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Nkana received a boost ahead of Saturday’s FAZ Super Division Week One match against Roan United when Mopani Copper Mines presented a branded mini-bus to the team on Friday.
The Wusakile outfit take on Roan at Nkana Stadium in Kitwe in the two sides opening day fixtures.
Mopani chief executive Danny Callow presented the mini-bus to the club executive in the presence of Nkana players.
“This is a new dawn for Nkana after a few years in the doldrums. When you (players) are in the bus feel proud to be part of Nkana Football Club,” Callow said
“Hopefully we start to win games early in the season. As Mopani we support winning teams” he added.
Nkana executive committee member Joseph Silwamba saluted Mopani for the donation.
Police in riot gear have been deployed at Parliament following opposition Members of Parliament uproar to Speaker Patrick Matibini’s ruling for a motion to remove former president Rupah Banda’s legal immunity to proceed.
This is despite the matter being before the court of law. Following the uproar, the Speaker suspended of the house for 15 minutes.
The uproar stated when the speaker ruled that parliament was was an independent institution that does not get orders from any other institution hence free to observe its own rules and procedures following a point of order from UPND Monze MP Jack Mwiimbu who questioned why parliament had obeyed court orders on the expulsion of MPs, but was failing to do so on this.
When the speaker insisted that the motion be moved despite court order, MPs resorted to heckling that made it impossible for the Justice Minister to proceed with the motion.
It is at this point that the speaker decided to suspend the proceedings.
And in a rare move, police in riot gear drove into Parliament grounds to the dismay of opposition MPs, who strongly demand the police officers leave Parliament.
Leaders of Church Mother Bodies addressing a media briefing at Kapingila House today
The Church mother bodies in Zambia have said that they find it hard to tolerate abominable and immoral acts being committed right before our very eyes in Zambia. In a press statement distributed to the media, the church said urged all Zambians to examine their conscience, seek the truth and work towards bringing back hope to people.
Below is the Full media statement
Joint Press Statement issued by the Three Christian Church Umbrella Organizations
The Council of Churches in Zambia (CCZ), The Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia (EFZ) and the Zambia Episcopal Conference (ZEC)
“I have seen the Miserable State of my People … I have heard their Cry” (Ex 3:7)
We the three Christian Church Mother Bodies namely: the Council of Churches in Zambia (CCZ), the Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia (EFZ) and the Zambia Episcopal Conference (ZEC) are repeatedly saddened at the rampant political violence that keeps on popping its ugly face especially in the recent by-elections. As people who have a God given mandate of exercising the prophetic mission in our nation and in our time, we cannot tolerate such abominable and immoral acts being committed right before our very eyes. Our nation today, stands at the crossroads and we are in a crisis. We face many challenges related with governance and survival, among which, are increasing levels of poverty among the majority of our people, a pervading cancer of rampant corruption, escalating youth unemployment, the growing gap between the rich and the poor, an education system that is falling apart, a poor health service delivery coupled with the unclear constitution making process, the gagging or muzzling of people’s freedoms, the arrests of the opposition party leaders and human rights violations. As Zambians, we all need to examine our conscience, seek the truth and work towards bringing back hope to our people.
In our joint statement issued on 27th February 2013, we appealed for calm in the aftermath of the violence and the unfortunate death of Mr. Harrison Chanda in the run up to the by-elections in Livingstone which were prudently postponed by the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ). We also proposed that instead of playing the usual political game of finger pointing and name calling, time had come for all Zambians to seriously engage in a process of soul-searching and discernment. Our politics have sunk so low as we recently experienced loss of life during political campaigns. This development is unacceptable and must not be tolerated. Indeed, is this the level our politics has come to – of killing one another just for greed and want of political office? We do not want our democracy to go that route where instead of preserving life and protecting the citizens, our people risk death during times of heightened political activities.
We must create a new democratic dispensation. Our democracy came at high cost and we should all endeavor to protect it and help sustain this philosophy of governance.
We should all seek to come together to safeguard and promote the culture of peaceful, genuine and democratic elections in this great nation which for many years now has been the pride and envy of this region and the continent of Africa.
