UNIONISED judiciary workers countrywide are on a go-slow in protest of a proposed salary increment of K100 by management following negotiations.
The workers were demanding a K3,000 increment across the board.

Judiciary and Allied Workers Union of Zambia (JAWUZ) president Peter Mwale said the workers had resolved to be on a go-slow because what management is offering them is “a mockery”.

“Actually it’s a go-slow and not a strike. Almost all the provinces are on go-slow and this was arrived at after we reached a deadlock with management and declared a dispute,” he said.

Mr Mwale said in an interview the union and management had failed to agree on the increment, which he said had negatively affected the delivery of services in the judiciary.

He said the negotiations with Government focused on a salary increment, transport, housing and medical allowances.

Mr Mwale said the workers were demanding 50 percent of one’s basic salary as housing allowance and K500 per month as medical allowance, but that management had refused to meet the demand.

“What management is offering is a mockery to the workers because it is too low. Ten per cent and 30 percent translates to K100 or K300 in monetary terms,” he said.

In Kitwe judiciary workers yesterday joined the protest and refused to work after reporting for duty.

JAWUZ provincial secretary Clement Kanchele said in an interview in Kitwe yesterday the workers are not happy with Government’s offer.
He said the workers were expecting a K3,000 salary increment across the board.

“As workers, we feel the offer given by Government is not matching with today’s cost of living, and as a result, we feel like we are not considered and appreciated for what we do,” Mr Kanchele said.

A check by Daily Mail at the Kitwe magistrates’ courts found courtrooms locked because all the workers had gathered at the Kitwe High Court.

And courts in Southern Province have joined the rest of the country by going on a go-slow, CHALI MULENGA reports from Livingstone.

A check at the Livingstone High Court and the magistrates’ courts found people idling as they did not know what next to do because they did not know when their cases would come up for hearing.

JAWUZ Southern Province vice chairman Geoffrey Mukuwa said in an interview his members are on a go-slow in the province.
There was no immediate response from the judiciary.

The UPND has condemned police in Mongu for indiscriminately using brutality in their quest to investigate the persons behind the fracas that occurred at Vice President, Inonge Wina’s residence in Nalolo district last week.

This follows the beating up of UPND Western Province Provincial vice Youth Chairperson, Mbangu Mbangu’s family, by armed police officers in Mongu in the early hours of Monday.

Police went to Mbangu’s house to seek him but did not find him.

UPND Kaoma District Coordinator, Kenny Ndumba, said the police officers, who executed the beatings, were being overzealous and their action was what President Edgar Lungu alluded to in his last press conference.

President Lungu, in answering to a query on political violence, said his government does not want to engage the police in resolving political violence as some officers can be excited when executing their duty.

Mr Ndumba said the police in Mongu exercised the very excitement that President Lungu talked about when they beat up innocent people who might not have even travelled to Nalolo district for them to be subjected to brutality.

He said Zambia is a Christian nation where dialogue should be used as opposed to violence just as the Head of State advised during the last press conference.

Mr Ndumba said even when there has been a change of government in Zambia all past presidents have handed over the mantle of power peacefully and this trend should continue.

He said that the use of police brutality to solve political violence will only breed more violence and eventually result in anarchy.

Efforts to get a comment from Western Province Police Commissioner, Standwell Lungu, failed as his mobile phone went unanswered.

First-Lady, Esther Lungu, has arrived in Livingstone to officiate at the commemoration of the national World Aids Day that falls tomorrow.

Mrs Lungu arrived aboard a Zambia Air Force plane and was accompanied by Livingstone Central Member of Parliament, Lawrence Evans and other senior government officials.

Speaking when he briefed her on the Aids situation in the city, Livingstone District Medical Officer, Cliff Hara, said the tourist capital had 41,532 people living with HIV/AIDS out of a population of 164,157.

Dr Hara said of the total number of people living with HIV/AIDS, 16,121 were on Anti-Retro Viral Therapy (ART).

He said the district had a total number of 273 women who were accessing Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMCT) of HIV/AIDS.

Dr Hara disclosed that the district further had a total number of 637 exposed babies.

He also disclosed that Mahatma Ghandi Clinic had a bed capacity of three beds which were mostly for observations while Linda Clinic had a bed capacity of 16.

He, however, noted that his office faced a challenge as most clinics had run out of space, adding that all the services were done in cramped up spaces more especially maternity services.

”We have an incomplete maternity wing at Mahatma Ghandi which if completed will free up space for other services and give a conducive environment for our mothers,” he said.

Dr Hara noted that with partners like ZAMBART, Intra Health and Corridors of Hope, many people living with the disease have been reached and referred to the facility for treatment.

And the First Lady said she was confident that stakeholders were on course with the support received from other partners.

Mrs Lungu also noted that people living with HIV/AIDS were not supposed to be victimised because of their status.

And during her tour of Mahatma Ghandi Clinic, Mrs Lungu said she will personally inform the President of the situation at the health institution as the people deserved the right to good infrastructure.

And Livingstone Member of Parliament, Lawrence Evans, who is also Livestock and Fisheries Deputy Minister, said he would lobby for money so that structures at Mahatma Ghandi Clinic could be completed.

