Opposition Christian Democratic Party leader, Danny Pule has urged government to urgently address the high cost of living in the country.

Dr Pule has noted that the cost of living has reached extreme levels making it hard for ordinary Zambians to survive.

Speaking at a press briefing in Kitwe today, Dr. Pule alleged that poverty levels have reached alarming levels and called for the need to urgently put in place measures to remedy the situation.

And Dr. Pule has advised government to strengthen the application of the law against homosexuality.

He noted that the continued re-occurrence of pro homosexuality campaigns in the country is a result of the weakness in the application of the law against the vice which he describes as being against the Christian values.

The opposition leader also announced that his party has started mobilizing members countrywide in preparation for the 2026 general elections.

He said he was on the Copperbelt to organize the party structures in the province before going to Luapula and Northern province.

“As a party we aim to fight the vices of economic injustice, poverty, unemployment, nepotism and tribalism, our party truly aims at being guided by equitable public access to basic needs and essential goods,” he said.

Dr Pule further called on all Zambians to join the Christian Democratic Party to prepare for the formation of a government that will reverse the depravity of the country’s Christian and cultural values.

Former Zambian Ambassador to Ethiopia, Emmanuel Mwamba, has spoken out about the ill-treatment of diplomats by officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Relations in Zambia. In particular, he highlighted the case of Prince Imasiku Mutangelwa, who served as Zambia’s Deputy Ambassador to Russia. Imasiku was left stranded in Russia after his legitimate request for a short extension to attend to a medical crisis was unfairly rejected without good reason. In a bid to force him to return home immediately, his foreign service allowances, including those for accommodation and medicals, were immediately withdrawn. Mwamba has argued that the case of Imasiku is not unique, and that many other diplomats have faced similar treatment.

Imasiku was first appointed as Zambia’s Ambassador and Plenipotentiary to Angola in 2011, but he was unable to take up his post, and his case remained unresolved until 2015. In 2015, President Edgar Lungu appointed him as Deputy Ambassador to Zambia’s Embassy in Moscow, where he served until 2020 when he was suddenly recalled from Foreign Service. There was speculation that this was due to his fiery and political views on national matters he frequently expressed on WhatsApp Groups back home. A letter of recall was written, and he returned home in 2021. However, when the new Government of President Hakainde Hichilema assumed office, Imasiku was one of those deemed to have been unfairly treated by the previous government and was reinstated. He reported back to his station in Moscow in December 2021.

The recent recall letter of 2020 was strangely actioned upon, and repatriation funds were sent for his immediate return home. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs authorities claim that the letter of recall from 2020 has never been rescinded. Imasiku’s repeated request that a fresh letter of recall be written to him was declined. Furthermore, his request for a short extension was declined, and his foreign service allowances were withdrawn, despite his medical condition and the fact that he had already undergone eye surgeries.

Mwamba argues that the case of Imasiku is similar to the circumstances faced by most diplomats recalled recently. Diplomats were refused and denied a chance to wind up their affairs as provided for by law and return home in a decent and civil manner. For Ambassadors, it was even worse, as most of them failed to bid farewell to the host Heads of States, as is required by diplomatic etiquette and practice. Others were placed in financial ruin as salary advances were recovered at once, despite the provisions that this can be recovered back home. Some lost property or cars in a bid to settle the commitments before their departure due to the sudden recalls and the unrealistic demands made by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for them to return home immediately.

Mwamba is aware of many Ambassadors and diplomats that wrote request letters to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for a short extension or demanded that they stay the three months to wind up affairs as provided for in foreign service regulations, but were treated like criminals and ordered to return home immediately, as the letters of recall “was with immediate effect”! Furthermore, when diplomats arrived in Zambia, most were civil servants who were employed on permanent and pensionable terms but were removed from the payroll. For both civil servants and those on fixed-term contracts, they were expected to remain on the payroll until their full benefits were paid as provided for under Article 187 & 189 (2) of the Republican Constitution. Article 189(2) reads: “Where a pension benefit is not paid on a person’s last working day, that person shall stop work, but the person’s name shall be retained on the payroll until payment of the pension benefit based on the last salary received

Vice President Mutale Nalumango says government recognizes the importance of human capital in the growth and development of the country.

Mrs. Nalumango said the government can only achieve its development aspirations, like the 8th National Development Plan through an active and effective human capital base

She has since tasked the Zambia Institute of Human Resource Management to look into issues affecting productivity in the country and seek ways of addressing them to improve productivity, especially among women

The Vice President was speaking in a speech read on her behalf by Permanent Secretary for Special Duties, Wisdom Bwalya at the official opening of the Zambia Institute of Human Resource Management Women’s conference in Lusaka today.

She added that women’s empowerment enables them to have access to information for decision-making in various aspects of their lives and improve their livelihoods as well as for the communities they live in.

And speaking at the same event, Zambia Institute of Human Resource Management President Moffat Nyirenda said women continue to face challenges in accessing critical services needed, including digital innovations and services and effects of world crises as a result of gender inequality.

Mr. Nyirenda added that the Institute through the women’s conference wishes to tackle issues of gender equality in accessing the digital space and other issues pertaining to women’s involvement.

The conference is the second to be held and has been tagged as an annual event for the institute.

The government has challenged civic leaders to identify vulnerable groups in society especially women and girls, and link them to the various empowerment initiatives under the Constituency Development Fund (CDF).

Northern Province Permanent Secretary, Bernard Mpundu says councillors should also use their influence to advocate for the inclusion of Gender Based Violence (GBV) survivors in the social cash transfer programme.

He said civic leaders have a great influence in society and should therefore use it correctly to help the marginalized.

“You can start advocating for that. The government of today has a policy of first listening to the grassroots going up. What other people might call bottom up,” he said.

The Permanent Secretary said this in Luwingu District when he officially opened an orientation workshop for councillors drawn from six districts in the province.

The workshop which was organized by the Natwampane Project was aimed at equipping civic leaders with information to help fight Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) in communities.

Mr Mpundu called on civic leaders to use their influence and decision making position to advocate for the prevention of gender based violence in communities.

He further challenged them to help address the needs of the community especially the women and the girls, and the underprivileged.

Meanwhile, Natwampane Prevent SGBV Team Leader for Northern Province, Annie Sampa noted with sadness that a woman of Luwingu was last week allegedly killed by her husband in a suspected case of GBV.

She noted that the women would not have died if the community, including councilors, had paid attention to such issues.

“Most of the times when we have challenges at community level, we have this understanding that it is not our business to intervene. When we lose a life that is when we start lamenting that we could have done something about it,” she said.

Ms Sampa has since challenged civic leaders to take a leading role in fighting GBV cases in communities.

She said government secured 40 million euros from the European Union to help fight the scourge in communities.

And Chilubi Town Chairperson Rosemary Chimbini who spoke on behalf of other participants pledged the civic leader’s commitment to helping their communities to fight GBV.