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PRESIDENT Michael Sata has arrived home from his official visit to Japan where he went to attend the fifth Tokyo International Conference for African Development (TICAD).
Prior to attending the TICAD, President Sata attended the African Union (AU) summit in Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, which coincided with celebrations to mark the 50th Anniversary of the Organization of African Union (OAU).
President Sata arrived aboard the Presidential jet which touched down at the Kenneth Kaunda International in Lusaka today at 13:15 hours.
The President was welcomed by acting President and Home Affairs Minister Edger Lungu, Justice Minister Wynter Kabimba, Tourism and Arts Minister Sylvia Masebo and other senior Government officials.
Others that welcomed Mr Sata included defence chiefs, and a horde of Patriotic Front members.
He arrived in the company of Commerce Trade and Industry minister Emmanuel Chenda, Lands Minister Wylbur Simuusa, Foreign Affairs minister Effron Lungu and State House Special Assistant for Press and Public Relations, George Chellah.
During the high level meetings, the Head of State attended both private and open door meetings with other leaders from around the world to discuss matters of global and continental concern.
The President also held private meetings with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday this week, where he invited Japanese investors to set up businesses in Zambia. He also had a private meeting with the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon while in Ethiopia.
File:An old woman battling for her life in a makeshift hamlet and she has no relatives to take care of her.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has launched two projects in three chiefdoms of Madzimawe, Nzamane and Mishoro’s areas in Chipata district to benefit more than fifty thousand people living with HIV and AIDS, orphans and vulnerable children.
Speaking at the launch, Eastern Province Permanent Secretary Bert Mushala said the two projects, Thrive and Mawa were aimed at improving the living standards of the intended beneficiaries.
He said that the Thrive project would deliver a consolidated nutrition package to people Living with HIV and AIDS while Mawa was aimed at offering nutrition assessment, counseling and support on nutrition and farming mechanisms.
Mr Mushala noted that government appreciates the intervention by stakeholders as the country continued to face both food insecurity and high levels of nutrition, especially among sub groups of the population.
Mr Mushala said the projects which would be implemented in Chipata and Lundazi will equip 21,500 households in the two districts with agricultural and marketing skills for improved agricultural production and effective engagement with markets.
He stated that the projects would also encourage crop diversification and consumption of more diverse, nutritious foods.
USAID Zambia Mission Director Dr Susan Brems said Eastern province was a focus area for both projects adding which have one thing in common as they both deal with nutrition.
And speaking at the same function Chief Madzimawe said that the projects which would be carried in Chiefs Mishoro, Nzamane and his chiefdoms for a period of five years would impact positively on people’s lives.
Information and Broadcasting Services minister Kennedy Sakeni says as far as government is concerned , the contract to procure oil for the country was awarded correctly and transparently to Trafigura, contrary to reports in some sections of the media.Mr. Sakeni has for this reason invited members of the general public with information to the contrary to freely approach relevant wings of the Government and put their case across.
ZANIS reports that the Information and Broadcasting minister said this in a statement , in Lusaka, today.
“ As a matter of fact, the public may wish to know that Trafigura is the company that bought BP Oil company in Zambia, now operating as Puma (Z) Limited, “ he said.
He explained that the company is therefore highly reputable and credible in the oil industry worldwide.Whatever is being insinuated around the company’s oil procurement deal with Zambia are mere assumptions with no aorta of truth in them.He explained that the oil pricing structures in Zambia and its neighbouring countries may not be at par depending on distances from seaports. Others may be selling at higher or low prices.
“ Otherwise, I would not like to say much on the issue to avoid giving credence to what are clearly wild allegations, “ he said.
He said government remains unflinchingly committed to transparent and accountable utilization of public resources for national benefit.Government recently signed a one year US$500 million contract with Netherland’s multinational commodity trader, Trafigura, for the supply and delivery of finished petroleum products because Zambian investigative wings have cleared the company.
However ,the Netherlands based Oil firm was embroiled in an investigation into Justice minister Winter Kabimba who was accused of taking bribes over the contract.
According to the Guardian(http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/dec/03/trafigura-zambia-bribery-allegations) Trafigura categorically refutes any allegation of corruption at any stage before, during or after the award of this tender and welcomes the investigation by the Zambian Anti-Corruption Commission.”The company added that it had never made any payments to Midland Energy.
