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The International Institute of Democracy and Conflict Resolutions (IIDCR) has recommended that President Michael Sata drops all charges levelled against former President Rupiah Banda as part of the jubilee celebrations.
Organisation president Tresford Chomba told ZANIS in a statement that this will set a precedence saying the country cannot afford to continue humiliating leaders who have served the nation by parading them before the courts of law.
Mr. Chomba also recommended that the late former President Frederick Chiluba should be honoured posthumously.
He proposed that a university that is being constructed in Luapula Province be named after him.
He said Dr. Chiluba might have made mistakes but he was still a hero who fought for multipartism noting that the legacy follows him.
Mr. Chomba further recommends that the draft constitution be released to the general public as part of the jubilee gift to the Zambians.
He said there was need for the country to dialogue over those articles with intricacies by removing them and forge ahead with national development.
Mr. Chomba added that the President should also pardon former Defence Minister George Mpombo and all prisoners regardless of the offences they committed.
He said as a party in power, the Patriotic Front should maintain discipline and coordination at all levels so that there are no divisions and confusions.
Mr. Chomba noted that since ascending to power, President Sata has exhibited the most enviable level of leadership characterised with pardoning many prisoners.
Members of Parliament today took to task the Minister of Mines, Energy and Water Development Wilbur Simuusa for telling parliament that ZESCO stopped load shedding power in November 2013.
Parliamentarians rose in numbers to state that their respective constituencies are still experiencing power interruptions even during critical times such as when the Zambia Football Team plays Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers matches.
Liuwa Member of Parliament Situmbeko Musokotwane told parliament that his area is among the most affected while Rufunsa MP Kenneth Chipungu said Kaunda Square and Chamber Valley in Lusaka experiences power cuts several times in a day.
Mr Chipungu then asked Mr Simuusa to tell the house if ZESCO was in a crisis.
Contributing to the debate Kabwata MP Given Lubinda also stated that almost all townships in Kabwata constituency faced power cuts despite the assurance that the commissioning of the Kariba North Bank would reduce load shedding.
The Energy Minister however maintained that ZESCO was not in any crisis and that the commissioning of the Kariba North Bank in 2013 had reduced load shedding in all townships.
He explained that power interruption in some townships is not as a result of load shedding but was due to the on-going maintenance works by ZESCO.
The debate arose when Bwacha MP Sydney Mushanga asked the Minister of Mines, the measures being taken to reduce incidences of load-shedding by ZESCO in the residential areas of Kabwe such as Ngungu, Chimanimani and Bwacha.
Meanwhile, government has said it is carrying out assessments in all districts on the possibilities of construction of a filling station in areas that have none.
Energy Minister Wlbur Simuusa told Parliament that government will announce which areas need filling stations after the completion of the assessments.
Mr Simuusa said government is aware that Mwinilunga and other areas in North Western province have no filling station and will consider constructing one depending on the outcome of the assessment.
Contributing to the debate Mwinilung’a West MP Elijah Muchima noted that his area had four filling stations which were now defunct and asked the Minister to find out if government had plans of setting up one.
Pick n Pay Zambia General Manager Andy Roberts has challenged local manufacturers to increase the variety of locally produced goods so as to maximize their supply to chain stores operating in the country.
Speaking during the open day of soob to be opened outlet at the East Park Mall located at the University of Zambia Mr. Roberts explained that his chain store has been engaging local suppliers but that the variety of goods and products produced by local manufacturers needs to increase so as to compete favorably with international products.
He explained that Pick n Pay will continue to engage local manufacturers so as to ensure that locals benefits from its presence in the country.
He noted from all the stocks in its outlets only about 20percent of the goods and products are produced or manufactured within Zambia adding that this so because the variety of goods produced locally is not wide.
Meanwhile,Mr. Roberts says his chain store will US$50million of investment and will have employed more than 2000 people in the country by 2015.
