UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema has called for unity in the party ahead of the August elections.

Mr Hichilema said was speaking Saturday afternoon when he addressed a well-attended rally at Mpezeni Park in Chipata as part of his tour of the Eastern Province.

Accompanied by his running mate Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba and UPND Vice-President for Politics Dr. Canisius Banda, Mr. Hichilema championed the importance of team work and unity in the UPND.

He said the party should be united if it is to deliver its 10 Point Plan to fix the broken economy and economically liberate the Zambian people.

Mr. Hichilema spoke with passion about his ambitious plans for the agriculture sector.

He accused the PF government of failing to treat it as a priority area, despite the great potential and the high number of Zambians working in the sector.

This lack of commitment, seen in the reduced share of government spending on agriculture, from 7.8% in 2008 to 3.2% of the national budget in 2016, has resulted in the difficulties farmers are facing today, the UPND leader charged, including high input costs, later delivery of fertilizer and a lack of support to access markets.

Mr. Hichilema appealed to the crowds that as a farmer himself he is ready to lead Zambians and move the sector forward.

He said there is need to create a thriving agriculture sector that would create jobs for many, increase incomes and decrease food prices all at the same time.

The UPND leader also spoke of his desire to kick-start value-addition projects in the area so that the people can earn more from their agriculture produce, giving the example of using groundnuts to make peanut butter, which is currently imported by the major supermarkets in the country.

In addition to the two UPND Vice-Presidents, Mr. Hichilema was also accompanied by MMD President Dr. Nevers Mumba, UPND Chairperson Mutale Nalumango, and other party leaders.

The UPND leader’s tour of Eastern Province will continue into next week and today he is expected in Chadiza, Kalemba and Chilenga.

Five pupils and a teacher from Hillcrest National Technical Secondary in Livingstone have died in a road traffic accident, while 10 sustained serious injuries in an accident that occurred on Great North Road near Kozo Lodge 5 Kilometers South of Choma at about 22 hours on Friday night.

Those that died were identified as Hayungu Titus grade nine, Banda Gabriel grade 12, Kaputa Mukumbi grade 11, Siame Remmy grade 12, Robby Zulu grade and Sikaaswe Siyasiya a teacher.

Assistant Police Public Relations Officer Esther Katongo said the five died on the spot while one who was among the two that were being evacuated to Livingstone Central Hospital died on the way.

In a statement issued yesterday, Ms Katongo said the accident involved was a Mitsubishi Rosa bus registration number AJC 5110, a property of Hillcrest National Technical Secondary School driven by Joseph Kafwimbi Mwape, 35 of highlands in Livingstone.

She said the bus which was heading to Canicius Secondary School from Livingstone for a Coca Cola sporting event, was involved in an accident with a DAF truck ,registration number ABZ 8175 and a trailer number 8175T which was stationary.

She said the accident happened when the driver of the Minibus who was overtaking a stationed truck in the process hit into the same truck as he tried to get back to his lane upon seeing an oncoming motor vehicle.

“Due to the impact, 6 passengers, of which 5 are pupils and one teacher died, 10 were seriously injured and 9 are admitted to Choma General Hospital while one has been evacuated to Livingstone Central Hospital.

“20 were treated as out patients, the driver escaped without injuries, five bodies have been deposited in Choma General Hospital mortuary while one is in Livingston General Hospital Mortuary and the driver has been charged with Causing Death by dangerous driving,”Ms Katongo said.

General Education Minister, John Phiri expressed regret on the untimely death of five pupils and one teacher from Hillcrest National Technical Secondary school.

Dr Phiri Minister conveyed his condolences to the families of the deceased and the school management and further informed the nation that all funeral expenses will be borne by Government and all arrangements will be communicated in due course.
In a telephone interview yesterday, Ministry of General Education Spokesperson Hillary Chipango said the ministry has also suspended the Coca Cola sporting event that was scheduled to start yesterday in Monze at Canicius Secondary school.

