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ActionAid welcomes commitment by government to prohibit displacement of communities in Musele Chiefdom
ActionAid today welcomed assurances by the Minister of Mines, Hon. Christopher Yaluma that communities located in the areas surrounding the Kalumbila Mine in Northwestern Province would not be displaced.
This follows a question raised in parliament on Tuesday regarding current lobbying of influential individuals by Canadian company First Quantum Minerals (FQM) to obtain a title to over 500 square kilometres of land. Honourable Yaluma responded that he was not aware of this lobbying; but that government would not allow any displacement to take place.
He also confirmed that an inter-ministerial committee has met and resolved the issues around Kalumbila and that that the issue of land allocation has been delegated to local government.
FQM acquired 518 square kilometres of land in the Musele Chiefdom through an agreement with Senior Chief Musele in 2011, however a ministerial task force later determined that Zambia’s Lands Act forbids any chief from selling more than 250 hectares and that only the president can authorise the sale.
ActionAid is supporting communities in the Musele Chiefdom to engage with FQM and government over this issue through the Musele-Nkisu community taskforce.
ActionAid Zambia Country Director Pamela Chisanga said:
“We welcome this commitment by the Minister as it is vital that communities are not displaced from the land that they depend on for their livelihood, and that any displacement should be discussed and agreed with communities and adequately compensated.
“We trust that the ministerial committee resolutions on Kalumbila have been completed in respect of the Musele community submissions submitted on 26 March 2013 and that no unilateral decisions have been taken by the government in terms of the size of land, equity and nature of the compensation.
“We hope that respect has been given to the fact that this is customary land and that the community’s input is necessary before any public announcements are made. This is because time must be provided to the community – who have so far not been engaged by the ministerial committee.
“We are aware that the community at Musele is not aware of many of the decisions that have been made and read or hear about these decisions through the media. We wish to implore the Minister to go a step further to ensure the meaningful dialogue with the community, the company and government so that all controversies regarding the Kalumbila project are resolved.
“The community so far seems to have been left alone to deal with a powerful multinational company while government seemingly took a back seat. We are happy that government has risen to the challenge and we hope to see this matter expeditiously concluded so that the people of Musele can carry on with their lives that have been disrupted over the last few years due to uncertainty and fear of displacement.”
Police officers praying during the prayer day for defence forces personnel n Lusaka
By Rev Kapya John Kaoma
On January 17, 2014, the Zambian government allowed an Australian company, Zambezi Resources to open a massive open-pit mining project in the Lower Zambezi National Park, which the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization was to declare a World Heritage Site. Although all traditional chiefs of the lower Zambezi, the Zambia Wildlife Authority, and the Zambia Environmental Advisory Agency opposed the move, Mr. Harry Kalaba, the Minister of Lands acting upon President Sata’s permission allowed the project to proceed—which will cause an ecological disaster—worse than the one experienced during the construction of the Kariba Dam in 1958. Unlike the Kariba, however, mining will displace millions of animals, pollute the waters and poison hundreds of thousands of nonhuman species. Who knows what President Sata and his cronies are set to get out of this venture? Well, Bemba say, “uubomba mwibala, alya mwibala” (the one who works in the field, eats from the field)—the only problem is, it is corruption in a Christian nation.
Corruption
Corruption is the abuse or misuse of public office, public resources, or some public obligation or duty for purposes of private (personal or group) gain. The negative effects of corruption on Zambia is frightening. “An insidious plague that has a wide range of corrosive effects on societies,” is what the then UN Secretary General Kofi A. Annan called corruption in his foreword to the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC). While this insidious plague is found across the globe, in Zambia, it undermines good governance and economic development.
Seriously, am I the only one who questions the relevance of the mantra of “Christian nation” in Zambia; am I the only one who thinks the mantra is used to blind us from exposing coruption? Well, every Zambian president claims to be a committed Christian, and so does his cabinet. In fact, every president has vowed to defend the Christian nation clause while presiding over a corrupt administration—which is an oxymoron.
