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Forum for Democracy and Development (FDD) leader Edith Nawakwi says a good constitution which promotes decentralization is key to curbing corruption in the country.
Speaking to QFM News, Ms Nawakwi notes that the reason why there is too much corruption in the country is because powers centralized leading to the selective fight against corruption.
Ms Nawakwi says Zambians will continue to crying about corruption cases involving ministers and former ministers being pushed under the carpet by those in authority if a better constitution is not put in place.
Ms. Nawakwi says the majority Zambians still feel that institutions mandated to fight corruption lack autonomy and independence to conduct investigation.
The FDD leader stresses the need for those in authority to ensure that there are no sacred cows in the fight against corruption if the Zambian people are to have confidence and trust in their leaders.
Ms Nawakwi says the ruling PF will be following in the footsteps of the former regime if they do not allow the conclusive investigation of high ranking government officials suspected of corruption.
Chief Government Spokesperson Kennedy Sakeni says it is unfair for online publications to continue reporting negatively about the country even when government is doing its best to address issues affecting the nation.
Mr. Sakeni says government is striving hard to create a good image of the country both to the international community and the Zambian people.
He says he will not waste time responding to reports by online publications portraying a negative picture of government’s performance.
The Chief government Spokesperson has singled out the Zambian Watchdog as fond of making up stories without facts hence misleading the nation.
Mr Sakeni was responding to a question on how best government intends to address issues to do with the promotion of good governance, including the fighting against corruption and press freedom.
The deplorable state of the roads in Chadiza is making road travel unbearable for the people and more so people seeking medical attention from the health centre.
Recently, Chadiza Constituency Patriotic Front (PF) Vice Publicity Secretary, Emmanuel Banda complained bitterly when he found a woman
delivering along the road as she had gone into forced labour due to the bumps as she was being transported on the bad road.
Chilenga Ward Councillor, Martin Zulu also bemoaned of the deplorable state of roads in his area particularly the road joining Kalandira and Nsadzu Rural Health Centre which he said were in a deplorable state and needed urgent rehabilitation.
Speaking to ZANIS in Chadiza yesterday, Mr Zulu observed that the road was previously allocated inadequate resources and the work that was done was also not satisfactory.He said the road was serving the local people to access the nearby health facility and grinding mills at Nsadzu.The civic leader noted that in most cases when patients were transported to the health facility on the very bad road, they ended up becoming weaker than before.
File:President Micheal Sata pose with some of the 27 chiefs from Southern Province at Chief Chikanta Palace in Kalomo on wednesday 24th April 2013.picture by Eddie Mwanaleza/Statehouse.
Chiefs and Traditional Affairs Deputy Minister Susan Kawandami says Zambia has a lot of lessons to learn from the Namibian experience on issues of administering chiefs affairs.
Ms. Kawandami, who is leading a Zambian delegation of chiefs on a study tour of Namibian chiefdoms at the invitation of the Namibian Ministry of Regional and Local Government, Housing and Rural Development, said Zambia was grateful to the Namibian government for the invitation and hosting the meeting which she said will enable both countries share ideas and experiences.
The delegation, which arrived on Sunday June 16 includes the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Chiefs and Traditional Affairs Coillard Chibbonta, Senior Chief Mukuni Ng’ombe, Senior Chieftainess Chungu, Chief Nalubamba, Chieftainess Lesa, Chief Mumena, Chief Mbangombe, Chieftainess Chiyaba and Chief Nkweto.
This is contained in a press statement made available to the media by Ministry of Chiefs and Traditional Affairs Public Relations Officer Isaac Kanguya today.
And in welcoming the Zambian delegation, Deputy Chairperson of the Traditional Authorities, which is the equivalent of the House of Chiefs in Zambia, chief Emmanuel Gaseb said Namibia owes a lot to the Zambian people in many ways.Chief Gaseb said without the support of Zambia, Namibia would not have been there today.He said Zambia and its people suffered a lot during the liberation struggle of Namibia, Zimbabwe and South Africa.
