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Mutembo Nchito insists on prosecuting RB

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Mutembo Nchito insists on prosecuting RB
DPP Mutembo Nchito addressing delegates during the 3rd International Association of Prosecutors (IAP) Conference for the Africa-India Ocean Region in Livingstone at Zambezi Sun Hotel
DPP Mutembo Nchito

DIRECTOR of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Mutembo Nchito says his business relationship with Post Newspapers’ editor Fred M’membe cannot have a bearing on court issues and how he prosecutes former President Rupiah Banda.

Mr Nchito says he cannot recuse himself from prosecuting Banda and that the matter should not be sent to the High Court based on grounds that he will be biased against Banda as he is a business partner with Mr M’membe.

This is in a case in which Banda is charged with two counts of corrupt activities and concealing gratification of motor vehicles contrary to the laws of Zambia.
Mr Nchito said this on Wednesday in reply to Banda’s lawyers who wanted him to recuse himself and the matter to be sent to the High Court for determination of constitutional issues.

The matter is before principal resident magistrate Obbister Musukwa.

“It is understandable for the accused to feel angry, disappointed and emotional.

“The defence has filed various documents in this court, which are not even before this honourable court.

“My colleagues are now arguing that I will be biased because of my friendship with Mr M’membe, with due respect what influence does he have to determine the outcome of the court?” Mr Nchito said.

Defence lawyers led by Patrick Mvunga said Mr Nchito should stop handling this matter because Banda feels intimidated due to the existing business relationship between Mr Nchito and Mr M’membe who has allegedly labelled him guilty through editorial comments.

But Mr Nchito said there is nothing wrong for him to take an interest in a matter of importance and public interest, adding that it is his constitutional right to prosecute cases of public interest.

He said his business with Mr M’membe cannot affect his judgment and focus because the matter is an important case involving a former head of state and that the court is ready to provide guidance.

In reply, another defence lawyer Makebi Zulu said the application to transfer the matter to the High Court is neither vexatious nor frivolous but a serious constitutional issue.

The matter comes up May 30 for ruling.

Meanwhile, chief resident magistrate Joshua Banda has allowed the submission as part of the State’s evidence 12 photocopied documents in the matter in which Banda is charged with one count of abuse of authority of office relating to an oil deal valued at US$2.5 million.

Mr Banda said the documents Banda is disputing are relevant to the case and cannot be said to be foreign as the witness made efforts to locate the original documents.
The matter comes today for continued hearing.

Nkana welcomes back Festus Mbewe

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Nkana coach Masauso Mwale says he is excited with the return of striker Festus Mbewe back to the club.

Mbewe came back at Nkana this week after the expiry of six-month loan spell at demoted South Africa Premier Soccer League club Golden Arrows.

Mwale said Mbewe, who was inspirational as Nkana won the 2013 FAZ Super League title will add value to the team.

The robust striker scored 13 goals for Nkana last season.

“It is good to have Festus back. We are so excited that he is back he will add very good depth to our team, he is influential and it is good for Nkana,” he said.

Mwale said he would asses Mbewe to see if he can be fit for Saturday’s 2014 CAF Confederation Cup Group B match against Sewe Sport of Ivory Coast in Kitwe.

“We have to assess his fitness levels because he has not been playing from the time they wound-up the season there.” he added.

Patrice beefs up U-20 bench

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Chipolopolo coach Patrice Beaumelle on Thursday morning joined the Zambia Under-20 bench in drilling the youth team ahead of Sunday’s
2015 Senegal CAF Youth Championship qualifier against Mozambique in Lusaka.

The Junior Chipolopolo team is 2-0 up from the first leg of the second round match played in Maputo almost two weeks ago.

Beaumelle said it is vital that Zambia qualifies for next year’s CAF Under-20 Youth Championship.

“I came here because we wanted to do a tactical session to also let them know my philosophy. So that if I call one boy from U-20 or 17
they will already know my philosophy,” he said.

Beaumelle added:”The most important is not to win but to qualify to the next round because the team needs to check itself against other
teams to see if they are improving or doing the right.”

And under-20 coach Hector Chilombo declared his team ready for Sunday’s match.

“We are ready for Sunday’s game. The boys have been working very hard. We were doing a tactical session, definitely we have to win,” Chilombo
said.

