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Zanaco coach Aggrey Chiyangi is happy the club has met its short-term goal for the campaign at the midway point of the 2014 FAZ Super Division season.
The six-time champions last Saturday beat Red Arrows 2-0 to stay top of the table heading into the mid-season break following 15 rounds of matches played.
“For us it is important that we have archived out short-term goal which was to be on top by the midterm break,” Chiyangi said.
“What is important now is to re-plan for the second round game because we know the second round is always tough because some are fighting to remain in the Super League and some are fighting to be leaders.”
Zanaco are chasing their first league title since 2012.
They currently lead the log on 33 points from 15 games and are three points ahead of second placed Zesco United who have a game in hand.
It has been a busy Wednesday of player’s shuffling at Nkana with two big names leaving led by striker Evans Kangwa.
Kangwa has moved to Israeli club Hapoel Ra’anana on a one-year loan with the option for a permanent move thereafter.
“We are happy with the deal, it is a good deal and we said let him go and try his luck,” Nkana club secretary Ken Mwansa said.
And asked why Nkana decided on the Israeli move rather than another strong offer from south African giants Orlando Pirates, Mwansa said: “Pirates have never come back to us after they pushed in the inquiry and we wrote back to them that they give us an offer they never responded to us.”
Also leaving Nkana is winger Bruce Musakanya whose six-month deal from Red Arrows was not extended after the airmen recalled him to attend a trial at South African club Amazulu.
Meanwhile, striker Festus Mbewe has finally been received his FIFA clearance to play for Nkana following the expiry of his six month loan stint at demoted South African club Golden Arrows.
The news means Festus will play this Saturday in Nkana’s rescheduled home game against Konkola Mine Police.
Former Youth and Sports Deputy Minister Steven Masumba third (left) and Northern Province Permanent Secretary Hlobota Nkunika play drums at the Youths consultative meeting which attracted youths from Luapula
The case in which former Sports and Youth Deputy Minister Stephen Masumba has appealed against his twelve months sentence by the Magistrate Court for forging an accounting Diploma from the National Institute Public Administration failed to take off this morning.
Mr Masumba’s lawyer Mutakela Lisimba informed the court that he was ready to proceed with the matter but the state had made an application.
The state applied for an adjournment as the case record was served late and they did not have adequate time to study the document.
But Mr. Lisimba argued that he had served the submissions to the State on 18th June 2014 and wondered why the state was not ready to proceed with the matter.
High Court Judge Chalwe Mchenga has since directed the state advocate to file her submission by 1stAugust this year.
The matter has been adjourned to 8thAugust 2014 and bail for Mr Masumba has been extended.
And in interviews with Journalists shortly after appearing in court, Mr Masumba complained that development in his constituency has stalled as he is now a ceremonial MP.
Mr. Masumba said the people of Mufumbwe are upset over his absence in Parliament.
“The constituency is at pain. Why is it at pain? This is because I cannot be on the ground to represent my people. I cannot stand in Parliament to speak for them. The people are upset on the ground but as you will appreciate this is a constitutional issue and it has some restrictions on what you can do as a ceremonial MP,” he said.
He said that he has been unable to represent the electorate effectively as he is not attending parliament due to his court case.
The Northern Province Cooperatives and Marketing Union has opposed the crop levy that government intends to re-introduce.
In an interview with ZANIS today, Union vice chairman Obed Kampamba said the proposed crop levy will negatively affect the farmers and ‘kill’ the agriculture sector in the country.
Mr Kampamba said currently the cost of crop production especially maize in the country was already very high and that additional charges like the crop levy will make farming as a business unsustainable.
Local government and Housing Minister Emmanuel Chenda said recently that government was considering the possibility of re-introducing the crop levy in order to help councils increase their revenue base.
But Mr Kampamba said the crop levy will further burden the farmers and make others shun farming.
He stated that if government wanted to empower councils, they should aim at increasing the grants and provide other means of raising revenue for the local authorities.
‘In the past, councils used to own farms, they used to run nursery schools and they had houses and Rest houses among other sources of revenue,’’ said MR Kampamba.
Kampamba said with the reduction of the subsidies to the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP), the farmer, especially peasant farmers were already negatively affected.
He advised the government to get back to the basics in order to make farming a viable and attractive business venture again.
‘There is a lot to do in the agriculture sector to replicate the memorable maize bumper harvest of 1988 where the country recorded excess maize that we had to burn some,’’ he said.
Mr Kampamba added that increased funding to the sector was cardinal in reviving programmes that made agriculture tick in the second republic.
Lusaka Mayor Mulenga Sata has angrily responded to sentiments attributed to Vice President Guy Scott over the Lusaka Mayor’s eligibility to stand as Republican Presidency.
