Chief Government Spokesperson and Minister of Information and Broadcasting Chishimba Kambwili has said that Heritage Party President Brigadier General Godfrey Miyanda should not stoop so low as to join The Post newspaper’s baseless crusade against the Government.

In a media statement in reacting to the story in the Post Newspaper quoting Gen Miyanda, Mr Kambwili said that Government could only wish that can only wish that General Miyanda was misquoted as the Government did not expect a person of his standing in society to stoop so low.

Mr Kambwili said that Government expected people of General Miyanda’s standing, a former republican vice president, for that matter, to offer sober and constructive advice that contributes positively to nation building.

Below is the full statement

STATEMENT BY HON. CHISHIMBA KAMBWILI, MP, MINISTER OF INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING SERVICES AND CHIEF GOVERNMENT SPOKESPERSON ON HERITAGE PARTY LEADER BRIG-GENERAL GODFREY MIYANDA

Government has dismissed with contempt, remarks attributed to opposition Heritage party leader Brig-General Godfrey Miyanda that His Excellency President Edgar Chagwa Lungu failed to address serious questions surrounding the governance of the country when he opened Parliament last Friday, as reported in today’s Post newspaper.

In his speech, which has been well received by a cross-section of Zambians, President Lungu announced major policy decisions aimed at transforming Zambia into a better and prosperous country for all, contrary to remarks attributed to General Miyanda.

Among other pronouncements, the President announced long-term solutions to the current electricity shortages through increased and sustained investment in the energy sector aimed at transforming the country from a power-deficit to a power-surplus nation.

The measures include the Zambia-Zimbabwe partnership to develop a 1,800 megawatts power station at Batoka Gorge in Southern Province at estimated cost of US$4 billion and the expansion, in collaboration with the private sector, of power generation at Kafue Gorge Lower which, upon completion in three years time, will generate an additional 750 megawatts.

Government will also increase power generation at Chishimba and Musonda Falls and other hydro-power stations around the country.

The President also announced specific measures to revive the cooperative movement in the country as a vehicle for accelerating rural development.

The President announced that Government planned to invest about US$6 billion to construct railway lines that will link Zambia to eastern and western parts of Africa.

His Excellency the President also re-affirmed Government’s commitment to table, during this sitting of Parliament, the non contentious issues in the Draft Republican Constitution.

The President further ordered commencement of consultations on revision of the Public Order Act and possible amendments to remove archaic provisions that impinge on media freedoms.

We can only wish that General Miyanda was misquoted as we do not expect a person of his standing in society to stoop so low as to join The Post newspaper’s baseless crusade against the Government.

Rather, we expect people of General Miyanda’s standing, a former republican vice president, for that matter, to offer sober and constructive advice that contributes positively to nation building.

Hon. Chishimba Kambwili, MP
MINISTER OF INFORMATION AND BROACASTING SERVICES AND CHIEF GOVERNMENT SPOKESPERSON.

22nd September, 2015

During his brief encounter with the first Republican President Dr Kenneth Kaunda, Sekwilasaint, like many Zambians have come to learn, realised that a good diet of vegetables and fruits can prolong one’s life.
So in order to appreciate Zambia’s first Republican President’s counsel on living a good health, Sekwilasaint has released a song titled Pala Yaba Kaunda (Kaunda’s bald head).
In a walk-in interview, he said he was truly humbled by Dr Kaunda’s gesture and it was just prudent to respond through a song which has since gone viral.
Recorded at Trixter Studio under the eye of producer Trixter, the song also prods youths to abstain from illicit sex, drug and alcohol abuse as well as foods and substances that could be harmful to their health.
“Our father and grandfather, Dr Kaunda, has led by example and if by the grace of God he attains the age of 100, he will be, probably, the first former African head of state to reach that age,” observed Sekwilasaint, 24.
He is one of the new R&B revelations with something refreshing for his fans.
Although he initially was influenced by those sleek social commentary songs made popular by the likes of Alubusu and Joe Chibangu, today the young artiste is simply up-beat.
Inspired by the ingenious and versatility of another pop/R&B mega star, Lionel Richie, Sekwilasaint came out of the cocoon to embrace music seven years ago.
“I was ever listening to the music of such great artistes as Lionel Richie and gospel music by Don Moen,” he said.
His initial visit to the recording studio was a casual walk into Hyper Records situated in Chilenje South, Lusaka, where he bumped into Winston Moyo.
In 2008, just before he sat for his Grade Nine examinations, Sekwilasaint sneaked into Hyper Record Studio and tried to produce his maiden single.
He produced a love song, Kusanga, amid stiff competition from other R&B artistes such as Wonder Boy and JK.
And through interaction with other artistes Sekwilasaint was introduced to producer Jerry Fingers of Flatline Studio.
His distinctive and defining track titled Nivomele features P-Jay, the artiste who died last December.
“My songs such as Independence, Petticoat (featuring GYK) and Dialled Call (featuring Ray-C) were all recorded with Trixter,” he revealed.