A. By-elections
We are seeing a strange phenomenon that raises great concern, with the rate at which by-elections in our country are being held. Whilst we acknowledge the fact that the Zambian laws provide for the holding of by-elections to fill a vacant seat in Parliament, or at local government levels, we are seriously questioning the justification and authenticity of many of these parliamentary by-elections. Even though these elections are being held within the provisions and confines of the law, we are also increasingly seeing more and more by-elections being instigated or motivated by greed, individual interests and a selfish propensity for political dominance by the ruling party and the desire for ministerial positions by the MPs that are lured into resignations from their political parties, or that in case such MPs were expelled, they would still be adopted to recontest their seats on another ticket. Also we question the integrity of these by-elections. Who is really behind the current spell of elections? What value are these by-elections adding to our political environment? Why are our leaders so ready to waste such colossal sums of money in the campaigns whilst our hospitals still face a critical shortage of medical staff, equipment and essential drugs? We question the integrity of those who are crossing the floor in parliament for the sake of receiving political favors or appointments. We therefore call upon our leaders to prudently exercise the power that the Zambian people have entrusted in them. Many of our hospitals, schools and other service centres cannot offer quality services due to inadequate funding. This is because they are subordinated to wrong priorities as everyone seems to be pre-occupied with by-elections.
At the same time, while we acknowledge the fact that the Republican President has the constitutional power to appoint any Member of Parliament as Cabinet or Deputy Ministers, we urge the government to dialogue with the leaders of Political Parties before such appointments are made. In other words, care must be taken to avoid creating an impression of political poaching which often leads to expulsions of those who accept the appointments because their parties do not approve of them. We question as to how many deputy ministers the government can appoint. The increasing number of appointments of cabinet deputy ministers eventually leads to a bloated cabinet which is what the people of this country have always rejected in preference for a lean Cabinet as promised by the PF government.
We pray that the new constitution, which is being drafted, will provide for mechanisms that will prevent unnecessary by-elections. In fact, we believe that the efficacy and legitimacy of the current PF government will be tested on how quickly they can deliver a new Republican Constitution which will cure all the lacunas which seem to be exploited by those whose only interest is either to gain or cement their continued stay in office. We are deeply concerned about the new constitution making process because of a number of issues that have not been addressed such as the timeframe, and the mode of adoption of the final constitution.
B. Our Message of Strong Appeal
1. To the Government:
We ask the government to avoid giving threats and using decrees in leading the nation. The government should use the instruments of power to serve and protect the citizenry of this country and promote peace and meaningful dialogue. We urge the government to quickly engage their colleagues in the opposition when dealing with critical national issues. True democrats win support by means of political persuasion rather than crushing those with opposing views. As servants of the people who voted you into power, you should always put first the interest of the majority Zambians who are poor, unemployed and do not have access to basic social services and other basic needs.
2. To all the Political Parties:
We call upon all political parties to also engage in a process of soul-searching. As your pastors and shepherds, we are deeply disturbed when we hear of the continued in-fighting and see attempts by some prominent members of your parties to wash the dirty linen in public. What is even more worrying is the continued culture of using both hate and tribal speech. Not only that, we do wonder where drunken, violent and unrepentant cadres come from. Who actually buys alcohol for them and transport them to places where by-elections are taking place? Are these not the same things we condemned in the previous regime? Aren’t Zambians justified in questioning whether they made the right choice? We therefore appeal to you the leaders across the political spectrum to demonstrate maturity, dignity and magnanimity in the way you exercise your leadership and in the manner you relate to each other. Your focus should be to promote the common good and especially uplifting the lives of the poor and neglected in our beloved country.
Our democracy will suffer greatly if the opposition is weakened. This will neither benefit government nor the citizens. We have been through a one party system of governance before. It is the last thing we would wish for this nation.
3. To the Zambia Police Service:
As we (the three Church Mother Bodies) argued in the run up to the 2011 Tripartite Elections, we once more say that, “The burden of ensuring that law and order is observed in the country lies on all of us the people of Zambia. The police however carry a special mandate to enforce law and order where our society fails to voluntarily observe it. Given the diverse interests we have in our country especially during elections, the Police Service has to stand firm but always impartial. There have been many accusations against the police service pointing to the fact that it sometimes fails to be impartial when policing political activities and that the police service has tended to favor the ruling party. We call upon the police command to work at rebranding the negative image it continues to project in the eyes of the general public”.
We therefore wish to see a more professional police command that should come up with a publicized clear program of action on how they intend to police political activities during campaigns and other political activities in this nation. Police should ensure that they are not manipulated by anybody aimed at advancing expediency or impunity out of selfish motives.