In the Wednesday edition of the Post Newspapers, Dr Scott is quoted as having made some insinuations that he Mulenga Sata is barred from contesting the Presidency because of the eligibility clause in the constitution.
In the article titled Kabimba is the most senior in PF to act, Dr Scott said that there is nothing sinister about Wynter Kabimba acting as President of Zambia.
Dr Scott said Kabimba was the senior-most-person in the Patriotic Front who qualified to be President.
“Me I am not qualified to stand as President because I am excluded by the same amended 1996 Constitution, which excluded (Kenneth) Kaunda and excludes as far as I understand me, Given Lubinda and excludes Mulenga Sata. Both your parents have to be Zambian. So the President is reluctant in my understanding to appoint someone who could be a target of a petition in the courts,” Vice-President Scott said. “If this man is not qualified to stand as President, how can we make him the acting President? He President Sata does not want to have a constitutional crisis, when he is somewhere else. So there is no big deal.”
When contacted for a comment from South Korea, Mulenga Sata expressed surprise and concern at the remarks by the vice president.
“I find the remarks attributed to the vice president inappropriate, divisive and factually incorrect. The circumstances of my birth are completely different from his,” he said.
“My mother was born in the Copperbelt province of northern Rhodesia which later came to be known as Zambia. That makes her Zambian by birth and descent since Zambia was born in 1964. My father is a known element. Dr Scott’s parents were British on the other hand. I cannot comment on others mentioned in the article.”
He added, “As far as I’m aware there is a ruling on former president Chiluba’s parentage which indicated that since he was born in a territory which later came to be defined as Zambia of parents’ similarly born he was a Zambian who was eligible to stand for the highest office in the land.”
“As a patriotic nationalist I remain committed to the development of my country and the social upliftment of our people particularly our women and youth since they constitute the majority of our population. What we want is leadership that fosters unity in the country across ethnic and/or religious divides, that resonates with the hope of our young peoples and most importantly enables us to participate substantially and substantively in the economy.”
“Those are the things we should be talking not idle chatter just because the substantive president is out of the office for a few days,” he said.
Never in the short history of our republic have we had a vice-president who is as marginalised as Guy Lindsay Scott. Effectively, this Patriotic Front government has managed to reduce the vice-president of our republic to a non-entity. As if it is not enough that Scott has no clue of much of the stuff happening in a government in which he is number two, the Speaker of our parliament ordered him to release a statement about the whereabouts of President Sata. The people of Milenge would call this “uku tumfya”. Kutumfya to ask Scott to release a statement when the gentleman is in the dark, as always. The statement Scott released to parliament is notoriously honest, scandalously ironic and goes to prove just how out of the loop Scott has been. That Scott has not resigned in spite of this rampant snubbing deserves an analysis of its own. But it certainly takes a lot of steel to be a Veep in a cabinet, which shamefully ostracises you.
Scott supplemented his parliamentary statement with a British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) interview he had on Wednesday June 25 2014. In this interview he accused a “small tribe in the south of Zambia” as the source of lies, innuendo and rumours about President Sata’s health and controversial visit to Tel Aviv. Without, dwelling too much on the demerits of his insult of this “small tribe”, it seems that Dr. Scott seems to project his own insignificance in the Patriotic Front on to others.
The Zambian constitution is on Scotts side
Guy Scott, in spite of having the Zambian constitution on his side, has never acted as president. Foremost, the job of any vice-president is to act as president in the absence of a president. Additionally, a Veep is supposed to manage an executive transition in the event of a vacancy in the office of president.
As an acting president, a Veep is supposed to call for fresh elections within ninety days. It is quite fascinating though that Scott has never, at any time, fulfilled his constitutional job description. Sata always leaves power in the hands of Dr. Scott’s unelected juniors. This should hurt.
An explanation has been cooked up, that tries to justify this disregard of procedure by stating that Scott cannot act as president because he is a muzungu. I have searched the constitution of our republic, and it does not bar a Whiteman from acting as president. The decision to sideline Scott within the realms of the don’t kubeba power structure does seem to me that it is informed by racism or tribalism. What else could explain this clear preference for black Zambians over a white one? The irony is that this very tribalism that victimizes Guy Scott is the same one he is projecting on to others when he characterises those wanting information about his boss as a “small tribe” from the south of Zambia. This is the problem of racism and tribalism: it turns its victims into vicious tribalists themselves. The only way to help Dr. Scott, perhaps, is for the PF government to stop its policy of a racist embargo on Scott solely because of the colour of his skin.