Zambia’s External debt now at $4.2 billion, it is still below the international thresholds-Yamba

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Zambia’s External debt now at $4.2 billion, it is still below the international thresholds-Yamba
Secretary to the Treasury Fredson Yamba
Secretary to the Treasury Fredson Yamba

Zambia’s external debt as at end of April, 2014, stood at US $4.2 Billion or 22% of GDP whilst domestic debt stood at K20 Billion or approximately 16.4 % of GDP.

Secretary to the Treasury Fredson Yamba in an update on public debt status says both external and domestic debt levels remain below the international thresholds of 40% and 25%, respectively.

Mr Yamba said that for the period from January, 2014, total external debt service, principal plus interest payments now stands at US$52.2 Million of which US$2.6 Million is a payment made in April, 2014.

Mr Yamba said that according to current projections, the total external debt falling due over the next 12 months stands at US$ 249 Million or 1.3% of GDP.

He said that Government has continued to observe international standards of debt management; consistent with the commitment to maintain strong credit worthiness and safeguard macroeconomic stability.

Below is the full update

 

 

UPDATE ON PUBLIC DEBT STATUS AS AT 30 APRIL, 2014

Lusaka, 22nd May, 2014. Government has continued to observe international standards of debt management; consistent with the commitment to maintain our strong credit worthiness and safeguard macroeconomic stability.

As at end of April, 2014, external debt stood at US $4.2 Billion or 22 % of GDP whilst domestic debt stood at K20 Billion or approximately 16.4 % of GDP. In this regard, both external and domestic debt levels remain below the international thresholds of 40% and 25%, respectively.

For the period from January, 2014, total external debt service (principal plus interest payments) now stands at USD 52.2 Million of which USD 2.6 Million is a payment made in April, 2014. According to our current projections, the total external debt falling due over the next 12 months stands at USD 249 Million or 1.3% of GDP.

The current composition of the total external debt is as follows;

Chart 1 - External Debt Composition by Creditor Type
Chart 1 – External Debt Composition by Creditor Type

 

Chart 2 - External Debt Stock by Currency Composition
Chart 2 – External Debt Stock by Currency Composition

Legend:

USD – United States Dollars
EUR – Euro
CNY – Chinese Yen
SDR – Special Drawing Rights

And for the period from January, 2014, total domestic debt service related to Government securities (principal plus interest payments) now stands at K3.2 Billion of which K544.6 Million is a payment made in April, 2014. In the same month, Government issued K458 Million Treasury Bills in the domestic market. According to our current projections, the total domestic debt falling due over the next 12 months stands at K9.8 Billion or 8% of GDP.

Although the economy is steadily gliding out of turbulence, the Treasury is gravely concerned with reports of financial mis-representation in the private sector and the mining industry in particular. Apart from specific actions which will be taken to correct erring players, we are confident that once the programme on monitoring the mineral value chain is fully functional, coupled with our commitments under the Extractive Industry Transparent Initiative [EITI], holes in the system will be plugged and the people of Zambia will begin to get the full value of their interest in natural resources.

The Treasury appeals to all citizens to be vigilant and to ensure that while allowing an enabling environment for lawful business and entrepreneurship to thrive, cases of financial fraud should promptly be reported to relevant authorities. In this respect, organisations such as the Zambia Institute of Certified Accountants and the Zambia Institute of Internal Auditors are expected to take leading roles in fostering private sector transparency and financial accountability.

//SIGNED//

Fredson Yamba
Secretary to the Treasury
MINISTRY OF FINANCE

Malawi’s Deputy Minister shoots himself after losing a parliamentary seat

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malawi-flag

Malawi’s immediate former deputy minister of Local Government and Lilongwe losing Lilongwe Msodzi North Parliamentary elections member of parliament Godfrey Kamanya has this morning shot himself dead.

Mr Kamanya had contested his seat but lost the election during the on-going counting of ballot papers.

Former Minister of Transport Ulemu Chilapondwa confirmed the death of the minister in an interview this morning.

His body was taken to Kamuzu central hospital in Lilongwe around 04hours this morning.
However, Mr Chilapondwa said Mr Kamanya left a suicide note explaining that he was has taken his own life because of a debt he owed some government officials.

Mr Chilapondwa said the people he owed money had been threatening Mr Kamanya with death hence his action to kill himself.

Mr Chilapondwa explained that the note also outlines how his estate must be shared among the family members including his wife and mother.