4. To the Media:
We have always valued the pivotal role played by the media in our democratization process. As God says, “My people perish for lack of knowledge …” (Hosea 4:6). We have therefore consistently called upon the media to foster their mandate of informing and educating the public with courage and resilience but also with fairness to everyone. The divide that has been created in Zambia where the public media is exclusively dedicated to the propaganda of government and the ruling party while a few private media on the other hand give more attention to the opposition is not healthy. We strongly believe that the media should be governed by common standards of projecting the truth. Indeed, who is going to stop the cycle of character assassination that we often see or hear about in our print and electronic media?
The church does not want to see a repeat of the acts of demonizing leaders as President Sata was demonized while in the opposition. The church’s expectation is that this should not perpetuate itself as it is an evil which should go away and the media should ensure that they rise to the occasion in stopping this objectionable tendency. We believe that the media should help in preventing the dissemination of insults and hating information and toning down the sensationalizing information involving different persons.
5. To the Civil Society Organizations (CSOs):
As we have maintained in the past, CSOs play an important role in educating, organizing and mobilizing the public on many critical national issues. We call upon them to redouble their efforts in facilitating citizens to make meaningful participation in our electoral process and in promoting good governance. They should promote voter literacy, sensitize people against apathy and challenge all actors in the electoral process to behave in an objective manner that offers respect for the rights of other people in the process.
6. To our Fellow Clergy Men and Women:
We hereby exhort you to continue performing the God-given mandate of providing a prophetic voice in our society. Do not abuse the pulpit for partisan politics and do not ever fall prey to political enticements and corruption. Do not be afraid to preach the truth in love and we urge you to continue to call the powers that be to do greater justice to your flock and those outside of your assemblies, parishes and congregations. Never tire at proclaiming the message of truth, justice, peace, love, unity, forgiveness and reconciliation. As St. Paul exhorts us: “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (Gal. 6:9).
7. To all Zambians:
If you really love your country, do not sit by the fence and simply watch as things are going wrong. In addition do not be counted with those who cause violence or promote wrong doing. “As the saying goes, “all that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for a few good people to do nothing”. We appeal to all Zambians to stay away from corruption and the prevailing culture of lying, hero worshipping, rumor mongering, violence and hate or tribal speech. Rather, we call you to embrace and promote the culture of national unity, honesty, moral integrity, transparency, accountability, peace, hard work, love and forgiveness. Let us all resolve to make our country better and more democratic. Let us not allow anyone to divide us, draw us backward or blind us from the truth. Rather, let us all remain vigilant and safeguard our hard won liberties including the responsible use of freedoms of speech, movement and association. Zambia is bigger than any one person and certainly bigger than any one political party.
Conclusion
In conclusion, we demand that efforts be made to have an all inclusive national Indaba which should address the many challenges we are facing as a young and growing democracy. We firmly believe that this nation can overcome all our current political differences through genuine dialogue and guidance.
May God bless this great nation.
Issued on 15th March, 2013
Signed
____________________ ______________________ _______________________
Rev. Suzanne Matale Rev. Pukuta N. Mwanza Fr. Cleopas Lungu
General Secretary Executive Director Secretary General
Council of Churches in Zambia Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia Zambia Episcopal Conference
(CCZ) (EFZ) (ZEC)
2. HOME Affairs Minister Edgar Lungu cuts a ribbon during commissioning of newly built Mwembeshi Maximum security prison in Mumbwa district .On the right, are some of the inmates waiting to be addressed by Mr Lungu
3. NICE beds…Home Affairs Minister Edgar Lungu flanked by Prison Service Commissioner Percy Chato (behind) inspect one of the dormitories for inmates at the newly commissioned Mwembeshi Maximum security prison in Mumbwa district
4. Home Affairs Minister Edgar Lungu tastes nshima prepared by inmates shortly after commissioning the newly built Mwembeshi Maximum security prison in Mumbwa district
5. HOME Affairs Minister Edgar Lungu (far right) addresses inmates after commissioning the newly built Mwembeshi Maximum security prison in Mumbwa district
6. Vice President Dr Guy Scott receives a gift from Oxfam Zambia Director Nellie Nyang’wa at the New Government Complex in Lusaka yesterday during the official opening of the Oxfam conference on Preparing Zambia to Create the Future
7. Vice President Dr Guy Scott receives a gift from Oxfam Zambia Director Nellie Nyang’wa at the New Government Complex in Lusaka yesterday during the official opening of the Oxfam conference on Preparing Zambia to Create the Future
8. Vice President Guy Scott talks to Oxfam Zambia Director Nellie Nyang’wa and Oxfam Deputy Regional Director Southern Africa Elijah Adera at the New Government Complex in Lusaka
9. VICE President Guy Scott being welcomed by Gender and Child Development Minister Inonge Wina, Indian High Commissioner to Zambia Ashok Kumar (left) and Indian Business Council of Zambia (IBCZ) chairperson Ayyub Nagarseth (far right) before an BCZ luncheon in Lusaka
10. Kabwe district commissioner Patrick Chishala listerning to concerns of the un registered taxi drivers, whose car have been impounded for failure to paint them in blue colour outside his office in kabwe
11. Kabwe district commissioner’s office was early today sealed off by police officers in riot gear.This came into effect after kabwe traffic police officers impounded several taxi’s which are not painted in blue colour,thereby causing un registered taxi drivers have a peaciful match to kabwe district commissioner patrick chishala to air their grievances. Above, seated are unregistered taxi drivers, calling themselves as ”taxi vendors not pilators” trying to have audience with kabwe district commissioner Patrick Chishala at his office in kabwe.
