Secretary to the Cabinet Roland Msiska has reiterated government’s commitment to promoting a gender responsive and inclusive development for all Zambians.

Dr. Msiska said government has continued to demonstrate this by strengthening gender equality in prioritised areas of the economy such as agriculture, construction, infrastructure development, job creation and tourism.

He said effective gender mainstreaming is a tool that will enable government make the development agenda more inclusive and responsive to the needs of women, men, girls and boys.

ZANIS Reports that Dr. Msiska said this in a speech read on his behalf by his deputy Ambassador Peter Kasanda during the official opening of the two days Retreat for a Committee of Permanent Secretaries on Gender.

The two days gender retreat is a joint support programme between Government, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Department for International Development Aid (DFID).

Dr. Msiska has since urged the committee to accelerate gender responsiveness development by ensuring that sector plans and budgets are fully engendered.

And Dr. Msiska has directed the Public Service Management Division (PSMD) to ensure that the Strategy and Implementation Plan for Engendering the Public Service is fully operational.

Dr. Msiska also urged the PSMD to make tangible follow ups on the recommendations of the gender strategy plan which he said is cardinal in strengthening the Gender Focal Point System in the public sector.

The MMD is today expected to hold a national executive committee meeting to decide the fate of its two vice-presidents Dr Michael Kaingu and Dr Brian Chituwo along with Dora Siliya, Lucky Mulusa and Tobias Kafumukache a day after the Lusaka High Court dismissed the contempt of court case against the former ruling party president Nevers Mumba.

MMD national secretary Muhabi Lungu told the Daily Nation yesterday that he would be presenting a report to NEC members on the rebel members after they had refused to exculpate themselves over charges of indiscipline.

Yesterday, the Lusaka High dismissed the contempt case against Dr Mumba on account that the injunction to stop the MMD leader from going ahead with a NEC meeting was served on a Sunday.

High court Judge Eddie Sikazwe said the preliminary issues of the injunction which were raised by Dr Mumba Advocates contending that although there was a court order for an injunction it was served on a Sunday which was not in line with the High Court Order of the laws of Zambia.

Judge Sikazwe ruled that the second preliminary issue raised by Dr Mumba was to do with personal service of the MMD president could not render him (Dr Mumba) to be liable for contempt proceedings.

Judge Sikazwe added that the applicants Dr Micheal Kaingu and Dr Brian Chituwo knew that there was going to be a NEC meeting with a programme of electing a new National Secretary of the party.

Judge Sikazwe further added that the litigants before court were coming from one party, MMD and he therefore ordered no costs to either party.

This is in a case where the two MMD Vice Presidents Micheal Kaingu and Dr.Chituwo sued Dr Mumba and 34 NEC members for allegedly convening a NEC meeting which elected Mr.Muhabi Lungu as the party national secretary.

It was alleged that upon granting this order at around 13:00 hours then national secretary Chembe Nyangu was served with the same order at around 14:10 hours while preparing documents for the meeting at the Movement for Multi Party Democracy-MMD Secretariat by Messer Katolo and associates and he acknowledged receipt.

But Dr.Mumba disregarded the Court’s order of an injunction on the basis of that the court order could not be served on a Sunday and the disobeying of this court order was thereby lowering the Court’s dignity and authority.

And Mr Lungu said he NEC to be held today would decide what action to take against its rebel members and added that now that the court battle was over, it was important for the party to move forward to catch up with the time lost in mobilization.

Mr Lungu said while the ideal situation would have been to see reconciliation between the Dr Kaingu faction, discipline was cardinal for the smooth running of the party.
He said it would not help the MMD to have a small group of people moving in a different direction from the rest of the members because that was what was causing disunity in the former ruling party.

He said if there was going to a complete secession from maligning the leadership of Dr Mumba by those who had been calling for the removal of the MMD president, it would be prudent to consider reconciliation because the party was running out of time.

“We are having a NEC meeting tomorrow and I will be submitting my report over the disciplinary action that commenced against our colleagues. And the ideal situation after this episode should have been reconciliation but if you a small group in an organisation pulling in the wrong direction, then it is difficult to stay together. So NEC will decide on what action would be taken,” Mr Lungu said.