He said the death of Mr Kamanya is unrelated with the election loss.

Meanwhile, Malawian President Joyce Banda has held her first press conference since casting of her vote to demand an immediate recount of the ballot papers.

Dr Banda alleged that she has concrete evidence that the elections have been rigged by one of the leading opposition parties.

The Malawian Electoral Commission (MEC) is yet to announce the results of the elections. Dr Banda also alleged massive irregularities in the conduct of the elections.

The fifth presidential elections have seen the emergence of three strong opposition leaders keen and determined to unseat Dr Banda who has led Malawi for two years following the death of her predecessor, Bingu Wamutharika.

Latest unofficial being announced on the national radio stations have shown that clergy man and leader of the liberation party, the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) Lazarus Chakwera is way ahead alongside Peter Wamutharika, the brother of the late President.

MEC chairperson Maxon Mbendera however said on the Malawi Broadcasting Corporation television that there is no evidence of miscalculations and that the MEC website has not been hacked.
Mr Mbendera said the situation was control at MEC and urged Malawians to remain calm.

Mr Mbendera also maintained that the results of the elections will be withheld for sometime until the atmosphere of violence ceases.

Nevers Mumba tours Chisokone in Kitwe, gets audience with taxi drivers and marketeers

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Nevers Mumba Listening to Tax Drivers at Chisokone Market in Kitwe
Nevers Mumba Listening to Tax Drivers at Chisokone Market in Kitwe

Marketeers at Kitwe’s Chisokone market this afternoon mobbed MMD President Nevers Mumba when he toured the market.

And some taxi drivers in Kitwe have expressed regret for having voted for the Patriotic Front in the 2016 general elections.

The drivers complained to Dr Mumba of been treated like slaves under the PF government.

They said the PF is demanding a lot from them amid the high cost of fuel prices and cost of living.

“We don’t know whether we voted for dictatorship or a democratic government that cares for the people. As things stand the PF government has subjected us to slavery conditions and we regret voting for them.”

“This is the last time we are voting for the PF here in Kitwe, they will not get any of our votes in 2016.”

And Dr Mumba said the concerns of the marketers and the tax drivers are lessons to Zambians not to vote for people who do not know how to govern a country.

He said the PF was voted into office based on fake promises and lies which the people of Zambia are able to see for themselves now.

“The MMD should be voted back into office because you know how the MMD is concerned about the plight of the Marketeers and the tax drivers, Dr. Mumba told the group that mobbed him”.

Meanwhile, Dr Mumba said he is in Kitwe to listen to the concerns of the people as he mobilizes the party for the 2016 general elections.

“The mood is very depressing when people explain what they are going through, the problem we have in Zambia is that we have a government that raised the hopes of Zambians when promises were made that Zambians will have money in their pockets which is not in reality now and the opposite is true” people are now losing Jobs,” Dr Mumba said.

He added, “When you access the three years that PF has been in Government, people are depressed because their hopes are deflected  and that is why they are looking around for people to raise their hopes and MMD is the new hope for Zambia, “Dr Mumba said.

Dr Mumba is also in Kitwe to get the views of the people so that they can be included in the party’s working manifesto for the 2016 general elections.

Nevers Mumba buying commodities at Chisokone market
Nevers Mumba buying commodities at Chisokone market

Zambia fails to send adequate athletes to youth games in Botswana

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The Botswana National Dance Troupe showcasing that country's traditional dance
The Botswana National Dance Troupe showcasing that country’s traditional dance

Government says failure by the National Olympic Committee of Zambia to send all athletes to participate 2014 African Youth Games in Gaborone will deprive the Zambia team of medals.

From a total of about 2500 athletes, Zambia has only sent 28 participants who are taking part in only 8 sporting disciplines out of the available 21 disciplines in Gaborone, Botswana.

Speaking in an interview after he visited the team at the University of Botswana, Youth and Sport Deputy Minister Christopher Mulenga expressed disappointment that Zambia only managed to send a few boys and girls for the games despite the tournament taking place in the neighbouring country.

The Minister stated that the Africa Youth Games was a rare opportunity for Zambia to expose its youths ahead of the Nanjing Olympics later this year.

He explained that government will ensure that it works closely with the National Olympic Committee of Zambia in future competitions to ensure that the country gets proper representation.