”The clinic look dilapidated and would need to be worked on,” he said.

And during her visit to Linda Clinic where the First Lady braved the heavy downpour to give her speech, Mrs Lungu commended the medical personnel at the institution and the youth who had volunteered to raise awareness to the community on health issues.

Earlier, the First Lady paid a courtesy at Chief Mukuni’s palace.

She is tomorrow expected to officiate at the National World Aids Day event at Villa Grounds.

President Edgar Lungu has said that he will prioritize development of rural areas that are lagging behind in terms of development. Mr. Lungu said that this will be done through allocation of funding to facilitate development in the areas.

Speaking shortly before departure for Central Province, President Lungu said that Central province is one province which has lagged behind in term of development, hence the need to inspect progress on some developmental projects that government has embarked in the province.

President Lungu is in the province to inspect various developmental projects and also meet stakeholders. The President is accompanied by various ministers, Some Members of the PF Central Committee and State House officials. President Lungu who arrived in Luano District at 16:30 Hours was received by Provincial Minister, David Chisupa and senior government officials.

And President Lungu met with five Traditional Leaders in Luano District namely Senior Chief Mboloma, Chief Chembe, Chief Kanyensha, Chief Chikupili and Chief Mulungwe. The President assured the traditional leadership of his government’s resolve to deliver development in the district.

President Lungu said he is in Central Province for a fact finding mission on various developmental projects to effectively deliver. The President told the chiefs that his government wants to deliver development to areas according to the people’s needs. President Lungu also called for close collaboration between Government and Chiefs because the traditional leadership is the first point of call.

And Senior Chief Mboloma urged President Lungu to ignore his critics and concentrate on developing the country. The Traditional leader said the five Chiefdoms have witnessed remarkable development under the Patriotic Front -PF- government.

Senior Chief Mboloma who also praised late President Michael Sata for his visionary leadership implored President Lungu to continue with various projects such as roads, telecommunication infrastructure.

Vice President Inonge Wina is tomorrow expected in Harare, Zimbabwe to attend the 18th international conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa (ICASA).

Zambia’s deputy ambassador to Zimbabwe Humphrey Mushili said the Vice President is expected to give a key note speech at the special session of the African Parliamentary and Leadership Colloquium under the theme “African Union sustaining visionary leadership towards ending AIDS in Africa by 2030.

ICASA will provide an opportunity to renew the global commitment by drawing the world’s attention to the fact that the legacy is now under threat as a result of the global economic downturn.

This year’s ICASA offers a chance for the international community, and all Africans, to join efforts in committing to achieving an AIDS-free Africa.

The conference was officially opened yesterday by Zimbabwe’s Vice President Emmerson Mnangagagwa with a call to collective efforts towards the fight against HIV/AIDS if Africa is to win the fight against the pandemic.

The objectives of ICASA 2015 include in increasing African leadership and ownership, as well as investment in financing support to the continental health response and strengthened interactions between the public health, science and human right approaches in the control and elimination of the HIV/AIDS and associate diseases.

The conference also aims at Improving awareness and learning on knowledge, skills, best practices from the response to AIDS and other emergent epidemics such as (ebola, hepatitis, sras and ncd’s) and to promote the development and scaling up of evidence-based interventions for HIV/AIDS and associate diseases in the post 2015 era.

The Grand Coalition on the campaign for a people driven constitution says Members of Parliament betrayed the Zambian people by passing the Constitution Amendment Bill.

Grand Coalition Chairperson Fr. Leonard Chiti has told QFM News that Members of Parliament have denied the Zambian people an opportunity to have a new constitution adopted through a referendum.

He says it is disappointing that some MPs who claim to represent the people went ahead to support a route the Zambian people rejected.

Fr. Chiti says Zambians have been very clear that they want the new constitution to be adopted through a referendum.

He states that the passage of the constitution amendment bill has given the ruling PF the leeway to amend any of the 366 clauses in the final draft constitution when the bill comes up for consideration this Thursday.

Meanwhile, the people rejecting the adoption of the Constitutional Bills in Parliament are not sincere because they are the same people who are only good at criticizing and not providing solutions, says Gallant Youth in Zambia executive director Henry Mulenga.

He said the same group advocating the constitution-making process had several times failed to commit themselves to the process.

Mr Mulenga said it was important to give support to the Government because they deserved to be heard as well.

He said going for a Constitution referendum was costly because of the global crisis which had not spared Zambia.

“It is awkward for some opposition and NGOs to continue agitating for Government to spend colossal amount of money amidst current economic situation when the national coffers are bleeding.

‘‘If at all our colleagues still feel the referendum is the only way we can have the Constitution adopted, then let them canvas for resources to fund this exercise,” he said.

Mr Mulenga said Parliament had women and men of integrity who had what it takes to formulate laws that would stand a test of time. He said the country was going through difficult times, adding that those were issues the people of Zambia should consider before pushing for any agenda.

The passing of the two Constitutional Bills in Parliament last week saw some civil society organizations and the opposition members of Parliament opposing the action, saying it was against the wish of the Zambian people. He said it was wrong to politicize everything especially issues which were in the best interest of the country.