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FAZ Division One North side Kitwe United chairperson Martha Shonga says the club will maintain head coach Knight Mpundu ahead of the 2013 campaign.
Mpundu was hired last August following the firing of Fred “Schemer” Siame who was the club coach.
In an interview, Shonga said the team was happy with Mpundu’s performance so far.
The Buchi Boys finished fourth on the 2012 FAZ Division One North League table.
“The technical bench remains the same,” Shonga said. “We have plans to recruit new players and we will unveil them next week,” she added.
Shonga also spoke about United’s desire to win promotion back to the Super Division this year.
“Our aim for this season as usual is to go into Super League and I am sure we are going to make it this time around,” she stated.
Meanwhile, United is this Saturday morning scheduled to face Super Division outfit Zesco United in a pre-season friendly at Garden Park Stadium in Kitwe.
Recreativo de Caala coach Ricardo Formozinho says the Angolan club is targeting a good result in Sunday’s CAF Confederation Cup match against Power Dynamos in Kitwe.
Caala, who arrived at Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe Airport in Ndola on Friday afternoon, clash against Power in the preliminary round, first leg match at Arthur Davies Stadium.
Speaking to journalists upon arrival in Ndola, Formozinho claimed that he knew little about Power.
“I am here to get a good result,” he said. “I know very little about Power Dynamos but I know that they have a very poor record against Angolan opposition and I want to maintain that record,” Formozinho stated.
He added:”But ultimately the game will be decided in the return match.”
Caala is being accommodated at Moba Hotel in Kitwe.
Minister of Chiefs and Traditional Affairs Nkandu Luo
Government says the large size of land that First Quantum Minerals has acquired to develop Kalumbila Trident mining project must be approved by the Republican President and not a traditional ruler.
Chiefs and Traditional Affairs Minister Nkandu Luo and Minister of Lands Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Wylbur Simusa said this during a meeting convened to resolve the standoff surrounding the implementation of the Kalumbila Trident mining project in Solwezi yesterday.
Among the issues surrounding the standoff are that Senior chief Musele, in whose area the mining project is underway, has been denying survey department officers from carrying out a site picking exercise to establish the actual size of land for mining activities.
The traditional ruler has also disowned the surface rights agreement he signed with FQM and the local people have also been reluctant to be relocated from their land to pave way for the mining project.
Prof Luo and Mr Simusa said that government has identified anomalies with the manner in which FQM acquired mining and surface rights in Kalumbila.
FQM acquired 518 km of land for mining activities and also applied for an additional 10,000 hectares on which it wants to develop a mining township.The land in question was acquired through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and other agreements of compensation and settlement signed between the mining firm and Senior chief Musele of Solwezi.
[pullquote]From today on all future agreements concerning investment in chiefdoms will only take effect with the approval of the Ministry of Chiefs and Traditional Affairs with authority from the President[/pullquote]
However, Prof Luo and Mr Simusa said the MoU and other agreements entered into were illegalities because chiefs are only allowed to allocate 250 hectares of customary land and any size of land beyond that is supposed to be approved by the President.
And the two ministers have since given First Quantum Minerals (FQM) 45 working days in which to resubmit all application documentation for the Kalumbila Trident Mining project in Solwezi.Prof Luo said chiefs have no right to enter into any MoU with any investor concerning land.
“From today on all future agreements concerning investment in chiefdoms will only take effect with the approval of the Ministry of Chiefs and Traditional Affairs with authority from the President” she said.
Prof Luo said all future agreements concerning investment will only be done between relevant ministries and investors to avoid chiefs seeking personal benefits that deprive their subjects of their rights to access natural resources.She said all royal highnesses hold all resources in their chiefdoms in trust of their subjects and government will ensure that benefits from various investments in chiefdoms accrue to the people and not individual chiefs.
The minister said she was going to communicate her position to all traditional rulers across the country.She said while Zambians are looking for investment, the government will want investors to do right things through the existing laws of the country than the past government that was doing things anyhow.
And Mr Simusa said government is not saying that Kalumbila project is not going ahead, but that it is not happy with certain things that affect the community in the project layout plan.He also called for wide consultation between FQM management and all stakeholders and between the Senior chief Musele and his people as they resubmit agreements to government for consideration of the project.He further directed FQM not to tamper with the Forest Reserve, saying the mining firm must desist from illegal cutting of trees in Kalumbila as there is a ban on cutting trees.