Mulenga was however hopeful that the boys and girls representing the country will mint medals despite being few in number.

And both the Zambian team delegation leader Francis Mubanga and National Boxing Coach Maybin Gunduzani said in separate interviews that they are hopeful that the Zambian ambassadors at the competition will reap medals following adequate preparations for the games.

Mubanga said the morale in the camp is high as both the girls and boys are aiming to win medals at the tournament stating that all is set for the competition.

Mubanga expressed satisfaction at the reception the Zambian team has received in Botswana and praised the Zambian government for facilitating logistics for the team.

The 2014 Africa Youth Games are expected to be officially opened today by Botswana’s President Ian Khama at ceremony to be held around 17:30 hours in the National Stadium.

Kapiri man dies after consuming Kachasu

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Kapiri Mposhi Township
Kapiri Mposhi Township

A 33-year-old Man of Chief Mukonchi’s area in Kapiri Mposhi district has died after consuming an illicit brew commonly known as Kachasu.

And Chief Mukonchi has called on government to stiffen the law against those found manufacturing, consuming and trading in illicit beer in the country.

Chief Mukonchi of the Swaka speaking people in Kapiri Mposhi district confirmed the death of the man to ZANIS and identified him as Chibuye Katondo of East Bank Farming Block.

Chief Mukonchi said the man died yesterday around 18:00 hours after allegedly spending the whole day drinking the local brew at a named house where the beer is brewed and sold in the area.

The traditional leader said the deceased instantly collapsed and died when he attempted to get up and go home after drinking Kachasu.

“He was spotted drinking Kachasu from around 09:00 hours to around 18:00 hours yesterday and collapsed and died evidently from the effects of the beer,” Chief Mukonchi said.

The traditional leader has since called on government through, the council and Police to rid the area of people brewing Kachasu.

Chief Mukonchi noted that brewing of Kachasu and other illicit alcohol had become rampant in his chiefdom.
He stated that the trend was negating development as some people especially youths were spend most of their time drinking beer instead of engaging themselves in productive activities to better their wellbeing.

The traditional leader advised the law enforcement agencies to move into his area and implement the law against brewers, traders and consumers of Kachasu and other illicit beers.
The chief blamed the increased recklessness which is resulting in deaths, violence and contraction of HIV in his area especially amongst youths on the heightened drinking of the alcohol.

Zambian Government and IBM to Provide Improved Access to Life Saving Drugs

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drugs

IBM today announced a collaboration with the Zambian Ministry of Health to provide citizens with improved access to 200 lifesaving drugs. Supported by the World Bank, the Department for International Development, UNICEF and London Business School, Zambia’s Medical Stores Limited (MSL) will deploy a new medical supply chain pilot project using sophisticated analytics and mobile technologies to better manage medicine inventory and delivery.

The public health sector in Zambia registers 100,000 deaths annually due to preventable and treatable diseases. The goal of the medicine supply chain management project is to save more lives by making medicine widely available when and where it’s needed.

The Ministry of Health is introducing innovative technology to manage a scalable supply chain and control the usage, supply, availability and access to essential medicine within the Zambian health sector. The solution will provide a real-time view of drug usage and stock while analyzing data to identify trends and forecasts to prevent gaps in the medical supply chain.

“With help from our partners, we have already introduced simple improvements in the medical supply chain that will save the lives of thousands of children across our country by 2015,”said Dr. Bonface Fundafunda, CEO at MSL. “To build on these gains, we’re working with IBM to replace our paper-based inventory system with cutting-edge technology that can pinpoint the exact locations where stocks of essential medicines are running dangerously low.”

Using the IBM SPSS medicine supply forecast model, which takes into account local conditions such as the local rainy season, lead time and differences in each district’s demographics, MSL will be able to determine optimized distribution of drugs across an initial 2190 health centers.

“Zambia is taking strong action to prevent avoidable deaths by testing and deploying new methods to get drugs to people on time,” said John Makumba, operations officer, Africa Health Unit at the World Bank. “Supply chains are invisible and low profile, but when they don’t work, there are terrible consequences.”

The IBM Analytics capabilities will be integrated with the IBM MobileFirst application development portfolio, enabling staff at health facilities in three Zambian districts to use mobile devices with barcode scanners to record and transmit stock and utilization details to a central inventory control system. This will ensure continued access to vital medication and enhanced understanding of the usage patterns of vital medication.