Kabimba is a director of Midland Energy and the Guardian has seen copies of the company’s incorporation documents which list the minister as a board member and shareholder. The company was registered on 10 January 2012, four months after the current government came into power.
Local reports suggested that the allegations against Kabimba have been made by sources close to Zambia’s defence minister, Geoffrey Mwamba. Among the claims are that he recently travelled to Lebanon to collect the payment on behalf of Midlands Energy.
However, the Anti- Corruption Commission (ACC ) has since cleared the minister of the allegations over the Trafigura Oil deal.
[ZANIS/the Guardian]
Hunt for Successor 42: Money is the root of all evil
“Money is the root of all evil,” the email read. “It is the reason you Africans are a failure; a dependent of the West. It is the reason you languish at the bottom of the totem pole. Don’t blame us. You have put yourselves there. It is your self-interest, pettiness, and meanness that have put you at the brink of economic Armageddon. It is the greediness of your political leaders that makes you an endangered people.”
The lengthy email was from Walter, the Caucasian and former IMF official I had sat next to on my flight from Los Angeles to Boston on New Year’s Eve of 2011. I had not heard from him in months. I read on:
“It is this unbridled greed that is killing you at an alarming rate. It has turned you into beggars at the hands of the IMF-World Bank and condemned you to debt. The indebtedness, superior to colonialism, is the reason for the wanton deaths of African folk and the fast reduction of the African population. It’s a great shame for a people who have enough natural resources to feed, clothe and shelter every single soul on the continent.
A Sinazongwe fisherman with his children on Lake Kariba
Like children your so-called economists and your ill-informed politicians get excited when IMF-World Bank announces that your economic growth has ‘surged’ to 8%, 4%, 2%… What they fail to understand is such are insignificant percentages of low development. IMF-World Bank is simply putting cheese on its traps and like mice you all are getting caught. Where are the African economists to fight this scourge?”
Walter’s last remarks on African intellectuals steered a debate across Africa that has lasted up to today. From the email it was clear that he was still following closely the activities in Africa.
“I see your president has become a victim of IMF-World Bank placebos. He has removed subsidies on maize and fuel. I will address that later. Let me first inform your readers that I love Africa. I’ve left the New York “Vulture Fund” company I worked for when you and I met on JetBlue. It was too much for me. In 1999, I moved from the loan shark IMF to a broking company that was ripping off countries like yours by buying up the debt at cheap prices and demanding much higher than the original price.
“In 2007, we sued Zambia for $40 million, after buying off some of the debt for $4 million. Chiluba paid us $15 million, and we rewarded him with $2 million. We went to the Democratic Republic of Congo and did the same thing. Overtime, I became disillusioned. I was often haunted by the view from the bedroom window of my Kabulonga home back in the 1980s.”
For those familiar with Walter, you’ll remember his words: “I was part of the IMF group that came to rip you guys off. Your government put me in a million dollar mansion overlooking a shanty called Kalingalinga. From my patio I saw it all—the rich and the poor, the ailing, the dead, and the healthy.”
A LandRover finding its way through the flooded Njashishi Road in Kanyama Compound in Lusaka
Walter reminisced: “The daily sight of funeral processions from Kalingalinga to Leopard’s Hill Cemetery have stuck to the walls of my brain—the sound of wailing, and solemn hymns. I have quit. I am no longer a vulture. I have now become a fighter for Africa’s economic empowerment.
“I’m a staunch supporter of Joseph Stiglitz whom I have always admired. I totally agree with him when he says that the IMF must be dismantled. Joe was at the World Bank when I was in Africa. The man has a big heart for Africa. How I wish some of your rational economists like Caleb Fundanga, who is familiar with the IMF, would take a leaf from Stiglitz and persuade your president to find a way of avoiding the IMF-World Bank high restrictive conditions and abominable interest rates that have brought misery to your people.”
For those who do not know Joseph Stiglitz, he is the Nobel Prize laureate in Economics who served as Chief Economist and Senior Vice President of the World Bank in the 1990s. In 2011, TIME magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world. He is a guru at asset risk management, corporate governance, and international trade. The man was inside the World Bank and saw it all.
In a 2002 radio interview with Doug Henwood of WBAI, New York, Stiglitz was asked what struck him when he first got to the World Bank. The reply is quoted in full because it is the reason African states are stuck with IMF-World Bank for good.