He further noted that during the time Zambia hosted people from these countries, many lives were lost during the struggle for their independence.
The Zambia delegation leaves for Walvis Bay tomorrow and will visit two chiefdoms in Rundu and Oshakati before returning to Windhoek on Friday June 21.
The study tour is meant to familiarize the Ministry of Chiefs and Traditional Affairs and the Zambian chiefs on how Namibia administers chiefs’ affairs, rural development, welfare of chiefs, organization of chiefdoms and succession processes.
The tour is also meant to acquaint Zambian chiefs on how chiefs are working with heritage and museum institutions, child marriages and projects which government is carrying out in chiefdoms.
File:PF militia…a PF youth wielding a dangerous weapon goes for UPND cadres during the Kabwata violence
Suspected supporters of the ruling Patriotic Front (PF) attacked TV journalist, Njenje Chivu, and also seized his camera. The incident occurred on Saturday, 15 June 2013.
Chivu, who reports for the privately-owned Muvi TV, was filming clashes between PF supporters and those from the leading opposition party, the United Party for National Development (UPND) when he came under fire.
The political party clashes happened on the side of a funeral of one of the victims who died during a recent shooting incident in Kampasa where the Zambian National Service (ZNS), a government security wing, was involved in a land dispute.
“When I noticed that one [PF supporter] had seen me filming his fellow cadres, I quickly pulled out the memory card from the camera and gave it to my driver who hid it. Almost immediately, the cadres approached and pulled me aside, asking me not to publish the pictures,” said Chivu.
The journalist says that he was then threatened with unspecified action if he went on to broadcast the footage. Not satisfied with this, the suspected PF supporters went on to punch the journalist at least six times. His camera was then forcibly taken from him and has not yet been returned.
The Zambia Chapter of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA-Zambia)has urged the PF-led government to seriously address the issue of violence, which continues to be perpetrated by political party supporters against journalists. These acts of violence are seriously threatening Zambia’s democracy.
“We are saddened that another media freedom violation has been recorded in such a short space of time. On 12 June 2013, suspected PF cadres harassed Father Bwalya and staff of Flava FM Radio on the Copperbelt. A similar incident was recorded in mid-May this year in which another Muvi TV crew was beaten by suspected PF supporters who were alleged trying to take over land illegally from its owner,” said Nalumino Nalumino, MISA-Zambia Chairperson.
He added that the incident in which non-security person suspected to be from the PF confiscated the Muvi TV camera is tantamount to theft. “We demand that the camera be returned and police take quick action to identify the persons who committed this offence,” said Nalumino.
And National Restoration President Elias Chipimo said the image of the country had suffered from the persistent attacks on anybody not deemed to be in toll with the ruling party.
During a prayer meeting recently, PF cadres disrupted a gathering where they beat up congregants with a ZNBC cameraman having to need medical attention after his equipment unsettled the assailants.
ELINA Ngandu one of the residents who’s house was raided by Zambia National Service officers in Lusaka’s Kampasa area. INSET: Police remove the body of a victim of the shooting in Lusaka’s Kampasa area
The killing fields of Kampasa over land wrangles are a symptom of our underlying misadministration of Land Administration in Lusaka. It is regrettable that lives must be lost in such a manner at the hands of those who must protect them. It is unacceptable that men in uniform should kill to try and forcibly evict settlers on land. It must be stated that the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) for which we are members through FAO endorsed a document in May 2012 to consider Voluntary Guidelines on responsible Governance of Tenure on Land, Fisheries and Forests. What is instructive about these guidelines as they relate to the current situation in Kampasa is that States are advised not to forcibly evict settlers and also to use proper and legal means to resolve disputes where such arise. When people have settled on a piece of land we must find peaceful means to resolve the conflicts that arise. What happened in Kampasa must be fully investigated and culprits brought to book. However, going forward we need to honestly reflect how Land Administration and management should be undertaken in our country. The happenings in Kampasa and elsewhere where so-called party cadres are able to walk into property which is on title and share and allocate such land is a sign of weak governance of tenure for which we need to address as a country.