[pullquote]In Zambia corruption is the only way to get what is legally yours[/pullquote]
Corruption erodes trust among the electorate and undermines the Government’s “ability to provide basic services, feeding inequality and injustice and discouraging foreign aid and investment.” In 2002, the African Union (AU) report revealed that the corruption cost Africa over $150 billion annually. The AU advocated the establishment of Anti-Corruption Commissions on the continent—leading to the establishment of the “African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption,” adopted in Maputo, on July 11, 2003. Article 19 of the Convention criminalizes “secret commissions and other forms of corrupt practices during international trade transactions,” but these practices are prevalent in our nation.
The ACC
We have the Anti-corruption Commission, but as S. O. Osoba contends, in Nigeria as elsewhere, these structures are “controlled and operated by, and in the interest of, members of the ruling class who have a vested and entrenched interest in sustaining and even extending corrupt practices.” The failure to prosecute Wynter Kawimba (until now) and GBM (until after he resigned from the Patriotic Front) despite being cited for corruption in the past confirms Osoba’s point. Is it that our anti-corruption commission is itself corrupt or toothless?
We are all victims and perpetrators of corruption. We are a corrupt Christian nation with corrupt citizens. Amidst extreme economic inequalities, lack of employment and social services, even poor people depend “on petty corruption and bureaucratic extortion in their efforts to secure basic services.” Who does not know that corruption is the norm in today’s Zambia; who does not know that corruption is the only way to enroll at government colleges or joining the civil service? Be it at the passport office, police station, and at courts, corruption is the only way to get what is legally yours.
In today’s Zambia, education and interviews do not matter anymore—corruption is the only way to get employed, join the army, and even become a security officer. Surely, we are a Christian nation of corrupt Christians!
The fight against corruption is a signiture phrase in Zambian political discourse. While the charges brought against the Chiluba and Rupiya Banda administrations suggest the rampart levels of corruption, Blaine Harden’s description of an African leader in the early 1990s still rings true today:
“His photograph hangs in every office in his realm. His ministers wear…tiny photographs of Him on the lapels of their tailored pin-striped suits.–His every pronouncement is reported on the front page.–He scapegoats minorities to shore up support. He rigs elections. He emasculates the courts. He cows the Press. He stifles academia. He goes to church.….He awards competitive, overprized contracts to foreign companies which grant…his family and his associates large kickbacks….He affects a commitment to free-market economic reforms to secure multi-million dollar loans and grants from the World Bank and International Monetary Fund…His rule has one overriding goal: to perpetuate his reign as Big man.”
Our constitutional identification as a Christian nation is contradicted by corruption. Harden’s point about politicians’ commitment to economic reforms to secure multi-million dollar loans deserves highlighting. There is no doubt that Zambian politicians are committed to free-market reforms to achieve their own financial security—the PF government seems to be doing exact that.
I am not saying that politicians are the only ones involved in corruption—the majority of church leaders are equally corrupt. As religious leaders, we often condemn corruption in government without stopping to critique fraud in our own institutions. Based on my experiences and interaction with African Churches, misappropriation of funds (mostly donated by international churches to address the plight of the poor) is common. No sooner does this money arrive than it is spent on building mansions for bishops and senior pastors. In Zambia, the plight of the masses remains a diamond mine for both religious and political leaders. While some politicians have been arrested and put in jail on corruption charges, prominent religious leaders have yet to taste justice for misusing Church resources. But, corruption and Christianity are not bedfellows unless you live in a Christian nation of thieves—Zambia.
FILE: PF Secretary General Wynter Kabimba,Northern Province Minister Freedom Sikazwe and Provincial Treasurer Chomba Chipili shows a party symbol to the delegates after he officiate at the Party Provincial Indaba in Kasama
The Patriotic Front (PF) Northern Province Executive Committee has summoned Kasama central Member of Parliament Geoffrey Mwamba to appear before the Disciplinary Committee after the fourteen days ultimatum he was given to exculpate himself elapsed.
PF Province Chairperson, Chomba Chipili, has told QFM in a telephone interview that Mr Mwamba is expected to appear before the disciplinary committee this week to exculpate himself for his alleged misconduct.
Mr. Chipili has also clarified that the process of expelling Mr. Mwamba from the party is being handled at provincial and not national level as claimed by the former defense minister.
He said if Mr. Mwamba fails to appear before the disciplinary committee, the provincial Executive will have no choice but to expel him from the party.
Mr Chipili added that everything has been done and that what is remaining is for Mr. Mwamba to clear himself from all the allegations that have been leveled against him.