[pullquote]It bothered Stiglitz greatly to discover that both the IMF and the World Bank were exploiting Africa. At the same time it bothered IMF-World Bank that Stiglitz had discovered their horrors and gone public. He was fired.[/pullquote]
Stiglitz: “One of the most traumatic experiences I had there was just a month after I started. I went to Ethiopia, one of the poorest countries in the world. It had a balanced budget, no inflation, and had had rapid growth for five years, had cut back on defense expenditures from 6% to 2%, even though it had come to power through military means. This is a really unusual government – no charges of corruption. And yet the IMF had suspended its program.
“I asked, ‘Why?’ The answer was that the budget wasn’t balanced. But it was. They said, ‘But you shouldn’t include foreign aid.’ I said, ‘Why else are governments giving money if it’s not for them to build schools and hospitals?’ They said, ‘You can’t rely on it.’ The government had a very good answer. They said, ‘As long as we get the money, we’ll build the schools, and when we don’t get the money, we’ll stop building the schools.’ And when we came back to Washington we discovered that tax revenues were more unstable than foreign aid.”
It bothered Stiglitz greatly to discover that both the IMF and the World Bank were exploiting Africa. At the same time it bothered IMF-World Bank that Stiglitz had discovered their horrors and gone public. He was fired.
Walter writes: “I was in Washington D.C. when Joe was fired. Some African presidents and Finance Ministers celebrated. It was Joe who opposed the privatization of national assets. He was against high interest rates, and trade liberalization. But he was alone. Your president and your Minister of Finance disliked him. He was standing in the way of their commissions. They were making tons of money by associating themselves with the IMF and the World Bank. It was in the Washington IMF and World Bank offices that money became the root of evil. It was here that the “carrot and stick” game was played like Russian roulette. Ministers of Finance were staking their country’s assets for a commission and we kept winning, even when they shot themselves in the head.
“Now you know why the Ministry of Finance is the most sought in African countries. African Finance Ministers are the richest of the cabinet and are confidants of the president because they are the carriers of the begging bowl. Their best telephone call is the one from Washington D.C.
By the way, I was appalled, but not surprised when one of your junior ministers was quoted as saying “we will continue borrowing; we are in a hurry to develop.” Watch him. He’s drunk with power.
It is this chronic borrowing that has worsened your county’s debt and increased poverty. A debt results in cutbacks in spending on health care, and is the reason people in your country continue to die from HIV/AIDS and poverty-related diseases. I have seen his picture; he looks chubby and is always smiling. I am sure he has a relative or two who are not as fortunate as he. If I had it my way, I would arrest him, lock him up, and throw away the key for mortgaging a country in which the majority are poor. He’s a half-hearted economist; an impetuous and selfish fellow.
“This is the type of foolish behavior I saw at IMF. The so-called African economists sent to Washington didn’t care how much they borrowed, at what interest rate. They didn’t bother to read the fine print. They did care if they flogged their electricity and water companies. They simply didn’t care about the poor back in their countries. It was what was in it for them and their president—period. And we didn’t care how much we dished out as long as we kept a country such as yours below the poverty line, and within the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC).
“I began to lose respect for African economists, dressed, as they were, in their tailor-made suits, with golden cufflinks and draped bowties. Not one of these African Iscariots I met during my stay at IMF said anything negative about IMF; not one could see the drastic impact IMF and World Bank was having on their people. Not one could see that IMF and the World Bank were merely credit risk agencies.
“Field, how do you like the tag HIPC on your country? That’s what Zambia is and will always be—a Heavily Indebted Poor Country, that’s right. IMF and the World Bank love it. It’s a way of separating lepers from society. Your president, Chiluba, sold everything for a nickel and your country slipped to 164 of the 187 countries on the United Nation’s Development Index of poverty. You are still lepers, all I know. You are a country without an airline, meaningful mining and manufacturing industries, and now no subsidies—nothing. You are a country without health, education and development. Look at your dilapidated hospitals, schools, roads—just look at them. It’s shameful.
