy. Colonel Jere and his thuggish tactics represent everything that is deplorable about PF’s regime, but we shall allow them to enjoy their retirement.

We call on all Zambians and all stakeholders to stand steady and resolute. If PF think they will frustrate us, they are in for a shock. We are not relenting, if it means us traversing Luapula on bicycles to spread our message of hope, we shall do just that.

Dipak Patel
Campaign Manager

According to a statement made available to the media by Department of Immigration public relations person, Mr Namati H. Nshinka , the repatriation exercise took place on Saturday, 19th June, 2016, and was done in collaboration with the Ethiopian Government through their Embassy in Harare and the International Organization for Migration (IOM). So far eighteen (18) of the Nineteen (19) bodies have been claimed by their families. The 76 surviving Ethiopians are still in a safe shelter within Lusaka and arrangements for their repatriation to Ethiopia have reached an advanced stage.

On Wednesday, 15th June, 2016, the Department of Immigration received information that a Zambian Truck Registration number AFB 496 belonging to BM Transport of Ndola had been intercepted by Congolese Officials about 8 km from Mwenda Border Control in the Democratic Republic of Congo (Border corresponding to Chembe Border Control on the Zambian side) along the Pedicle road. Alerted by motorists who heard banging sounds emanating from the container of the truck, the Congolese Officials stopped the truck and discovered 95 Ethiopians behind bags of fish and beans. Eleven (11) of the Ninety Five (95) Ethiopians were reported deceased at the time the container was opened, this number rose to Nineteen (19). They died of suffocation due to poor ventilation in the container which was laden with bags of fish and beans.

The driver of the truck, by the name of Edward Simwaba (29), a Zambians of Masala in Ndola, his co-driver, Kesta Kanyanta (37), also of Masala Ndola, and another named Zambian remain in the custody of the Congolese authorities.

Meanwhile, the Department of Immigration, with financial support from IOM, also successfully removed 39 Ethiopians from the Country. These are among the 40 Ethiopians pardoned by His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Zambia, Mr. Edgar Chagwa Lungu, in commemoration of the Africa Freedom Day on 25th May, 2016. One of the 40 was not removed as he is still receiving medical treatment. The 40 had been serving prison sentences for consenting to being smuggled.

This will be during a three-day working visit to Luapula Province which the Head of State will embark on tomorrow.

According to a statement released in Lusaka yesterday by Special Assistant to the President for Press and Public Relations Amos Chanda, President Lungu will start his tour of duty in Mansa and later visit all districts in the province.

“State House wishes to advise that his Excellency Mr Edgar Chagwa Lungu, President of the Republic of Zambia, will on Tuesday June 28, 2016 start a tour of Luapula Province for three days.

“The President will inspect Government projects, assure farmers of increased attention to fertiliser and seed distribution and of prompt payment for the crop they will sell to the Food Reserve Agency next month.

“The Head of State will make major pronouncements to guide the revitalisation of assets at Kawambwa Tea Company in order to create jobs for the local people,” Mr Chanda said.

Mr Chanda said President Lungu would also thank the farmers, particularly those in the small-scale sector, for their remarkable contribution to the 2.8 million tonnes of maize bumper harvest recorded this year.

THE Government has secured US$3.3 million for women and youth empowerment schemes to boost the continued fight against gender discrimination in communities.

Gender Minister Nkandu Luo said $1.6 million would be used to fund women entrepreneurship training programmes while $1.7 million would go towards boys’ sensitisation campaigns on the role of women as equals in society.

Professor Luo, who is Munali parliamentary aspiring candidate, said the programmes would equip women with business skills and help change social perceptions about them with a view to reducing gender imbalances.

She said this yesterday when she launched the International Widows Day at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Lusaka.

“As Zambians we need to begin to interrogate some of these cultural beliefs and traditional norms which have perpetuated the suffering of our women and girls in communities,” Prof Luo said.