He explained that the chain store hopes to increase the number of outlets to 15 adding 7 more to the 8 already in existence in the two provinces of Lusaka and Copperbelt.
And speaking at the same event Pick n Pay Human resource Manager Elizabeth Moyo said the East Park outlet will give opportunities to UNZA students to work in the store on a part time basis.
She said the store which will employ more than 200 workers has already identified 20 UNZA graduates to be trained for managerial positions something she explained was a first of its kind as the store always gets workers from within the establishment for training to occupy managerial positions when ever its opening a new outlet
Sports Minister Chishimba Kambwili says Chipolopolo’s 3-0 win over Niger on Wednesday night was a great Golden Jubilee present to the Zambian people.
This was Zambia’s first win in the 2015 Africa Cup qualifiers and it pushed Honour Janza’s team into second position on the Group F table led by Cape Verde.
In his post-match adress to the players, Kambwili said he never lost confidence in the team after a spate of poor results.
“What you have done today is the greatest gift you have given the people of Zambia – a week before Golden Jubilee,” he said.
“Yesterday (Tuesday) when I came, I told you (players) that you can do it. This is the Zambia we know not the Zambia of the previous three games,” Kambwili said.
The Roan Member of Parliament said he expects Zambia to perform well in the final two Group F matches.
“In Lamba they say “elo yatatika” , so this is just the beginning and I want you to go with this morale all the way to Mozambique and when we come to play Cape Verde.”
Gender and Child Development Minister Inonge Wina (right) talks to Bank of Zambia Deputy Governor (Administration) Dr Tukiya Kankasa-Mabula
The Bank of Zambia has suggested that the proposed setting up of a sovereign wealth fund should be housed at the central bank.
Finance Minister Alexander Chikwanda announced during the budget presentation that K100 million was allocated for the establishment of a sovereign wealth fund and suggested that the fund will be housed under the Industrial Development Corporation.
But Bank of Zambia Deputy Governor for Administration Dr Mabula Kankasa said it would be prudent if the fund was managed by the central bank.
She was speaking on Wednesday when she led a team from the Bank of Zambia in making a presentation to the Expanded Estimates Committee on the 2015 national budget at Parliament buildings.
Dr Kankasa said the Bank of Zambia has studied a number of sovereign wealth funds around the world adding that the most successful fund in Norway managed by the Central Bank of Norway.
“It is important first of all to establish the source of funding for this fund because its sustainability is also key. Secondly, as the central bank we have learned some best practices around the world in managing sovereign funds and he would like to submit that housing it under the central bank would be prudent,” Dr Kankasa said.
She added,” at this stage, we know that there could be several other proposals on managing the fund and we will wait to see how Government hopes to run the fund but as the central bank, we are in support of this great initiative as announced by the Finance Minister.”
The Council of Churches in Zambia (CCZ) has cautiously welcomed government’s expressed desire to limit the overall fiscal deficit to 4.6 percent of the countrys GDP in the 2015 national budget.
However the CCZ has appealed to government to seriously consider lifting the wage freeze imposed on the public service.
Speaking in Lusaka this morning during a media briefing, CCZ President Alfred Kalembo says the church mother body is of the view that government should continuously decrease domestic borrowing to avoid crowding out private sector borrowing from commercial banks which will consequently limit employment creation.
Reverend Bishop Dr. Kalembo said that while CCZ appreciates government’s intention to achieve a real GDP growth of above 7 percent in 2015, such increase in GDP indicator has not facilitated the transformation of the economy and the lives of the poor people especially those in the rural areas.
He said in view of the many challenges the country is currently facing such as high poverty levels, lack of access to health services and lack of access to income, the CCZ hopes that government will design subsidiary policies and programmes that will ensure that the proposed GDP works for the poor.
Reverend Kalembo said CCZ also advises government to ensure that inflation is maintained at the lowest levels and reflected in low commercial interest rates to encourage increased investment and employment creation.