Meanwhile FQM Country Manager, General Kingsley Chinkunli said the mining firm is ready to cooperate with government in order to carry out its development projects within the existing laws.Speaking during the same meeting, Gen Chinkuli thanked the political will by the PF government to bring about coordination in the processing of necessary agreements for the implementation of the trident project.
He said as a corporate citizen, FQM is ready to cooperate to carryout development on behalf of government, the local people and the mining firm.He said government needs taxes and the Trident project will deliver on wealth and jobs, adding government must tell FQM management what must be done within the law and the company will comply.The trident mining project will attract an investment US $275 million project (KR1.3 billion) and is expected to create 1, 500 jobs once completed.
The meeting which was called to resolve challenges of implementing one of Zambia’s biggest mining projects was also attended by Deputy Minister in the Vice president’s office Harry Kalaba, Lands Deputy Minister Danny Chingimbu and Senior chief Musele.
Others are Lands Permanent Secretary Daisy Ngambi, North Western province Permanent Secretary Augustine Seyuba, Commissioner of lands Barnaby Mulenga and senior managers from First Quantum Minerals.
[ZANIS]
Press statement by the Inspector General of Police
The Zambia police has noted with great dismay the propensity by some political leaders to issue public statements which are aimed at misleading the general public. These statements are in most cases not only false but also have the potential to divide the country on partisan lines or place of origin.
Some of the statements are alarming to the nation. Others are bent on inciting anger, hatred, ridicule or contempt to the duly elected head of state.The police have been aware of all these activities and at all times have fully investigated these statements. However, the police has been restrained from instituting criminal proceedings in the interest of maintaining peace and order in the nation. It’s not the interest of the police to see fellow citizens being arrested, detained or indeed sent to prisons. In such matters we have always considered arrest as our last resort.
[pullquote]we will apply the law fair and firmly and this should not be seen as political harassement.[/pullquote]
However if people do not change and want to remain adamant by committing crimes and causing public disorder or hatred against others, we will apply the law fair and firmly and this should not be seen as political harassement.
We are fully aware that during a rally in Lusaka’s Kabwata township some speakers made several unsubstantiated statements which are criminal in nature.Statements such as those alleging that the president and his government are violent and are bringing disorder in the country or that the president has allocated k1.5 billion to the first lady’s office without explaining to the public how budget processes or creation of budget lines is done by government is only meant to bring hatred and contempt. This kind of behaviour has been exhibited at different fora.
Today(15th February 2013) while featuring on the UNZA radio the leader of United Party for National Development made some allegations to the effect that there is a mini state of emergency in Western province and that people are being detained secretly .This is not true.
It is also not true that the police have not been accepting notifications for them to hold rallies or processions.The police in the interest of maintaining law and order has always given advise to the UPND depending on the situation and whether or not the notification conforms to the law.Where the notifications have been in conformity with the law and there are no other impendiments police have allowed the party to proceed.For instance they were allowed to proceed with a procession to parliament and present thier petition.
The police therefore wishes to warn political players and the general public to avoid committing crimes in the name of freedom of expression by issuing statements that have the potential to divide the country or bring hatred.Freedom of expression is not absolute even under the constitution and as such it must be exercised with the responsibility that it deserves.
Stella M. Libongani
Inspector General of Police
15/02/2012
The Second Session of the Eleventh National Assembly will resume sitting on Tuesday 19th February 2013.
Parliamentary Media Liaison Officer Mathew Mukelebai has announced this in a press statement released to ZANIS in Lusaka yesterday.
Parliament, which adjourned sine die on December 12, last year after sitting for a total of 46 days, considered and passed a total of nine bills.
Among the notable issues that will be discussed when parliament resumes sitting this month is the Bank of Zambia Amendment Bill, National Health Research Bill and the Medicines and Allied Substance Bill.
Other bills include the Higher Education Bill, the Teaching Profession Bill and the Millennium Challenge Compact Bill.
Furthermore, the house is expected to have new Members of Parliament that will be elected from the two by elections that will take place in Livingstone and Mpongwe constituencies on the 28 February.