PF government Secrecy
It was on Sunday, June 22 that Hon Mwansa Kapeya released a government statement explaining that President Sata had arrived in Israel at “the invitation of President Shimon Peres.” This was surprising because the trip had not been previously announced. In fact, Kapeya seemed to have released the statement only after rumours had surfaced about the whereabouts of President Sata. Kapeya stated that Sata left Zambia on Friday June 20. So between Friday and Sunday, there was no word from the government about Sata’s whereabouts. This was a serious lapse in the judgment of presidential handlers. An invitation of our president by the president of Israel should never be a secret.
Kapeya also stated that Zambia’s Honorary Consular-General Ms. Ronit Hershkovitz received President Sata. This should make this trip quite official and it buttresses the reasons why the Zambian public should have been informed of it in the first place. After this statement from Kapeya, social media went into overdrive particularly when it became apparent that Peres would in fact be in Washington, DC and not Tel Aviv to host Sata. The response from Kapeya was to threaten jail for those doubting Thomases. Kapeya enjoys jailing, it seems.
And then parliament intervened. It was a Member of Parliament from Southern Province who raised a point of order requesting the Speaker to direct the PF government to clarify this Sunday statement. This honour fell on the leader of government business in the house – the vice-president. Unsurprisingly, Dr Scott’s statement seems to have contradicted Kapeya’s central assertion:
Unfortunately, it is also asserted that he is doing this at the invitation of the Israeli President Mr Shimon Peres. This is misleading because President Sata is not there on a State Visit but on a Private Working Holiday…Sata will be combining sight-seeing, relaxation and business meetings.
Attack on social media whilst forgetting the Presidential facebook page
Scott then concluded by stating that this is all he could say without entering “into the fantasy world of the Zambian social media and its necrophiliac correspondents and editors.” Obviously, Scott is very ruthless with words. He is of British heritage after all. It is sarcastic that he could label social media in these insulting words when his boss runs a very popular Facebook page that has nevertheless not been updated for weeks. Sata’s Facebook page came with a lot of cimwela and was a reliable source of ZNBC main news. Surprise, surprise, Guy Scott today calls social media “necrophiliac”.
After this statement in parliament BBC asked him about whether President Sata has cancer. He answered, “I can’t know because I am not his wife”. Asked further about the rumours about Sata’s health, Scott answered it is only a small tribe in the south stoking these rumours.
The small tribe
Guy Scott could be right, he has no idea about President Sata’s health. In fact, he has no idea about many things going on in government. The reason is not really because he is not Sata’s wife. But rather that, in spite of being a vice-president, he has been erroneously marginalised based on the colour of his skin. While Scott salutes his unelected subordinate Kabimba as acting president in Lusaka, I hope Scott’s boss enjoys his time in the Jewish state “sight-seeing, relaxing and having business meetings”. The Jewish state has confirmed that President Sata is in Israel at the invitation of President Peres. This is a welcome reprieve coming half a week later. Nevertheless, while all this is going on, I hope Scott will not think that the health status of President Sata is a manufactured rumour by a small tribe. If that were the case, all of us, will then be that small tribe. Scott should make no mistake, if this small tribe decide otherwise come 2016; he and his boss will never go sightseeing in Tel Aviv at taxpayers’ expenses. Never again.
The Government of the United States of America yesterday awarded $50,000 to Zambian community-based organizations through the U.S. Ambassador’s Special Self Help Program (SSH). The six grants will expand economic opportunities and improve the standard of living in communities in five provinces.
At the signing ceremony which took place at the U.S. Embassy, U.S. Chargé d’Affaires, David Young commended the leadership and initiative of the grantee organizations working to improve access to basic life necessities such as food, water and income in their communities. He further stated that the U.S. Government is proud to enable these important projects through small grants funding distributed directly to the organizations.
The U.S. government, through SSH, seeks to improve the economic and social conditions at the local level through one-time funding of small scale development or income generating activities broadly involving and benefiting community members. Grants awarded today will assist projects such as a produce farm at an orphanage in Western Province, a crop marketing income generation project for a Home Based Care group in Luapula Province, and the drilling of a borehole for a community in Southern Province.
The U.S. Ambassador’s Special Self Help Program is a part of the U.S. government’s ongoing commitment to support Zambian-driven development activities at the local level. Since 2000, the Self Help program in Zambia has partnered with 97 organizations, contributing more than $860,000 (approximately ZMW5.1 million) directly to communities in all ten provinces.
As Forum for Democratic Alternatives party (FDA) we wish to respond to media reports that government is preparing to pay Members of the Parliament midterm gratuity amounting to K500,000.00 each which in the previous currency is half a billion kwacha each Member of Parliament. The process of awarding huge salary increments to holders of political office started during president Rupiah Banda’s administration which process was implemented by the Patriotic Front immediately they came into government in 2011.