The CCZ president added that his organization has taken note with keen interest the redesigned tax regime for mining operations in which will see mineral royalty based on either underground or open cast mining operations.
He said the church mother body commits to interrogating the redesigned tax regime, and that its initial reflections are that this measure takes into consideration the various costs associated with a type of mining operation.
On Agriculture, Reverend Kalembo said the CCZ is concerned that in the last decade Zambia’s budgetary allocation to the sector has been below the 10% of total budget target as outlined in the Maputo Declaration on Agriculture and Rural Development.
And Reverend Kalembo has observed that Zambia’s poverty levels dictate that in order to uphold dignity for all, more people need to qualify for various social protection interventions, but that this is however not possible from the paltry K1.3 billion allocated in 2015 national budget to social protection programmes.
He pointed out that an allocation of only K180.6 million towards social cash transfer and another K50 million for the food security pack is also unimpressive as far as enabling more people qualify for various social protection interventions.
People living with HIV threaten to protest after Kaingu described 2015 budget as a beautiful young woman living with HIV and AIDS
The Treatment Advocacy and Literacy Campaign has warned that it will protest if MMD Mwandi MP Michael Kaingu does not apologise for describing the 2015 national budget as a young beautiful lady living with HIV and AIDS.
Contributing to debate on the national budget, Dr Kaingu said the budget appears good from the outside like a young beautiful lady living with HIV and AIDS.
TALC Country Director Felix Mwanza said it is disappointing that Dr Kaingu could use the floor of Parliament to perpetuate stigma against people living with HIV and AIDS.
Mr Mwanza said Dr Kaingu should apologise to people living with HIV and AIDS failure to which they will demonstrate to show their displeasure.
“It is worrying that an MP can harbor such stigma, what about the rest of the general public?” Mr Mwanza questioned.
He also warned that MPs that stigmatise people living with HIV should forget about receiving votes from people living with HIV and AIDS.
Mr Mwanza said Zambia has made a lot of progress in the fight against HIV and AIDS adding that it is regrettable that some MPs have failed to move with the rest of society.
He said Dr Kaingu should be educated that living with HIV is not a death sentence neither is it a curse from God.
A 20- year- old man of Kalemba village in chief Nabwalya’s area has been crushed to death by an elephant.
Muchinga provincial education officer Jobbicks Kalumba confirmed the incident today.Mr Kalumba said the incident happened in the early hours of yesterday near Nabwalya primary school.
Mr. Kalumbamba who is on a 14-day mobile teaching service in the area named the deceased as Mulenga Kalemba who died shortly after he was taken to Nabwalya rural health center.He added that Kalemba’s fate was witnessed by children who where going to school in the morning when they shouted for help upon seeing the elephant stepping on him leaving all his intestines out while his head was smashed beyond recognition.
Mr. Kalumba explained that the deceased was mentally disturbed and due to his violent behavior,his parents resorted to be tying him to a tree during day time.
However, on Tuesday afternoon the deceased managed to cut the rope and went loitering in the village until he met his fate.
Mr Kalumba added that the incident has affected a lot of children in the area who are refusing to go to school for fear of being attacked by wild beasts hence affecting the lessons.
He further appealed to the Zambia Wild Life Authority(ZAWA) to keep vigil on the wild animals from going into villages.
In a related development, people of Mutekwe are also living in fear as elephants from North Luangwa have gone on rampage destroying houses and eating their harvest.
Councilor for Mutekwe ward Ernest Kaluba told ZANIS that the situation has brought fear in the area as pupils and teachers were failing to go to school.
Efforts to get a comment from ZAWA Senior Warden for Muchinga and Northern provinces Patrick Nyirenda failed by press time.
Bayport Financial Services has awarded full scholarships to 10 University of Zambia (UNZA) first year students for this academic year to cover tuition, accommodation and monthly allowances.
The scholarships amount to K504, 755.08.
Bayport Financial Services Executive Director Martha Akapelwa said her company also awarded partial scholarships to 40 students who have been granted government bursaries but have not been able to meet other outstanding fee payments.
