Zambia National Women’s Lobby (ZNWL ) Board Chairperson, Beauty Katebe says her organization is concerned with the continued withdrawal of underage girl children from school for early marriages.

Ms Katebe says ZNWL was concerned that some parents did not realize the importance of giving their girl children education in preference to early marriages.

She advised parents in the country not withdraw their children from school in exchange for money and animals as dowry given for marriages.

The ZNWL instead parents should instead protect their girl children by ensuring that they secure a better future for them through education.

ZANIS reports that Ms Katebe said this in an interview in Lusaka, today.

“ It is unfortunate that in this era and age many parents can still disregard the importance of educating the girl child and marrying them off at tender age when they are not yet ready for a marriage commitment, ‘ she said.

She was commenting on a 12 year old grade two girl from Kapiri Mposhi who was forced into marriage with an elderly man by her parents but was withdrawn from that marriage by Central Province Campaign against Early Marriages committee.

Ms Katebe has since called on relevant authorities to ensure that the peasant farmer who married the girl and currently on the run should be brought to book.

She has urged other cooperating partners to continue with the sensitization against early marriages.

Ms Katebe said it was a sad that underage girls were forced into marriages which she said is a life time commitment which is supposed to be made when a person is mature.

She observed that marriages to underage girls were contributing to high mortality rate as some of the young girls deliver still born babies because they are too young to undergo through that process.

A twelve year-old grade two girl at Renato Basic School in chief Nkole’s area in Kapiri Mposhi district has been withdrawn from a marriage forced by her father.

Central Province Campaign Against Early Marriages Coordinator, Dorothy Mambwe this confirmed the development in an interview in Kapiri Mposhi district, today.

Ms. Mambwe said the girl has since been put under the care of Nsungeni Orphanage for custody and counseling.

Child Rights Activist Kelvin Sampa has called on youths in the country to rally behind President Michael Chilufya Sata for the good governance he has put in place.

Mr. Sampa says it is important that the youths support the Head of State to ensure that he accomplishes his mandate and all his programs.

Speaking at a media briefing this morning, Mr. Sampa says he also thinks there is no crisis in the Country and that he does not foresee any Presidential By-election as is being purported by some politicians.

The Child Rights Activist notes that it is for this reason that youths in the country should rise to the occasion and condemn all such sentiments and take control in giving government proper guidance.

He says this is because President Sata still has the mandate to rule Zambia till 2016.

The opposition UPND in Kaoma district of Western Province says it is concerned with the empowerment programmes being undertaken in Mangango Constituency ahead of the August 19 parliamentary by-election.

But Western Province minister Richwell Siamunene says government will not be deterred from executing its functions in any part of the province and the country as a whole.

UPND assistant campaign manager for the Mangango by-election, Kenny Ndumba, says the distribution of empowerment inputs such as shovels and picks to the youths in Chilombo area in Shikombwe Ward in Mangango constituency is tantamount to corruption.

Mr Ndumba said whilst the UPND appreciates poverty alleviation packages through empowerment programmes, it was dismayed that such donations in Mangango constituency were happening when ahead of the by-election.

But Western Province minister Richwell Siamunene says government will not be deterred from executing its functions in any part of the province and the country as a whole.

Mr. Siamunene said government will not be derailed from its duties of governing in the area just because there is a by-election as doing so would be detrimental to its national development aspirations.

He said the UPND’s assertions are unfounded as the empowerment programmes in Mangango constituency are part of government’s broader poverty mitigation strategies being undertaken in Western Province and other parts of the country.

He said the by-elections in Mangango constituency should not halt the implementation of the on-going government programmes as such undertakings are meant to cushion the poverty burden amongst the masses regardless of their political affiliation.

Opposition UPND President Hakainde Hichilema has challenged the MMD to disclose exactly how much money it is alleging his party has used to bribe MMD members to join the UPND.

Mr. Hichilema has also wondered whether, by stating that his party is bribing MMD members on the copperbelt to defect to the UPND, also mean that other members such as Dr. Canisius Banda and Mutale Nalumango were also paid to the UPND.

Mr. Hichilema has told Qfm news in an interview that he thinks that such accusations the MMD is making against his party are only meant to ridicule and abuse the UPND as he does not believe that any adult can be bribed to join a political party.

He says the UPND does have money to pay anyone to join it as every in his party work voluntarily.

The UPND leaders says the MMD should only be mindful that people in the country have now made the choice to rally behind the UPND because they have seen that it is the only opposition political party that with the capacity to wrestle the ruling PF from power.

He says this is why he does not see any reason for any opposition political party to start fighting UPND as it is not the party in power.