Our misgiving is not that our Members of Parliament and indeed holders of political offices should not get any form of remuneration, but our considered view is that the increments are too astronomical for a fragile economy such as ours. For instance, why should the President and his Vice President get huge increments in emoluments when they get everything free – be it transport, accommodation, electricity, food and the like? This means that the PF do not mean what they say when they advocate for pro-poor policies and more money in people’s pockets etc.
It is for this reason that our party does not support the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) proposal to increase the number of parliamentary seats from the current 150 to 235, as this will translate into more unnecessary pressure on the public purse.
With our MPs now budgeting for K500,000.00 as midterm gratuity each, it means there is another K500,000.00 or more to be paid to each Member of Parliament at the end of the life of the current parliament. The same MPs draw a sitting allowance for each day of sitting and a monthly salary.
It is for this reason that people are either bewitching or unnecessarily petitioning each other in the courts of law just to get into parliament where easy money is made.
It is therefore for this reason that we are soliciting the Zambian electorate to vote FDA Party into government to turn parliament from being a profit making venture to what it was originally established for, of being the people’s servants.
TRANSFORMERS: AGE OF EXTINCTION begins after an epic battle left a great city torn, but with the world saved. As humanity picks up the pieces, a shadowy group reveals itself in an attempt to control the direction of history…while an ancient, powerful new menace sets Earth in its cross-hairs. With help from a new cast of humans (led by Mark Wahlberg), Optimus Prime and the Autobots rise to meet their most fearsome challenge yet. In an incredible adventure, they are swept up in a war of good and evil, ultimately leading to a climactic battle across the world
PROS
The action sequences were extraordinary, brilliant visual effects really brought the scenes to life.
Great acting by Mark Wahlberg .
CONS
The over reliance of action over a good story line is the main flaw .
Nicola Peltz , who played Tessa Yeager, daughter of Mark Wahlbergs character , did a good job but the whole “damsel in distress ” aspect that all the transformer movies has, needs to go .
At 2hrs 37min the movie was a tad bit too long .
If you have never watched any of the transformers movies ,this one may be hard to follow .
FAVORITE QUOTES
Optimus Prime: After all we have done, humans are hunting us. But I fear we are all targets now.
Optimus Prime: There are innumerable mysteries to the universe. But who we are, is not one of them. That answer lies inside us. I am Optimus Prime, and I send this message to my creators: leave Earth alone, for I’m coming for you!
Harold Attinger: There are no good aliens or bad aliens! It’s just us, or them… and you chose them over us!
CONCLUSION
This was a highly anticipated movie , my personal favorite actor , Mark Wahlberg was the lead actor in the newly cast fourth movie in the Transformers series . Age of Extinction delivers everything we were promised ; intense action scenes , spectacular visual effects .The only thing lacking was good story telling . The plot was so thin that things seemed to happen with out rhyme or reason . This is a good action movie , but that’s all it is . The last Transformers movie , Dark of the moon , had a thrilling story line that got you emotionally invested in the characters ,something Age of extinction clearly lacks .
23 rd Ordinary Session of AU heads of State and government in Malabo June 2014
Malabo, Equatorial Guinea– The 23rd Ordinary Session of the Summit of the African Union concluded in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea on 27 June 2014. The summit’s Assembly, comprising Heads of State and Government of the African Union, was held from 26-27 June 2014. In their Assembly organised under the theme: “ 2014 Year of Agriculture and Food Security”, the Heads of State and Government adopted a number of key decisions with a view to enhancing the socio-economic and political development of the continent, notably in the areas of education, health, agriculture, trade, women and youth development.
The Assembly adopted the AU Budget for 2015 which amounts to a total of US$ 522,121,602.00, including US$142,687,881.00 for operational costs and US$379,433,721.00 for programmes.
The fifty year vision for Africa
The Assembly received an update report on the development of Agenda 2063: the fifty year vision for Africa. The popular version of Agenda 2063; the Africa we Want was tabled, and the Assembly instructed the Commission and the NEPAD Agency, together with the UNECA, the African Development Bank to popularise it widely and solicit further inputs from the African citizenry. Member states who have not yet made their submissions on Agenda 2063, further undertook to have national consultations and submit inputs on behalf of their countries as soon as possible. The Assembly further mandated the AU Commission to explore Agenda 2063 flagship programmes, such as the Continental Free Trade Area, free movement of people, the continental integrated high speed rail network, and to report to the Summit in January 2015. The Summit in January 2015 will also adopt Agenda 2063 and its first ten year plan.
Member states sign Protocol
The Assembly adopted the Protocol and the Statute for the Establishment of the African Monetary Fund. It further called on Member states to sign and ratify that Protocol as expeditiously as possible, for its early entry into force.