Mr. Chipili said Mr. Mwamba’s popularity in Kasama will be tested when the party finally expels and face him in a by-election.
[QFM]
Zambian Youths Association in the Fight Against Corruption (ZYAFAC) has challenged the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) to publish the findings of the corruption allegations against former Defence Minister Geoffrey Mwamba and Justice Minister Wynter Kabimba for which they were cleared.
ZYAFAC Executive Director, Rickson Kanema says by so doing the ACC will win public confidence and trust as this will help avail the facts of the matter as to how the case against Mr. Mwamba has resurfaced.
Mr. Kanema said that the fight against corruption should not be seen to be selective if Zambia is to maintain a good name in fighting corruption.
He said the revival of corruption investigations against Mr. Mwamba is not a good example of fighting corruption when he was cleared earlier by a competent organization mandated to fight corruption.
Mr. Kanema has since challenged the Zambia Police Service clearly state whether it implies that the ACC is an incompetent body for earlier closing the case against Mr. Mwamba.
He added that the Zambia Police should also proceed to reopen investigations against Justice Minister Wynter Kabimba in the same manner they have done with Mr. Mwamba.
The Tourism and Arts Minister Slyvia Masebo has opposed Government’s decision to allow mining in the Lower Zambezi National Park.
Mrs Masebo said her Ministry is against the decision by the Ministry of Lands, Environment and Natural Resources to issue a mining licence to an Australian investor, Mwembeshi Resources under the parent name of Zambezi Resources in the Lower Zambezi.
In her submissions to the Parliamentary Committee on Tourism and Arts held in camera last week, Mrs Masebo said her Ministry feels that the mine project should not go ahead because it will put the existence of the Lower Zambezi National Park at risk.
She said the mine which will occupy about 25 percent will also reduce the tourism earnings which benefit government and the local people in the area.
“Government risks losing safari fees amounting to over K 84 million and photographic revenue amounting to over K 9 million if the mine is allowed to exist,” Mrs Masebo said.
She said the Ministry of Tourism and Arts follows a policy of sustainable tourism and granting of mining rights to Zambezi Resources goes against the principle of sustainable tourism.
“The Ministry’s considered view is that the Ministry of Lands, Natural Resources and Environmental Protection reconsiders its decision to allow mining activities in the Lower Zambezi National Park,” she said.
Mrs Masebo further says the important steps were ignored in that the basis for the issuance of the 25 years mining licence is not clearly known and the licence was issued before the environmental impact assessment process was completed.
She said plans to declare the Lower Zambezi as a world heritage site may not materialize and this might lead to an unprecedented campaign against Zambia’s tourism which is a key sector in diversifying the economy.
Journalists were prevented from covering Mrs Masebo’s submission to Parliament last week after she requested to have her session held in camera.
Tom Albanese, Chairman of Vedanta Resources Holdings
Foil Vedanta responds to Tom Albanese’s refute of evidence against Vedanta in Zambia
10th February 2014
Last week several articles were published in the Zambian media reporting on a press briefing held by Vedanta executive Tom Albanese following a ‘closed door meeting’ he held with Labour and Social Security Minister Fackson Shamenda in Lusaka, Zambia, on the 7th February. Mr Albanese met with the Minister to refute claims made in Foil Vedanta’s report ‘Copper Colonialism: Vedanta-KCM and the copper loot of Zambia’, released to the Zambian press on January 31st. The report demonstrated that, contrary to their claims, Vedanta’s subsidiary Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) are making considerable profit in Zambia and are guilty of casualising the labour force as well as causing severe environmental damage.
We want to respond to some of the claims made by Mr Albanese, and present more evidence of Vedanta’s campaign of misinformation here.
An article published on the 7th February in the Zambian Daily Mail states that:
..Mr Albanese said the profit and loss accounts of KCM are transparent. He said audit reports which are thoroughly scrutinised are made available within the country and outside.
“On behalf of the shareholders and subsidiaries of Vedanta, the reports are prepared according to Zambia, United Kingdom and United States (US) financial regulations,” Mr Albanese said.
He said despite KCM making profit, most of it is lost to taxes and operational costs.