The opposition leader says the MMD, which he says also poached its members during its tenure in government, should concentrate on fighting the ruling PF as it is the party responsible for the alleged poor economic performance of the country and the alleged break down of the rule of law.

He says only when the UPND is in power should the MMD have leverage to fight it.

Chief government spokesperson Joseph Katema says it is not up to the Executive to determine a pay rise for the Legislature.

In an apparent response to a challenge by the Foundation for Democratic Process (FODEP) that the Patriotic Front (PF) government gives a position on the demands for a pay rise by Members of Parliament, Mr. Katema says all three arms of government; the Executive, the Judiciary and Legislature operate independently.

Mr. Katema notes that this is why workers from each arm of government negotiate with their management and that it is through these negotiations that management of any arm of government agree or disagree with the representative of the workers over any concern.

He says this is why any queries of over the said demand for a pay rise by MPs should be directed to the management of the National Assembly whose Chief Executive officer is the Clerk.

Mr. Katema, who is also Information and Broadcasting Services Minister, was speaking an interview with Qfm news.

Opposition MMD National Secretary Muhabi Lungu says the former ruling party has difficulties working with the UPND because UPND members believe that they have arrived.

Mr Lungu said the general feeling among MMD members is that the UPND would be a difficult party to work with due to the bad altitude of some of its members.

He said the MMD is always open to working with other progressive opposition parties but will not allow itself to be treated as a lesser political organisation in any alliance.

Mr Lungu was speaking Friday evening when he featured on a live radio programme on UNZA FM.

“Well I would say that I think the sentiments in as far as many members of the MMD are concerned at the moment towards the UPND have been estranged. We understand that it would be within the ambit of the PF to hammer the MMD but we fail to understand why our colleagues within in the UPND feel that we must be obliterated for them to be able to survive,” Mr Lungu said.

He added, “Many of us find the altitude of the UPND very worrying that they believe that they have arrived and many of us count for nothing. Now we can say congratulations to them if they believe they have arrived but ultimately the electorate will make a decision on who represents this country on a broader basis and on a broader range of issues.”

Mr Lungu reiterated that the MMD is always open to possibilities of an alliance with other political parties.

“We are in an alliance with four other political parties and we are working well together and we have a made a decision that at an appropriate time if we should field a joint candidate everyone one of us will have to make decision on the basis of what is rationale at that given time and our President even went to the extent of saying that he wasn’t preoccupied with being the President but it appears that our friends in the UPND unless they are number 1, unless they are offering the Presidency then no can’t do. The rest of us have to kneel and say yes Sir to you and that we cannot accept as the MMD.”

He added, “We have clearly set out rules and regulations and we have got a clear set of ideas which are very clear, we believe in a free market and we believe in democracy and if other political parties will impose their dictatorial tendencies on you then we will have to buckle at the possibility of working such an organisation but we are open.”

On demands by MPs to have their salaries increased, Mr Lungu regretted that there is an attempt to paint a picture that demands to increase MPs allowances is only coming from MMD MPs.

“What is clear is that the party has made its official position known. We have said the demands for increased salaries is not in tandem with the current social and economic situation but what is worrying is that some quarters want to make it appear that this is the MMD MPs fighting alone,” he said.

He added, “In that debate which i heard myself, there were MPs from the UPND, MPs from the PF who were also debating for this issue.”

Mr Lungu said, “We should not try to reduce the importance of the discussion by zooming on a particular individual or a political party but looking at the principle and the principle is that every time that the issue of emoluments either for MPs or for the President came up when we were in power, the condemnation from civil society and the public generally was always that this was a responsibility of the Head of State and that he is the one who has to put a stop to this, now in this particular case there is this attempt to vilify the MMD, now it is ultimately going to be a decision of the Patriotic Front Government.”

He stated that in the last three years of the Patriotic Front Government, they have adjusted the salaries of the President and the salaries of the Ministers three times.
“The salary of the President now is a 100 percent of what it was when we were in power and yet the voices of reason have not been as loud.”

Mr Lungu continued, “I raise this issue because if someone is principally wrong, all of us have to be able to rally to condemn what is wrong, we should not use the basis of whether something is right or wrong on the basis of somebody who has raised it or whether we like that person or we don’t like them.”
“This issue is clear, as far as the MMD is concerned, we think that this should not be done. It is ill timed but ultimately the buck stops with the President and those in Government who know that they have overspent and this country has a huge deficit as a percentage of the budget and that this country is in debt, enormous debt.”

Mr Lungu added, “In the three years, we have increased our debt from 1.2 to 7 billion in three years and our domestic debt is also enormously large and the Government is spending as if there is not tomorrow yet the level of expenditure, the impact of that expenditure is not been felt by an ordinary Zambian and that we should be able to indicate to this Government.”