To achieve the best availability of medicine in the health centers, the program will leverage IBM’s ILOG optimization technology to calculate the ideal composition of drug shipments based on available inventory, resources and historical usage. The transparency of the system means that each district will have a real time view of drug stock levels at the clinics and the ability to coordinate the transfer of supplies from one facility to another if required.

“The Zambian pilot is designed to be sustainable and locally owned,” said Peter Ward, solution manager, IBM. “Our unique analytics technology can help save lives by ensuring access to safe and effective medicines where they are needed most. IBM’s work to create smarter healthcare systems around the world is optimized around the patient, helping countries develop new patient-centric care models, and connecting health information through analytics.”

IBM was recently involved in a similar project to combat the number of deaths from malaria in Tanzania. Called “SMS for Life”, the solution was successfully piloted in 135 villages in remote areas and has now been rolled out across the whole of Tanzania.

“Besides potential lives saved, a digital system based on timely data could have related benefits such as lower costs, better management of scarce resources, better procurement decisions, and improved accountability throughout the supply chain,” said Jérémie Gallien, Associate Professor of Management and Operations, London Business School, who led the academic research.

The 12-month pilot project begins this month and will free up health facility staff from providing detailed paper stock inventories, allowing them to provide meaningful health care.

IBM has established the world’s deepest portfolio of Big Data and Analytics technologies and solutions, spanning services, software, research and hardware. Today, more than 400 IBM mathematicians and 6,000 industry solution business partners are helping clients use big data to transform their organizations. Additionally, IBM secured 1,500 Big Data and Analytics-related patents in 2013 alone, and continues to engage and build solutions and skills across a broad community of 1,000 university partnerships, 135,000 Big Data University enrollments and a worldwide network of nine Analytic Solutions Centers.

Distributed by APO (African Press Organization) on behalf of IBM.

Don’t blame Technical Committee for constitution stalemate-Rev Matale

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Don’t blame Technical Committee for constitution stalemate-Rev Matale
Technical Committee:TECHNICAL Committee on Drafting the Constitution spokesperson Ernest Mwansa speaking during a media briefing, as other members (from R to L) Patrick Mvunga, Reuben Lifuka, Suzanne Matale, Simon Kabanda, Chief Luchembe (third from left), Mwangala Zaloumis and Lubinda Aongola listen in
Technical Committee:TECHNICAL Committee on Drafting the Constitution
spokesperson Ernest Mwansa speaking during a media briefing, as other
members (from R to L) Patrick Mvunga, Reuben Lifuka, Suzanne Matale,
Simon Kabanda, Chief Luchembe (third from left), Mwangala Zaloumis and
Lubinda Aongola listen in

A member of the defunct Technical Committee Drafting the Constitution has jumped to the defence of the performance of the committee saying it performed its duties excellently.

Reverend Suzanne Matale said she was personally happy to have been part of the technical committee drafting the constitution.

Reverend Matale who is also Secretary General of the Council of Churches of Zambia said the committee comprised men and women of brilliant minds who applied themselves to the task diligently.

She was speaking when she featured on the Hot Seat radio programme on Lusaka’s Hot FM.

“It would be so unfair to apportion blame on the technical committee for the stalemate on the constitution. Although I am not the Spokesperson of the committee, I wish to place it on record that the committee did an excellent job. The passion exhibited by the men and women in that committee was pleasing to see,” he said.

Reverend Matale added, “No iota of blame should be apportioned on the technical committee. These people did a brilliant job and handed over the report to the appointing authority as requested for.”
She also appealed to Zambians to keep pushing for the release of the draft constitution.

“We produced a good report and a good draft constitution and it is now up to Zambians to press the Executive to release the draft report.”

On the same programme, Reverend Matale said the Oasis Forum is still vibrant and has not lost steam.
“The Oasis is still very strong and the perception that we have lost steam is incorrect. We are still the defenders of our republican constitution and we will continue pushing for a just society,” Reverend Matale said.

And featuring on the same programme, Law Association of Zambia Vice President Linda Kasonde bemoaned the low levels of civic knowledge among citizens.

Ms. Kasonde said the Oasis Forum and other like-minded organisations have been going round the country to raise interest among citizens on the demand for a new constitution.