Patients sleeping on the floor at a ward in UTH
“When I read that your president had removed subsidies on maize and fuel, two reasons came to mind. The first is obvious; your president has no choice. He needs to maintain the IMF and the World Bank (your new colonial masters) seal of approval. Your country will not get help from Western donor countries without the IMF and the World Bank endorsement. That’s a smart way of keeping your country colonized, poor and dependent. If your president refuses to remove subsidies he risks having the extension of your country’s loans denied. This is what I call ‘loss of state sovereignty.’ Like you and other writers have hinted, when a country removes subsidies, it allows the market to determine demand and supply for food. This reduces support for farmers, and leads to the poor failing to afford essentials.
“The second reason is often ignored, but true. It is what Stiglitz calls the IMF riots. Stiglitz observes that when a nation is, ‘down and out,’ the IMF squeezes the last drop out of it. I dare add that the IMF-World Bank can be political at times. Don’t forget your president is not a very likable man in the West. They think he has become a puppet of China. He has been placed under the radar and is being watched. When you make the West uncomfortable, they will have you removed. The IMF and the World Bank know that when subsidies are removed, essentials will become unaffordable and people will riot. In your country maize and fuel are good dynamite with which to blast the ruling party. If they fail this time, I can assure you they will succeed next time.
“Joe is right. He’s speaking from his heart when he says IMF has failed. It is true IMF has purloined enough from poor countries, but, unfortunately, it is only Joe and a few like me who understand this. Your president and his economists don’t. We know that the West did not develop under such harsh conditions as those imposed on Africa. They kept subsidies for domestic industries. Your economists know this, and yet they can’t see that your country is being duped through monetary austerity; fiscal austerity; privatization; and financial liberalization. What a shame.”
Walter has spoken. I shall add no more.
Solwezi press club has joined the rest of stakeholders in condemning to the strongest terms the attack of innocent people including pressmen by suspected PF cadres at the Bible Gospel Outreach Church in Lusaka’s Matero township last Friday.The club expressed worry that the media practitioners are now living in fear as these political thugs might go to the extent of attacking them and their families in their respective homes.The club observed that it is saddening to attack innocent journalists who were merely executing their duty diligently so that the people in the country are well informed of the happenings.
Meanwhile The Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection (JCTR) has condemned last Friday’s attack on the church during a Black Friday procession to protest the Patriotic Front’s poor governance record and removal of subsidies on maize and fuel calling on government to bring the perpetrators to justice.
In a press statement released to the media The Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection (JCTR) vehemently condemned last Friday’s attack on the church, media and civil society by suspected politically influenced group of militias. The JCTR said the attack is a clear affront on freedom of expression, association and assembly all of which are a hallmark of a democratic society.
“We condemn the attack on the church, media and civil society and demand that the police expeditiously bring the culprits to book”, says JCTR Faith and Justice Programme Manager, Brian Banda.
[pullquote]The attack is a clear affront on freedom of expression, association and assembly all of which are a hallmark of a democratic society.[/pullquote]
In a free, democratic and Christian nation, people have the right to assemble and express their views on issues that touch their lives.
On Friday, the Church, media, civil society and other Zambians of good will met with the sole intention of praying, sharing, and informing the public about the issues that are currently adversely affecting the people of Zambia, especially the poor. The people at the prayer meeting deserved support, protection and security and not barbaric treatment from some non-law abiding citizens. Where the rich and powerful take advantage of the poor the church has and will always speak on behalf of the poor because God has a great passion for the poor and marginalized of our society and anyone who oppresses the poor and weak shows contempt to God their maker (Ps147:7-9), said Mr. Banda.
We urge the government, through the ministry of Home Affairs, to ensure that security and protection is given to all Zambians regardless of political affiliation or dissenting views. Dissent is expected in a democracy and so no Zambian should be intimidated to say what is contrary to government policy. Unless the ministry of home affairs protects the people of Zambia, especially those who hold divergent views, Zambia will certainly turn into a lawless nation. We denounce any form of lawlessness because that is inhuman, un-Zambian and undemocratic.
As JCTR, we want to promote a society where human dignity, which is the bedrock of human rights and democracy, is respected, promoted and protected especially by the state and every Zambian. Neither violence nor intolerance promotes human dignity or democracy. We encourage dialogue and peaceful demonstrations among stakeholders and all Zambians of good will as a way of engaging on issues of national policy and good governance. Where human rights are violated, we want to see Justice prevail. Therefore, we call upon the government, through the police, to bring the perpetrators of last week’s violence to justice now.