She said the Government remained committed to its resolve to curb all forms of discrimination against women by enforcing relevant legislation to curb the vice.

Prof Luo said this was because women had continued to be at the receiving end of discrimination and property grabbing in the event of the death of a spouse.

United Nations (UN) General Secretary Ban Ki-moon in a speech to commemorate International Widows Day read by Anglican resident city canon Emmanuel Chikoya observed that globally widows had continued to suffer discrimination based on their gender.

Mr Ban said young widows’ lives were characterised by challenges, which included meeting childcare responsibilities in the face of limited economic opportunities.

He urged societies around the world to support women in their quest to lead productive, equal and fulfilling lives.

And Anglican Church’s Ruth Fellowship chairperson Felicia Sakala said the death of a husband often robbed women of financial and moral support.

Ms Sakala said there was need to strengthen women’s rights to land, property and inheritance to reduce their suffering when their spouses died.

She urged the Church to continue providing spiritual guidance and financial assistance to women who lost their husbands for them to lead decent lives.

Information and Broadcasting Services Minister Chishimba Kambwili said the Government was boasting of the road infrastructure development because it had delivered and that was evident for all to see.

Dr Kambwili said when he featured on a special interview on SUN FM Radio in Ndola that the party had delivered on many promises since it formed Government.

He said despite Zambia being a landlocked country, road infrastructure development had linked towns and made it easy for people to move around and do their day-to-day activities.

Dr Kambwili said Zambians should vote the PF Government for it to complete many other projects that it had embarked as per promise to the people of Zambia.

“If you talk about the roads for PF, it has delivered. If I start giving you the roads that we have built, it will take two days. We have built roads to connect Zambia which was land locked but today it is land-linked. When we came into power we told the people that we were going to construct 8,000 km of roads to connect towns to one another and we did just that,” Dr Kambwili said.

He said the Government had promised that it would build 2,000 km of township roads using the Pave Zambia which he said was being done.

Dr Kambwili said many towns and rural areas had witnessed road infrastructure development and that an improvement had also been seen n Solwezi and Chingola.

“Today when you go to Roan and Luanshya constituencies, Ndola, Lusaka, Mufulira, Mazabuka and Choma among many other towns we have constructed township roads.

Only Chingola has lagged behind because of the contractors who were not doing a good job but I can safely tell you that there is an improvement, the roads have started coming up in town,” Dr Kambwili said.

He said the PF Government had built township roads which nobody had ever thought would be built.

Dr Mwanawasa, who is the aspiring mayor of Lusaka, said doing so would help the First Lady enhance the various presidential complementary roles in the discharge of national duties.

She said the First Lady would become efficient because she would have her own budget which would support community programmes and help meet their local and foreign travel expenses.

She was speaking on Sunday evening when she featured on a Muvi Television programme dubbed, The Assignment.

“The First Lady plays a huge advisory function to the President behind the scenes. The office has to be recognised because first ladies have a significant influence on the performance of the president,” Dr Mwanawasa said.

She said the First Lady was the face of the President in public because whatever they did was an extension of the office of the Head of State.

Dr Mwanawasa said this would accord respect to first ladies as opposed to the current situation where when a First Lady donated to social causes she was perceived to be using proceeds of corruption.

Meanwhile, Dr Mwanawasa said if elected Lusaka Mayor, she would expand Lusaka City Council(LCC)’s revenue collection base by depoliticising taxi ranks, bus stations and markets around Lusaka.

She alleged that the local authority had failed to deliver efficient services due to poor collection of revenue which was important to fund operations and pay workers’ salaries.

“There is revenue hemorrhage at LCC because political cadres have sabotaged markets and bus stations which are an important source of income for the local authority,” Dr Mwanawasa said.

Dr Mwanawasa said under her five-year plan, she intends to automate revenue collection to curb corruption and ensure that the council comes up with more recreational facilities to curb hooliganism among youths in townships.