12. MJ30 dancing queens recently entertaining revellers at Bottom’s Up in Kitwe
13. MJ30 dancing queens recently entertaining revellers at Bottom’s Up in Kitwe
14. MJ30 dancing queens recently entertaining revellers at Bottom’s Up in Kitwe
15.MJ30 dancing queens recently entertaining revellers at Bottom’s Up in Kitwe
16.
17. A Boeing 737 similar to that being introduced by Proflight Zambia
18. a Boeing 737 aircraft similar to that being introduced by Proflight Zambia
19. Labour Minister Fackson Shamenda flanked by ZNUT President Henery Kapenda (l) and ZNUT General Secretary Newman Bubala (r) checks the vehicles on the occasion of the handover of vehicles to Provinces and Women’s Committee by ZNUT at ZNUT Offices in Lusaka,
20. Labour Minister Fackson Shamenda flanked by ZNUT President Henery Kapenda (l) and ZNUT General Secretary Newman Bubala (r) checks the vehicles on the occasion of the handover of vehicles to Provinces and Women’s Committee by ZNUT at ZNUT Offices in Lusaka,
21. Labour Minister Fackson Shamenda flanked by ZNUT President Henery Kapenda (l) and ZNUT General Secretary Newman Bubala (r) checks the vehicles on the occasion of the handover of vehicles to Provinces and Women’s Committee by ZNUT at ZNUT Offices in Lusaka,
22. Police Officers check the identity cards of Zambezi FM reporters Angela Hanunka (far right) and Kawewa Kabika (middle) outside court premises in Livingstone
23. Mazabuka MP Gary Nkombo leads other UPND cadres to appear in Livingstone Magistrate Court
24. UPND cadres coming out of a police van to appear in Livingstone Magistrate Court
25. Mazabuka MP Gary Nkombo being mobbed by UPND cadres and other supporters after the Livingstone Magistrate Court released him
26. Mazabuka MP Gary Nkombo leads other UPND cadres to appear in Livingstone Magistrate Court
27. Late Harrison Chanda’s murder suspect Henry Lungu (in front) arrives inside the court premises to appear in Livingstone Magistrate Court
28. Police confront late Harrison Chanda’s murder suspect Henry Lungu as he resisted to be taken in court cells in Livingstone
29. Police confront late Harrison Chanda’s murder suspect Henry Lungu as he resisted to be taken in court cells in Livingstone
30. Electoral officers checking the ballot boxes
31. Electoral officers checking the ballot boxes
32. Electoral officers checking the ballot boxes
33. A Livingstone resident casting his vote at Victoria Hall polling station
34. KAMZECHE Lupiya, parries the ball away during a FAZ talent identification match at David Kaunda Stadium in Chipata
35. KELVIN Chomba ( in green) tries to beat Fashion Sakala to the ball during a FAZ talent identification match at David Kaunda Stadium in Chipata
36. KAMZECHE Lupiya, jumps to catch a ball during the talent identification football tournament organised by the Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) at David Kaunda Stadium in Chipata
Zambia and Canada have concluded negotiations and signed the Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (FIPA) to boost business ties.
FIPA is a treaty designed to promote and protect Canadian and Zambian investment through legal binding provisions as well as to promote and protect foreign investment in Canada and Zambia.This is according to statement released to ZANIS in Lusaka by the Zambian High Commission in Canada.
