Government has accorded a State Funeral to Minister of Information and Broadcasting Services and Chief Government Spokesperson.

ZANIS reports that Secretary to the Cabinet Roland Msiska revealed the development in a statement this evening.

Dr. Msiska said d this is in accordance with the Guidelines on State Functions.

Mr. Sakeni died in Lusaka this afternoon at the age of 56, at the University Teaching Hospital (UTH).

The Late minister was also Mansa Central Member of Parliament and the Party’s Chairman for Luapula Province.

The late Mr. Sakeni was transferred to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Services as Minister on 6th July, 2012, from the Ministry of Home Affairs where he served in the same capacity.

Funeral for the late minister is being held at his residence in Lusaka at House Number 5369 Brentwood Drive in Woodlands

According to Dr. Msiska, Burial arrangements will be announced later.

Opposition National Restoration Party (NAREP) says it is concerned with the levels of electoral malpractices being witnessed in the ongoing Mkaika by-election.

NAREP National Secretary, Jevan Kamanga says his party is aware of the vote buying that is taking place in Mkaika.

He alleged that the ruling PF was paying money to the voters and promised to give them more if the party wins the Mkaika seat.

ZANIS reports that this according to a statement made available in Lusaka today by Mr. Kamanga.

Efforts to get Acting Government Spokesperson Fackson Shamenda was not immeadiatly available for comment on the matter as his mobile phone was switched off by broadcast time.

However , the opposition party’s National Secretary said his party finds this very unfortunate in a democratic state and hopes that the Electoral Commission of Zambia and the Police will investigate this matter and bring the culprits to book.

Rev. Kamanga said the party has been informed that some PF party members were last night giving K500 to groups of 20 people of Mkaika in exchange of their voters cards.

He said the party is also aware of the areas they are targeting in a bid to lessen the votes of the other candidates.

Rev. Kamanga wondered what the ruling PF thinks they will benefit from these actions saying it’s now very well known to everyone that the PF will do anything it takes to win the election.

He further reminded the PF that they cannot fool the Zambian people forever.

Rev. Kamanga said the people of Zambia are more important than a by election and the PF must start treating the citizens of this country with the respect they deserve.

He said the PF will not become popular by buying votes from the people as people will instead realize how corrupt they are.

Rev Kamanga has also advised the Zambian people especially the youths not to be used by selfish politicians.

“As a party that truly cares about the people of this country, NAREP will remain committed to doing the good things and will not resort to vote rigging or any such behaviour that will compromise with our party principles”.

Three opposition Movement for Multi Party Democracy (MMD) carders were last evening assaulted by suspected Patriotic Front (PF) cadres in Katete District at Tikondane Lodge near St Francis Hospital.

ZANIS reports from Katete District that Eastern Province Police Commissioner Grace Chipalila has confirmed the development in an interview, today.

Ms. Chipalila named the three as Abraham Zulu an MMD counselor, Jeremiah Njovu and Micheal Phiri elder brother to Patriotic Front Candidate David Phiri.

The trio were allegedly beaten up by cadres suspected to be from the ruling Patriotic Front after they were followed to Tikondane lodge at around 23 hours last night.

The police commissioner said police has however not made any arrests to this effect as the victims have failed to identify the suspects.

Ms. Chipalila has however assured Katete resident of enough security in the district during and after the polls.

And Patriotic Front Candidate David Phiri who is the young brother to Micheal Phiri said has dispelled assertions linking him to the assault incident.

Mr. Phiri told the media in Katete t his father’s residence that he has not been in contact with his brother for some time and only met him yesterday when he went to pick his vehicle at their fathers’ house.

He said he is aware that his elder brother belongs to the opposition MMD and that he has no problem with his brothers’ decision.

He noted that every person has the right to join a party of their choice.

Meanwhile Defence Minister Geoffrey Mwamba has condemned the action by the alleged PF cadres.

Mr. Mwamba said it is wrong for anyone to take the law in their own hands adding that the three should have been taken to the police for further action after they were found in the act.

He said the PF has always insisted on maintaining peace during its campaigns.

He added that it is however unfortunate that the MMD cadres went on to campaign after the close at 18 dishing out money and other materials.

Phiri, Njovu and Zulu who have been hospitalized at St. Francis Hospital were yesterday beaten up by suspected PF cadres after they were alleged to have been found giving out money and other campaign materials.

Government says it will not distribute fertilizer through clubs with effect from next year. Agriculture and Livestock Minister Robert Sichinga disclosed the development during a meeting in Chinsali yesterday.

This follows the presidential directive to ministers to go out and explain the Government Policy on the changes of fertilizer subsidies and maize purchase modalities.