[pullquote]We have let lawlessness reign over one important asset of the country.[/pullquote] We have witnessed in other cases such as in Lusaka West, Makeni and elsewhere, the invasion of land by hooligans calling themselves cadres. We have let lawlessness reign over one important asset of the country. Land is a fundamental asset from which all other assets spring. We have focused on copper and mineral as assets without fully addressing that copper and all these minerals come from Land. Why then have we not dealt with the land question adequately? Why, if one can ask, have we allowed ourselves to be overwhelmed by lumpens who invade peoples properties without remorse and conveniently call themselves ruling party cadres? We have further compounded the land administration quagmire by allowing traditional authorities to allocate land without due consideration to land-use planning and design (this is a topic of another day). Peri-urban areas are the worst affected as we see mushrooming of haphazard developments and subdivisions which are not well thought out in the greater scheme of things. How these pass the planning authorities is anyone’s guess.
How the State has unwittingly or helplessly abdicated its responsibility in administering land
The tragedy of all this is that it is not actually the law which is ineffective but rather how we have implemented it to ensure that development takes place in an orderly manner. The path we tread on is one which is slippery and for which we surely must change course from, sooner rather than later.
What is the difficulty in changing course? Why are we not addressing our land administration in clear and non-ambiguous manner so that we remove all the riff-raffs who are meddling in the allocation of land?
To put the question of poor land administration in context we must first define or highlight the function of Land Administration. This will help us to see how the State has unwittingly or helplessly abdicated its responsibility in administering land. Land administration functions involve:
Land acquisition
planning
surveying
allocation,
provision of services,
development monitoring
collection of rates and ground rent
collection of whatever tax the State might decide to impose on land.
Since land is emotive there are bound to be disputes arising from the aforementioned functions. Therefore there has to be mechanisms to prevent or mitigate these disputes. If we look at these functions we can see quite clearly that the State has allowed these functions to be done by all sorts of players. If we now look closely at some of the functions of Land Administration we can see quite clearly why we need to change our land administration to avoid the sad incidents of Kampasa.
Land Acquisition
Land Acquisition is necessary for various developmental needs. Land can be acquired from individuals through commercial transactions or through compulsory acquisition if such land is deemed to be necessary for development and if the title holder is unwilling to relinquish it voluntarily. Land can also be acquired from traditional authorities. The law on acquisition of land by State is clear and generally we have not seen any abuse by the state. However land acquisition tends to favor the rich, those with access to finance through their financial muscle tend to dispossess the poor of their land. This is normally done by forced sales from which the poor have no protection. In such cases one can argue that the State fails to protect the rights of the poor as they are left to the vagaries of the market forces. Where there is a general complaint from the people that their land has unfairly been taken from them it is the duty of the state to protect them. What is however disturbing is the illegal land acquisitions or invasions by the so called cadres. Title on land is guaranteed by the state and must as such be protected from being usurped by hooligans. I cannot live in fear of losing my piece of land because of a possible invasion of the all powerful cadres when I hold a Title Deed guaranteed by the State. Land invasions must be nipped in the bud if we are going to see orderly developments in the country.