The Agreement will ensures greater protection against discriminatory and arbitrary practices and enhances the predictability of a market’s policy framework as well as give businesses greater confidence to invest. In Zambia, the Canadian investor asset-base is estimated at over $6 billion, accounting for 20 percent of all Canadian mining assets in Africa.Zambian High Commissioner to Canada Bob Samakai signed the FIPA on behalf of the Zambia government at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC)’s international Convention Trade show and Investor exchange in Toronto on March 4, 2013.
In his speech, Mr. Samakai said Zambia was looking forward to increased investment arising from the signing of the agreement particularly in priority sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing among other and value-addition to natural resources.Mr. Samakai reaffirmed Zambia’s commitment to providing a conducive environment for foreign investors.
The High Commissioner said the signing of the FIPA agreement has put Zambia on Canada’s list as one of the potential investment destinations for investments.
“Zambia is in a hurry to attract investment from Canada. The FIPA provides a stable legal framework to promote and protect foreign investments by setting out clear rules and an effective enforcement mechanism between Zambia and Canada, “said the High Commissioner.
And the Canada’s Minister of International Trade and the Asia-Pacific Gateway, Ed Fast, said the agreement signed with Zambia and Cameroon were further proof that the most ambitious trade expansion plan in his nation’s history continued to get results for businesses and exporters in that country.
In addition to Zambia and Cameroon, other African countries that Canada had signed FIPA negations with include Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana and Tunisia. Currently Canada has 24 FIPAs globally.
Former Executive Chairman of the Task Force on Corruption Max Nkole
Government has disclosed that it is in the process of introducing Biometric National Registration Cards (NRCs).
The Biometric NRCs will be embedded with a security chip containing data of the holder and its biometric features would make it difficult for the identity card to be forged as is the case with the current cards.
Home Affairs Permanent Secretary Maxwell Nkole who disclosed this in Lusaka yesterday said the security features contained in the chip would, among others, address electoral malpractices.
“We have plans now to introduce the Biometric identity cards which are going to have security chips on them and which will be compliant with the electoral system. This is the programme we are working in conjunction with the Department of National Registration here (Kamwala).
“And with improved work environment here, we feel that once we roll out that programme of national registration it should greatly be able to be managed effectively and on time and therefore alleviate most of the problems that have been associated with electoral votes,” he said.
About US $6 million from Government and cooperating partners has been budgeted for the implementation of the project.
The first phase of the pilot project would be in Lusaka where the Biometric NRCs are expected to be introduced by June, 30 this year to be followed by the second phase in other provincial centres until district level.
From the initial eight successful bidders, three were shortlisted from which one successful firm is in the process of being selected to implement the project by a steering committee.
And in a speech read on his behalf by Mr Nkole during the launch of the US $4.8 million customer service centre at the Department of National Registration, Passport and Citizenship (DNRPC) in Lusaka’s Kamwala area yesterday, Home Affairs Minister Edgar Lungu thanked the American Government for funding the renovation works.
“Allow me to most sincerely thank the United States Government for the excellent renovation works made to this building through the USAID.
“This newly refurbished customer service centre now offers an excellent environment to do business to both members of staff and the general public in terms of service delivery,” he said.
Mr Lungu observed the Zambia Institutional Reform Programme funded by the United States Government had many facets and that the refurbishment works in question were just one among many others.
Speaking at the same function, USAID-Zambia mission director Susan Brems highlighted the importance of registering one’s particulars, saying governments could over time track the progress of improving the welfare of their citizenry if a country’s vital statistics were available and reliable.
“USAID invested US $4.8 million in this endeavour. Because we believe firmly in the role of Government in attending to the needs of its citizens, as well as the responsibility of citizens to be in good standing with their government, we consider this investment well spent,” she said.
Dr Brems was happy to note that the new customer service centre would reduce the birth registration process from five days in the past to one day, hoping that Government would roll out such a development to other areas as improvements in services enhanced good governance.
DNRPC registrar general Mathews Nyirongo said the design of the customer service centre was in glass and aluminum, which was a demonstration of the Department’s transparency in combating corruption and other malpractices in its operations.
Lusaka Mayor Daniel Chisenga says the local authority is exploring ways of introducing a bye law to regulate the level of house rentals charged by landlords.
Mr. Chisenga observed that tenants in Lusaka have been exploited for a long time through exorbitant rentals.