Mrs. Akapelwa said 60 percent of the scholarships have been awarded to female students.
She said Bayport believes in empowering the girl child because educated women pass the benefits thereof to the whole community.
She said the institution made the gesture in appreciation of the free education that was accorded to the people of Zambia during the leadership of Kenneth Kaunda.
And Minister of Education, Science, Vocational Training and Early Education John Phiri said the initiative by Bayport could create a sustainable platform and mechanism for development if it is emulated by many players in the private sector.
Dr. Phiri said this strong and active private sector participation was only possible if UNZA provides a predictable and conducive learning environment.
He said government acknowledges that the support from Bayport was an opportunity to reflect upon the current system of supporting students at higher education institutions.
Dr. Phiri said it was clear that the old systems were no longer able to deal with the changed social and economic features of the country.
He said it is important to reflection and recognize the important role that the parastatal companies and government play in human resources development.
The National Food and Nutrition Commission (NFNC) in Zambia has called on relevant authorities to adopt orange maize as a diet aimed at improving vitamin-A in children.
This follows a study which has established that “orange” vitamin-A maize increases vitamin A storage in the body and has higher levels of beta-carotene, a natural plant pigment that the body converts into Vitamin-A.
The study, which has been done in collaboration with Harvest Plus and published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, is part of commemorations of World Food Day which falls today the 16th October, 2014.
In a statement to ZANIS in Lusaka today, lead scientist Sherry Tanumihardjo said there was a significant increase in vitamin A in children after eating orange maize adding that this would be effective in reducing vitamin-A deficiency in the population
Ms. Tanumihardjo added that the conversion of beta-carotene into Vitamin-A was not harmful to health as the body regulates during the process.
And National Food and Nutrition Commission Acting Executive Director, Musonda Mofu, said food-based approaches such as orange maize can provide people, particularly women and children, with a good portion of vitamin-A which is crucial for their health.
Mr. Mofu said this would be through intake of nshima or other traditional foods made from maize that Zambians eat every day.She affirmed that vitamin-A deficiency remains a challenge in several parts of the country.
“There are still many pockets where vitamin-A deficiency remains a problem in Zambia. For us, this is cost-effective and a safe approach to improving nutrition,” he said.
Meanwhile, Harvest Plus Country Manager Eliab Simpungwe said his organization targets to provide orange maize varieties to at least 100, 000 farmers by 2015.
Mr. Simpungwe said orange maize has been bred specifically for human consumption and is not the same as yellow maize which was popular as feed for animals.
“When consumers have had a chance to taste orange nshima, they prefer it to white nshima. And when they also understand the benefits of vitamin-A in the diets, they are all the more enthusiastic about orange maize,” he said.
The Zambian government was the first to release orange maize varieties in Africa and has supported Harvest Plus in its efforts to provide orange maize to more than 10,000 farming households.
The Orange maize study has been published under the title “Bio-fortified orange maize is as efficacious as a vitamin-A supplement in Zambian children even in the presence of high liver reserves of vitamin-A: a community-based, randomized placebo-controlled trial”.
Human rights activist Brebner Changala delivering his message
Civil rights activist Brebner Changala has observed that Zambia is drifting into a dangerous direction owing to the culture of hatred being spread by the media.
Mr. Changala said the Zambian society is being saturated with hatred mainly peddled by some media houses who seem to have differences with particular individuals in the Patriotic Front (PF) government.
He told Qfm News by telephone that he does not think it does anyone any good for the country’s economic issue to deteriorate into an exchange of bitter words between two opposing sides.
Mr. Changala said that much as he does not think Finance Minister Alexander Chikwanda is a good Minister, the high level of hate messages targeted at him through some sections of the media is very dangerous to the country’s peace.
He said as Finance Minister, Mr. Chikwanda performs his duties on behalf of the Cabinet and the Republican President who is also the custodian of the Zambian people’s interests.
