Vice President, Guy Scott, has defended his wife, Charlotte’s inclusion on the Zambia Wildlife Authority (ZAWA) Board, saying she is committed to service delivery contrary to assertions of ‘soliciting’ funds.

Dr Scott says his wife is merely a volunteer and she gets no remuneration sitting as a Chairperson on the ZAWA Board.

Others currently sitting on the ZAWA Board includes prominent farmer Guy Robinson and Tourism Permanent Secretary, Stephen Mwansa.

The Vice President clarified in Parliament that Mrs Scott is not pocketing a single Ngwee directly or indirectly from the Board. This was during the 30-minute Vice President’s oral question time.

The Veep was responding to a question raised by MMD Chembe Member of Parliament (MP), Mwansa Mbulakulima, who wanted to find out the inclusion of his wife, Charlotte sitting on the ZAWA Board.

Dr Scott, who is also Patriotic Front (PF) Lusaka, Central MP, explained that Charlotte was working for UNICEF but her employer asked her to vacant from the UN body job following his appointment as Republican Vice President in 2011.

He is, however, proud that his wife is rendering her services to help the under-17 football team, nicknamed the Junior She- polopolo, to excel in soccer besides being the Matron of the Ministers’ Wives Club whose core agenda is charity work and to assist vulnerable communities.

And Dr Scott has urged PF MPs to work hard or be booted out from the ruling party because the PF culture is founded on service deliver and does not condone laziness.

He also called on civil servants to be abreast with the PF party manifesto.

The Vice President clarified that the statement by the Head of State that most PF MPs are ‘useless’ is a signal for them to pull their socks and deliver to the aspirations of the people who sent them to National Assembly.

He was answering MMD Sinda MP Levy Ngoma who challenged PF MPs to resign on grounds of abusing tax payers’ money since President Michael Sata considered most of them useless.

ZANIS

Former Finance Minister Ng’andu Magande has observed that the continued weakening of the Zambian Kwacha against global cumulative currencies requires government to revisit the Bank of Zambia (BoZ) Statutory Instrument (SI) No. 55 of 2013.The PF Government issued Statutory Instrument 55 of the Bank of Zambia (Monitoring of Balance of Payments) Regulations in July 2013. This revoked and replaced Statutory Instrument 32 of the Bank of Zambia (Monitoring of Balance of Payments) Regulations, 2013.

The Kwacha has dropped to a record low in 20-years as much K5.78 per US dollar.

Mr Magande also observed that the weakening of the country’s currency is an indication that very little foreign exchange is coming into the country’s economy.

He said government should establish whether investors are now withholding their export earnings as a possible protest against Statutory Instrument no. 55.

Mr Magande who is National Movement for Progress president and an Agriculture Economist by profession told Qfm News in an interview that the Kwacha’s volatility requires government to revisits SI 55 and possibly reverse it.

He further advised government to ensure that all export proceeds are coming back into the country’s economy to cushion the economy, as opposed to being channeled to foreign reserves.

The Bank of Zambia recently called an emergency meeting with lenders to probe a drop in the nation’s currency to a record against the dollar.A falling currency increases the risk of higher inflation in Zambia, which imports items from oil to breakfast cereal. It also makes repayments on external borrowings more expensive.

MMD President Nevers Mumba has observed that most Zambians are now finding President Sata’s comments on the constitution making process irritating.

In an interview, Dr Mumba said President Sata’s recent comments on the constitution are also distressing Zambians.

He said most Zambians are also irritated by President Sata’s level of arrogance over the constitution making process.

He said President Sata has shown a lot of disrespect and contempt to the Zambian people who elected him into office.

“Zambians are very distressed by the behaviour of this President, his altitude to the Zambian people, his arrogance, his disrespect, his contemptuous talk continues to irritate Zambians,” Dr Mumba said.

Dr Mumba was reacting to President Sata latest remarks that proponents of a people driven constitution must first show him an animal driven constitution before demanding for a people driven one.

“I think that God has allowed him to lose his way because I can’t imagine a President making such comments. What Zambians are saying is that look, we want a better constitution in which we participate in its formulation,” Dr Mumba said.

He added, “For him to make such comments shows arrogance of the highest level. I appeal to the President to be presidential about this matter. We are determined to have a new constitution, with or without him anyway.”

[pullquote]“I think that God has allowed him to lose his way because I can’t imagine a President making such comments. What Zambians are saying is that look, we want a better constitution in which we participate in its formulation,” Dr Mumba said.[/pullquote]

And speaking when he addressed a campaign rally in Katuba constituency Thursday afternoon, Dr Mumba stated that Zambians have themselves to blame for sufferings brought about by the PF government.

Dr Mumba said the many lies told by the PF during the 2011 campaigns were believed by so many Zambians.

“He tried to be President of this country in 2011, 2006 and 2008 and you Zambians rejected him. He then went to Chitulika village to find out how he could win a general election in this country. He was told to just go back to the Zambians and lie to them and so in 2008 he started going round the country telling lies,” Dr Mumba said.

He added, “People are not happy because they have no money in their pockets, Mealie meal prices are up, insults are the order of the day in this country. There is too much intolerance in Zambia today because the Bible says when the evil men rule, people cry and when the righteous rule, people rejoice.”

Dr Mumba said, “Mr Sata came all the way from Chitulika village to Chibombo in 2011 promising that he would give you more money in your pockets, a new constitution in 90 days and that he would create jobs for the youth, Mealie prices and bus fares would reduce.”

The MMD leader stated that Mr Sata was such a good liar that he managed to convince millions of citizens to vote for him in 2011.

“I met somebody in Solwezi who told me that President Sata is a man, he said you Dr Mumba who can’t match up to Mr Sata. He said Mr Sata singlehandedly managed to lie to the entire nation including the rich in posh cars and suits.

“Somebody asked me as a Reverend of 30 years why things are not going well in Zambia since the PF came into power. Why does everything seem so dark? He said Mealie meal prices are now at K 80, agriculture crops are not growing and he asked for my thoughts. I told them that there is something that Zambians did wrong and that we have to change that for us to win favour from the Lord and that is the issue of leadership, we gave leadership to evil men.”

He continued, “How many people have died here in Chibombo on that road, so much blood has been shed, It looks like God has forsaken us in Zambia even Mangoes have disappeared in PF when during the MMD, mango trees were full of the fruit, even mushrooms have refused to grow this year.”

He charged that Zambians have themselves to blame for finding themselves in the current mess.

He urged the electorate in Katuba to vote for MMD candidate Cecil Homes in Tuesdays by election as a way of saying no to the PF mismanagement of national affairs.