Regarding the Post-2015 Development Agenda, the Assembly considered the report of the High Level Committee (HLC) on the Post 2015 development agenda and requested Member States to mobilize together, to ensure that the agreed Common African Position (CAP), which is to eradicate poverty in all its forms, is the key message for all African representatives in the intergovernmental negotiation process on that crucial subject for Africa. In this regard, the Assembly mandated the HLC to coordinate Member States with the support of the secretariat and in collaboration with partners and other relevant African stakeholders, as Africa engages in the negotiation process with the rest of the world on CAP. The CAP will serve as the basis for Africa’s input at the global level into the on-going post-2015 sustainable development intergovernmental deliberations, including the work of the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Intergovernmental Committee of Experts on Sustainable Development Financing and the final phase of intergovernmental negotiations on the post-2015 development agenda. The assembly further requested Member States to enhance their statistical capacity to enable them to effectively monitor progress in the implementation of the Post-2015 Development Agenda, and urged them to speedily ratify the African Charter on Statistics.
Regional think tank
The Assembly called for the enhancement of the Pan-African Productivity Association, to provide it with the capacity enabling it to act as a regional think-tank, catalyzer, research and knowledge developer and policy adviser on productivity at the continental level. Additionally, it called for the establishment and enhancement of productivity organizations at national and regional levels, which would eventually become members of the Pan-African Productivity Association.
Science and technology strategy
The Science, Technology and Innovation Strategy for Africa -2024 (STISA-2024) was adopted as the continental framework for accelerating Africa’s transition to an innovation-led, knowledge-based economy within the overall framework of the AU Agenda 2063.
Similarly, the Statute of the African Observatory on Science Technology and Innovation (AOSTI) was considered, with the Heads of State and Government calling upon Member States and development partners to avail the necessary technical and financial support for sustaining the AOSTI. Further, the Assembly, while recognizing ARIPO and OAPI as building blocks of the Pan African Intellectual Organization (PAIPO), welcomed and endorsed the offer of Tunisia to host the Headquarters and Secretariat of the PAIPO.
A proposal by Republic of Congo to organize in Brazzaville every two years, an International Salon on Invention and Innovation under the auspices of the African Union; and to host a high level Ethics and Bioethics Forum in Brazzaville was welcomed and endorsed by the Assembly.
The Assembly underscored the importance of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) to Africa’s development, particularly for youth empowerment, employment and entrepreneurship and adopted the ten-year AU Continental TVET Strategy.
The Summit in Malabo decided that the APRM shall be an autonomous entity within the AU system. In this regard, the African Union Commission and the APRM Secretariat were requested to consult on the practical modalities for the integration of the APRM into the African Union system.
Legal instruments adopted
The following legal instruments were adopted in Malabo: Protocol on the Establishment of the African Monetary Fund; African Convention on Cross border Cooperation (Niamey Convention); African Union Convention on Cyberspace Security and Protection of Personal Data; African Charter on the Values and Principles of Decentralization, Local Governance and Local Development; Protocol on Amendments to the Protocol on the Statute of the African Court of Justice and Human Rights; Protocol to the Constitutive Act of the African Union on the Pan-African Parliament. Furthermore, Member States were called upon to speedily sign and ratify the above legal instruments as well as all the other legal instruments they have not yet ratified.
Continental Free trade area
The Assembly, while considering the Report of the High Level Committee on African Trade (HATC), directed the AU Commission to prepare Draft Terms of Reference of the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) Negotiating Forum based on best practices in the regional economic communities (RECs)/Tripartite, refined draft Guiding Objectives and Principles as well as Institutional Arrangements to be submitted to the next AU Trade Ministerial Conference for consideration, along with other negotiation-related issues, and subsequent endorsement by the Assembly in January 2015 so as to facilitate the effective launching of the CFTA negotiations in June/July 2015. In this regard, the Assembly called upon Member States to maintain the momentum to fast track the establishment of the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) as scheduled by providing the necessary financial and technical resources at national, regional and continental levels.
UN Reforms
On the UN Reforms, the Assembly considered the Report of the Committee of Ten on that issue, and endorsed its recommendations, notably heeding the call for Africa to speak with one voice on this crucial matter, for it to be adequately represented in the UN system, and for the intensification of efforts towards building alliances with diverse interest groups engaged in intergovernmental negotiations, with a view to gathering support of the African Common Position.