Scott extols plane crash victims

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Scott extols plane crash victims

zaf

Vice President Guy Scott this morning led hundreds of mourners at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross who paid their last respects during a church service for the late Zambia Air force (ZAF) Deputy Commander Major General Miliokela Miliokela and Colonel Brian Mweene who died on Monday in plane crash.

Dr. Scott said his presence and that of other government officials at the requiem mass represents more than just a formal representation of government.

He said his presence and that of other government officials that included Defence Minister Edgar Lungu, Justice Wynter Kabimba and the Chief Government Spokesperson Joseph Katema is also an expression of their sadness over the deaths of the two ZAF senior officers.

Dr Scott stated that in the two and half years the Patriotic Front government officials have been flown around the country, ZAF officers have looked after government officials.

He said it is for this reason that government finds the death of Maj. Gen. Miliokela and Col. Mweene, whom he has described as skillful pilots, a great loss to the nation.

Earlier in a speech read for her, Maj. Gen. Miliokela’s wife Tina described how life had been with her late husband, whom she described as her best friend who she will miss dearly.

And his daughter Mary observed that her consolation and that of her siblings was that their father died doing the thing he loved.

Meanwhile in her speech ready for her Col Mweene’s wife Janet also described how saddened she is on the passing of her husband.

Both Maj. Gen. Miliokela and Col. Mweene will be put to rest at the Leopards Hill Memorial Park in Lusaka.

 

[QFM]

Government awards K144m to Chinese firm for Kasama Airport rehab

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Government has awarded a K144m contract to a Chinese company for the construction of a new runway at Kasama Airport in Northern Province.

This came to light today, when Parliamentarians under the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) visited the airstrip.

The four man committee led by Chairperson Vincent Mwale was in Kasama to establish why works at the airport were not undertaken despite government releasing K5.6m in 2013.

Mr Mwale was concerned that auditors had raised queries that even though funds were released to rehabilitate the runway, works had not commenced at the airstrip.

But clarifying the matter to the parliamentarians, Deputy Director for Civil Aviation Adams Daka said the K5.6m was meant for the rehabilitation of the old 1.7 kilometre runway.

‘’However, government thought is wise to have a completely new runway at Kasama hence this new contract,’’ he said.

Mr Daka said a new 3 km runway to run parallel to the old one will now be constructed to full bituminous standards at a cost of K144m.

He added that once completed, the runway will accommodate big planes and will be a strategic stopover because air traffic passing through Southern to East Africa will be able to refuel and check for technical faults at Kasama.

‘’This contract was signed last week and the Chinese contractor will move on site soon,’’ he said.

He added that the move will boost the tourism potential of the Northern Circuit.

And PAC members appealed to supervisors and technocrats involved in the construction of the runway to ensure that the project does not suffer unnecessary delays in order for people to realize the benefits of their investment.

Mwale said the PAC was concerned that huge sums of tax payers’ money is being spent on government projects whose completion is being unnecessarily delayed by unpatriotic civil servants and contractors.

And on the issue of Kasaba Bay, Mr Daka said a technical report indicated that almost 70 percent of the total works have already been completed.

Sino hydro workers in Itezhi -tezhi complain of poor working conditions

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Western Province Minister Nathaniel Mubukwano speaking to China New Era Chief engineer Feng Liyon during the inspection of works on the Sesheke- Senanga road
File picture

Workers at Sino Hydro State Company which is constructing the 120MW Itezhi -tezhi hydroelectric power plant have complained of abusive language and beatings by some Chinese supervisors.

Some workers at the U$250 million hydroelectric construction project said they suffer regular beatings and that the Chinese supervisors reduce working hours on their time cards, delay their pay and subject them to poor safety conditions.

The workers told Itezhi -tezhi Member of Parliament Greyford Monde who was in the district to inspect development projects when he toured the construction site.

One of the workers said when an accident happens due to negligence, the Chinese will either bribe or threaten the injured person not to report to Itezhi Tezhi Power Corporation (ITPC) or police.

“You find that even if you are hurt some colleagues will not report for fear of being fired and losing a salary,’ he said.

The workers who submitted 13 complaints against the firm requested not to be identified for fear of victimisation.

“The Chinese are more interested in having the job done on time, not safety” said one of the workers who opted to remain anonymous for fear of victimization.

But Mr Monde who is also Agriculture and Livestock Deputy Minister said complying to labour laws and ensuring worker’s safety standards should be a standard operation practice.

