Kitwe District Commissioner (DC) Chanda Kabwe has cautioned some civil servants holding higher positions in the district who are in the habit of ‘cheating’ young ladies with job opportunities in exchange for sexual favours.

Mr Kabwe says jobs should be given on merit and women should not fall victims to such Gender Based Violence-GBV acts.

Mr Kabwe says young women who are in need of jobs should not be abused by some selfish civil servants as there are disrespecting the values of human rights.

The Kitwe District Commissioner says women though vulnerable or not should be highly protected because they add value to the nation’s economic development and without them the country cannot move forward.

The DC said this in a press statement released to ZANIS in Lusaka yesterday.

“I won’t hesitate to severely punish the perpetrators of GBV at places of work in government departments in my district. A job is a fundamental right of a human being and women should not be victims of sexual harassment at places of work. I would like to warn that perpetrators of this vice that the law will soon catch them unaware,” he said.

He said civil servants are public workers and they should lead by example by not engaging themselves in GBV activities because such a vice is detrimental to the development of the nation.

Mr Kabwe said senior civil servants must help government reduce GBV cases because the number has reached alarming proportions in Kitwe district and country-wide.

Meanwhile, Mr Kabwe has said he is happy with the good works the Kitwe District GBV Coordinator Shupe Makishina is doing.

Mr Kabwe said Ms Makishina is spearheading a leading role in sensitising and educating the people in rural areas about the dangers of GBV.

He said the District GVB Coordinator is supporting the government in combating GBV cases in the district because women are widely affected as compared to their male counterparts.

Justice Minister, Ngosa Simbyakula says government has drawn the membership of the commission from the Electoral Commission of Zambia.

Dr. Simbyakula is confident that the commissioners appointed will use their experience in handling elections to conduct a referendum.

He told ZNBC news in Lusaka yesterday that government will go ahead in holding the 2016 general election and the referendum simultaneously because the move is cost effective.

And Dr. Simbyakula said it is regrettable that the UPND wants to frustrate the constitution making Process.

He says government will however; continue engaging the opposition political parties and other stakeholders on the constitution making process.

Meanwhile, deputy Minister in the Vice President’s Office, Stephen Kampyongo says the youth should use the on-going mobile issuance of National Registration Cards-NRC’s to assert their right to vote and participate in elections.

Mr Kampyongo says government has so far received overwhelming response from the youth since the exercise of NRC’s started a few weeks ago.

He however, cautioned officers issuing NRC’s against giving the national identity documents to foreigners

And Mr Kampyongo noted that more needs to be done to sensitize the people on the importance of acquiring NRC’s in the run up to the 2016 general elections.

The Deputy Minister said this during an interview with ZNBC news in Lusaka.

President Edgar Lungu has pardoned and released 177 prisoners in commemoration of the Africa Freedom Day being celebrated today.

The President has also commuted sentences of 54 Prisoners who were serving death sentences to life imprisonment while 41 inmates initially sentenced to life imprisonment have their sentences reduced to 25 years.

President Lungu has pardoned and released prisoners in exercise of powers vested in him under article 59 of the constitution of Zambia which empowers the Head of State to exercise prerogative of mercy.The released prisoners were picked from various prisons across the country which included Mukobeko Maximum Prison.

This is the first time in the history of Zambia to have some inmates from Mukobeko Maximum Prison considered for release during the commemoration of Africa Freedom Day.

Ministry of Home Affairs said it is confident that the released inmates have been adequately rehabilitated and would become responsible and reproductive members of the society.

Finsbury Investments Has No Authority to Petition for Winding Up of Zambezi Portland Cement Ltd.

The owners of Zambezi Portland Cement Ltd. (ZPC) wish to denounce in the strongest terms possible the recent attempt to sow confusion by Finsbury Investments, which presented a petition to the Lusaka High Court calling for the winding up the company.

The petition, filed by Finsbury Investments at the request of Mr. Rajan Mahtani, represents a willful abuse of the judicial process as there remains an open case before the courts regarding the disputed shareholding in ZPC. In the shareholding dispute case, Mahtani has thus far failed to produce any evidence that Finsbury Investments legitimately owns its claimed 58% stake in the company, and instead has been proven to have forged share transfer certificates. As such, there can be no claim made by Mahtani towards the operations of ZPC until the resolution of that case, including a petition for winding up of the company.