Mr. Changala stated that to isolate Mr. Chikwanda and go after him over any policy pronouncements of the government is a totally unacceptable and inhumane a practice that must be stopped.
He says this is particularly that such kind of hatred being directed at Mr. Chikwanda has been witnessed before when former late Republican President Frederick Chiluba and the immediate past republican President Rupiah Banda were targeted.
Mr. Changala says it is for this reason that he calls upon the church in the country to speak against such hatred that is creeping in the country.
Coach Honour Janza says Chipolopolo will remain focused after reviving their chances of qualifying for the Morocco 2015 Africa Cup of Nations with a 3-0 victory over Niger on Wednesday evening in Ndola.
Zambia moved into second place on the Group F table after thumping visiting Niger at Levy Mwanawasa to increase their tally to five points from four matches.
Goals from Rainford Kalaba, Emmanuel Mayuka and Kennedy Mweene propelled Zambia to their first victory in the 2015 Africa Cup qualifiers which was also Janza’s first competitive win in-charge of Chipolopolo.
In a post match media conference, Janza said the win against Niger would motivate Zambia ahead of the final two qualifiers against Mozambique in Maputo and Cape Verde in Ndola.
“As we say all the time, the first game was important as the last game so we will stay focused and fight. We are still in the competition,” he told journalists.
Janza paid tribute to soccer fans for rallying behind his team.
“Thank you so much for the support the Zambian people have given us and the patience to wait for us in the competition to win a match,” he added.
Cape Verde top Group F with 9 points, Zambia and Mozambique sits on five points but Chipolopolo have a superior goal difference while bottom placed Niger have two points.
This is the second part of the answers by Dr Nevers Mumba to the questions raised by the public on the MMD Facebook page. Part One dealt with Church matters. This part deals with MMD issues and Policy Matters.
MMD Issues
Why is MMD losing most by-elections?
It is a normal occurrence when a party loses power. It takes at least two years to stabilize, before regaining the confidence of the electorate. All the three major parties (MMD, PF and UPND) have won and lost by-elections the past two years. The infighting which characterized MMD in the first two years also contributed to a perception that the problems would persist and make it difficult for the party to regain confidence. Other reasons vary from regionalism, quality of candidate, rigging and amount of money spent on a particular election. Against this background, it is commendable to see that MMD is still winning some by-elections with the highest of margins (eg Kasenengwa).
Why is MMD and UPND fighting?
Why can’t you work together or form a pact? You are weak alone
MMD is not fighting with UPND. Once in a while, our members get into disputes with each other and such situations have a way of degenerating as each party tries to exercise its perceived strength. Our focus as MMD is to strengthen our party so that it gets positioned to rescue Zambian people from the PF hold. UPND is not in government and is therefore not our pre-occupation.
MMD and UPND are individual and separate political parties. They are established on different principles and espouse different visions for the nation. If however, there develops a major event which threatens the security and integrity of our nation and a number of parties believe that the solution is in forming a pact, I don’t see any reason why political parties should not work together.
Why so much infighting in MMD with some senior members disapproving of your leadership?
It is expected after any party loses power. It happened to UNIP as well. Once we accept the discomfort of being in the opposition, we shall settle down as a party. Whenever there is turbulence in a party, the buck stops at the doorstep of the leader. This is why I have taken responsibility to make sure we stabilize the party. This is a temporary situation we are already addressing and with time, MMD shall become a fully united front but which tolerates disagreements, unlike in other parties. We are the mother of democracy and we can never shy away from a few squabbles here and there.
What is your relationship with the MMD rebels?
What will happen to them? When will they be expelled? Or will you reconcile with them? Are you going to reinstate Kaingu, Chituwo, Siliya, Mulusa, etc. to their NEC positions?
