Mr Lubinda said government shall continue to create space for the church to offer checks and balances in government when they notice any wrong doing within the sectors of government departments.

Speaking in Livingstone on Saturday when he officiated at the golden jubilee celebrations of Maria Regina parish in Linda on it attainment of 50 years of existence, Mr Lubinda said the celebration of the parish’s 50 years was of great significance to the people within the community, Livingstone and the country as a whole.

Mr Lubinda said the gathering of people in numbers to celebrate the Church’s 50 years signified how Zambians were united with Jesus Christ and the faith they had in the current leadership of the country.

“When you see where we going wrong as government, you as a church need to come in and tell us that we have made an error and we shall accept your wise counsel. That must not mean that you throw stones at us,” Mr Lubinda said.

He said it was important for Zambians to be productive and avoid negative criticisms, a thing he said was un- productive to the nation looking at the recent negative attacks by some sections of society and ill-intended media houses on the republican President Edger Lungu and the government.

“My message to you today is that is be that productive tree. When people throw stones at you, be strong and show them by giving them positive results because you are that tree that is productive and bares fruit, so ignore them,” Mr Lubinda said.

Mr Lubinda said this was true testimony by the way President Lungu handled criticism because he believed in giving the people of Zambia the best by his deeds and application of policies.

He further said government was aware of the immense contribution of the church in the country in developmental issues and re-affirmed government’s commitment in working and supporting all churches in the country.

Livingstone Diocese Bishop Raymond Mpezele encouraged people to be used by God in order to make other people’s lives better.

Bishop Mpezele said it was a duty of every mankind to ensure that lives of those deprived in society was made better.

“God can use anyone to bring development to people’s lives. So I encourage every one of us here to allow God to use us in order to make other people’s live better. Let’s keep up in the spirit of charity and cooperation,” Bishop Mpezele said.

Mr Mwamba said that it was important that legitimacy for whatever body that claimed to represent Zambians in South Africa was derived from across the country.

He said the existing regional associations should unite so that they could have a “strengthened voice.

“You can have your branches or regional bodies but there is need for all these to be affiliated to a central body which will comprise individuals who will be recognised as the national leadership across South Africa” Mr Mwamba said.

Mr Mwamba said the mission wanted an association that encompasses all because it would make the mission’s work easier.

He said that Government was concerned about the hardships Zambians go through whenever issues of funerals, destitution and other social welfare related matters arose.

This is according to a statement issued by press secretary at the South African High Commission, Nicky Shabolyo .

Mr Mwamba was speaking over the weekend when he met Zambia Association in South Africa (ZASA) president, Ferdinand Simaanya in Pretoria.

He told Mr Simaanya that his association could act as a pool to collect resources and open a fund from which they can draw whenever one of them was in need.

“As Government, we will play our role to help wherever we can. The Mission is open to you and we want you to work with us as we have a lot of projects lined up,” Mr. Mwamba said.

Mr Simaanya said ZASA would on September, 1 2015, open a funeral fund with contributions from the membership.

He said Zambians living in Gauteng province have faced difficulties whenever they had bereavements as a number of them failed to raise money for transporting of bodies back to Zambia and making other funeral arrangements.

ZASA with a membership of about 1, 900, has 10 branches in Gauteng and has been in existence since 1996.

CHIEF Government spokesperson Chishimba Kambwili is concerned that some people are making derogatory remarks against President Lungu for no justifiable reason.

And Government says it values the immense contribution of the Catholic Church in various spheres of life among them education, health and community service.

“There are some people who have chosen to issue derogatory remarks all the time against President Edgar Lungu for no justifiable cause at all. Day in, day out, they are insulting the Head of State through a particular newspaper on baseless grounds,” Mr Kambwili said yesterday.

Mr Kambwili, who is also Minister of Information and Broadcasting Services, said this at the launch of Saint Charles Borromeo golden jubilee in Luanshya.

He also called on the church not to fold its arms but rise to the occasion by praying for “these people so that they are forgiven of their acts for they do not know what they are doing, as the Bible says.”

“This is not to say leaders should not be criticised, not at all, but what we are saying is that let us be decent and sincere in our comments on national issues and give credit where, and when it is due,” he said.

He called on the church to speak out against indecent and disrespectful language against leaders as this is in conflict with Zambia’s status as a Christian nation.