The Consortium of twelve Civil Society Organizations championing the Black Friday campaign has described the apology by Patriotic Front Matero Member of Parliament over the brutal attack on worshipers at BIGOCA church in Lusaka last Friday as a crocodile apology that does not hold water.
Spokesperson of the consortium Macdonald Chipenzi says for the apology to be accepted, the PF should go further in ensuring that all the thugs who were involved in the brutal attack are brought to book.
Mr. Chipenzi has also described the twenty million kwacha donated to BIGOCA church by Mr. Miles Sampa as fooling the church.
Mr. Chipenzi has argued that there is no way Mr. Sampa can make a donation to the church after what happened as doing so showed that the PF was only seeking to make peace with church and not regretting what the alleged PF thugs did.
He has also stressed the need for the Patriotic Front to allow people in the country to freely assemble and express their view as Zambia is a Democracy.
Former President Rupiah Banda
THE Lusaka High Court will today hear the application by former Republican President, Rupiah Banda that may determine whether he would travel to South Africa to attend the African Presidential Centre.
Banda who made his application in the High Court yesterday after two senior magistrates turned the earlier ones, also asked the court to vary his police bonds to enable him travel for the said function scheduled to start today and ending on June 8 this year.
But when the matter came up yesterday, High Court Judge-in-Charge who is in conduct of the matter granted an inter-parte hearing in the matter to allow both parties to make submissions.
The State had by press time not yet submitted its response on grounds that they were served with the written application late and needed time to study it and make a written response as well.
Banda in his application contended that he was making the application to the court to order the release of his passport to enable him attend the important function and future functions that he would be invited to attend.
He said he was a family man with two very young children, had properties in Zambia and previously lectured at Boston University in American and came back knowing that the State intended to prosecute him as comments to that effect were made long before the current prosecutions.
“I have now been invited by the African Presidential Centre to make a presentation at the African Presidential Roundtable 2013 in Johannesburg from June 5 to 8 this year and with me is a copy of the invitation letter written by the director which was copied to the US embassy in Zambia and Zambian embassy in US,” he said.
The Boston University had already sent two return air tickets and for one aide to travel with him to South Africa and back.
Chief Resident Magistrate Joshua Banda and Principal Resident Magistrate Obbister Musukwa in denying releasing the accused’s passport said the subordinate court had no jurisdiction to vary Banda’s bond conditions and advised that in an event that he was aggrieved with the outcome, he should apply to the higher court.
Mr Banda said the application to vary the accused persons’ police bond was before a wrong court saying even though he had inheritance power, it should not override the statutory provisions.
“The magistrate only has powers to extend the police bond and not to make any variations, and on the accusations of people making running comments, let all those including the accused stop making any running comments over the cases before court,” he said.
Mr Musukwa said section 126 (3) was the only statute that gave the High Court powers to vary the accused person’s police bond.
Some road rehabilitation projects left by the MMD government are still progressing. Here, a grader from Sable Construction levelling gravel and stones on the once rugged Katima Mulilo road in Lusaka. The road will be upgraded from two lanes to four lanes to ease congestion on the stretch.
The road rehabilitation and construction that will change the landscape of Zambia’s capital city in the process helping to end the traffic congestion will commence in two weeks time.
The Road Development Agency (RDA) in collaboration with the Lusaka City Council (LCC) announced yesterday that the works would involve 408 kilometers of Lusaka roads and would be completed in 43 months from the date of commencement.
The commencement of the project follows the conclusion of the designs by the contractor and the consultants.
The RDA and the Council have since appealed to car-wash owners, traders and others currently operating their businesses within the road reserve to vacate the areas to enable the road contractor carry out the works.
RDA chief executive officer Bernard Chiwala confirmed in a statement in Lusaka yesterday that the contractor AVIC international project Engineering Company had since mobilised.
He said phase one of the project would include the expansion of the 12.12 km stretch of Burma road from Independence Avenue to the Kasama road junction, the expansion of Mumbwa road from Lumumba road junction to a stretch of 9.41 km.
The expansion of the 2.19 km Thabo Mbeki road from Alick Nkhata junction to Arcades roundabout and the expansion of the 6.74 km of the Independence Avenue.