Climate change
On climate change, the Assembly considered the Report of the Committee of African heads of State and Government on Climate Change (CAHOSSC) and endorsed the Framework Work programme on Climate Change Action in Africa as a continental framework that will guide the African Union, its Member States and the RECs in addressing climate change in the near future. It further reaffirmed that adaptation is a priority in all actions on Climate Change in Africa. In this regard, the Assembly urged all Member States to urgently complete the development of their National Adaptation Plans (NAPs), and put in place systems and structures for Africa to take full advantage of the global mechanisms in support of climate change mitigation and adaptation measures. The Assembly moreover took note of the global events on climate change to be convened by the UN Secretary General in the months ahead, notably in New York on 23 September 2014 and in Lima, Peru in December 2014.
The decision was made that the Thirty-First Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the Union will be held in Dakar in June/July 2018 following an offer by the Republic of Senegal to host it.
Digital migration
The Conference of Ministers in charge of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and the Conference of Ministers of Communication, with the participation of national and international regulatory entities for the broadcasting sector, were directed to take up the issue of migration from analogue radio/television broadcasting to digital transmission, and to work in concert to protect the interest of the public broadcasting services of the AU Member States. The Commission, in collaboration with the African Union of Broadcasting and the African Telecommunication Union (ATU) was requested to expeditiously establish an African Technical Committee for the Information and Media Society, to accompany Member States in their transition to full digital broadcasting, while at the same time stimulating economic recovery in Africa.
Maritime Piracy and criminal acts
The offer by Togo to host a Regional Conference on Maritime Piracy and other Criminal Acts Committed at Sea was welcomed and as such, Member States and their appropriate Administrations, Regional Economic Communities and Regional Mechanisms, African and International Institutions specializing in maritime and related activities, as well as development partners, were encouraged to participate actively in the Conference when it is convened.
The mandate of the African Union Commission of Inquiry on South Sudan (AUCISS) was extended for an additional three (3) months in order to enable it complete its work.
Conflict resolution
Regarding the Report of the Peace and Security Council (PSC) and the State of Peace and Security on the continent, the Assembly called for renewed efforts by the AU Member States and the Commission, as well as by the Regional Economic Communities/Regional Mechanisms for Conflict Prevention, Management and Resolution (RECs/RMs) towards achieving the objective of a conflict-free Africa by 2020, as provided for by the Solemn Declaration adopted at its 21st Ordinary Session held in Addis Ababa, on 25 May 2013.
At the same time, the Assembly welcomed the continued progress in post-conflict reconstruction and development and peace building processes in the Comoros, Côte d’Ivoire and Liberia. It expressed satisfaction at the continued positive evolution of the situation in Madagascar. The Assembly welcomed the completion of the transition and restoration of constitutional order in Guinea-Bissau following the presidential and legislative elections held on 13 April and 18 May 2014, and the resumption of the participation of Guinea-Bissau in AU’s activities, following the decision taken by the PSC at its 442nd meeting held on 17 June 2014.
It further welcomed the restoration of constitutional order in Egypt following the constitutional referendum and the presidential election held in January and May 2014, respectively and noted, with satisfaction, the resumption by Egypt of its participation in AU’s activities. The positive developments that have taken place in Somalia were welcomed by the Assembly.
Concerns were raised at the prevailing situation in Libya and its impact on the conduct of the on-going transition and the cohesion of the country, as well as on regional security and stability.
Condemnation of kidnapping of over 200 girls by Boko Haram
The cowardly kidnapping by Boko Haram of over two hundred young girls in northern Nigeria elicited outrage from the Heads of State and Government who also welcomed the on-going AU efforts to address the scourge of terrorism, notably through the cooperative mechanisms being implemented by the African Centre on the Study and Research on Terrorism (ACSRT), the Nouakchott Process, the Regional Cooperation Initiative for the Elimination of the LRA. It hailed the AMISOM achievements in Somalia. For each of these issues, the Assembly recognised efforts being exerted to resolve them and made further recommendations towards consolidation of gains.
Declarations adopted
Heads of State and Government at the Malabo Summit also adopted some declarations related to accelerated agricultural growth and transformation for shared prosperity and improved livelihoods; ending preventable child and maternal deaths in Africa; support of small island developing states ahead of the third international conference on small island developing states; and nutrition security for inclusive economic growth and sustainable development in Africa. The Assembly also adopted a Resolution calling for the lifting of embargo of the USA against the Republic of Cuba.
Finally, the Assembly agreed to hold its 24th Ordinary Session at the AU Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on 30-31 January 2014 under the theme: “Year of Women’s Empowerment and Development towards Africa’s Agenda 2063”.
The Grand Coalition on the Constitution has demanded that government must provide footage of President Michael Sata’s working holiday in Israel to halt speculations and rumours that the Head of State is in fact in Tel Aviv for medical treatment.
Grand Coalition on the Constitution chairperson Leonard Chiti has said the secrecy that has surrounded President Sata’s departure for Israel and his mission was creating a lot of tension and anxieties among Zambians and that it was important for government to tell the nation the true health status of the Head of State.