Tourism and Arts minister Sylvia Masebo (left) greet vegetable vendors opposite Shoprite town centre outlet in Livingstone
Government has appealed to street vendors and marketeers in Livingstone to cooperate with the Livingstone City Council in keeping the city clean ahead of the United Nations World Tourism (UNWTO) General Assembly scheduled for August this year.
Local Government and Housing Minister Emerine Kabanshi made the appeal in Livingstone yesterday when she inspected selected developmental projects.
Ms. Kabanshi advised against squabbles between marketeers and street vendors in order to enable government to implement a uniform law for traders.
The minister said government was committed to improving the livelihood of marketeers and street vendors in Livingstone.
She disclosed that the government has increased the budgetary allocation for construction of markets from last year’s KR2 million to KR 20 million.
She added that a contractor, who has been engaged to build a modern market, was scheduled to move on site in two weeks’ time.
Ms. Kabanshi further appealed to street vendors to move to the new site that has been allocated to them and fill up empty stores in markets.
She said this needs to be done in order to avoid a situation where the new market is not occupied even after completion.
The minister has thanked the marketeers who have since moved to COMESA market and urged them to encourage their colleagues on the streets to follow suit.
“We need to clean up our home so that we receive our visitors,” she said.
And Livingstone Street Vendor’s Regional Secretary, Patrick Mubanga has pledged to sensitize people to trade from designated areas.
Mr. Mubanga said there were vendors coming from other towns everyday who were taking advantage of the UNWTO.
“For us, it is very difficult to tell them that it is wrong. We are asking if the council police can assist us,” he said.
Government embarked on a project to construct a modern market, bus station and public toilets in the tourist capital.
Livingstone City Council identified Green market, COMESA market and Scouts for traders to relocate to while a new market is being constructed. The toilets are scheduled for completion at the month end of March.
The Zambia Institute of Chartered Accountants (ZICA) has called for the implementation of immediate interceptive measures to bring to end cases of tax evasion by large multinational companies.
ZICA Chief Executive Officer Hapenga Kabeta said Zambia’s tax legislation has proven to have loopholes and weaknesses hence the need to immediately strengthen it to avoid further loss of potential revenue through tax evasion schemes by business houses.
In a speech read for him by ZICA manager for Northern region, Jessica Chisompola, during a tax updates workshop for ZICA members in Kitwe today, Mr. Kabeta said various international auditors, business consultants and media houses have highlighted various cases of tax evasion by some multi-national companies especially in manufacturing and mining.
He urged ZICA members to advise government on ways of strengthening the tax laws and coming up with a tax legislation that will help in raising the much needed revenue to meet the increasing needs of the citizenry.
Meanwhile, Mr. Kabeta has observed that over the past five years, the country’s national budget has been increasing from about K13 trillion to about K32 trillion for the 2013 budget.
He however said this increase has not translated into improved quality of life for the citizens.
He said the poverty levels have remained high in Zambia despite the large increase in annual national budgets.
Mr. Kabeta also observed that poverty levels have remained high, which is contradicting the rich perception which the international community have about Zambia.
He noted that the current national budgeting process was not sufficient to respond to the challenges of the present day Zambia although the process has been used since independence.
He called for an expeditious enactment of the Planning and Budgeting Act which will spell out how the budgeting process will be carried out including the involvement of key stakeholders in the budgeting process and the inherent accountability issues.
President Michael Sata has been invited by the People‘s Republic of China to attend a BOAO forum for Asia Annual Conference where he is expected to deliver a keynote speech in April this year.
This is according to a statement made available to ZANIS by the Special Assistant to the President for Press and Public Relations George Chellah in Lusaka yesterday.
Mr. Chellah said the conference will be held from 6th to 8th April this year under the theme “Asia seeking development for all: restructuring, responsibility and cooperation”.
The conference will be attended by over ten Presidents including Chinese leaders.
He named other prominent figures expected to attend the conference as head of the International Monitoring Fund (IMF) and eight other leaders of the international organisations.
He said approximately, 2,000 participants ranging from government representatives, business leaders, academicians and the media will attend this year’s conference.