THE Lusaka Magistrate Court has referred to the High Court an application by former President Rupiah Banda where he is asking the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Mutembo Nchito to recuse himself from handling his case citing unfairness.

Principal resident Magistrate Obbister Musukwa in his ruling yesterday said from the submission and evidence on record, it was clear that there appeared to be an argument which could not be determined by his Court.

“Since this court has no powers to determine the application by Banda which is bordering on conflicting issues, I now refer the matter to the High Court for determination on whether Mr Mutembo Nchito should recuse himself or not,” Mr Musukwa said.

The Court had also ruled that the indictment be used in its perceived defective form in terms of content which was said to be malicious saying striking it out completely would not be in the interest of justice.

Mr Musukwa ruled that the indictment should remain on record in spite of its defectiveness as he was satisfied that it was duly sworn by a competent person.

He said his Court had no jurisdiction to interpret constitutional issues and that it was only vested in the higher court.

“There appears to be a conflict between the rights of the accused as guaranteed by Article 18 (1) and (11) of the Bill of Rights of the Constitution on one side and the Powers of the DPP to prosecute this matter in line with the provisions of Article 56 on the other,” he said.

This is in a case in which Banda had pleaded not guilty to two counts of corrupt practice and concealing gratification of motor vehicles received from a Chinese Company valued at US$180,000.

Banda complained that he was not comfortable with the DPP handling his case due to the alleged grudge against him arising from the collapse of the Zambian Airways which was being run by Mr Nchito, his brother Nchima and Post Newspaper editor-in-chief Fred M’membe.

Banda also submitted that it was a matter of public policy and a rule of natural justice that one should not be a prosecutor and judge in their own case hence the reason for the DPP to recuse himself claiming the alleged grudge was as a result of the defunct Zambian Airways.

He said a fair hearing in its nature, required equality between the contestants, subject to the supreme principles of among others the presumption of innocence and when one of the contestants had no pre-trial access to the statements taken by police from potential witnesses, the contest could neither be equal or fair.

Banda said this was a clear infringement of the right to fair hearing and the right to be afforded adequate time and facilitated for preparation under the Constitution.

But Mr Nchito had opposed the application on grounds that it was an attempt by the defence to delay proceedings and asked the court not to hear the appeal.

THE Lusaka High Court has halted contempt proceedings against MMD leader Nevers Mumba on grounds that the applicant did not obtain special leave of the court in order to serve an injunction on him and others ahead of the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting in Lusaka recently.

This is in a matter in which MMD’s vice presidents for politics and administration, Micheal Kaingu and Brian Chituwo respectively sought the court’s intervention to restrain Dr Mumba from convening a NEC meeting.

Dr Kaingu and Dr Chituwo had asked the court to cite Dr Mumba for contempt for disobeying a Court order that restrained the party from convening the NEC meeting.

High Court Judge, Eddie Sikazwe in his ruling yesterday said the applicant should have put in place all the necessary means to avoid being caught unawares since their intention was to block the NEC.

Mr Justice Sikazwe said even though the injunction was obtained rightfully from his Court on Sunday, on April 27, this year, at 13:35 hours and served at 14:10 on the acting national secretary Chembe Nyangu, special leave to serve the injunction order on the material day was not obtained by the applicants.

“Accordingly, I therefore find Mr Nyangu, sued in his capacity as acting national secretary of MMD, Dr Mumba and all the 34 members cited in these proceedings not guilty of contempt of this court,” Justice Sikazwe said.

Mr Justice Sikazwe said the litigants in the matter were coming from one party which was the first to bring multiparty democracy in Zambia’s politics and as such, it should be the last party to drag itself to Court over its party matters involving two different camps.

He said the applicant’s knew about the dates of the NEC convention way back and only went to court for an injunction at the eleventh hour to block it and they should have started the process earlier so that all was put in place.

Dr Mumba in addressing his supporters outside Court said he was delighted that justice had prevailed and that the ruling would teach others with hidden agendas in the party a big lesson especially on the basis of talking from without.

“I am happy that the contempt proceedings against us have been dropped, we were innocent from the beginning, we have been vindicated by the courts, this is a fair judgement and now we shall concentrate on our meetings,” Dr Mumba said.