“You find that somebody who bought this house at K10, 000 during the Chiluba housing empowerment initiative is today charging K 2 million for rentals for the same property with little or no renovations to the property,” Mr. Chisenga said.
“As LCC, we find it unfair that Lusaka residents have to struggle with high rentals and we are looking at introducing some form of regulation to protect poor families from exploitation over rentals.”
He said the shortage of affordable housing units in the city is a key development issue facing Lusaka.
Mr. Chisenga was speaking when he officiated at a ceremony to launch the 2013 Women’s Build Week project by Habitat for Humanity Zambia.
He commended Habitat for its work aimed at ensuring that poor communities are provided with low cost housing.
And Habitat for Humanity Zambia National Director Joseph Musanje revealed that over 20,000 individuals across the country have benefitted from Habitat’s housing empowerment programme.
He said home ownership is important to human development hence the need to empower vulnerable communities with decent and affordable housing.
The Zambia Police Service has received with mixed feeling the Zambia Bribe Payers Index report which ranks the service and the Road Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA) as the most corrupt public departments in the nation.
Police Spokesperson Elizabeth Kanjela said the Police Service views the report as Transparent International’s perception towards the law enforcement agencies which could be true or false.
Speaking to ZANIS in an interview in Lusaka yesterday, Ms Kanjela said that it would have been logical for Transparent International to report those officers to the Ant Corruption Commission for an appropriate action.
Ms Kanjela said although it is true that there are some bad officers in the police, it was not fair to generalize the entire police service thereby denting the corporate image of the department.
She reiterated that the Police Service remains committed to protecting, preserving life and property as well as maintaining law and order in the nation.
She said the police remains stead fast in the discharge of duties adding that those corrupt officers found wanting have always been dealt with in accordance with the existing laws of the land.
Ms Kanjela said it is not fair to insinuate that all the officers in the Zambia Police Service are corrupt because the majority are able to discharge their duties professionally.
And efforts to get a comment from RTSA proved futile by press time as their contacts numbers went unanswered.
Last week, the 2012 Index report which was released in Lusaka ranked the two institutions in first and second places in terms of corruption respectively.
Vice President Guy Scott is expected in India tomorrow to attend the 9th Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)-EXIM Bank Conclave on India-Africa Project Partnership which runs from 17 -19 March, 2013.
Dr. Scott will arrive in India on Saturday, March 16th, 2013 aboard an Emirates Airline at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in the afternoon.
ZANIS reports from India that Zambia’s High Commissioner to that country Susan Sikaneta confirmed this in a meeting held at the Zambian mission in New Delhi yesterday.
Ambassador Sikaneta highlighted that activities of the Vice President’s official engagements will take place in New Delhi.
Other engagements are scheduled to take place in Pune, Mumbai and Udaipur.
In New Delhi, Dr. Scott will pay courtesy calls on his Indian counterpart, Mohammad Hamid Ansari and the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh before the official opening of the conclave.
Ambassador Sikaneta added that Dr. Scott is also expected to chair a plenary during a special session to be held on Zambia.
This means that Zambia will be a guest country.
The business community and investors will be part of the plenary session.
The meeting will focus on showcasing Zambia’s potential in its various economic sectors.
On March 19th, the Dr. Scott will engage a company called Angelique International Limited in a discussion with focus on rural electrification projects in Zambia.
In Zambia, Angelique International Ltd company constructed a substation in Chilanga district.
The company is also expected to put up more sub stations in Kabwe and Livingstone.
The energy and water sectors are among the underdeveloped areas of Zambia’s economy.
In the Patriotic Front manifesto, the importance of energy and water in the development process of the country is recognised.
Additionally, the PF manifesto states that the Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation (ZESCO) will be un-bundled by hiving off the distribution function and taking that function to the local authorities.
The Rural Electrification Authority (REA) which was established in Zambia in 2003 by an Act of Parliament No. 20, has a primary goal to providing electricity to the entire nation, targeting rural communities as mandated by government.
And in Udaipur, the Vice President will tour the world’s biggest zinc mine, which is owned by Vendatta, with an objective to look into modern mechanisation, technology, productivity and automation.
The tour will aim at exploring the possibility of boosting mining development in Zambia.
In Mumbai, formerly known as Bombay, which is India’s financial capital, the Vice President will address the Mumbai Chambers of Commerce and Industry.
While in Mumbai, Dr. Scott will also experience the infrastructure and road network developments.