“This is not to say leaders should not be criticised, not at all, but what we are saying is that let us be decent and sincere in our comments on national issues and give credit where, and when it is due,” he said.

Mr Kambwili further said, the PF government has only been in office for hardly four years and has achieved so much within a short period.

He, however, noted that there are some economic challenges the country is experiencing such as the fluctuating exchange rate of the local currency.

He said a number of countries in the region and beyond are also experiencing a slump in the value of their currencies against the United States dollar.

“And this is the situation Government is working hard to reverse and redress through various measures both short and long-term,” he said.

Mr Kambwili commended the Church’s role, particularly St Charles Borromeo, for playing an active role in uplifting people’s living standards in Luanshya since it’s inception 49 years ago.

Earlier, father Ben Kapembwa said the occasion was charged with symbolism and each element carried meaning that is rooted in the rich history of the parish.

The launch of the golden jubilee – 1966 to 2016 – was dubbed “Glorifying God through, stewardship, talent and prayer.”

Zambia National Corporation (ZNBC) public Relations Officer Punga Simukwai says ZNBC is doing its level best to provide quality programmes.

Ms Simukwai said there are so many educative, informative and entertaining programmes being aired for the public consumption on TV One and Two as well as radio One, Two and Four respectively.

She was speaking today on the ZNBC TV One on a programme dubbed: “ Kwacha good morning Zambia”, that even though the corporation is facing some challenges in some areas, the team is doing everything possible to rectify the problem.

Ms Simukwai emphasized that radio Two is also doing a commendable job as a talk show channel involved in discussions in nature from Monday to Friday.

Radio two is a current affairs channel involved also in breaking news, covering labour matters, economic and social issues including gender matters which affects the Zambian people, she said.

ZANIS reports that Ms Simukwai said a team of ZNBC engineers are working round the clock in ensuring that the poor signal in Chama is worked on once and for all.

MS Simukwai also assured people of Chama and the surrounding areas to be calm as the problem will soon become a thing of the past.

Siavonga District Commissioner Lovemore Kanyama has dispelled reports that President Edgar Lungu fell asleep during the launch of Yalelo Fish Farm in Siavonga last week.

ZANIS reports that Mr Kanyama said the story carried in some section of the media that President Lungu dozed off does not reflect what happened in Siavonga.

Mr Kanyama stated that he was seated next to President Lungu and that the head of state was active throughout the launch.
“I was seated next to the President and at no time did he fall asleep”, said Kanyama.

The District Commissioner said the story is disappointing in that by attacking the President, it fell short of bringing out the significance of the launch and missed out on the core function of the media of information dissemination.

Mr Kanyama said it is unfortunate that some journalists have chosen not to contribute to the development of the country by being professional in their work.

He has since urged people to respect President Lungu and support him in his governance of the country and effort of advancing the country’s development agenda.

President Edgar Lungu yesterday spent time at Kasisi Children’s Home in Chongwe district about 30 kilometres from Lusaka familiarizing himself with the operation of the orphanage.

And President Lungu has commended the little servants of Maria Immaculate of Kasisi Orphanage for taking care of orphaned children whom they keep and educate from inception to tertiary level.

Justice Minister Ngosa Simbyakula and Home Affairs Minister Davies Mwila accompanied the Republican President as he spent time touring and interacting with children at the orphanage.

Mr. Lungu explained that his visit to the orphanage was an eye open for him to understand the challenges the orphanage was facing so that his government could decide what to help institution.

The Head of State and his entourage visited classrooms, health facilities, hostels, kitchen and dining hall and the garden among other things.

The President was impressed that the orphanage is keeping children in a loving and inspiring environment where they grow up health and well-educated better than most children in the country who have both parents.

He encouraged children to work hard in school so that they can pursue their various careers of choice after completing secondary education.

And Kasisi Children’s Home Sister-in-Charge Mariola Mierzegewska praised President Lungu for taking time off his busy schedule to visit the orphanage and learn of the challenges they face.

Sister Mierzegewska said the orphanage is currently keeping 230 children who are at different levels of education.

The Sister in Charge said the President’s visit is inspiring noting that it is not easy for a head of state to visit orphanages because of the demand of his office.

During the tour, the sister in charge told the president when he visited the drugs store room that the orphanage has enough stocks of medical drugs in their store room.

Kasisi Children’s Home was established in 1928 by Sisters of the Polish congregation ‘the little servants of Maria Immaculate’.