He said subsequent phases would involve the construction, rehabilitation and improvement of over 300 km of residential roads and bus routes, 45 km of the industrial and collector roads and 10 junctions in order to improve traffic flow.
Others would include construction, rehabilitation and improvement of 19 bus bays, one interchange on the Great East road and street lighting of selected roads.
The RDA and the Council appealed to the general public to exercise patience and give the contractor maximum cooperation as the contractor undertook the works.
Zambia’s foreign-based callups are complete as Herve Renard oversaw Tuesday training with a full house ahead of Saturdays 2014 World Cup Group D qualifier against Lesotho in Ndola.
And strikers Collins Mbesuma and Jacob Mulenga sat out this afternoons training.
In training on Tuesday was the China -based duo of James Chamanga and Christopher Katongo from Liaoning Whowin and Henan Jianye respectively.
The duo joined camp on Monday night.
Also in came are midfielder Nathan Sinkala and defender Hichani Himonde of TP Mazembe also joined the team on Monday.
The quartet was part of both morning and afternoon training at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola.
However, Mbesuma and Mulenga joined midfielder Rainford Kalaba on the sidelines in the afternoon although the duo are said to be nursing minor knocks.
Rainford Kalaba has been ruled out of Saturday’s 2014 World Cup qualifier against Lesotho at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola.
And defender Stopilla Sunzu has joined camp and started light training with the team in Ndola.
Team Doctor Joseph Kabungo said Kalaba needed to complete rest for his calf injury to heal.
Kalaba has been carrying an injury for the last two weeks
“For now I think he won’t make it for this weekend’s game because we need to give him a bit of time to fully recover and keep monitoring him,” Dr Kabungo said.
“But from a medical point of view he is out.
“We will see how he will respond by next week but chances are still are at 50 per cent to make the Sudan game.”
And Dr Kabungo said Sunzu was in the team purely for his rehabilitation programme only.
“As you noticed he was not part and parcel of the whole groups training we have a programme for him which he will continue,” Dr Kabungo said.
“He is not part of this weekend’s game neither will be part of the Sudan game.”
The Immigration Department in Tanzania says any Zambian national entering that country needs to obtain a border pass from the Immigration Department on the Zambian side.
According to a public notice, no Zambian or any foreign national shall be allowed to enter Tanzania without a border pass with immediate effect.
The border pass, to last for one month, shall be obtained from the Immigration office at Nakonde at a fee of K2 only which should be presented to the Immigration Officer at Tunduma upon entry.
The move has, however, brought mixed feelings among many Zambians who, in the past, have been entering and leaving Tanzanian border town of Tunduma without a passport or border pass.
Nakonde District Commissioner, James Singoyi said the Immigration department in Tanzania has communicated to his office so that he can as well inform the travelling public on the Zambian side.
Mr Singoyi said the decision has been taken so as to ensure that there is peace and security on the Nakonde / Tunduma border.
He said Zambians who want to cross the border should present their National Registration Cards (NRC) to the Immigration office at Nakonde in order for them to obtain a border pass at a fee of K2 only.
The District Commissioner added that those with passports only need to have them stamped at Nakonde Immigration office before proceeding to Tanzania.
Mr Singoyi has since advised the cross border traders to ensure that they move with NRCs or passports to enable them obtain border passes at Nakonde before proceeding to Tanzania.
He said the office of the Permanent Secretary in Muchinga has since been informed about these changes.
The Zambia Tanzania border is the only open border in the Central, Southern and East Africa where people used to move freely crossing from one side of the border to the other.
In the past, though the border gates closed officially at 18:00 hours on both ends, people used to move freely from the other side of the border to the other until 07:00 hours in the morning without any harassment.
Tanzania also accepts the Zambian currency as legal tender.
Former Republican President, Rupiah Banda, has joined the rest of the nation in sending condolences at the death of nine United Party for National Development (UPND) members who died in a road traffic accident in Luangwa on Sunday night.
Mr Banda has also commended all political parties that have suspended their political campaigns for the June 20th Feira Parliamentary by-elections.
He stressed that even though death does not unify people it was encouraging to note that politicians put aside their differences in times of such calamity and should not always wait for calamity to unite them.
He further implored Zambians to learn to love one another and unite as members of one big family called Zambia.