A visit to the International Technology Park in Pune is another engagement for the Vice President.
His visit to Pune is intended to explore the prospects of setting up an IT Park facility in the economic zone in Lusaka South, which will give drive to economic development in the service sector.
Other activities will focus on the agriculture sector.
The 8th CII-EXIM Bank Conclave on India Africa Project Partnership was held in India last year under the theme, ‘Creating Possibilities: Delivering Value.’
According to the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)’s website, business results from its last held eight conclaves recorded significant achievements with 1,510 projects worth US$104 billion having been deliberated.
CII, with the support of the Ministry of External Affairs, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, and the government of India, are organising the said event.
The gathering offers an opportunity for participating countries to showcase their work to large numbers of decision makers from Africa.
More than 30 African countries of business leaders and officials will be in attendance.
Dr. Scott will represent Zambia at this year’s conclave.
ZANIS
The ruling PF has won the Livingstone Central bye election.
According to final results released shortly, PF candidate Lawrence Evans polled 10,173 with UPND’s Regina Musokotwane in distant second with 7, 805 votes.
MMD’s Fred Siasuntwe received 1,579 while Greenwell Mwanangombe of UNIP was last with 67 votes.
The UPND has since conceded defeat.
In his brief message posted on its Facebook page, the UPND said the party had lost the Livingstone by-election to PF.
It said, “Mrs. Musokotwane fought a good battle. This is the election which was postponed from 28th Feb 2013 for the first time in the history of Zambia due to the environment not being conducive. Votes cast were less than 20,000 in total.”
The UPND has since thanked its members for the vigilance exhibited during the election period.
The Livingstone seat was previously held by UPND’s Reverend Howard Sekwila who ditched the party.
\Barclays Bank Africa has projected that the Zambian Kwacha will suffer further losses against major international currencies and will hit Kr 6.30 against the US dollar by 2014.
The Bank says reduced interest in Zambia’s bond market and unhealthy copper exports receipts will put added pressure on the local currency in the short to medium term.
“With all that is happening in the market both domestically and internationally, we can’t see how else the Kwacha will strengthen, infact our projections put the Kwacha at around Kr 6.30 against the US dollar, says Jeff Gable, Head of Research at Barclays Africa.
Mr. Gable told a business conference in Lusaka organised for Barclays Bank clients in Zambia that many portfolio investors have exited the Zambian bond market upon maturity of their investments which has affected the Kwacha’s position.
“Even if Zambian yield on government securities isn’t relatively low, we find that it can’t compete effectively with the high yield rates in Nairobi, Nigeria or even Uganda and for offshore investors or fund managers looking for where to put their investments, they will go to a place where they will get better yields and these people have been exiting their positions in Zambia and this is what is causing Kwacha losses.”
He added, “It will not be good news for imports, we see a weaker Kwacha going forward.”
Mr. Gable further noted that the amount of export receipts from copper exports do little to influence the Kwacha foreign exchange position.
“Most of the copper exporters don’t remit their returns and the little that is receipted in Zambia cannot strengthen the Kwacha much,” he said.
Former Bank of Zambia Governor Caleb Fundanga says the PF government should provide a clear breakdown of the 195,744 jobs created since assuming office in 2011.
“I have just heard of the figures they are saying they have created thousands of jobs but one would do well to give a breakdown of the jobs and which sectors those jobs have come from,” Dr. Fundanga said.
On Wednesday, President Michael Sata through his Spokesman George Chellah revealed that his government has so far created close to 200,000.
President Sata said about 9, 716 jobs have been created in the central Government while the local Government has absorbed 5, 257 people.
He said the private sector accounted for 24, 098 with 5, 510 being actualised through the Zambia Development Agency in the period 2011 to 2012 pledged investments.
But Dr. Fundanga said job creation is a major challenge facing the country today and that increased focus on value addition is the only way that Zambia would create the much needed jobs.
“We should be focusing on value addition to raw products and we are not taking about high tech machinery here. Just the use of simple technology to improving product quality would go a long way, for example, women producing sweet potatoes or mangos should be taught on how they can preserve and extend the life of those products and seek international export markets for those organic foods.”
He said governments world over are struggling with the issue of unemployment and stated that the private sector should take the lead in creating sustainable employment for citizens.
Orlando Pirates coach Roger De Sa says he has a good idea of what to expect from Zanaco on Saturday.
Zanaco hosts Pirates on Sunday in a CAF Champions League first round, first leg game at Nkoloma Stadium.