A little boy stands besides the rumble of what was once his home.Over 100 homes were demolished in Lusaka’s Chinika industrial area following a court order that declared the houses to have been illegally built on land belonging to Mushe Milling Company
Land Planning
Land use planning seems to have been relegated to people with no idea about planning. This is especially visible in peri-urban areas where townships(compounds) have grown amorphously without regard to planning Laws. The reason most of us want to live in Rhodespark or Kabulonga is that in these areas land use plans were made professionally back in the day. We admire Woodlands because there are services that we all crave for in a normal civilized society. What we see, however, as we enter any city in the country is testimony of our abdication of our planning responsibilities. Beautiful landscapes such as Zani-Muone have become an eyesore and developers have built houses close to the Great North Road without regard to proper planning. We have now introduced pseudo planners who are able to allocate residential land by pacing with the feet and allocating without consideration of the services that need to be installed. People go to school to learn how land must be designed and allocated! What then happens after this pacing is that after our people have built in these paced plots they begin to demand services which cannot be met immediately by any planning authority because land was just “shared” without any regard to the design aspect of servicing. [pullquote]The whole of Lusaka south is a sprawling glorified Ghetto[/pullquote] The highest confusion is in the former squatter areas and site service areas. These are sprawling out of control and boundaries of the Housing Areas are no longer observed. Recognising that the demand for land far exceeds supply, government in the mid-70s did promulgate the Housing (statutory and Improvement Areas) Act. This Act was meant to declare areas which were formally squatter areas into Housing Areas and provide some loose planning in these planning areas. What we now see is that the Housing Areas are being extended uncontrollably.
Development Control
There is hardly any development control as planning authorities are overwhelmed by the scale of development taking place in the cities. They are very few building inspectors in all our districts to effectively monitor development and therefore how can we enforce our development plans without such professionals?
Clearly we need to re-consider what is priority for our country. Land Administration has been taken casually although it has a bearing over the provision of basic services such as water and sanitation.
Land Tax
Collection of Land rent and tax can bring sufficient revenue to the treasury. However the administration of tax in the land areas requires regular valuation of properties and determining rates from such valuations. However, there is need for innovative methods and ways to value properties in the sprawling compounds to increase the tax base for the state. Again the failure of the state to consider what must be done in this area is a sign of its helplessness to address fundamental land administration questions
Provision of Services
The whole of Lusaka south is a sprawling glorified Ghetto. From Kamwala South to Chalala we can see beautiful houses built with little or no services provided. Water and Sanitation are critical components of quality of life of the people and such provision is depended on how we manage our land administration.
Accessing such a huge area is through single streets such as Chilimbulu Road creating one of the most stressful traffic jams in the city. Note that it is recognized that a ring road is being built which might ease the pain of accessing the area south of Lusaka.
We can conclude then that if we want to improve the quality of life of our people we need to rethink how we plan, allocate, develop and provide services to the land. This requires a new paradigm in the land allocation system which should be devoid of people who have no inkling of what it takes to administer land. Cadres have no business in administering land and must surely be put in their place!
By Emmanuel Tembo
A freelance Land Administration expert
Government says it has raised a total of KR5.1 billion from January – March, 2013 in terms of revenues and grants while expenditure totalled KR8.1 billion but regretted that it was below target by 13.6 percent.
Secretary to the Treasury Fredson Yamba says during the same revenue performance period, government projected to collect a total of KR5.9 billion as revenues and grants but a sum total of KR5.1 billion was collected .
And Mr. Yamba says that in the second quarter, the Treasury expects to raise KR6.8 billion and plans to spend KR7.2 billion leaving a balance of KR0.4 billion.
Mr. Yamba says the balance was financed through programmed domestic and foreign borrowing.
He explained that the performance was particularly affected by lower than expected collections on company income tax.
This is contained in a press statement issued by Ministry of Finance Public Relations Officer, Chileshe Kandeta and released to ZANIS in Lusaka yesterday.
Secretary to the Treasury said total domestic revenues collected during the period under review amounted to KR5 billion of which tax revenues amounted to KR4.7 billion and non-tax revenues amounted to KR245.7 million in which Government projected to raise a total of KR5.3 billion as tax revenues.
He said Income tax revenues amounted to KR2.6 billion but the funds were below the target of KR2.9 billion representing an under performance of 9.4 percent that was affected by collections from mining corporate tax collections that were also below target by KR416.6 million or 41.7 percent.