The management of ZPC indicates that if Mahtani were really a bona fide shareholder in ZPC, he would have no problem providing the original copies of the certificates in original ink, instead of the fabricated copies with cut-and-pasted signatures. However he has been completely unable to do so.

For many years now, the true owners of ZPC have suffered from Mahtani’s dirty tactics of theft, fraud, and corruption to steal away property he does not own, and this latest absurd petition is a sign of desperation.

The management of ZPC, which resumed operational control of the plant on April 8, wishes to remind the public that for the past seven years, no original share transfer documents have been submitted by Finsbury to the Patents and Companies Registration Agency (PACRA), and instead they have relied on filing forged copies.

In the absence of any legal authority and the lack of any proof of ownership, Mahtani has resorted a media campaign to spread lies, false claims, and misinformation aimed at confusing the public and dragging in third parties to serve as accomplices to his attempted fraud. The recent announcement that he is being sought for questioning by the Zambian Police as part of a criminal investigation indicates that his blatantly unlawful conduct may be catching up with him.

Zambezi Portland Cement Ltd. remains confident in the successful resolution of this dispute involving Mahtani’s fraudulent shareholding claims through the proper due process of legal procedure. The management of ZPC is determined to move forward with its plans to deliver the highest quality products at the best prices for its customers, and looks forward to putting this matter into the past.

ISSUED BY MANAGEMENT

ZAMBEZI PORTLAND CEMENT LIMITED

NDOLA

REPUBLIC OF ZAMBIA

UPND Spokesperson Edwin Lifwekelo has disclosed the development to QFM News via telephone that the UPND MPs are fully aware that the country needs a new constitution and not the amendment through parliament.

Mr. Lifwekelo says this is because the PF promised to deliver a new constitution during campaigns and not to amend the current constitution.

He says the PF manifesto is very clear about the adoption of the new constitution through a referendum and not the piecemeal amendment of the Supreme Law of the land.

Mr. Lifwekelo says the UPND President has told the UPND MPs to ensure that they do not support such moves by the PF government to amend the constitution instead of delivering a new one.

He says the PF government ought to know that their decisions on the constitution making process will haunt them in 2016.

Last week, Justice Deputy Minister Keith Mukata disclosed that the 50% plus one vote and the presidential running mate are some of the clauses government will take to parliament for amendment when the house resumes sitting next month.

Mr Mukata added that government will also table the clause on having a fixed general election date among other clauses which do not need to be subjected to a referendum.
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Mr. Mukata told QFM News in an interview that government will be disclosing more clauses which will be taken to parliament for amendment as time goes by.

He advised stakeholders to consult widely on other clauses they want government to take to Parliament for amendment.

Mr. Mukata said that the amendment of the constitution was a continuous process which required the inputs of relevant stakeholders.

He said that his ministry was consulting widely with relevant stakeholders including the opposition political parties, adding that what government is doing is merely to provide leadership.

Mr. Mukata however cautioned that taking the clauses to parliament does not mean they are guaranteed of being enacted, stating that parliament has the powers to reject or approve them.

THE Patriotic Front (PF) has adopted former Petauke Central Member of Parliament (MP) Dora Siliya as its candidate in the June 30 parliamentary by-election.

PF chairperson for elections Emmanuel Mpakata said in an interview yesterday that the central committee settled on Ms Siliya and Patricia Mulasikwanda to contest the Petauke and Mulobezi parliamentary by-elections, respectively.

“We have won these elections. In Malambo, we have adopted Jack Shuma. He is a very popular candidate. We are 100 percent sure that he and others will ‘kolopa’ (mop) all the votes,” Mr Mpakata said.

He said PF has appointed female campaign managers in all the three by-elections.

“Jean Kapata is the campaign manager for Mulobezi, Susan Kawandami for Petauke Central and Dorothy Kazunga for Malambo. Women are in charge and we shall not lose,” Mr Mpakata said.

He thanked President Lungu for his determination and desire to ensure the PF excels in running national affairs.

“We are good to go. And bravo to President Lungu. He is leading the party very well,” he said.