The minister advised the management at the company to treat their workers with respect to prevent reprisals from workers.

“We do not want what happened at Maamba where local employees were annoyed by constant abuse and rioted resulting in death of some Chinese nationals.

And responding to the complaints submitted by workers, Sino hydro commercial ManagerHe Zhijun said salaries for Sino hydro workers are based on number of hours an individual works and that the salaries are above the minimum wage as stipulated by government.

“Sino hydro salaries are much higher than what other construction companies are paying. The harder you work the more money you earn. No work no money,” he said.

Mr. Zhijun said Sino hydro has been paying workers on time but the local bank ZANACO has been letting them down sometimes because of systems failure.

“The complaint that we don’t pay on time is not true because we pay on time but the technical failure at the bank sometimes causes the delay. For example on 6th May the system stopped working and the bank apologized for the delay due to this,” said Zhijun.

Public Sphere under threat in Zambia

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Public Sphere under threat in Zambia
The '5' Police officers deployed at Mano radio station in Kasama to block GBM
The ‘5’ Police officers deployed at Mano radio station in Kasama to block GBM

The Media institute of Southern Africa (MISA) is concerned that the existence of a public sphere is under threat in Zambia because of some acts of intolerance by some stakeholders and continued existence of archaic laws that continue to be used to suppress press freedom and freedom of expression.

The public sphere is a space where the citizens of a country exchange ideas and discuss issues, in order to reach agreement about matters of general interest and it is important for the proper functioning of any democracy and existence of good governance. In these modern times, the public sphere includes radio, television, newspapers and the internet.

However, the respect for media freedom in the country is deteriorating thus threatening the existence of a public sphere. According to Freedom House, Zambia has gone back to being ‘not free’ from being ‘partially free’ for a period of two years; 2011 and 2012. Even our own findings also speak to the same issues that press freedom and freedom of expression is deteriorating.

Some of the incidents that are threatening this space are attacks by ruling political party supporters on such institutions as Zambia Information Communication Authority (ZICTA) urging them to take action against online media that are ‘insulting’ their leaders. Some of the threats take on a veil which come in the form of calls for community media to play a ‘unifying role’ when they feature persons with opposing views.

Others include the storming of community media such as Radio Explorer by ruling party cadres, the suspension of two state-owned media journalists while some have gone on to quit because they have refused to be cowed into submission to certain ways of reporting. The chain of sad events includes the recent summoning of Kariba FM Radio management to appear before Police for airing a story in which residents raised concern on the conduct of police officers in the area.

Another threat is the present government’s use of various draconian colonial laws that include ‘publishing false information’, to suppress the media and limit freedom of expression, when instead these laws should be regarded as archaic and must be entirely repealed.

Even more worrying is the appearance of President Michael Sata in the High Court on 21 May 2014 to testify against the Managing Editor of the Daily Nation Newspapers. This has definitely sent shivers to many citizens and the media where holding the President accountable as Zambia’s elected leader is concerned.

We are fearful that the media will not be able to feature people who want to criticise the President because of fear of being taken to court by the President personally. This will hinder press freedom in the country and has sent shivers to those who want to set up radios of television stations including newspapers and online publications.

The presence of heavy security, helicopters and many such machinery was very intimidating and many journalists and the citizens are afraid. This can be seen from the little postings dotted on facebook even from very vocal persons that post any significant happenings in the nation.

In illustrating the above, we want to point at what is threatening the existence of the public sphere in Zambia. These levels of intolerance are derailing the democratic gains Zambia has been making over the years while denying Zambia development because freedom of expression, access to information and free debate is being curtailed through the above named acts or existence of oppressive laws.

It is our hope that government will address the anomalies through addressing the violence and harassments against the media and citizens who have the right to freedom of expression and access to information. Further, government should repeal archaic laws and enact the new constitution of 2012 which has progressive provisions on media freedom, freedom of expression and access to information.

Ms Hellen Mwale
MISA Zambia Chairperson
22 May 2014

Ruff Kaida to launch his “Naked Truth ” Album

Entertainment Editor
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Ruff Kaida to launch his “Naked Truth ” Album

ruff

Ruff Kaida (formally  Ruff Kid) , will be launching his album “The Naked Truth” on 24th May at Club Zed .  Guest artist include Slap D, Chef 187 , Afunika , Mainza and many more .

BY KAPA187

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