[pullquote]
it is unfair for Dr Scott to speak harshly about online media over speculations about the head of state’s health condition when government was failing to provide Zambians with accurate information.
[/pullquote]Fr Chiti said government was not being truthful to Zambians over President Sata’s alleged working holiday in Israel because of the conflicting and contradictory statements that had so far been issued.
“If government fails to show us pictures of President Sata while on a working holiday in Israel, then we shall conclude that he is gravely hill. The President left the country without Zambians being informed about his visit to the Middle East country and we were only told about his arrival in Israel after a flood of rumours and speculations hit the nation that the Head of State had been evacuated. Since government is comfortable and sincere about Sata’s Israeli working holiday visit, we want to see footage of his activities in Tel Aviv,” Fr Chiti said.
He said it was shocking that Vice-President Guy Scott and the entire government did not know for how long President Sata would be in Israel and when he was likely to return home.
“We only got to hear about his visit and working holiday to Israel after he had already arrived. And what is more shocking is that government does not know for how long President Sata would be in Israel for his working holiday and when he is likely to come back home.,” Fr Chiti said.
Fr Chiti, who is also Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection executive director said he was disappointed that Vice-President Scott could speak angrily to anyone who was expressing concern about President Sata’s visit to Israel.Fr Chiti said he expected Dr Scott to exhibit good leadership skills in the management of the tension and anxieties that had gripped the nation since President Sata left the country.
“Lack of clarity of president Sata’s visit to Israel is the reason for speculations and government officials must not be annoyed with anyone questioning the whereabouts of President Sata,” Fr Chiti said.
He said the President was not private property but a national asset and as such Zambians who voted for him reserved the right to demand to know where he was going and what he was doing because he was not representing himself.
Fr Chiti stated that it was unfair for Dr Scott to speak harshly about online media over speculations about the head of state’s health condition when government was failing to provide Zambians with accurate information.
And United Party for National Development (UPND) presidential advisor William Banda has condemned and described as unprofessional the manner in which government officials had been handling the President Sata’s visit to Israel.
Mr Banda also dispelled assertions that the UPND and its leader Hakainde Hichilema were allegedly causing the speculations about President Sata’s health.
He said the UPND and Mr Hichilema had always wished President Sata well because he had a lot of responsibilities delivering the promises he made to the Zambians.
“President Sata is my elder brother and best friend and at no time has anyone from UPND wished him dead including Mr Hichilema,” Mr Banda said.
The Foundation for Democratic Process FODEP says speculations on whether president Michael Sata properly hand over power before living for Israel vindicates stakeholders calling for the new constitution as such speculations will never arise with a running mate clause included in the new draft constitution.
Speaking in an interview FODEP Executive Director McDonald Chipenzi said the drama that has engulfed the appointment of acting president should compel Justice Minister Wynter Kabimba to quickly release the draft constitution and curtail such unnecessary speculations in the near feature.
Mr. Chipenzi said the new constitution is a clear cut answer to these confusion and legal speculations taking center stage in the country’s political arena.
“This is why we always say that a new constitution could be the answer to these legal jargon, legal confusion or legal speculations on how things should run in the country and we hope that honorable Kabimba who is holding on to the document should see the agency of releasing the draft constitution to the zambian people and push for its enactment,” said Mr. Chipenzi.
He noted that Mr. Kabimba has been caught up in a situation that he should have prevented by way of pushing for the enactment of the new constitution which would spell out ones functions without any one having to explain it to the public.
Mr. Chipenzi also said the country should move from having such debates to discussing developmental issues something he says will only happen once the country has a new constitution in place.
“He thought he was being clever by playing politics with the document like that but now he is caught up with legal jargon by the end of day. So had we done a good job with the document we wouldn’t be talking about this; tomorrow he might be the president of this country does he want us to be solving confusions everyday? The answer should be no! He should be concentrating on developmental issues rather than debating on how did you get the power because the law should be very clear that when the president is incapacitated this is what happens,” Mr. Chipenzi said.
He noted that the new constitution should address these loopholes in the law hence the need for Mr. Kabimba to release the draft document so that the country can no longer be subjected to speculations on important issues such as the recent debate on whether the president properly handed over the instruments of power before leaving for Israel.
Court discharges UPND leader in Itezhi tezhi District
The Itezhi tezhi magistrates court yesterday discharged United Party for National Development (UPND) cadre Jacob Mubambo in a case in which he was charged with conduct likely to breach peace.
Mr. Jacob Mubambo, who is aspiring UPND candidate for Itezhi Tezhi constituency seat in 2016 elections was alleged to have conducted himself in a manner that was likely to breach peace during the agricultural Block show in Mbila area in Itezhi tezhi.