He stated that Value Added Tax (VAT) recorded a collection of KR1.2 billion while Customs and Excise totalled KR949.6 million.
He added that Government expected to receive KR351.6 million as grants for both budget and project support during the period under review.
On expenditure performance, Mr. Yamba said during the period under review, a total of KR8.1 billion was released against a target of KR8.2 billion.
He said the released funds went towards facilitating constitutional and statutory expenditures such as salaries and grants, as well as programme implementation coordinated by various Ministries Provinces and Spending Agencies (MPSAs).
He said in terms of debt service payments, a total of KR816.3 million was released of which KR441.7 million was spent on domestic debt service on Government bonds and Treasury Bills while KR374.6 million was channelled for external debt.
He said other notable expenditures included KR825.7 million for road construction and maintenance which represented 32.7 percent of the domestically financed Road Sector Budget.
In addition, KR247.7 million was released for the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP) outstanding bills arising from the 2012/2013 farming season.
Mr. Yamba said government faced some challenges in terms of lower projected revenue inflows particularly in respect of company income tax which under-performed resulting in the Treasury having to scale down some planned releases for the quarter.
He has however hinted that government would address in the coming quarters institutional coordination mechanisms that are being put in place by the Government.
He says the key lesson learnt from budget performance in the first quarter is the need for enhancing revenue collection measures so as to effectively implement and manage development programmes.
The Secretary to the Treasury expressed hope that during the rest of the year, the treasury will continue to closely monitor and evaluate budget and economic affairs to ensure that national development programmes are on course in all MPSA’s.
“I take this opportunity to encourage all the MPSA’s to continue promoting best practice and ensuring sustained transparency and accountability in the utilization of public resources, for the general improvement in the well-being of the people of Zambia,” said Mr. Yamba.
GOVERNMENT has described as unfortunate and untrue insinuations that it was abbeting violence and should be held accountable for the Chongwe shooting incident.
Mr Sakeni said contrary to the accusations, Government had a duty to ensure the safety and security of all its citizens regardless of their political affiliation and that at no time would it abdicate the solemn responsibility it has sworn to uphold.
Reacting to insinuations in some sections of the media, Chief Government spokesperson Kennedy Sakeni said all cases of violence were being dealt with by law enforcement agencies in accordance with the provisions of the law.
“It is therefore immoral for some sections of the opposition to seek political mileage from the Kampasa shooting incident by raising unfounded allegations against His Excellency President Michael Chilufya Sata and the Government,” he said.
He accused some opposition parties of making futile attempt to boost their faltering political fortunes by wanting to use the unfortunate tragedy for political and partisan gain.
Mr Sakeni said in a statement that Government is on record as having not only condemned but also ensured that perpetrators of violence are brought to book as per law established.
Mr Sakeni said all perpetrators of violence, including from the Kampasa shooting incidence, will be brought to book.
He said the unfortunate loss of life in the Kampasa shooting incident is a national tragedy which all well meaning Zambians deeply regret.
He called upon the nation to mourn the two departed citizens who died in the Chongwe shooting incident in unity and dignity as investigations into the matter are well underway.
Last week, two people were killed by the Zambia National Service (ZNS) officers during an eviction exercise for squatters who had encroached on on ZNS land.
Passengers, Pedestrian and Cyclists Association of Zambia ( PPCAZ ) president Lawrence Kaoma has condemned United Party for National Development (UPND) leader Hakainde Hichilema for declaring illegal support to contravening bus drivers.
Mr. Kaoma said that any form of lawlessness should not be encouraged at all cost.
He said it is not fair for any person to protect law breakers who have highly contributed to the loss of life the country has faced in the recent past.
“ It was wrong for UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema to offer legal support to law breakers instead of sensitizing them on how to be law abiding citizens and help the country protect lives of all road users.
ZANIS reports that Mr. Kaoma said this in an interview in Lusaka, yesterday.