“I can assure you I have a responsibility to ensure that those reports are transparent. I will be happy to have face-to-face discussions with any NGOs that feel the company is externalising its profits,” Mr Albanese said.
He disclosed that Vedanta has over the past nine years invested over US$2.3 billion into Zambian economy through KCM.1
It is very hard to find out exactly how much profit Vedanta is making from KCM as KCM’s annual reports are not made public in Zambia or elsewhere, contrary to Mr Albanese’s claims of transparency. Lacking this figure, our report uses figures from Vedanta’s 2013 annual report to calculate profit.2 Page 187 of the report clearly states that production costs at KCM were 255.1 cents/lb in 2013, while 216,000 tonnes of copper were mined. At a copper price of $7,300 (the average during 2013) this would constitute a profit of $362 million (tonnes of copper produced x value of copper per tonne – cost of production). We also reported that financial analysts from Global Data suggested that KCM made 12.19% of revenue for the entire Vedanta group (18 subsidiaries) in 2012.3
If the production costs and volumes recorded in Vedanta’s own annual reports are incorrect we would welcome Vedanta to amend them and make KCM’s annual reports available to the public.
We do not know how much Vedanta paid in tax in 2013, but it is unlikely to add up to $362 million. In our report we noted Vedanta’s 2007 brag to investors in a presentation that PAYE (Pay As You Earn) deductions from worker’s wages made up nearly 50% of their tax contributions to the Zambian Government4, and that their 2013 Annual Report states that they have ‘US$1,263.4 million of unutilised tax losses’ at KCM which will minimise tax payments and ‘generate economic benefits for the company’.5 These two claims suggest that tax and royalty payments are fairly minimal.
We would welcome Vedanta and the Zambian government to reveal the actual tax payments from Vedanta-KCM to the Zambian exchequer over recent years.
Secondly, Vedanta often repeat the mantra that they have invested $2.3 billion in KCM. This ‘investment’ is not a charitable gift to the Zambian state, but capital input to help them increase their profit from mining and processing activities, such as the new Nchanga smelter and the Konkola Deep Mining Project. It is not the Zambian state who will gain from these ‘investments’ but Vedanta itself, through increased profits and production. In fact the Development Agreements Vedanta signed with the government in 2004 allow them to deduct 100% of capital allowance from any investments made – such as prospecting, buildings and equipment, so these ‘investments’ benefit the company twice – through increased production and tax breaks. Vedanta’s secret Development Agreement for KCM can be read at the website of Mine Watch Zambia, to whom they were leaked a few years ago.6
On 6th February the Lusaka Times also reported that following the closed door meeting between Tom Albanese and Labour and Social Security Minister Fackson Shamenda,
‘Government and Vedanta Resources Plc have amicably resolved all differences surrounding the retention of workers at the mining giant’, and agreed ‘on the need to reduce the number of workers being employed as casual employees as well as engaging them on contractual basis.’ 7
It is wonderful for KCM employees to know that the planned 2000 redundancies may not go ahead, and that the 11,000 strong (out of 18,000 total) casual labour force may be given contracts and security. However, there is an irony in this announcement coming from Tom Albanese, the six year CEO of Rio Tinto, who retired in 2013 and became Chair of one of Vedanta’s investment holdings subsidiaries Vedanta Resources Holdings Ltd (NOT Chair of Vedanta Resources as the two articles claimed). From 2007 until 2013 Albanese presided over a number of major workers rights violations at Rio Tinto, a global mining company famed for their ‘company wide de-unionisation policy’.8
Just a few days ago 200 people marched against Rio Tinto’s ill treatment of mineworkers outside the international conference, Mining Indaba, in Cape Town. News reports claimed ‘a labour movement that represents workers in some 142 countries claims Rio Tinto is one of the most aggressive anti-union companies in the sector.”9
Rio Tinto as well as Vedanta have been removed from the Norwegian Government Pension Fund’s Global Investments for ‘severe environmental damages’ and unethical behaviour following investigations. The Norwegian government divested its shares in Rio Tinto in 2008, while it divested from Vedanta Resources in 2007, and also excluded Vedanta’s new major subsidiary Sesa Sterlite from its portfolio just a few weeks ago in January 2014. 10
It is alarming that Tom Albanese would be praised for his promise of workers rights and security by the Zambian papers without a mention of his history of presiding over well documented human rights abuses. The Zambian authorities should keep a close eye on workers’ rights standards at KCM to ensure recent promises are enforced. The Lusaka Times article quotes Labour Minister Mr Shamenda’s statement that:
“With new management at Vedanta and PF [Patriotic Front] being new in power, we have agreed to bring on table the new approach to business to have a win, win situation as we bury all our past differences and looking forward to cordial working relations.“11
Who are the new management at Vedanta Resources? The management structure has not changed recently, and Anil Agarwal remains the Chairman and 68% owner of Vedanta (as of 7th February). Has Tom Albanese misled the Zambian media that he is in fact the Chairman of the company (rather than the Chairman of a little known investment holding subsidiary), or is this an error in printing?
