OFFICIAL STATEMENT
9th May 2015

Remarks attributed to newly appointed PF Deputy Secretary General Mumbi Phiri are very unfortunate for a senior person in a ruling party. She was quoted as having urged Zambians not to vote for “ba kachema”. Mumbi Phiri’s apparent derogation was aimed at majority Zambians that earn a living by raring livestock. Our problem is not so much “bakachema” but the inherent discrimination against what the PF consider are low class citizens in this country.

From Mumbi Phiri and her PF’s message, it is wrong for marketeers, toilet cleaners, fishermen, bus conductors, janitor, kaponyas and many other blue-collar jobholders and their children to aspire higher in life.

Apparently, the same remarks were uttered by President Edgar Lungu, during the Chawama bye-election rally which to us in UPND is worse than xenophobia. It is now clear for all to see that even when Lungu and his PF government claim to be fighting discrimination, they are actually openly promoting it making the whole motto of ‘one Zambia one Nation’ meaningless and a sham.

It is surprising that Lungu and his people in PF have so much hatred and low regard for fellow Zambians who earn a living through toiling in the streets, keeping livestock such as cattle, goats, sheep, pigs, etc, when they are leading a country where more than 70 percent have no decent jobs.

We now understand why Lungu and his PF government have failed to create jobs and have so much contempt for farmers in the country. This is why we have rising food costs due to poor agriculture policies which include paying farmers late kabili nibakachema fye.

As UPND, we are not shy to say agriculture, which includes livestock, will be one of the engines of our economic agenda that will reduce hunger and poverty and reduce the cost of living for our people and create decent jobs and wealth through value addition.

At a time major industrial sectors are declining in Zambia, the UPND will prioritise Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) sectors for job and wealth creation which, Lungu and his PF just consider as mere ‘bakachema’.

Economically booming countries even neighbouring Botswana, which is basically a desert, are thriving because they offered economic opportunities to these sectors PF consider as ‘bakachema’ to be the creators of jobs and wealth.

But to Lungu and PF, Zambians doing Small and Medium economic activities are basically sinners who should not be assisted to even aspire higher and be eligible to rule the country.

Zambians should now judge for themselves who are bent on discriminating and dividing the country.

As UPND, our campaigns are always inclusive of all citizens and issue-based hence dubbed ‘Zambia United”.

Charles Kakoma
UPND Chairperson for Information and Publicity

PATRIOTIC Front (PF) Secretary General Davies Chama says it is unfortunate that some people are accusing him that he is the one who had influence the withdraw of Elias Daka and William Banda from seeking adoption on the ruling party ticket in Petauke Central.

Meanwhile Mr Daka says it is his personal decision not to continue seeking for adoption on PF ticket stating that he will remain loyal to the ruling party.

Mr Chama said when he addressed PF officials at Eastern Comfort Lodge in Chipata yesterday that some assertions claiming that he influenced the withdraw of Mr Banda and Mr Daka from the race as false.

“I have never told Mr William Banda and Mr Elias Daka to withdraw from seeking adoption on PF ticket. Actually I also learnt this yesterday when i was going to a meeting when someone called me saying the two have withdrawn from the race,” he said.

He said people should be factual saying the two might have decided to withdraw after weighing the ground.
On Tuesday, two leading aspirants at the PF Petauke Central constituency election Mr Daka and Mr Banda pulled out from the race.

But when contacted for a comment, Mr Daka popularly known as Eriboma said he had decided to withdraw from the race in order to unite the party.

He said no one had influenced him to withdraw saying it was purely his decision that he had taken from his deep down of his heart to do so.

“I have never been influenced by any person to withdraw from the race, the reasons are simple, I want to unite the party and support whoever is going to be adopted on PF ticket. I am actually young and still have a long way to go in politics,”Mr Daka said.

And Mr Chama has said that former Petauke member of Parliament Dora Siliya enjoys support from the grassroots in the constituency.

Mr Chama said that all PF aspirants in the June 30 Petauke Central by-election have pledged to support a popular candidate.

Mr Chama said the people who were demonstrating against Ms Siliya’s intention to contest the election are alien to Petauke Central.

“We had a meeting with all aspiring candidates who have applied to contest the forthcoming by-election in Petauke under the PF and Ms Siliya was also in attendance.

“The aspirants expressed shock at the reports and two of them decided to pull out of the race to support a popular candidate who will be picked by the party,’’ he said.