He said Bus drivers are important persons in society that should always be mindful of the lives of people they carry and all other users’ lives.
He said all contravening bus drivers who have been arrested should be meant to face the justice.
He said there is nothing wrong with the traffic officers impounding the contravening bus drivers adding that all the officers are doing are to ensure that sanity on the roads is restored.
He said protests are not a solution to the problems the bus drivers have adding that there are better ways of addressing them.
He said if bus drivers have any grievances such as corruption by traffic officers let them report to relevant authorities.
Mr. Kaoma has since thanked the Zambia police traffic division and Road Transport Agency for the move adding that this will serve as a lesson to other would be contraveners.
Last week UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema said he sympathized with the mini bus drivers whose buses have been impounded by police for contravening the road service licence.
He assured the mini bus drivers that he would uses two of his party lawyers to help with their court cases.
Chongwe Member of Parliament Sylvia Masebo says the breakdown of law and order in the acquisition of land in the country is worrying.
Ms. Masebo says there is an urgent need therefore for the Ministry of Lands, Environmental Protection and Natural Resources (MOLEPNR) and other stakeholders to address these irregularities that have resulted in violent attacks in the country.
The Parliamentarian, who is also Tourism and Arts minister, said this last evening when she featured on a MUVI television program dubbed “Assignment.”
Ms. Masebo said government should implement the law regardless of the person involved.
She described as unfortunate the situation where some people were using name of government to engage in illegal land allocation, which has in unfortunate events resulted in loss of life.
Ms. Masebo further called on citizens to be weary of unscrupulous people engaging in the sale and allocation of land ion restricted areas.
She has called on citizens to ensure that then rule of law is takes place and also acknowledged government’s failure to implement the law in relation to land issues.
Meanwhile, Miss Masebo has called on women in the country to take centre stage in politics to bring sanity in the country.
She observed that the political climate was characterized by insults and quarrels because it is dominated by the male folk.
THE Lusaka magistrate court yesterday expressed disappointment at the conduct of Anti corruption commission (ACC) officers’ failure to appear before when the matter in which former president Rupiah Banda is charged with concealing gratification of motor vehicles came up.
The former head of State is charged with concealing gratification of motor vehicles valued at over KR470, 000 in the matter.
Meanwhile Banda yesterday again failed to take plea in the same matter because the prosecution was still waiting for instructions from Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
State prosecutors through ACC officers were not present yesterday when the matter was called up prompting the court to stand down the matter for 15 minutes.
But when the matter was later recalled by one of the ACC prosecutors, Mcqueen Zaza who was not responsible for the prosecution of the case, Resident magistrate Obbister Musukwa said he was extremely disappointed with the conduct of the prosecutors.
Mr Musukwa said prosecutor responsible for the case were aware that the matter was scheduled to come up yesterday but decided not to appear before his court.
Mr Musukwa said he did not need to give a lecture to the State because the two ACC prosecutors handling the matter together with the Director of Public Prosecution were aware that his court was yesterday posed to hear the matter for plea.
He said although the ACC officers did not yet have instructions to prosecute the matter, they should have had the courtesy to appear before him and explain their position.
Mr Musukwa said his court could not be made to wait for the prosecutors who were very much aware of the date warning that he would not entertain such conduct.
Earlier, Mr Zaza after asking for permission to call Banda’s case apologised to the court, the defence lawyers and Banda for the non availability of prosecutors when the matter was called out.
“The matter is scheduled for plea but I am not the one having conduct of this matter, it’s the director of public prosecution. I would like nonetheless to apology for coming late both to the court, defence lawyers and the accused person,” he said.
He informed the court that although the matter was coming up for plea, instructions had not yet being received from the DPP and was therefore seeking to have the matter adjourned to July 8, 2013 for possible plea.
Banda 75 of Lusaka’s State Lodge Township is alleged to have between January 1, 2011 and August 30, 2012 received trucks as property which was obtained as gratification from Sogecao Zambia limited a subsidiary at Anui foreign economic construction company to construct the Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola.
