FRED M’membe and The Post Newspapers have invested more than US$1 million in Agricultural activities while refusing or neglecting to pay tax obligations to the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA).

This is despite the fact that in 2011 ZRA waived K16 million from the Post indebtedness in interest and penalties in the hope that the company would settle the indebtedness but the company failed.

Now ZRA wants the outstanding K22 million paid in one installment and feels the company has the capacity to pay.

The Post had not been remitting company tax for the following charge years 2006/2007, 2008/2009 and 2011/2012 and has an outstanding tax debt due on its undertaking for Time to Pay Arrears of Tax, in the Time to Pay Agreement (TPA).

When ZRA demanded for full payment last year, the Post applied for and obtained judicial review which was also acted as a stay of the demand and any subsequent action.

But now ZRA says the Post does not deserve leniency or judicial review because the institution cannot be treated in an exceptional manner as it has even failed to honour previous settlement agreements.

According to submissions in the matter that came before the Lusaka High Court yesterday, the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) had in 2011 cancelled over K16 million in favour of the Post newspapers in unpaid taxes, but despite the action by ZRA to give the Post and Fred M’membe the waiver, they continued to breach the law by failure to honour the terms of settlement including retaining payments that should have been forwarded to ZRA.

According to the letter written to Fred M’membe on 19th September, 2014, ZRA Commissioner General Berlin Msiska said that the Post Newspaper had neglected to fulfill its obligations by not paying taxes.

“As you are aware in October 2011, we approved your appeal for a waiver of penalties and interest after you successfully paid the principal taxes in installments. Our expectation was that you would be a compliant taxpayer. However, it has come to our attention that you have accumulated another tax liability. You neglected to remain current with your tax obligations and accumulated yet another tax liability,” Mr. Msiska stated in a letter to Mr. M’membe which has also been submitted before High Court Judge Mwiinde Siavwyapa.

Mr. Msiska said that the authority was constrained to accept the proposals made by the Post and Mr. M’membe on the mode of payment of tax because they had continued to breach the law with respect to tax remittance.

“In the premises, we are constrained to accept your proposal to clear your tax liability in installments as there is no compelling reasons for us to once more exercise our discretion and allow you to settle your tax obligations installments. We now demand the immediate payment of the total tax liability of K22, 517, 952, 05 without fail,” said Mr. Msiska.

ZRA stated that it had decided to oppose the proposal to have the Post pay its debt in installments because the Newspaper did not respect agreements.

The institution also stated that in September last year ZRA wrote to the Post Newspapers advising them that they were not remitting or honouring its tax liabilities and that the Post had breached its undertaking to Pay Arrears of Tax, that is the Time to Pay Agreement (TPA) which they had signed.

“The debt arose from the fact that the Post for the period February 2014, to July 2014, was not remitting Value Added Tax (VAT) and Individual Income Tax collected in form of Pay As You Earn (PAYE). We wrote to the Post after a meeting in September that we would not accept the proposal because the Post was not complaint to paying tax.”

Lubansenshi Independent Member of Parliament Patrick Mucheleka has rubbished PF Secretary General Davis Chama’s claims that he told him Bembas intend to take over the UPND using Kasama Central MP Geoffrey Mwamba’s money and influence in Northern Province because UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema is not sellable.

Mr. Mucheleka says Mr. Chama should stop dragging him into unnecessary confusion.

Mr. Chama claims the appointment of Mr. Mwamba as UPND Vice President for administration is the beginning of the takeover of the UPND by Bembas.

And UPND Deputy Spokesperson Edwin Lifwekelo has dismissed Mr. Chama’s assertions stating that the UPND considers Mr. Hichilema a strong and popular candidate for 2016.

Mr. Lifwekelo says Mr. Chama’s claims therefore have no basis.

The PF has asked the Lusaka high court to order for the expulsion of Mr Mwamba from parliament alleging that his decision to accept a position in the opposition UPND renders his
seat vacant.

The PF has since challenged Mr Mwamba‘s decision to continue holding a parliamentary seat under the PF when he has accepted the position of vice president for administration under the UPND.

PF Legal counsel Tutwa Ngulube has on behalf of the party asked the Lusaka High Court to grant the PF an injunction restraining Mr Mwamba from holding himself as a PF MP.

Mr Ngulube has submitted before Lusaka High Court judge Annie Sharpe Phiri that Mr Mwamba could not hold dual membership in two political parties.

He said the Zambian constitution has no provision for dual parliamentary membership as a person or MP can only belong to one political party at a time.

And reacting to the decision by Mr Mwamba to cling on to his position as PF Member of Parliament (MP) for Kasama Central following his announcement that he had accepted the position of vice president in the United Party for National Development (UPND), President Edgar Lungu said that the Speaker of the National Assembly Patrick Matibini would adjudicate over the matter following the point of order raised in Parliament on Wednesday on whether Mr Mwamba should continue with his role as PF MP for Kasama Central MP or not.