Mr. Sichinga said 2013 is a transit year for the PF Government adding that next year government will only be distributing farming inputs through co-operative movements.

The minister said the government is currently working on mechanisms to revamp all cooperatives country wide in readiness for next year.

He added that it is for this reason that the PF Government has purchased 10 vehicles one per province as a grant to help all cooperatives reorganize themselves.

Mr. Sichinga pointed out that the cooperatives will be revamped as Private, Provincial and District cooperatives respectively.

Mr. Sichinga said there is no doubt on his mind that the PF Government clearly knows where it desires Zambia to be.

He held that in terms of output he is pleased with Chinsali and that farmers in the district have done well in this years’ marketing season.

The Minister also disclosed that Chinsali has exceeded the target allocated by 1000 metric tonnes against the district’s output target of 6,802 metric tonnes of maize.

Mr. Sichinga who expressed happiness promised the farmers in the district that his ministry will continue to deliver fertilizer and other farming inputs because Government is getting something back asshown by the sale of maize to the Food Reserve Agency (FRA).

The Minister said Government has also planned to construct 98 storage sheds throughout the country as a way of promoting and boosting maize production among other crops grown in rural areas.

Mr. Sichinga thanked the farmers in Chinsali for producing and selling to FRA saying they have avoided the hunger that mightwould have risen if they had decided to sell their produce elsewhere like in other parts of the country.

A consortium of civil society organisations (CSOs) has reiterated its call on government to suspend the current non-governmental organisation (NGO) registration exercise and immediately initiate a process to repeal the Act.

The civil society organisations said they will remain resolute and unshaken to any innuendos and manoeuvres by any section of society to force them to be registered under an instrument that they claim was aimed at ‘killing’ the country’s democratic liberty.

In a statement read on behalf of 24 civil society organisations by Non Governmental Organisations Coordinating Council (NGOCC) Board Secretary Grace Manyonga in Lusaka today, the CSOs said they were resolutely opposed to regulation under the current law.

Ms. Manyonga, who is also Zambia National Education Coalition (ZANEC) Board Secretary, said CSOs have resolved not to register under the NGO Act in its current format and demand that government suspends the ongoing registration of NGOs until the contentious issues have been resolved.

She has since called on all NGOs countrywide not to register under the NGO Act in its current form and urged those that have registered or have shown intention to register to withdraw their registration.

Ms. Manyonga said the instruments under which all the CSOs were registered are still active and in force.

She said CSOs were of the considered view that self regulation was appropriate for their smooth operations just the way the media has been given an opportunity to regulate itself.

Ms. Manyonga said while CSOs acknowledge the need for some form of regulation to make NGOs more effective, transparent and to enhance their coordination, the manner in which the regulation was being done was questionable, especially that the Act was allegedly meant to suffocate the civil society movement.

She has since appealed to President Michael Sata and the government to intervene in the matter.

Ms. Manyonga said the President should ensure that the Act is quickly relooked at in line with the aspirations of the civil society.

She argued that the NGO Act was in violation of the fundamental civil and political rights to freedom of association and expression including the right to receive and impart information, as provided for in articles 20 and 21 of the republican constitution and the international legal instruments which Zambia has ratified.

Some of the CSOs that were represented were Transparency International Zambia (TIZ), NGOCC, Foundation for Democratic Process (FODEP), Women for Change (WfC), Action Aid Zambia (AAZ), Operation Young Vote (OYV), Civil Society for Poverty Reduction (CSPR) and Manna Widows.

Others are Zambia National Education Coalition (ZANEC), Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA), Zambia Council for Social Development, Women in Law and Development in Africa (WILDAF), Women and Law in Southern Africa (WILSA) and Zambia National Women’s Lobby Group among many others.

Barely two weeks after 14 houses were burnt in chief Katuta’s area of Mwense district, another 10 grass thatched houses have been burnt in Chipili district.

The incident which affected four villages happened in chief Mutipula’s area of Chipili district in Luapula province.

Mwense District Commissioner Victor Kasuba who confirmed the development to ZANIS in Mwense yesterday said property worth thousands of kwacha was destroyed in the infernal.

The DC said the victims were not at home when the bush fire swept through their houses burning all household items but no life was lost.

He named some of the burnt items as bicycles, beds and mattresses, blankets, money, bags of maize and kitchen utensils among others.

The DC has however expressed sadness at the increased cases of fire incidents in the area and has since implored members of the community to prevent such problems by making fire breaks around their premises.

And speaking to ZANIS in Mwense, one of the victims Moses Kaoma said owners of the affected houses were not at home when the incident happened.

They have since appealed to government to help them with temporal shelters adding that they cannot renovate their houses now because grass in the bush has been burnt.

ZANI