Finally, our press release on our recent report highlighted the fact that Vedanta have created misconceptions in Zambia, such as the predominant idea that they are an Indian company when they are in fact British. We want to highlight the importance of this distinction here.
Vedanta are registered and domiciled in Britain, where majority owner and Chairman Anil Agarwal is also a resident and lives in a $20 million mansion in Mayfair, London. It is the British authorities which regulate Vedanta, and British tax laws and ethical standards which they must abide by. The London registration is important to Vedanta for attracting investment, and because it allows them unrestricted use of the UK’s many tax haven territories, such as the Bahamas islands – where Anil Agarwal keeps the enormous profits from his 68% share in Vedanta, via his holding company Volcan Investments, avoiding paying any tax in the UK or elsewhere. Vedanta’s British registration is also important because any grievances with Vedanta in Zambia should be taken to the British, not Indian, authorities.
For more information on Vedanta’s management of KCM in Zambia, including its undervalued sale to them in 2004, and their environmental and workers rights violations, as well as their pattern of abuses in other countries where they operate, and an analysis of the global interests controlling Zambia’s important copper resource, please read the full report ‘Copper Colonialism: Vedanta-KCM and the copper loot of Zambia’ on our website.
Foil Vedanta is not an NGO, as media reports have claimed, but a grassroots international solidarity group linking communities affected by Vedanta and carrying out cutting edge research on the company and related issues.
www.foilvedanta.org
1 Zambian Daily Mail, 7th Feb 2014. ‘Govt assures of permanent jobs at KCM.’ http://daily-mail.co.zm/blog/2014/02/07/govt-assures-of-permanent-jobs-at-kcm/
2 See Samarendra Das and Miriam Rose, Copper Colonialism: Vedanta KCM and the copper loot of Zambia. p.12.
3 Global Data, Vedanta Resources plc (VED) – Financial and Strategic Analysis Review, 18th July 2013.
4 KCM, a presentation for investors on Vedanta and KCM, 2007; – the presentation states that PAYE totalled up to US$35million out of a total of US$75-80 million. – quoted in Aby Diamond et al, October 2007, Undermining Development:Copper in Zambia. ACTSA, SCIAF and Christian Aid.
5 Vedanta Resources, Annual Report 2013, p.158
6 See http://minewatchzambia.blogspot.co.uk/
7 Lusaka Times, 6th Feb 2014. ‘Vedanta Resources dismisses reports that KCM has been reporting false profits and loses’. http://www.lusakatimes.com/2014/02/06/vedanta-resources-dismisses-reports-kcm-reporting-false-profits-loses/
8 Corporate Watch, Rio Tinto Labour rights violations. http://www.corporatewatch.org/?lid=3594
9 Rahima Essop, 7th Feb 2014. Eye Witness News South Africa. ‘Protests against Rio Tinto at Mining Indaba.’ http://ewn.co.za/2014/02/07/Protests-against-Rio-Tinto-at-Mining-Indaba
11 Lusaka Times, 6th Feb 2014. ‘Vedanta Resources dismisses reports that KCM has been reporting false profits and loses’. http://www.lusakatimes.com/2014/02/06/vedanta-resources-dismisses-reports-kcm-reporting-false-profits-loses/
LUSAKA Deputy Mayor Mulenga Sata has called for calm and tolerance among Lusaka residents who attack and stone fire officers when they arrive late to offer services at fire accident scenes.
Mr Sata described the behavior as retrogressive adding that the delays are mainly caused by late communication by the community and traffic congestion on most of the roads.