Mr. Chellah explained that the BOAO forum was the most prestigious and premier meeting that hosts high leveled discussions for leaders from government, business and academia in Asia and other continents to share their vision on most pressing issues in this region and the world as a whole.
He said the forum was committed to promoting regional economic integration and bringing Asian countries even closer to their development goals.
Mr. Chellah noted that the discussions at the forum will focus on economics, integration, cooperation, society and the environment.
Fourth President Zambia Rupiah Banda has described the statement made by president Michael Sata that he was in South Africa to seek Ciminal Political Asylum as disturbing. In a statement made available to the media by his office, the former head of state said that he was disturbed by reports being perpetrated by Zambian government, alleging that his travel to South Africa was aimed at seeking asylum in that country.
The former head of State said that it was regrettable that the Zambian government can revel in peddling falsehoods against its own citizen.
Following these misleading statements by government officials and incorrect media reports, President Banda said he wished to state that his current travel plans were planned long in advance and that he expects to return to Zambia soon.
“I wholly reject this deliberate misinformation,” said the former head of State. “I have been on a trip that was planned long ago, at the completion of which I intend to return to Zambia. Any statements that have been made regarding fabricated ideas of ‘asylum’ or ‘charges’ have no basis in fact.”
This week President Michael Sata charged that MMD president, Nevers Mumba, his UPND counterpart, Hakainde Hichielma and Mr Banda were looking for criminal asylum in South Africa.
“When people are hiding you don’t know what they went for to South Africa because the person is looking for asylum but he does not know we can go to South Africa and get him extradited and come remove his immunity here,” he said.
“So the only person who was clean out of all those was Bo Saki. Nevers Mumba and HH were looking for criminal asylum and the South African President is not ready to give Rupiah Banda, HH and Nevers Mumba asylum. They should come here and singthe song here in Zambia,” Mr Sata stated.
The President claimed that the South African government was not ready to give criminal asylum to former President Rupiah Banda.
President Sata explained that Mr Banda did not know that the government can have him extradited from South Africa to Zambia so that his immunity is removed.
Kapiri Mposhi referee Jani Sikazwe says he is relishing the bronze medal he received at the ended 2013 Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa.
Sikazwe was one of the referees at the 2013 Nations Cup and received bronze for being part of the officials who handled the third and fourth play-off between Mali and Ghana last Saturday.
Sikazwe said he enjoyed his AFCON outing.
“It feels great because the map of Zambia has been put some-where,” he said. ” We are gaining the experience although it was not easy,” Sikazwe added.
“The previous AFCON was totally different from last year’s. Last year was the first one for me but this time around I knew where to start from so it was quite easy,” he observed.
Sikazwe made his Nations Cup debut at the 2012 edition held in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.
United Party for National Development spokesperson Charles Kakoma (L)
The opposition United Party for National Development (UPND) says it stands ready to embarrass President Michael Sata to the international community.
UPND Spokesperson Charles Kakoma says if the Patriotic Front government does not stop violating human rights, his party will further engage the African Union and the United Nations.
Mr. Kakoma says the PF government should get used to the opposition holding press conferences in other countries stating that the Johannesburg press conference was just the beginning of more of such to come.
Speaking at a media briefing at the party secretariat this morning, Mr. Kakoma says there is nothing wrong with a political party holding press conferences in foreign countries.
He states that as long as the Patriotic Front government continues to intimidate the opposition, opposition political parties will use any available platform to reach out to the international community in voicing out on the intimidation suffered under the PF rule.
And special advisor to the party president, Douglas Siakalima says there is nothing wrong that the opposition did by speaking out on what is truly happening in the country.
Mr. Siakalima says it is entirely up to President Michael Sata and his government to bring back sanity to the country by ensuring that there is tolerance amongst all political players in the country.
Northern Province Patriotic Front (PF) chairperson Peter Mwansa says the region is, this year not expected to produce bumper harvest as it has in the past years because of poor and late distribution of fertilizer by suppliers.
ZANIS reports Mr. Mwansa to have said this in an interview in Luwingu District, today.
He added that many farmers in the region have complained of not having received both basal dressing and top dressing fertilizer saying the situation which will affect maize production.
He said the patriotic front government arranged with the suppliers to make the commodity readily available to farmers countrywide but delayed the distribution of fertilizer causing many farmers to panic.