“But if you ask my opinion, the Constitution is very clear, when you cross the floor you are gone, even a lay man can decipher the words of the Constitution, he has lost it, either he remains PF or he goes to UPND, Kapita did not say I will remain a member of UPND and work with PF, either you have or you don’t,” he said.

[pullquote]“I hear he has been bragging about his money and his arrogance, he says he is arrogant like Mr Sata (the late President Sata) that is why the late was voted in power, I doubt it” President Lungu said[/pullquote]

The President said this at Kenneth Kaunda international Airport (KKIA) before departure for Uganda on a two day state visit.

He also clarified that as a head of State, the Constitution also allows him to appoint MPs from the opposition and other people to help him serve in Government.

The President added that Mr Mwamba was in fact not a member of the PF as he was expelled from the party, which he later contested in the courts of law.

“In the interest of democracy let him go in peace, we need a strong democracy, let him add value to UPND like the way Kapita (Richard Kapita, former UPND vice president) has added value to PF. I wish him the best I hope UPND gets stronger, because Zambia needs a strong opposition seriously.

“I hear he has been bragging about his money and his arrogance, he says he is arrogant like Mr Sata (the late President Sata) that is why the late was voted in power, I doubt it, I don’t think Zambians want rich people for leaders I am not rich, others were not rich, it’s a question of what you are made of and capable of delivering,” he said.

ANXIETY has gripped the families of the four deceased Mopani Copper Mines (MCM) who were involved in Sunday’s underground tragic accident at South Ore Body (SOB) in Kitwe.

The recovery operation, which yesterday entered day-four, has not produced any success.

MCM head of public relations Cephas Sinyangwe said the mine rescue operation team had continued to search for the bodies of the four miners who are Emmanuel Kyongola, Mushota Nsama, Arnold Mambwe and Abel Munthali but without success.

Mr Sinyangwe who was giving an update on the exercise for retrieval of the bodies said in a statement yesterday that the recovery operation has continued although no body had been found.

“The recovery has continued though nobody has been found yet. The company is keeping the families of the deceased informed on a daily basis and will continue to render them full support during this difficult time,” Mr Sinyangwe said.

He said MCM continues to work closely with the local emergency services and relevant authorities adding that collection of data for the formal investigations into the cause of the accident had since commenced as the recovery process continued.

Mineworkers Union of Zambia (MUZ) general secretary Joseph Chewe said the union was grieved over the death of the miners who among them, three were its members.

Mr Chewe said through its department for mine safety, would institute on investigations into the cause of the accident especially that some family members of the deceased miners have questioned safety of the environment where their beloved were working from prior to the tragedy.

On Wednesday, Royford Mambwe, brother to late one of the deceased miners told Mines, Energy and Water Development Deputy Minister Richard Musukwa that his late brother had prior to the accident, complained to the wife that the area they were operating from was not safe.

Meanwhile, acting President Inonge Wina yesterday visited the funeral homes for the four mines to console them.

Government says it knows no known boundary disputes between Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo on Lake Tanganyika.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Rayford Mbulu says in as much as there are no known border disputes, meetings to mark out, demarcate and reaffirm borders along the lake are underway.

Mr. Mbulu said the meetings are in an effort to address the issues surrounding common borders of the shared waters between the four countries.

The Deputy Minister was speaking during the oral answer session in Parliament today.

Lake Tanganyika is shared about 500 kilometres between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), 90 kilometres of Tanzania and Zambia and 110 kilometres in between the DRC and Burundi, respectively.

And Mr. Mbulu said other Riparian countries will also be involved during the reaffirmation or in other cases during the demarcation process especially when dealing with the tripartite points.

Is it against this background that Zambia is engaged in the African Union (AU) boundary programme (AUBP) which was established in 2007 to mark out, demarcate and reaffirm boarders based on existing protocols as well as bilateral agreements.

Mr. Mbulu explained that various line ministries will collaboratively undertake this delimitation exercise by an auto rectified satellite and global coordinate system on the lake and the physical establishment of the median line and tripartite points common to all the four countries.

He said each of the four countries will contribute in the procurement cost of the satellite service in proportion to its segment of the waters on the lake.

THE Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) has set September 24, 2015 as a date for the Solwezi West Parliamentary by election .

The seat fell vacant following the death of the MMD area Member of Parliament (MP) Humphrey Mwanza who died on July 3, 2015 after an illness.

The Commission has since set August 26, 2015 as a date on which aspiring candidates should file in their nomination papers.

ECZ public Relations manager Crispin Akufuna confirmed the dates of the by election and nominations in a statement released in Lusaka yesterday.

The commission has also announced that it would on the same date hold seven local Government by elections in seven wards dotted around the country.

“Aspiring candidates in the by elections should lodge in their nomination papers before a Magistrate, Local court magistrate, head of Government or primary school, principal of college, commissioner of oath election officer on Wednesday August 26, 2015 from 09:00 to 15:00hrs,” Mr Akufuna said.