The said trucks were alleged to have been registered in the names of Mr James Banda, Ms Verecy Lute Banda and Kelvin Sampa.
Judge Chikopa -Malawian high Court judge chosen to head the Tribunal
The Chikopa tribunal set up to probe judges is today expected to sit and hear preliminary issued raised by Dr Justice Philip Musonda. The Tribunal which is expected to sit in the morning would among other things consider Dr Musonda’s submissions that it had no jurisdiction proceed with the hearing because he had decided to leave office.
But Tribunal secretary Chipili Magayane had in her response advised that her office would sit today to hear the issues raised by Dr Musonda.
Ms Magayane advised Dr Justice Musonda’s lawyers to present issues raised before the Tribunal for consideration and not through the exchange of letters.
Today should have been the official date set by the Tribunal to start receiving evidence in the alleged professional misconduct of Dr Justice Musonda, judges Mutuna and Kajimanga had the two not been granted leave to stay the proceedings by Mr Justice Siavwapa which Mr Malila has since challenged.
Meanwhile, Attorney General Mumba Malila has filed an application asking Ndola high court judge Mwiinde Siavwapa to discharge the leave to commence judicial review granted to judges Nigel Mutuna and Charles Kajimanaga to challenge the legality of the Tribunal about a forty night ago.
The grounds on which Mr Malila has based his arguments to urge Mr Justice Siavwapa to discharge his ruling to grant permission to judges Mutuna and Kajimanga to commence judicial review to challenging the legality of the tribunal could not by press time be accessed because they were yet to be filed before Mr Justice Siavwapa in Ndola.
But according to information gathered, the Lusaka high court yesterday morning had date stamped the application by Mr Malila enroute to Ndola where the trial court was based.
The attorney general is in his application expected to put across arguments asking Mr Justice Siavwapa to review the Supreme Court judgement that established that president Michael Sata was on firm ground when he suspended the judges and set up a tribunal to probe them.
Mr Malila would in the light of the above ask Mr Justice Siavwapa to discharge his ruling in favour of the two judges and allow for the Tribunal to continue.
Agriculture, Cooperatives and Livestock Minister Bob Sichinga
THE maize purchasing exercise by the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) has temporarily suspended due to high moisture content recorded at 13.96 per cent, Agriculture and Livestock Minister, Bob Sichinga has said.
The FRA was supposed to commence the purchasing of maize on June 10, this year but the 13.96 per cent moisture content is higher than the desired levels of 12.5 per cent, which is necessary to minimise post-harvest storage losses.
Mr Sichinga said in an advert by the Ministry of Agriculture on the commencement of the crop marketing season running from June 10 to September 30, this year that monitoring of the moisture levels by experts would continue until it dropped to the 12.5 per cent threshold.
“The last readings undertaken on June 5 indicate a moisture content ranging from 12.59 percent to 15.87 per cent. The national average at the same date was regrettably 13.96 per cent, higher than the safe threshold. This means therefore that FRA cannot commence buying maize immediately in most parts of the country,” Mr Sichinga said.
The moisture content is highest in Muchinga Province, which recorded a high of 15.87 per cent Luapula had 15.60 per cent, followed by Northern Province at 15.16 per cent. Parts of Eastern Province had 14.25 per cent and 13.90 per cent while Central had 14.10 per cent and Lusaka had 13.65 per cent.
North Western Province had 13.25 per cent with Southern Province having relatively low moisture content, at 12.68 per cent and 12.86 per cent in some parts while the Western Province had 12.59 per cent.
“I encourage all farmers not to sell their maize for lower than the base price of KR65 per 5Okg bag of grade A non-GMO maize. FRA will commence buying as soon as moisture content reaches 12.5 per cent,” he said.