Mr Chama said party members are united and will deliver the seat to the ruling party.

He said PF membership in Eastern Province is growing and that during his stay in the province, he received many defectors to the party.

The secretary general said PF is the only party with structures on the ground.

Mr Chama said the party will continue with membership mobilisation in readiness for the 2016 general elections.

He said people of Eastern Province are happy with Government’s performance because of the many development projects that are being implemented.

A STRAY dog went on rampage on Thursday, biting 21 people in Chingola’s Kapisha township, district medical officer Charles Sakulanda has said.

The victims have received the first dose of treatment at Kabundi clinic.

Angry residents stoned the dog to death and burnt it using tyres.

Dr Sakulanda said the medicine to treat the victims was sourced from Nchanga South Hospital, which is under Konkola Copper Mines.

He appealed to the veterinary department in Chingola to establish if the dog is rabid so that treatment of the victims can be escalated.

Chingola Municipal Council public relations manager George Sichimba said the council and veterinary department will also examine other dogs.

“The report we have is that the dog bit other dogs as well and we want to examine them for rabies,” he said.

Mr Sichimba called on residents to register and vaccinate their dogs and warned that the council would eliminate all stray dogs.

“Any dog that will be found loitering on the streets will be killed by the council officers,” he said.

He said the council is also conducting dog registration to know the number of the pets in the district.

FOREIGNERS should be viewed as positive contributors to economic development and should not be victimised, Copperbelt Minister Mwenya Musenge has said.

Mr Musenge said victimisation of foreigners in host countries is a social problem that can pose a threat to peace and stability not just in Africa but across the world.

“We have seen thousands of migrants being victimised, discriminated against and brutally attacked because they are in a foreign nation. Foreigners should instead be seen as contributors to the host country’s economy,” he said.

Mr Musenge was speaking during the official opening of a two-day international conference on xenophobia organised by the Dag Hammarskjold Institute for Peace and Conflicts Studies at the Copperbelt University (CBU).

The theme for the conference is: ‘The scourge of hatred and fear of the foreigner: How can Africa heal and build a better life for all?’

He described the recent xenophobic attacks in South Africa as emerging challenges to peace and security in Africa and called for new approaches to find a lasting solution for the problem.

Mr Musenge said xenophobia has displaced many migrants who include asylum-seekers, workers and refugees, hence the need to find an urgent solution.

CBU chancellor Muyunda Mwanalushi said xenophobia is not peculiar to South Africa but is in other African countries as well.

Professor Mwanalushi called on higher learning institutions in Africa to undertake research and recommend the most effective way of fighting xenophobia.

He said school and college syllabuses should include how best conflicts can be managed.

Sweden’s ambassador to Zambia Lena Nordstrom also gave a presentation on ‘Xenophobia: A European perspective.’

Among notables that attended the conference were Senior Chief Mumena of North-Western Province, Copperbelt deputy permanent secretary Elias Kamanga, CBU vice-chancellor Naison Ngoma, Kitwe district commissioner Chanda Kabwe and veteran politician Vernon Mwaanga.

Rotary International President Gary Huang has arrived in Zambia from the United States of America (USA) for a one day working visit.

Speaking to ZANIS when he arrived at the Kenneth Kaunda international airport in Lusaka yesterday morning, Mr. Huang said he was in the country to review the work and future aspects of the Rotary Club in Zambia.

Mr. Huang, who is accompanied by his wife Corrina Huang, called on all Rotarians in the country to remain active in providing their selfless service to the needy people in society.

He has meanwhile commended the Rotarians in Zambia for working hard towards achieving the club’s mandate of reaching out to the vulnerable people in various communities.

While in Zambia, the Rotarians Chief will pay a courtesy call on Vice President Inonge Wina to discuss various developmental programmes.

And Chairman of Rotary Club Reach out to Africa Programme, Patrick Chisanga, reaffirmed the Rotarians’ commitment to working with government in providing various humanitarian services.

Mr. Chisanga said since the formation of the Rotary Club in Zambia in 1962, the Rotarians have been active in providing services in key areas such as health, education and infrastructure development.

Livingstone, May 08, 2015, ZANIS—President Edgar Lungu today held private talks with his Sierra Leone counterpart Ernest Bai Koroma in Livingstone.

President Lungu met Mr Koroma at the David Livingstone Safari Lodge ahead of the African Union Committee of Ten Heads of State summit that opens tomorrow in the tourist capital.