Mr. Mwansa observed that late delivery of fertilizer will adversely affect the production of maize this year in all the nine districts in the Northern Province.
“This is not the right time for Nyiombo investment to start bring basal dressing fertilizers to farmers because maize have already started tussling in same cases. We as a party we are doubting if will have bumper harvest this year,” he said.
Mr. Mwansa said the region had also face other challenges in the agriculture sector where arm worms destroyed several hectares of maize fields and peasant farmers were asked to re-plant maize in their fields.
He after re-planting their fields’ fertilizer has not been made available to them, the situation which has angered many of them.
Mr. Mwansa said the party officials in Luwingu district also complained to Northern Province minister Gerry Chanda that the delay in the fertilizer distribution is also affecting the organization of the party on the grass root level because peasant because the peasant farmers did not expect this to happen.
He said the farmers expected that Nyiombo investment will improve in delivering of fertilizers distribution under the ruling patriotic front but surprisingly the situation has worsened.
The provincial chairperson, however, said the party in the region is still very strong despite of monkey tricks by some opposition parties conniving with fertilizers suppliers to delay the distribution farm inputs in order to see people to rise against the government.
He said two ward councilors from united party for nation development and Movement for multiparty democracy MMD in Nsama the newly created district have resigned to join the ruling PF.
There is a number of ward councilors wanting to defect from their opposition parties to join the ruling government in order for their respective wards achieve the minimum development.
The provincial chairperson has accompanied Northern Province minister Gerry Chanda who is on familiarization tour in Luwingu district in the province.
The Ministry of Education, Science, Vocational Training and Early Education has announced the 2012 grade 12 joint School certificate and General certificate results.
Announcing the results at the Ministry headquarters today, Education, Science, Vocational Training and Early Education Minister John Phiri disclose that out of the 103,853 candidates who sat for the 2012 grade 12 examination 60,318 obtained full School certificate and 41,307 obtained the General Certificate of Education while 2,227 failed the examination.
Dr Phiri further disclosed that out of the 60,319 who obtained full School certificates 35,453 were males and 24,866 were females.
The Minister said the percentage of the candidates who obtained full School certificates has decreased compared to 59.87 percent in 2011 to 58.08 percent in 2012 with a marginal drop of 1.79 percent.
However, The Minister revealed that the number of candidates who sat for the grade 12 examinations in 2012 has increased to 98.1 percent compared to 97.7 percent in 2011.
He attributed the increase of candidates who sat for the grade 12 examinations to good policies initiated by the government such as re-entry, bursary schemes for the vulnerable and improved learning environments arising from the supply of school desks.
Dr Phiri also cited the improved teacher pupil ratio following the regular teacher recruitment and deployment by the ministry.
Meanwhile, Dr Phiri revealed that out of the 41,307 candidates who obtained General Certificate of Education, 21,924 were males while 19,383 were females.
He explained that the number of candidates who obtained General Certificate Education has increased to 39.77 percent in 2012 compared to 38.5 percent in 2011making an increase of 1.27 percent.
In a related development, Dr Phiri announced that out of the 2,227 candidates who failed the examinations, 1,252 were males and 975 were females representing a 2.14 percent failure rate.
He stated that the failure rate has decreased by 0.56 percent over that of 2011 which stood at 1.58 percent.
The Minister attributed the increase of the failure rate to lack of commitment by candidates who sat for the examination.
On candidate’s absenteeism, Dr Phiri said the rate of absenteeism has decreased by 0.42 percent compared to 2011 when the rate stood at 2.28 percent.
Dr Phiri also said out of the 1,972 candidates who were absent, 1,084 were males while 888 were females.
And on examination malpractices, the Minister said 316 cases were recorded in 2012 showing an increase compared to 267 cases of examination malpractices in 2011.
Meanwhile the Ministry of Education, Science, Vocational Training and Early Education says it is concerned with the performance of the grade 12 candidates who sat for the joint School certificate and General certificate results.
Dr Phiri said the pass performance of 40 percent was worrying to the ministry and he has since directed the Directorate of Open and Distance Education to speed up the implementation of the alternative secondary school programme which is being carried out by the Zambia College of Distance Education in Luanshya.