On collateral maize grain amounting 270,000 metric tonnes required to be purchased, Mr Sichinga said an amount of KR676 million equivalent to US$127.6 million would be raised for the exercise aimed at meeting the National Strategic Stock of 500, 000 metric tonnes.
The funds would be raised by a consortium of commercial banks, to meet the need to purchase the 270,000 metric tonnes and any additional grain which the private sector-millers and grain traders would not purchase.
It was estimated that a minimum additional quantity of 250,000 metric tonnes, would be purchased by the FRA to meet the needs in the region and that the Authority would ensure storage bags were delivered in all the locations under the collateral or warehouse manager.
Mr Sichinga said more than 16 million empty grain bags and more than 1, 000 weighing scales had been pre-positioned at district depots throughout the country and this was in addition to other marketing requisites such as grain sieves, twine and black sheets.
“In this regard, I wish to urge and remind our small-scale farmers that the FRA will be buying only white ‘Grade A’ maize. I also wish to emphasise that this year, we do not want our farmers to spend nights at the satellite depots. It is therefore important that our farmers intensify the sorting and cleaning of their grain in readiness for delivery to the FRA satellite depots,” he said.
On the delivery of D-Compound fertiliser to high production districts, Mr Sichinga said the exercise would be flagged-off on June 26, this year and that in this connection, districts had been identified to receive the initial supply of around 40, 000 metric tonnes.
He said the Nitrogen Chemicals of Zambia (NCZ) in Kafue had been tasked to produce the entire Farmer Input Support Programme order for D-Compound amounting to 70, 727 metric tonnes.
In this regard, rehabilitation of critical parts of the NCZ plant had been concluded at a cost of KR70.4million and that as a result of the works, production levels had increased by 50% from 100,000 metric tonnes to 150,000 metric tonnes.
Secretary to the Treasury Fredson Yamba has refuted reports suggesting that the Patriotic Front government has scrapped-off the National Planning Division at the Ministry of Finance.
Mr. Yamba has clarified that what has change is only acronym of the name of the Ministry from previously being called the Ministry of Finance and National Planning to Ministry of Ministry of Finance, stating that the mandate of planning is still within the Ministry.
Mr. Yamba has also disclosed that the revision of the sixth National Development Plan which is being realigned in conformity to the PF manifesto is also being done by the Planning Division of the Ministry.
Last week,former Finance Minister called for the re-introduction of the National Planning Division at the Ministry of Finance to enable proper coordination of all sectors of the country’s economy.
Mr Magande observed that re-introduction of the National Planning Division at the Ministry of Finance will also address the issue of continued adhoc decisions being made under the Patriotic Front (PF) government where Ministers have continued making contradictory statements over an issue.
Mr. Magande also noted that dissolving of the National Planning Division at the Ministry of Finance by the PF government had taken the country twenty years backwards to the lost decades era that was characterized by total confusion due lack of proper policy direction and planning.
Mr. Magande expressed sadness that under the PF government the National Planning Division has been allegedly replaced by making of individual decisions by either a Minister or the President without keeping in mind the impact of implementing such decisions can have on the people.
Charismatic Zambian trainer Wedson Nyirenda has described his first six months at Mozambique club HCB Songo as good.
Nyirenda joined Songo from Zesco United last January.
The ex-Zambia Under-17 coach said God and his passion for football has kept him going in Mozambique.
“By the grace of God my stay here in Mozambique has been so good.
“I think I have been accorded the respect that I have never received from my own people in Zambia at clubs I have worked,” Nyirenda told Radio Icengelo Sports.
Nyirenda’s Songo currently leads the national league on 22 points after a round of 11 matches.
“I have managed to turn HCB Songo into a force to reckon with within this very short time,” he said.
Nyirenda added:”What is keeping me going is the hand of the almighty God who sent me to this place in the first place.”
The ex-international has so far recruited three Zambian players at Songo, namely, Jacob Mupeta, Nicholas Zulu and Lewis Macha.