Mr Banda also advised UPND president, Hakainde Hichilema, and his party leadership against being discouraged by the loss of their members.
He urged them to forge ahead in continuing to contribute to the country’s political spectrum which needs the participation of every citizen.
And in message to the 17 people who were injured in the accident, Mr Banda wished them a speedy recovery and advised them to seek God’s face as they recover.
This is contained in a statement made available the ZANIS today, by the Deputy Administrative Assistant in the Office of the Fourth Republican President, Rupiah Banda.
FILE: Lusaka Province Minister Freedom Sikazwe and District Commissioner Ashwel Kampengele touring Chazanga Secondary school which is over three years behind schedule and has its land encroached, this was during the Ministers tour of developmental projects in Mandevu constituency in Lusaka
Lusaka Province Minister Freedom Sikazwe has warned that the Patriotic Front (PF) members in Luangwa district will not attend the burial of seven people that perished in an accident on Sunday if the opposition UPND becomes uncooperative.
Mr. Sikazwe said the UPND exhibited some signs of antagonism this morning when some of its members converged at Luangwa Clinic demanding to get bodies of the deceased for burial.
This was in contrast with government’s position that the burial of the accident victims should only take place after a post-mortem.
He said arguments that the UPND had authority to decide when and how to bury its members was disappointing especially that government and all Zambians were equally affected by the death of the nine people.
Mr. Sikazwe said he was nearly roughed up by some UPND members in Luangwa when he tried to reason with them over government’s concern on the matter.
The UPND has already procured coffins for the burial of the seven accident victims in Kavalamanja tomorrow on Wednesday.
But Mr Sikazwe maintained that for this reason, the PF members may not attend the burial of the UPND members that died on Sunday when the light truck they were travelling in lost control and plunged into a stream.
Mr. Sikazwe also advised bereaved families not to be swayed by people who were aiming at gaining political mileage out of the unfortunate incident.
About 20 other people sustained injuries and were admitted to Katondwe mission hospital in Luangwa.
Meanwhile, opposition United Party for National Development (UPND) spokesperson Charles Kakoma has called for restraint from all political parties not to turn the funeral into a campaign.
Mr. Kakoma told ZANIS in a telephone interview in Lusaka today that if the Patriotic Front (PF) government wanted to assist in burying the seven, government should have engaged his party and coordinated the programme instead of hijacking it.
He further explained that it was surprising that government went ahead to take over without consulting the UPND as the seven members that died belonged to the UPND and their respective families.
Mr. Kakoma appealed to politicians to desist from turning the funeral into a political campaign with the view of gaining political mileage.
He stated that some senior UPND members have been sent to Luangwa to sort out the problem that arose when the party were denied permission by police to collect the remains of the seven by insisting that their bodies belonged to the state.
“Yesterday, we bought coffins, foodstuffs, arranged transport and other logistics to enable us bury our colleagues in a dignified manner but to our utmost disappointment, we were not allowed to get the bodies”, said Mr Kakoma.
“We have since sent some senior members to sort out the problem and advise when we can bury our colleagues as you know they were our members and belonged to their respective families”, he added.
Mr Kakoma urged politicians to allow the party to bury their members in dignity.
Cabinet has approved the sale of houses to sitting tenants who are former employers of Kafue Textiles of Zambia (KTZ) and further approved the sale of all KTZ commercial properties.
Commenting on the development, Secretary to the Treasury Fredson Yamba said when arriving at the decision, government took into account the fact the most of the former employees of KTZ could not afford the full market price.
ZANIS reports that the minister said this in a statement signed Ministry of Finance Public Relations Officer Chileshe Kandeta , today.
The minister said the houses will be sold at the 2006 government valuation prices while the non-housing commercial properties will be sold at full market prices.
“At its sitting on 20th May 2013, cabinet spelt out the following key terms for its decision on KTZ houses: That government would transfer the title deeds to eligible sitting tenants only after such sitting tenants have fully paid for the houses.
“ And upon payment of transfer charges; that the commercial property would be advertised and sold at full market prices and that where original sitting tenants or administrators cannot be traced, the affected houses would be reverted to the state,” said Mr. Yamba.
Mr. Yamba has since commended cabinet for showing magnanimity in addressing the plight of the people of Kafue and appealed to stakeholders to ensure that all procedures as stipulated by relevant laws are strictly followed.
