Former Patriotic Front Secretary General Wynter Kabimba says the K2.8 billion, about 7% of the K46.7 billion 2015 budget allocated to the agriculture sector is not enough to address the challenges of farmers.

Mr. Kabimba told Qfm news in an interview that he is shocked that agriculture sector is not being given the adequate attention it deserves to help reduce poverty among the majority Zambian people.

Mr. Kabimba who been involved in farming for the last 20 years feels the allocation to agriculture sector will not address the challenges of farmers.

He explained that Zambia has the potential to generate more income from through the agriculture sector with increased budgetary allocation.

Mr. Kabimba has also noted the need for farmers to diversify to other crops or animal production if they are to contribute to the country’s food basket.

The former PF Secretary General explained that the Patriotic Front manifesto clearly puts agriculture and education among the top priority sectors hence the need to fulfill what the majority Zambians expect.

Namwala UPND MP Moono Lubezhi has proposed that the law on cattle rustling be stiffened in order to safeguard animals.

Ms. Lubezhi said there is need to make cattle rustling a nonbailable offence as a way of deterring would be offenders.

She said Namwala and other districts in Southern Province suffer a lot of misery at the hands of cattle rustlers.

Ms. Lubezhi was speaking in an interview following the refusal by the PF MPs to back a private members motion to deal with cattle rustlers.

“These PF MPs failed to support a motion moved by Hon. Miyutu on Wednesday asking the PF Government to strengthen the law against cattle rustlers but the motion could not go away because of the PF’s arrogance of numbers,” she said.

Ms. Lubezhi said cattle theft should be turned into a nonbailable offence just like of motor vehicle.

“You see our people depend on animals for their entire existence and if people continue stealing their most valuable possessions, they are depriving them of their livelihood and perpetuate poverty.”

The Namwala MP said the current five year maximum sentence for cattle rustling is not stiff enough to deter would be offenders.

And this week, Parliament threw out a private members motion which, if passed was going to increase jail sentence for cattle rustlers from the current 15 to a minimum of 20 years imprisonment.

This was after a long debate which culminated into a vote for or against the motion.

Moving the motion, Kalabo central UPND MP Chinga Miyutu said cattle rustling was increasing poverty in Zambia.

He said cattle rustling had become a high level organised crime which had brought about suffering among people in rural areas.

He said cattle rustling was hazardous with the capacity to disturb food and security in Zambia.

The vice was a serious national emergency and the current law was inadequate hence the need to increase the jail sentence to ensure people are protected and the production of animals is allowed.

Police bond or court bail for people accused of cattle rustling should also be stiffened to include K10,000 cash bail with five working sureties to discourage people from engaging in the vice.

He called for increased community policing and bilateral engagements with neighbouring countries.

In seconding the motion, Mkaika MMD MP David Phiri said the problem of cattle rustling needed to be addressed to improve agriculture.

Katuba UPND MP Jonas Shakafuswa and Liuwa MMD MP Situmbeko Musokotwane said animals were being poisoned and the flesh transported to sale in urban areas and called for support of the motion.

Mr Musokotwane said the meat was being transported in containers by cutting it into thin strips.

Mbabala UPND MP Ephraim Belemu said a lot of people were being killed by cattle rustlers.

Police, butcheries and abattoirs were said to be clearing and killing stolen animals respectively.

Justice deputy minister Keith Mukata and his Home Affairs counterpart Steven Kampyongo argued that laws on Cattle rustling were adequate.

Earlier Finance minister Alexander Chikwanda warned that it was a criminal offence to use counterfeit banknotes and those found with them would be liable to imprisonment.

He was responding to a question by Kaputa PF MP Maxus Ngonga who wanted to know what measures Government had taken to curb counterfeit Kwacha notes.

He also wanted to find out what measures Government had put in place to sensitise rural communities on counterfeit notes in order to protect them from being swindled.

Sensitisation campaigns had continued and the bank of Zambia was providing literature to assist the public. Members of the public should also remain alert.

Large cash handlers were also encouraged to use currency counting machines fitted with detection technology.

The Bank of Zambia also ensured that clean banknotes were in circulation and intercepted counterfeit notes and removed them from circulation.

Minister of Transport and Communication Yamfwa Mukanga said his ministry would after the national budget approval make a comprehensive statement on Road Development Agency (RDA) halting any more road works Earlier Speaker of the National Assembly warned MPs against raising points of orders on issues that were discussed outside the House because they made it difficult for presiding officers to make rulings.

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

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.