He was speaking in Lusaka on Tuesday when Noble Charities of the United States of America handed over firefighting equipment, all valued at K250, 000.00 to Lusaka Fire Brigade.
The equipment is meant to help the Fire Brigade deliver quality services to the community.
“l appeal to our residents to consider these pieces of equipment that are procured at great expense and donated with great commitment as theirs .This equipment costs money and we should therefore guard it jealously,” Mr Sata said.
The equipment include one fire engine-truck, 20 helmets, 20 tunics, 20 gloves, and pieces of literature, 20 fire boots, 20 lengths of hose, 20 safety belts, and emergency search lights among others.
Mr Sata said the capital city was undergoing progressive changes economically and socially due to the favourable environment for doing business hence the need to have state of the art firefighting equipment to effectively respond whenever fire and such other emergencies occur.
And Noble Charities representative, Desmond Noble said he was happy to donate the fire truck to Lusaka Fire Brigade as it would not only save lives but also protect people’s property from damage for many years to come.
Meanwhile, Fire Service Union of Zambia Secretary General Clement Mulenga said the burden on fire service delivery in Lusaka is compounded by the fact that Lusaka fire brigade turns out to places beyond its borders.
Mr Mulenga said the city has the population of three million people but the Brigade’s service delivery remains stagnant adding that thus had prompted the Union to look for cooperating partners who could help fill the gaps.
Traffic lights at the junction of Independence and Obete Avenue next to Hotel Edinburgh in Kitwe’s Central Business District covered with leaves from overgrown tree branches.
THE Kitwe City Council (KCC) has expressed displeasure at ZESCO’s decision to install prepaid meter’s on traffic and street lights without consulting the local authority.
Kitwe Mayor Chileshe Bweupe said it was disappointing that ZESCO had implemented the decision to install prepared meter’s on such facilities without consulting other stakeholders.
Mr Bweupe said during a council meeting that several traffic and street lights where ZESCO had installed the prepaid meters were not in operational due to lack of re-charge.
He said the situation had caused serious traffic congestion on most roads.
“Why should ZESCO decide to install prepaid meters on traffic and street lights without consulting the local authority who are supposed to come up with the plan on who will be recharging the meters,” asked Mr Bweupe.
And Town Clerk Bornwell Luanga said ZESCO had installed prepaid meters on some street lights and that the local authority would discuss the issue with ZESCO management to see how best it could be addressed.
Mr Luanga wondered why ZESCO had only decided to install prepaid meters on the Copper belt province when it was not the case in other areas.
“We wonder why it is only on the Copperbelt province, we inquired and discovered that it is not the case in Lusaka and Livingstone,” he said.
But ZESCO spokesperson Henry Kapata said the company had embarked on a countrywide exercise to install prepaid meters on streetlights but not on traffic lights.
Mr Kapata said ZESCO needed to generate income, maintain their generators and other equipment’s
UPND president Hakainde Hichilema following proceedings during the meeting to demand for the release of the draft Zambia constitution.
UNITED Party for National Development (UPND) will not waste time joining loose alliances with other opposition parties but it will instead focus on recruiting new members in readiness for 2016 general elections, president Hakainde Hichilema has said.
Mr Hichilema said there was no credible political alliance to talk about and hence his party would focus on recruiting new members.
He said UPND had enough experiences on political alliances and it would not waste time on alliances which would not work.
Mr Hichilema was responding to callers in Livingstone on Monday night when he featured on Mosi-oa-tunya Radio.
“UPND won’t join alliances which won’t work. We would instead focus on recruiting new members in readiness for 2016 general elections,” Mr Hichilema said.
Mr Hichilema said only UPND was better placed to be voted into power in 2016 because the Patriotic Front (PF) Government had allegedly failed to deliver most of its campaign promises while the Movement for Multi-Party Democracy (MMD) should take time to rest.
He said once elected into power, UPND would focus on delivering a people driven constitution among others.
On tourism, Mr Hichilema said he would address the visa fees and the yellow fever status which were affecting the growth of the sector.
He said Zambia could make more money if the visa fees were removed as more tourists would visit the country.
Mr Hichilema also called for the revamping of the Livingstone economy following the relocation of the provincial capital to Choma.