(DailyMail)

FDD President Edith Nawakwi says the current economic quagmire the country is facing should not be blamed on China as the country started sliding down way before the debacle in the Chinese economy.

Ms. Nawakwi observed the PF Government has ignored advise from from everyone including the international community against excessive borrowing but that the country is now suffering due to the recklessness of a few individuals who are not even feeling the impact of their reckless actions.

“The Zambian economy is in intensive care. The country started sliding down even before we had this debacle from China on the slowdown of the Chinese economy.

The economic mismanagement of Zambia is something that the world Bank and the the IMF have just been left with no commentary at all

The economic mismanagement of Zambia is something that the World Bank and the the IMF have just been left with no commentary at all. They tried to advise the Zambian Government against excessive borrowing, unbudgeted for massive capital infrastructure and a lot of wasteful public service expenditure and this Government did not take it so the effects of the Chinese economy heating up and losing track coupled with massive load shedding has just made Zambia a basket case.” said Ms. Nawakwi.

She noted that Government should squarely take up the blame of what is happening to country’s economy as opposed to blaming outside forces as the current economic challenges the country is facing are self made.

She also wondered why the PF is still in charge of the country’s affairs when they have admitted that the challenges the country is facing is beyond their capacity.

“This country is facing unprecedented load shedding and according to them, they can not produce power due to drought which are symptoms of poor economic management. Mines are closing down small businesses are closing down so when you link this to the Chinese economy we are back to the 1990s.

We shudder to think what is going to happen because there is massive laying off of workers especially in the mining and manufacturing sectors and their Spokesperson ( Government Spokesperson) has confessed that they have no solutions to our challenges and that only Jesus can sort out our problems which leaves one to wonder why they are still in charge of our country’s affairs.”

She added ” it is a clear case of Government ineptitude, mismanagement and lack of vision and focus.

We have a Minister of Finance whom we don’t know what he is doing in the office as he has never addressed the public on problems that the country is facing, we have a Minster of Energy who contracts 190,000 metric tons of crude oil which can not be refined in our refineries and you want to blame the international market, no! It’s the leaders in Government who are responsible for the mess we are in as a country.”

She further explained that the effects of the international market have minimum impacts on countries with long term economic policies.

“The international economy heats up from time to time, economics by its nature is cycling but countries with economies which have been cushioned by policies which are long term will turn to them even under this condition ( slow down in the Chinese economy). Look at Bostwana for example, I don’t think they are going through the same problems as ours. The Zambian people are not interested in the blame game being played by the Government but are interested in knowing what policies their Government, the PF Government is putting in place to make sure that we get out of this economic quagmire,” she explained.

And on Corruption the FDD President said Ministers will continue queuing at State House unless the centre of power is dismantled by decentralizing the political and economical governance of the country.

She noted that African countries and Zambia in particular will continue to record high levels of corruption as long as power continues to be deposited in an individual something she said will be a thing of the past when her Party assumes power in 2016.

Our Party believes that the solution to this endemic corruption is decentralization, let us demystify budgeting of our national resources. We need to budget according to regions and Districts and I think that this will be a decisive way of stamping out corruption, remove this centre which is basically that in Africa you have excessive power deposited in the presidency

“Our Party believes that the solution to this endemic corruption is decentralization, let us demystify budgeting of our national resources. We need to budget according to regions and Districts and I think that this will be a decisive way of stamping out corruption, remove this centre which is basically that in Africa you have excessive power deposited in the presidency.