The Road Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA) has expressed sadness by the death of the five pupils and a teacher from Hillcrest National Technical High School who died in a road crash in Choma last night. Preliminary accident investigations conducted by the RTSA have revealed that the driver of the mitsubishi Rosa registration number AJC 5110, Joseph Kafwimbi Mwape, caused the crash due to overspeeeding.

The report has further revealed that the crash happened when the driver of the bus was overtaking a stationed truck in the process hit into the same truck as he tried to get back to his lane upon seeing an oncoming motor vehicle.The Agency has questioned the school authorities why the bus was allowed to move at night and therefore putting the lives of the pupils at risk.The crash happened about about 22:00 hours in Choma.
RTSA would therefore like to appeal to motorists to always exercise caution and patience when travelling at night. At night visibility is poor hence motorists should drive at moderate speed and ensure the road is fully visible.

United Party for National Development (UPND) presidential running mate Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba’s lawyer Jack Mwiimbu has dismissed allegations that his client had forged General Certificate of Education from University of Cambridge Local Examination Syndicate submitted to the Examination Council of Zambia (ECZ) but was not presented to the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ).

In response to an article that appeared in the Daily National titled “GBM forges”,Mr Mwiimbu said that his client,GBM, has never had in his possession the purported forged certificate nor has he uttered such a certificate before the Electoral Commission of Zambia in his quest to be the running mate to Mr. Hakainde Hichilema the Presidential candidate for the United Party for National Development.

Mr Mwiimbu further said that Mr Mwamba has an advanced Diploma in Finance and Investment obtained from the London School of Business and Finance.

“It is imperative to note that pursuant to the judgement by the Honourable Judge Dominic Sichinga in Sibongile Zulu and Electoral Commission of Zambia and Attorney General 2016/HB/24, our client exercised his rights by tendering an advanced Diploma in Business and Finance as authenticated by the Zambia Qualifications Authority to the Electoral Commission of Zambia to enable them to process his documents as running mate,” read the statement.

“In light of the above, our client denies any interest whatsoever in the purported certificate published by The Daily Nation. Further, our client challenges the Daily Nation and its collaborators to publish the qualifications of all candidates as per the provisions of Article 52(3) of the Constitution of Zambia Act Number 2 of 2016,” concluded the statement.

On Wednesday, PF’s Jean Kapata called on the police and other investigative wings to immediately start investigations into how Mr Mwamba acquired the GCE qualification and who could have assisted him to write his examination in such a short time before nominations.

“For all I know, you cannot acquire a higher qualification in England without a secondary school certificate and that is why Mr Mwamba should be investigated immediately. My wonder is…what could have motivated Mr Mwamba to submit a GCE certificate to Examinations Council of Zambia which he knew he was not going to present to the Electoral Commission of Zambia for his nomination as a presidential running mate. And who could have assisted Mr Mwamba to write the courses and subjects for his advanced Diploma which he used to file his nomination?” Ms Kapata asked.

UPND Vice President Dr Canisius Banda is part of a high powered delegation of UPND senior officials that has arrived in Eastern Province for a four-day campaign tour.

This is the first official campaign trip that Dr Banda is embarking upon since he was picked as presidential running mate to party leader Hakainde Hichilema in the August 11 polls.

Speculations heighted a few days ago when Dr Banda announced that he was taking leave from party activities to reflect on his political future.

Some observers predicted that Dr Banda will soon join the PF and some reports circulated that he had been offered a job in the PF administration if it retains power after August 11th elections.

But UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema announced that Dr Banda will be part of the UPND team that will be campaigning in Eastern Province alongside Mr Mwamba.

“Departing for Eastern Province tour with our Vice-Presidents Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba and Dr. Canisius Banda. We are greatly looking forward to continuing the campaign trail and sharing more details about our 10 Point Plan for Zambia across the region,” Mr Hichilema said.