De Sa said upon arrival in Lusaka that he was aware that Zanaco would not be easy like Comoros side Djabal whom Pirates beat 9-0 on aggregate in the preliminary round.
“We had an opportunity to have a little look at them but not too much,” De Sa said.
Pirates scouts were sent out to watch Zanaco in Swaziland a fortnight ago where the side played out to a scoreless draw against Mbabane Swallows to advance to the first round 3-2 on aggregate.
“But we have got an idea but obviously at home in Zambia they must be different from what we saw,” De Sa said.
“At least we are not totally blind like we were in the first round against a team from Comoros but we know that they are a difficult team champions of Zambia cannot be easy.”
Meanwhile, Pirates have arrived without key defender and Bafana-Bafana 2013 Africa Cup hero Siyabonga Sangweni who is injured.
“He an important player he is not able to be here otherwise he would be here but through injury he is not here,” De Sa said.
Voting has closed in the re-scheduled Livingstone central parliamentary by-elections.
Polls opened this morning on a peaceful note but with poor voter turnout.
Counting of ballots is now underway with results expected to start trickling in after 19:00hours.
The Electoral Commission of Zambia postponed the Livingstone by elections which were initially sheduled to take place on 28th February, 2013 due to political violence in the area.
Four political parties are participating in the elections with the ruling Patriotic Front fielding in Evans Lawrence, Regina Musokotwane standing on the opposition United Party for National Development (UPND) ticket, Movement for Multi party Democracy (MMD’s) Fred Siasuntwe and United National Independence Party (UNIP’s) Green Mwanangombe.
Livingstone Central constituency has 67, 732 registered voters, 61 polling stations, 17 wards and 101 voting streams.
Former President Rupiah Banda’s Lawyers have this afternoon filed a case with the Lusaka High Court preventing the parliament from discussion the lifting of their client’s immunity.
In a press release made to the media today , the lawyers argued that attempting to remove former President Banda’s immunity in the absence of any evidence, case, let alone any specific allegations of any wrongdoing, the PF government is attempting to subvert rule of law.
“Under normal constitutional precedent, the issue should now be tabled and not discussed tomorrow. Whether or not the Patriotic Front continues this unlawful process tomorrow or awaits the court order will speak volumes about their commitment to rule of law,” said the statement.
The lawyers argued that the PF government is trying to start with the conviction verdict and then work backwards to gather evidence.
“One cannot simply begin with the verdict and go backwards toward the case, evidence, and accusation, you have to do it the other way around,” read the statement
“Former President Banda’s legal team intends to aggressively pursue all legal avenues to halt these false allegations and expose the unlawful conduct of the PF before the international community,” concluded the statement.
There has been media reports that the ruling Patriotic Front (PF) party will be tabling a motion before parliament tomorrow requesting the removal of immunity of former President Rupiah Banda.
The long anticipated motion to remove former President Rupiah Banda’s immunity from prosecution will be moved by Justice Minister Wynter Kabimba.
The motion will state; “That interms of Article 43 (3) of the Constitution of Zambia, this House do resolve that Mr Rupiah Banda be amenable to criminal jurisdiction of any Court, in respect of any act committed by him”.
Once stripped off his immunity, Mr Banda would be answerable to investigative wings he recently snubbed when he was summoned by the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) to appear for questioning over alleged corrupt activities during his three year term in office.
After Parliament adjourned sessions today, MMD Members of Parliament led by party vice president for administration, Brian Chituwo told the press that his members were ready to debate the matter.
Dr Chituwo was not specific on the route that his party would take during debates but only stated that the matter was of grave importance and should not be trivialised.
“We are ready to debate this issue in Parliament tomorrow and make our position,” Dr Chituwo said.
He said the motion had nothing to do with Mr Banda but the office he held, “what value do we have for this office. More should have been done before bringing it to the House”.
Dr Chituwo was flanked by MMD chief whip, Geoffrey Lungwangwa, party national secretary, Kapembwa Simbao, and national chairperson, Kabinga Pande.
Below is the current composition of Parliament and 105 votes or two-thirds is required to secure the lifting of the Former president’s immunity.
66 MPs Patriotic Front (PF) 49 MPs Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD) 29 MPs United Party for National Development (UPND) 2 MPs INDEPENDENT (IND.) 1 MP Forum for Democracy and Development (FDD) 1 MP Alliance for Democracy and Development (ADD) 8 MPs Nominated