He explained that the modules will cover all subjects from grade 8 to 12 adding that the modules will make it easier for the pupils to read ahead of the examination.
FILE: Local Government and Housing Minister Emerine Kabanshi (left) and her Information and Broadcasting counterpart Kennedy Sakeni spot identical national colour fatigues at the laying of wreaths at Freedom Statue.
Chief Government Spokesperson Kennedy Sakeni has asked opposition political party leader Hakainde Hichilema, and his counterparts, Nevers Mumba and Sakwiba Sikota, to apologize to the people of Zambia for being unpatriotic, self seeking and treacherous to the country.
In a statement made available to the media today, Mr Sakeni said government strongly feels that the action taken by the trio was unjustifiable, irresponsible, uncalled for and unbefitting of leaders aspiring to govern this country.
He noted that government was pleased that some level-headed citizens have expressed their views and dissatisfaction of what he termed as reckless and corrupt actions of treachery to the nation.
The chief government spokesperson described the opposition leaders’ recent conduct in South Africa as abhorrent and politically suicidal.
He advised the trio that it is highly risky for them to think that they would hide on former President Rupiah Banda’s back as he is currently refusing to be interviewed by law enforcement agencies in order for him to face corruption charges.
Mr Sakeni further urged the Zambian people to critically analyze the opposition leaders as they present themselves as alternatives for what they really are and weigh the value they represent and the motives for their actions.
He stated that the opposition leaders are only bent on boosting their diminishing political fortunes and advised them to be mindful that the Commonwealth is a reputable community of nations with well laid out values and could, therefore, not hid to attention seekers.
He called on the nation to remember that these same opposition leaders had at the time they lost the 2011 general elections declared to make this country ungovernable.
Mr Sakeni, however, hoped that this was the last time that the opposition political leaders embarrassed the nation.
Earlier this week, opposition United Party for national Development (UPND) leader Hakainde Hichilema, Movement for Multi Party Democracy (MMD)’s Nevers Mumba and United Liberal Party leader, Sakwiba Sikota, reportedly went to South Africa to present a petition to the Commonwealth on the alleged Human Rights abuses in Zambia.
Some Patrotic Front cadres line up to wait for President Sata during the mass funeral for accident victims in Ndola.
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President Sata arrives for the funeral service in honour of accident victims in Ndola.
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President Sata arrives for the funeral service in honour of accident victims in Ndola
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Zambia Army trucks carrying caskets for the accident victims line up during the funeral service in Ndola
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Sentries on the Zambia Army trucks that carried caskets for accident victims during the funeral at Levy Mwanawasa stadium.
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Sentries on one of the Zambia Army trucks that carried caskets for accident victims during the funeral at Levy Mwanawasa stadium
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Sentries on one of the Zambia Army trucks that carried caskets for accident victims during the funeral at Levy Mwanawasa stadium.
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Sentries on the Zambia Army trucks that carried caskets for accident victims during the funeral at Levy Mwanawasa stadium
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A group of youths perform a ritual during the funeral of accident victims in Ndola.
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Members of the clergy following proceedings during the funeral service of accident victims in Ndola
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President Sata with his wife Dr Christine Kaseba during the funeral service of the accident victims in Ndola
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George Chellah fidgiting with microphones before President Michael Sata made a very short speech during the funeral service of the accident victims in Ndola
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Zambia Army soldiers lower caskets into their graves at Mitengo cemetry in Ndola
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Clergymen conduct funeral prayers before burying the accident victims at Mitengo cemetry in Ndola
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An infant’s casket and that of an adult before burial at Mitengo cemetry in Ndola
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Clergymen conduct funeral prayers before burying the accident victims at Mitengo cemetry in Ndola.
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A clergyman conducts prayers during burial of the accident victims
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Graves covered in wreaths after burial of the accident victims in Ndola
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A woman reacts during burial of the accident victims in Ndola
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Some members of the bereaved families who react during burial of the road accident victims at Mitengo cemetry in Ndola
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Some members of the bereaved families react during the burial of the accident victims at Mitengo cemetry in Ndola
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Some mourners arrive to witness burial of the relatives at Mitengo cemetry in Ndola
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Some members of the beraved families lay wreaths on one of the graves at Mitengo cemetry