The prosecution applied for the substitution of the indictment in line with section 213 of Criminal laws of Zambia.
The court admitted the prosecution’s application arguing that the prosecution had a right to substitute an indictment at any stage of the case before judgment was delivered.
However, the lawyer representing Mubambo from K.A.S Chunga argued that the substituted charge was defective and that his client was not obliged to make a plea to a defective charge.
At this stage Magistrates Munalula Mubita considered and compared the old and new charges and later ruled that the new indictment had no particulars of the offence, therefore it was defective in nature.
“When a charge is prepared the particulars of the offence should be clearly written so that the charge was not defective but in this case the Lawyer is right that the charge is defective in nature and therefore the accused cannot take plea on such a charge” Magistrates Mubita said.
Magistrates Munalula Mubita then discharged Jacob Mubambo and ordered him to stand down from accused box.
Meanwhile, prior to the commencement of the court, UPND cadres clashed with some Patriotic Front cadres who were found at the court premises.
Some cadres came all the way from Lusaka and Choma and almost exchanged punches at court premises but quick action by Police saved the situation from deteriorating.
Government says it is saddened that only about 15 ;percent of people in the country know their HIV status.
Choma District Commissioner Bernadette Hamweemba says it shocking to note that most citizens in the country do not know their HIV/AIDS status.
Ms. Hamweemba says citizens should voluntarily go for free counselling and testing (VCT) at counselling centres to know their status’.
She said it is important that VCT also is integrated into existing maternal and child health services saying this is critical in the reduction of mother to child transmission of HIV or indeed the virtual elimination of mother to child transmission.
The District Commissioner said this during the commemoration of National VCT day which was held at Mbabala School yesterday.
The event was running under the theme: “reaching everyone everywhere with annual HIV counselling testing services”.
She said AIDS is one of leading causes of death in the region and that every effort should be made to reduce the spread of HIV.
“We also need to acknowledge that this will not be possible unless we step up very significantly our prevention efforts and also sustain, and in line with our commitment to universal access, expand our treatment programmes, we will not be able to do this unless people know their HIV Status, “she said.
Ms. Hamweemba noted that going for VCT has many benefits of which one is knowing one’s status allows the individual to take action to protect themselves against infection if negative or take action to access services if found positive.
She said that indicators have shown that HIV couples counselling and testing decreases the transmission of HIV by more than 60 percent within discordant couples and reduces sexually transmitted infections and unplanned pregnancies in all couples.
She further explained that mother to child transmission can be reduced or eliminated if people know their status so that they can access
services not just for a healthy HIV negative baby not for women themselves.
Several programmes have been embarked on in the HIV prevention, treatment, support and care in the country which has since
a drop in the prevalence rate of HIV from 16% in 2001 to the current 14.3 percent.
MMD Die Hard National Coordinator Bowman Lusambo shakes hands with Home Affairs Deputy Minister Stephen Kampyongo as RTSA Director Zindaba Soko looks on.
ZAMBIAN YOUTHS MUST REJECT OLD POLITICIANS IN 2016
As MMD Die Hard Youths, we wish to make a clarion call for young people to distant themselves from old and greedy politicians ahead of 2016 general elections.
We are aware that some old politicians from the days of our independence struggle want to regroup with the viewing to challenging for the presidency in 2016.
We wish to warn these old politicians to stay away from politics as today’s modern day politics are dynamic and scientific and not for the aged.
The old cannot simply compete in the political space. They are devoid of fresh ideas and cannot effectively engage in today’s highly challenging global environment.
We appeal to youths of Zambia to make it a point that His Excellency Michael Sata should be the last Head of State with ties to Zambia’s independence in 1964 to ever rule this country.
As the 2016 general elections approaches, Zambian must prepare to retire all those old politicians from the colonial era.
By clearing the political stage, the much needed space for young politicians will be created and Zambia will be on the road to recovery.
Zambia cannot simply continue being led by people from the Independence era politics. Majority of countries that have made social and economic progress have embraced youthful leadership and Zambia should follow suit.
In the MMD, we have able and proven leadership in Dr Nevers Sekwila Mumba. Dr Mumba has abundant energy and wisdom to transform Zambia into a nation that God destined it to be. It will take young Zambians to marshal adequate support across party lines to get Dr Mumba to State House in 2016 and begin the process of changing Zambia.
We are therefore appealing to all young Zambians not to look back to the old and retired politicians to take Zambia forward. Let us begin to focus on eyes on youthful leadership to take Zambia to its promised land. Let’s focus our eyes on Dr Nevers Sekwila Mumba.
Issued by Bowman Lusambo-MMD Die Hard National Youth Coordinator
02/07/14