The five former NEC members are still bona fide members of MMD with full rights and responsibilities. Disciplinary action was taken against them by the NEC just like many others who have been disciplined before. As they demonstrate allegiance and respect for party regulations and participate in party programs, they will have an equal opportunity to run for any position in the party when an opportunity arises. We need both the old and new in the party. It is not up to me to unilaterally decide the fate of anyone in the party. We have systems and structures in place to deal with any such eventualities.
Is Dora Siliya going to re-contest Petauke Central?
Miss Dora Siliya being a member of MMD qualifies to stand on the MMD ticket. This will depend on her decision whether to stand or not and will also depend on the Constituency Executive Committee’s decision.
How do you plan to raise funds for General Election Campaigns?
MMD was unable to raise enough funds to campaign competitively in the Mangango by-election.
MMD has spent millions of Kwacha on the many by-elections that have taken place across the country since PF came into government. It is malicious on the part of our opponents to claim that we spent only K11,000 on Mangango. My presidential entourage alone spends more than that on each by-election just on logistics of travel. The victory which awaits MMD in 2016 belongs to the Zambian people and therefore the Zambian people will support our campaign as we face 2016. Zambians now appreciate MMD more than they did when our party was in government. This is partly because of the dismal performance of the PF in government.
Give me three reasons why I should join the MMD.
I shall give you five good reasons why you should join MMD:
MMD has an established track record. We transformed Zambia from a despotic One-Party state with a GDP Per capita in the bottom five African countries in 1991 into a Lower Middle Income country by 2010 with established institutions of governance, a free press and improved material living conditions for Zambians. The freedoms Zambians are enjoying today are the result of the MMD.
It is being re-branded and has had a change of leadership and promises New Hope to all Zambians who have been short-changed by the PF. MMD has become much better after losing the 2011 election and learning from our mistakes. We have become renewed for The Hour of New Hope. We are “born again”.
It is the only institutional party which doesn’t belong to an individual but a movement which belongs to all Zambians.
It is a national and not regional party which accommodates all tribes, races and regions. It is the only party with a record of having four presidents coming from four different provinces and the transitions have been smooth and democratic.
We have the best brains of any political party, which is why the ruling party and other opposition parties are constantly attempting to poach our members.
What is in the latest MMD manifesto?
The MMD manifesto remains anchored on the economic policy of free enterprise and a political ethos of freedom for all and the enshrining of democracy in the nation. In a few weeks time, MMD will be announcing the new abbreviated version of the manifesto in a national address. You can read for yourself the current MMD manifesto here:
http://mmdzambia.org/about-mmd/manifesto/
Will you step down if MMD loses in 2016?
We are not planning on losing the 2016 election, so I cannot talk about resigning after an imaginary loss. Moreover, if every party president were to step down after an electoral defeat, Mr Michael Sata would not be president today (he lost three elections).
When is the MMD national convention?
The MMD convention takes place every five years and therefore the next convention will take place in 2016.
Can MMD win again, considering their chequered past?
My job as the new President of MMD is to clean up the image of the party that was tarnished by people who are no longer in our party. Most of them are in PF today. They introduced violence, corruption, elitism, arrogance and many other negatives that contributed to the 2011 election loss. We now have to convince Zambians that we have addressed the perceptions of yesterday and MMD is under a different administration.
Is MMD going to bring back people who left it, or leave them out for fresh blood?
MMD has initiated a massive re-organization and mobilization campaign. Our goal is to encourage every Zambian to find sanctuary in the most democratic party in the nation, the MMD. We have therefore opened doors to all those who left the party for whatever reason and the younger Zambians to join the New Hope MMD.
Why are you not appointing shadow MPs in areas were you have no MPs?
We have announced that the party will open up for applications on November 3rd 2014 to all those who intend to stand on the MMD ticket in 2016.
When are you likely to fill vacant positions in the party to avoid a vacuum?
Filling in vacancies at all levels including at NEC is an ongoing process, now to be undertaken during this re-organization crusade taking place currently.
What is the 2016 MMD strategy? Where do you see MMD in 5 years?