We need to decentralise so that people begin to be in charge of their resources and feature and I think that unless Africa sorts out this Monarch type of arrangement we will not sort out problems. The FDD Party believes the only solution to eradicating poverty is through Agriculture using decentralization as a policy instrument to deliver support to the people. Our people can be supported so that they can be responsible for their lives and their future and decentralization is key to achieving that,”

Today’s recipe is a rustic and authentic, Indian chicken curry.  This is a fabulous dish, perfect for dinner with the family, or to serve guests. Using a good-quality curry powder or paste takes all the work out of making this. For the best flavour, make it the day before and reheat. This curry uses whole pieces of chicken instead of chopped up pieces of chicken, which is a little bit different to your ordinary curry.

Preparation & Cooking time: 1 hour 5 mins

Serves 6 people

Ingredients

• 6 pieces of chicken (thighs and legs)  – with the skin on for flavour
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 large onions, finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp curry powder or paste
• 500ml chicken stock
• 1 tablespoon tomato purée
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 tablespoons Greek-style (plain) yogurt
• Salt, black pepper paprika
• chopped fresh coriander to garnish (optional)
• Rice

Method

Cook your rice according to the instructions on the packet. Wash and rinse the rice, until the water is clear. Place in a saucepan/pot with double the amount of water; a little salt and a drop of oil.  Allow to boil, reduce the heat to low and cover the pot with a lid. Cook for 10-15 mins without uncovering the pan.

Season chicken with salt, pepper and paprika

Heat the oil in a deep frying pan or wok. Add the chicken and brown it on all sides for 6–8 minutes over a medium heat.   Add and cook the onions in the pan for 5 minutes until golden brown, add the garlic and curry powder or paste; stirring continuously.

Add the stock, tomato purée and sugar. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 45 minutes or until cooked through, turning the chicken pieces halfway through.

Remove the chicken to a serving dish. Heat the sauce on high heat for 2–3 minutes until thickened. Take the pan off the heat and stir in yoghurt. Add extra seasoning (salt, pepper, paprika) if necessary; pour the sauce over the chicken. Scatter chopped coriander over the top.

Serving

Plate up your fluffy rice; and spread the thick and creamy chicken curry over the top.  Enjoy

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.

Viola Davis makes history, winning for her role in How to Get Away with Murder

The 50-year-old from South Carolina said there is still work to be done in getting more diverse stories on screen. In her acceptance speech, Davis quoted Harriet Tubman, an African-American anti-slavery activist during the American Civil War whom she will be playing in a forthcoming HBO movie.

“The only thing that separates women of colour from anyone else is opportunity,” Davis said. “You cannot win an Emmy for roles that are simply not there.”

Backstage, Davis expanded on the debate, saying “there is a difference when it comes to actors of colour in this business. If it’s been 67 years since an actress of colour has won an Emmy then there is certainly a line. My story doesn’t end here. There is so much work that needs to be done in so many areas in the business with actors of colour, so many narratives that need to be seen by people, so many stories that need to be seen and felt.”

She and her husband, Julius Tennon, run their own production company. She said of her new fame: “My biggest fear is that a paparazzi or someone… is going to come in my backyard and see me when I get in my pool. That would be very unfortunate.”

Davis was up against fellow black nominee Taraji P Henson, who plays hip-hop matriarch Cookie Lyon on Fox’s melodrama Empire. As Davis walked up to accept the award, she and Henson hugged and exchanged words of support. “We whispered to each other: ‘Whoever gets it, it’s great, it’s wonderful and I love you,'” Davis revealed.

Davis thanked How to Get Away with Murder creator Peter Nowalk, executive producer Shonda Rhimes and others, calling them “people who have redefined what it means to be beautiful, to be sexy, to be a leading woman, to be black.”

Davis grew up in Central Falls, Rhode Island, where her father was a horse trainer and groomer, and she later studied at the prestigious Juilliard School in New York. In 2009, she was nominated for the Oscar for best supporting actress for her role in Doubt, playing alongside Meryl Streep. Over the past decade, Davis has landed bit parts in a series of critically acclaimed films, most notably Traffic, Out of Sight, Antwone Fisher, Syriana, World Trade Centre and Disturbia.

Diversity and race was a talking point during the awards, with Emmys host Andy Samberg saying: “The big story this year, of course, is diversity. This is the most diverse group of nominees in Emmy history. So congratulations, Hollywood, you did it. Yeah. Racism is over – don’t fact-check that.”

Another prominent African-American woman winner on the night was Uzo Aduba, who took the best supporting actress in a drama prize for her role in Orange is The New Black.

And veteran black actress Regina King won an Emmy for outstanding supporting actress in a limited series or movie for her role on ABC’s American Crime.

(Telegragh)