Mr Koroma told President Lungu that he was visiting Zambia for the first time as the two leaders exchanged and pleasantries.

President Lungu was accompanied by Justice Minister Ngosa Simbyakula, Youth and Sports Minister Vincent Mwale, Special Assistant for Press and Public Relations Amos Chanda and other senior government officials.

The Sierra Leone leader is the current chair of the AU committee of ten and President Lungu is expected to assume the role of Chairperson when the heads of state summit opens on May 9th, 2015.

Earlier in the day, a Sierra Leone Envoy lamented that the deadly Ebola disease greatly isolated the country from Africa and the rest of the world during the height of the outbreak.

Ambassador Andrew Bangali said the scourge greatly isolated and stigmatized his country Sierra Leone, including Guinea and Mali during the wave of the worst Ebola outbreak in West Africa.

Ambassador Bangali said three countries suffered immensely from the travel restrictions that were imposed on them in order to halt the spread of the deadly disease on the African continent and the world at large.

The Envoy declared that the deadly disease has since been contained in his country while other countries in West Africa are striving to ensure that zero infections are achieved as well.

Ambassador Bangali said this during the opening preparatory meeting of Foreign Affairs Ministers of the African Union Committee of Ten Heads of Ten Summit in Livingstone.

The Ebola outbreak killed over 15 thousand people across West Africa before an international effort rallied behind to contain the scourge.

Foreign Affairs Minister Harry Kalaba says the time is now ripe for Africa to have a permanent seat on the United Nations (UN ) Security Council.

And Sierra Leon which is co-chairing the meeting with Zambia has implored African governments to vigorously push Africa’s case for a geographical representation on the UN Security Council.

Mr Kalaba said the continued non-representation of Africa on the UN Security Council cannot be justified any longer as the world has changed in the last fifty years of the UN’s existence.

He said the UN needs to reform in order for it to be more effective in propelling the development agenda of Africa and the world at large.

The Minister further said Africa deserves a geographical representation on the elite UN Security Council to be able to adequately address issues affecting the continent.

ZANIS reports that Mr Kalaba pointed out that Africa is the most talked about continent in Africa hence the need for the continent to have permanent representation on the Security Council in order to play a greater role in influencing matters relating to and affecting Africa.

Mr Kalaba was speaking when he opened the council of ministers meeting ahead of the summit of heads of state of the African Union committee of ten in Livingstone.

He implored Foreign Affairs Ministers from the committee of Ten to ensure that progressive proposals, strategies and recommendations are mooted that will help accelerate the realization of Africa’s goal of equitable representation in the UN Security Council.

The minister said the idea of some nations being more equal than others should be relegated to history books and that the global village should now embrace a global governance structure that looks at the interests of the global community.

The UN Security Council is made up of Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States of America.

Mr Kalaba disclosed that the committee of ten has already made representations to Britain, China and France and is yet to meet representatives from Russia and the USA.

The Minister has since called on African countries to be resolute in lobbying for Africa’s case for a seat on the UN Security Council in order to play a greater role in world affairs.

And Sierra Leon which is co-chairing the meeting with Zambia has implored African governments to vigorously push Africa’s case for a geographical representation on the UN Security Council.

Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Samura Kamara said Africa faces a lot of multifaceted challenges that require her presence on the UN security Council for equitable redress.

Dr Kamara, said the continent must strive to demand for reforms in the United Nations Security Council systems to ensure that the continent has an equitable geographical presentation.

Sierra Leon Ambassador Andrew Bangali, speaking on behalf of Dr Kamara, told the meeting that the present composition of the UN Security Council does not uphold the core principle and values upon which the United Nations is founded.

He expressed optimism that the African continent will cohesively and coherently stand united in promoting, canvassing and advancing the common African position of a UN Security Council seat.

The African Union Committee of ten Summit is being held in Livingstone to push Africa’s agenda of reforms on the United Nations and subsequent permanent representation in the Security Council.

Countries attending the summit include Algeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Kenya, Libya, Namibia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Uganda and Zambia as host.

The Livingstone Summit is being hosted by Zambia under the theme: ‘The Livingstone Strategy for Accelerating the UN Reforms’.

A committee of 10 countries was constituted at the Ezwilini Summit in Swaziland, comprising two countries from each region, whose task was to lobby the permanent members of the UN Security Council to support Africa’s position.

Zambia and Namibia are the founding members of the C10 representing the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region.