The MMD strategy to win 2016 has already started to be rolled out starting with the fixing of all structures and filling in all vacancies. The overall strategy is being refined by our national campaign team. In five years, the MMD shall be a strong, united party in government.
How can I join MMD?
You can join MMD by either going to one of our offices or to our website (www.mmdzambia.org) where all information is available for your use.
POLICY MATTERS
What is your position on Barotseland?
MMD believes in the policy of a unitary state; ie that Barotseland should continue to be part of Zambia. We however believe that in order to stop the instability in the province, a referendum amongst the people of Barotseland should be called to allow the people in that region to decide which way they wish to go. We shall respect the results of the referendum and will not impose our position.
There has been a lot of media reports that the mines are stealing through tax avoidance and transfer pricing. How would you address this? Wouldn’t it be a good idea to go 51%-49% (Zambian govt / foreign investor) respectively as a way of ensuring we as a country get what we deserve? As long as the economic power of this country is in foreign hands, we might as well forget about reducing poverty or talk about any meaningful development.
It is the responsibility of the Zambian government to ensure that strict laws and regulations are put in place to deter any investor from breaking our laws. It is our duty to enforce our own regulations. The issue of how much percentage government should have in the different mines must be dependent on the most profitable arrangement for Zambia in the long term. In a liberalized economy, common-sense must guide us, not unrealistic wishes.
MMD espouses a Capitalist economic policy in which the private sector is the main player. We have gone down the route of government ownership of companies before and it was a complete disaster economically. It actually made Zambians poorer. We shall continue the MMD policy of engaging the private sector to partner in re-opening some strategic companies where possible.
The Non Governmental Organisations’ Coordinating Council (NGOCC) is deeply saddened with the rape and gruesome murder of the eight months pregnant woman in Katete, Eastern Province.
The rape and murder of the pregnant woman are barbaric acts, which are totally unacceptable in a country that proclaims herself to be a Christian nation. It is evil of the worst order to murder a pregnant woman, as two lives are lost. At eight months, the baby was fully developed and therefore these criminals terminated the life of an innocent soul.
We therefore call upon the police to immediately institute investigations and bring the perpetrators to book. There is need for society to safeguard the safety of women and children. There should be justice for the family of the woman and for all the women and girls in the country whose rights are violated. Violence against women is not a women’s issue, it’s a human rights issue.
NGOCC specifically appeals to the Government to ensure that ALL citizens are protected against such murderous criminals. It is the responsibility of Government to protect and ensure that all citizens are safe.
Meanwhile, NGOCC also condemns in the strongest terms the rape of a 17-year-old girl of Magazine Compound in Chipata by a suspected police office. As an organisation, we have taken keen interest in this rape case especially that a police officer who is supposed to protect citizens is involved. We hope that the culprit in the Chipata rape case will be arrested and prosecuted accordingly.
Gender based violence(GBV) is preventable, not inevitable. Sustained implementation of the GBV Act of 2011 and the setting up of Special Courts should be key priorities. We therefore, call upon government to quickly set up the fast track court system because the justice system is key to addressing the problem.
The murder and rape cases against women reported in Eastern province demonstrate that there is need for society to safeguard the safety of women.
NGOCC has further noted that despite progress being made in securing convictions in a number of rape and murder cases of women, there seems to be lack of expertise in investigating cases and bringing to book some perpetrators due to lack of forensic laboratory services to handle sexual offences.
We ask that government sets GBV as a priority area and put up an appropriate forensic laboratory that will ensure that those who commit such offences are brought to book. Every girl and woman should be able to live safely, feel protected, and grow up free of violence.
As the year is moving closer to the 16 Days of activism against GBV, let us as a country seriously reflect on ways in which we shall combat all forms of GBV. Let us join hands as communities and look after one another. Let us ensure that these perpetrators are apprehended. Let us stand up, speak out and let Zambia be a safe haven for its residents .
A murder of a defenceless pregnant woman is unbearable and intolerable.