He added, “In particular, we will be stressing our commitments on agriculture, as many of our farmers in the region have been struggling as a result of the rising cost of inputs such as fertiliser and seed, limited support from government and delayed payments from FRA.”

Mr Hichilema said as UPND, they will do things differently by guaranteeing the timely delivery of inputs.

“No excuses; opening up access to finance for farmers so they can invest in productivity saving areas; establishing farmer training centres, and opening up access to market. We also have a strong message on value-addition, for which there are lots of ripe opportunities in Eastern Province.”

He said, “If we look at the groundnuts that are grown, we will see them made into peanut butter. Why do Shoprite and Pick N Pay need to import peanut butter from outside? Soon they won’t. They will be able to sell Zambian peanut butter. Today teams head into different directions addressing meetings in Lumezi, Lundazi, and Vubwi and before heading on to Chipata for our mass rally tomorrow.”

Local Government Minister Steven Kampyongo has described the UPND senior leadership as terrorists.
Mr Kampyongo said UPND senior leaders are terrorists who are using violence to draw public sympathy and make the PF unpopular.
The former Shiwangandu MP claimed that the UPND leadership has declared war on him.
He said the UPND leaders especially party President Hakainde Hichilema and his running mate Geoffrey Mwamba are not being sincere about the recent violence in Shiwangandu area.
Mr Kampyongo was speaking Friday on Radio Phoenix when in reaction to the statements issued by UPND leaders when they appeared on a similar programme on Thursday.

“They came here and they were being very insincere. I am very disappointed with the levels of hypocrisy and insincerity with UPND top leadership. As you can see, the issues from Shiwangandu has just come out prominent because people there are united and they have refused to be lied to by GBM,” Mr Kampyongo said.

Mr Kampyongo who denied any involvement in the violence in Shiwangandu claimed that the UPND leadership faced resistance in the area because the people are united behind the leadership of the PF.

He said it is common knowledge that Mr Bwalya does not like him going by the violent statements he has been issuing against him.

“You heard what he said that he will break my lips. What kind of a leader uses that kind of language? The good part is that Zambians are watching and listening to these kind of threats and come August 11, they will show them,” he said.

Mr Kampyongo said he does not feel threatened by the UPND leadership because he currently commands the largest following of youths in the country since he is now Chairman for Youths in the PF.

However, on Thursday during a similar programme on Radio Phoenix, Former Vice President Guy Scott said Mr Kampyongo is a small chap who is excited about power and thinks he can succeed late Willie Nsanda in the promotion of political violence.

“The problem with this Kampyongo chap is that he thinks he can succeed the late Willie Nsanda in promoting violence. It’s very sad because his days are numbered.”

The Electoral Commission of Zambia has issued a stern warning that it will be compelled to cancel and disqualify anyone found committing acts of violence.

Addressing a news briefing at ECZ Headquarters in Lusaka today, Electoral Commission of Zambia Spokesman Chris Akufuna said the Commission is deeply concerned with rising levels of intolerance and political violence that have characterised the campaigns so far.

Mr Akufuna stated that the Electoral Act and the Electoral Code of Conduct both empowers the Commission to suspend all campaigns and disqualify candidates that will be found wanting.

He has since appealed to all political parties to urge their cadres, supporters and candidates to refrain from acts of violence or risk disqualification.
Mr Akufuna said the Commission has noted with dismay the high levels of violence on the political scene.

Meanwhile PF cadres are alleged to have attacked a UPND team that was conducting door to door campaigns in Chawama. The UPND team from ward 2 and 3 led by UPND parliamentary candidate Potipher Tembo was forced to jump over wall fences after PF cadres attacked them from three directions near Chawama Police.

Several UPND members are said to have been injured and have been rushed to UTH.

UNPD ward three chairperson Godrey Chitalu has condenmed the PF attack and urged them to conduct issue based campaigns.
He charged that the attack was planned because the cadres attacked them from three directions and blocked all routes leading to Chawama police station.