On the discontinuation of his case where he was charged with proposing violence during the Livingstone parliamentary by-election in February 2013, Mr Hichilema said he would not sue the State over the matter.
“Although I am entitled to sue Government for arresting and brutalising me, I will not sue the State because that will be wasting tax payers’ money if I win the case,” he said.
On tribalism, Mr Hichilema accused some sections of the media of diverting people’s attention to insinuate that UPND was tribal when it was not true.
He said unlike other political parties which had more than 10 senior leaders coming from one region, his party was not tribal as his two deputies and several other leaders were coming from different provinces.
Mr Hichilema also claimed that he was whipped together with UPND national chairperson Mutale Nalumango and others when his delegation visited Paramount Chitimukulu in Northern Province.
THE Ministry of Health, in partnership with Child Fund international, has launched an E-learning programme for nurses to help accelerate their training in line with the 21st century technology.
Health Minister Joseph Kasonde said during the launch that E-learning would help increase the capacity of training more nurses and reduce the shortfall which currently stands at 11,255.
“The programmes would be conducted only in nursing colleges managed by the ministry of health and it shall be approached in phases starting with five schools in March which are Ndola, Kitwe, Mufulira, Livingstone and Chipata school of nursing, while the rest would recruit in the next phase in September,” Dr Kasonde said.
He said the ministry would provide teaching staff and space to provide teaching centres and provide employment to nurses who graduate in this programme.
During the launch held at the ministry of health headquarters, Dr Kasonde also handed over the 80 computers to various nursing school s and 10 computers to the General Nursing Council (GNC) valued at K 480, 000.
The 6, 000 nurses would be trained under the programme in the next five years with each registered school of nursing enrolling not less than 50 students initially and eventually increase as they gain more experience.
“Let me point out that the nurses to be trained using this programme will not be different from those trained using traditional methods, those have already established themselves and their high quality is still respected and we cannot reduce the quality by any other approach,” Dr Kasonde said.
Dr Kasonde said the current nursing workforce of Government register stands at 12, 348 and yet the total requirement is 23, 000 living a shortfall of 11, 255 nurses.
He said his ministry was working closely with Cabinet Office to find a lasting solution of this human resource deficit.
And Child Fund National acting director Doras Chirwa said her organisation would support 16 ministry of health school of nursing in which 6, 000 nurses would benefit.
Ms Chirwa said her organisation in collaboration with the GNC had so far trained 16 principal tutors in curriculum adaptation, 30 tutors in content development, 20 tutors in medical editing among others.
She said the training activities were on going until every tutor and clinical instructors were equipped.
The hut where the Chitimukulu resides after being banished from the palace by President Sata
It is disgraceful and heart breaking for the entire Paramount Chief Chitimukulu of the Bemba speaking people to be consigned to a grass thatched hut because President Michael Sata does not want him to ascend to power.
Chikondi Foundation president Bishop John Mambo and NAREP president Elias Chipimo have urged President Sata to heed the advice of the Catholic Bishops and the church to stop interfering in traditional affairs, and let Chitimukulu ascend to the status that his people have honoured him to occupy.
Chipimo said that the decision by the PF government to deploy police officers and barricade Paramount Chief Chitimukulu Kanyanta Manga ii from occupying his official palace in Malole was unwarranted and unacceptable.
He said that the continued harassment of Paramount Chief Chitimukulu was a scandal and must be stopped.
He said that it was not the duty of government to decide who becomes the Chitimukulu of the Bemba Speaking people of Kasama.
“This decision should be left for the Bemba people to choose their own chief. Government must leave the issues of tradition to the royal establishments. They should not interfere at all,” he said.
And Bishop Mambo said it was disgraceful for a whole Chief to live in a shack that was not even fit for a school boy.
The Chikondi Foundation president said that what was happening to Paramount Chief Chitimukulu was heart breaking and disgraceful and therefore should be stopped forthwith.
He said people need to start respecting traditional rulers, “treating leaders like this must stop.”
Bishop Mambo said that there was no joy in impoverishing traditional leaders, adding that the main duty of government was to ensure that all traditional leaders were taken care of.
“The PF government must not keep chiefs like they were councillors. What the government must know is that no one can write history without mentioning the Bemba’s.”
He said it would be sad to celebrate 50 years of independence when such harassment was still happening to the traditional leaders.
Mambo said the church prays that President Sata could consider resolving the issue before Zambia celebrates its 50 independence anniversary.
Mbabane Swallows arrive in Zambia on Thursday ahead of Saturday’s big date with Nkana at Nkana Stadium in Kitwe.
Nkana trail the Swaziland club 2-0 from their 2014 CAF Champions League preliminary round, first leg played last Sunday at Somhlolo Stadium.
Swallows made the four hour road trip to Johannesburg on Wednesday afternoon where they have arrived for night-stop before catching their direct flight to Ndola early on Thursday morning.
The trip will mark new Swallows coach Chris “Gazza” Tembo’s first away international assignment since slaying his compatriots Nkana last weekend just three weeks after leaving Zambia to take up the appointment with the champions of Swaziland.
Nkana must beat Swallows 3-0 on Saturday to overturn the first leg result and advance to the first round of the competition.
Bronson Chama has beaten favourite Ronald Kampamba for the 2013 Zambia Footballer of the Year award.
The Red Arrows defender will return to Lusaka with the top player award following his triumph at the 2013 awards gala held at Moba Hotel in Kitwe this evening.
Chama stunned Kampamba who was forced to settle for his undisputed title as the league’s best striker for a second consecutive season.
Kampamba made the short trip back home with the Golden Boot award after scoring 18 goals to inspire Nkana to a record 12th league and their first since 2001.
Nkana coach Masauso Mwale won the Coach of the Year award while Nkana defender Billy Mwanza won the most Disciplined Player award.
Red Arrows winger Bruce Musakanya took home Arrows second honour on the night when he won the 2013 Young Player of the Year award.
Meanwhile, Gladys Lengwe retained her Referee Award for a second year running while Moses Mwale took home the best assistant referee award.
VETERAN soccer star Dennis Lota was this afternoon buried at West Park Cemetery in Johannesburg, during a ceremony attended by his widow, children, parents, relatives and other mourners.
The burial ceremony commenced with a church service and a sermon delivered by Church of Johannesburg’s Bishop Dulton Adams at 10:00.
Lota’s wife, children, his sister Rose and other mourners were joined for the service by his parents, his brother Mike and other siblings, who arrived in South Africa today.
Shortly after, Lota’s casket was carried from the Church alter to the hearse by Moroka Swallows Football Club players, who included captain Lefa Tsutsulapa and Lerato Chabangu, accompanied by the grieving family members for the burial procession to West Park Cemetery slight after 11:30 hours.
Zambians clad in national colours thronged both the Church service and the burial site where they sung solemn Zambian songs, including kalombo mwane, while several men joined others in the burying.
The emotional send off by mourners from all walks of life bore testimony to the lasting impact and legacy the late soccer star had left behind.
It also bears witness to what Republican President Michael Sata said recently about Lota, describing him as a great and talented compatriot who flew the Zambian flag higher than the nation had expected and imagined in diverse territories or boundaries.
“No doubt, Dennis will be deeply missed by many both home and abroad. May the Almighty God grant the bereaved family fortitude and comfort during this painful period,” said President Sata recently.
Prominent at the burial service were Zambia’s deputy High Commissioner to South Africa Joe Kaunda, officials from Ministry of sport, South African National Soccer team coach Gordon Igesund, former Bafana Bafana star Siyabonga Nomvete, Moroka Swallows coach Zeca Marques and huge group of Zambians clad in Chipolopolo jerseys as well as hundreds of mourners from South Africa and other nations.
Defence Minister Edgar Lungu says he is not aware of any Zambia Air Force helicopters that were hovering over United Party for National Development (UPND) president Hakainde Hichilema’s ranch in Choma yesterday taking pictures.
Mr. Lungu says he will find out the authenticity of the claims made by the UPND leader that two ZAF helicopters were seen by his workers taking pictures and a video recording of his property located between Batoka and Choma.
Mr. Lungu has told Qfm News in an interview that the ministry of Defence does not engage in political activities.
The Defence Minister states that he will engage the Zambia Air Force Commander over Mr. Hichilema%u2019s allegations.
Mr. Hichilema has accused government of trying to intimidate him by sending Zambia Air Force helicopters to his ranch.
