A By-election is eminent in Livingstone Central Constituency after its Member of Parliament Reverend Howard Sikwela quit the post with immediate effect and Member of the opposition United Party for National Development (UPND).

Meanwhile, PF Livingstone District Chairman Fred Chibuye said the resignation of the Livingstone Central Member of Parliament had come as good news to the ruling party in particular and Livingstone residents in general.

And UPND District Secretary, Fwanyanga Lutangu challenged PF bonafide members to reject people like Reverend Sikwela as they were practicing what he termed as politics of poverty.

Reverend Sikwela has also apologized to Livingstone residents and the nation at large for the costly decision he has made at both individual and national levels.

“It is with a heavy heart that today I have to announce my resignation as Livingstone Central Member of Parliament and I further announce my resignation from the United Party for National Development (UPND),” he said.

[pullquote]“It is with a heavy heart that today I have to announce my resignation as Livingstone Central Member of Parliament and I further announce my resignation from the United Party for National Development (UPND),” he said.[/pullquote]

He attributed his resignation to the UPND’s hostility towards government, tribalism within the party and failure by the UPND to adequately support him when his election was petitioned by the Patriotic Front.

ZANIS reports that the former MP who was flanked by Patriotic Front Members said this in Livingstone today during a press briefing held at Armadillo Restaurant.

“I must confess that I failed to practice the culture of being hostile to government and hence my pronouncement in September last year, to work with government for the development of Livingstone but this provoked a lot of insults and animosity from UPND members,” he said.

Reverend Sikwela said he could not be party to this attitude as an MP needed resources from the government of the day and as such needed to work closely with them.

“I have refused to be an MP who is like clouds without rain and strongly believe an MP should think, talk and dream development,” he said.

He also advised the UPND to desist from the ‘bantustan syndrome’ and dependence on its strongholds and instead concentrate on rebranding and repositioning itself if it expected to have national representation.

Reverend Sikwela said this could be achieved if advisers surrounding UPND Leader Hakainde Hichilema built him up by being sincere with him.

And when queried over his next political move, the former MP said he was ‘an open cheque’ and would wait for advice from people adding that his resignation did not have any political affiliation.

Meanwhile, PF Livingstone District Chairman Fred Chibuye said the resignation of the Livingstone Central Member of Parliament had come as good news to the ruling party in particular and Livingstone residents in general.

Mr. Chibuye said Reverend Sikwela faced numerous challenges in his quest to bring development to the tourist capital as the UPND did not allow him to work with government.

[pullquote]“We regret his resignation especially that the reasons he has advanced are baseless and he cannot even substantiate them,” he said.[/pullquote]

“The MP cannot generate resources on his own as he needs support from government. This resignation will serve as a lesson to the next MP as he will need to work with government if Livingstone is to develop,” he said.

Meanwhile, UPND Publicity Secretary for Livingstone Neto Halwabala said his party was disappointed by Reverend Sikwela’s resignation as it would subject Livingstone residents to another unnecessary by election.

“We regret his resignation especially that the reasons he has advanced are baseless and he cannot even substantiate them,” he said.

Mr. Halwabala said contrary to Reverend Sikwela’s allegations, UPND had provided him with a lawyer to represent him in his election petition case and was not hostile to government but merely offering checks and balances.

And UPND District Secretary, Fwanyanga Lutangu challenged PF bonafide members to reject people like Reverend Sikwela as they were practicing what he termed as politics of poverty.

Mr. Lutangu said politicians such as Rev. Sikwela were selfish and only interested in getting high paying jobs at the expense of bonafide members who fought hard to ensure PF was ushered into power.

Livingstone is set for a second by election since the September 20, 2011 General Elections which saw MMD’s Lukulo Katombora elected as Livingstone MP.

However, The Livingstone High Court nullified his election following irregularities after UPND and PF candidates petitioned the election results.

A by election was set by the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) for July 5 2012 and Reverend Howard Sikwela emerged winner after beating his closest rival, PF candidate Josephs Akafumba.

ZANIS

United Party for National Development (UPND) Spokesperson, Cornelius Mweetwa has told ZANIS that his party his ready to take part in the Mpongwe and local government by-elections across the country.

Mr Mweetwa said his party has since received four application letters from its members wishing to stand on the Mpongwe Parliamentary seat.

He said a team of experts has since been sent to Mpongwe to carry out an analysis before a final decision is made.

He said the UPND would want to fill in a candidate of the local people’s choice who understands the situation and problems that Mpongwe has been going through.

The UPND spokesman however stated that his party will take time to scrutinise its members wishing to contest in order to avoid members that could easily be poached.

Mr Mweetwa further told ZANIS that his party will take this opportunity to show the country that UPND is the only credible, reliable and predictable party by providing meaningful discourse on national issues.

He however stated that the party is ready to work with any other opposition parties for the purpose of giving checks and balances to the government but added that it can never work with the ruling party.

Meanwhile Alliance for Democracy and Development president Charles Milupi refused to comment on the matter when asked whether his party was taking part in the Mpongwe By- Elections.

And -Zambia Direct Democracy Movement (ZDDM) President Edwin Sakala says it is pointless for the opposition to filed in individual candidates in the Mpongwe Parliamentary By-Elections.

Mr Sakala told ZANIS in a telephone interview that despite his party not participating in the Mpongwe By-elections it is still discussing with other political parties on which party to support.

He said political parties should learn from the 2011 General elections where votes seemed to have been split among numerous political parties instead of putting up one strong campaign that will yield results than giving more chance for the ruling party to win without any difficulties.

Mr Sakala however hinted that his party in 2016 will be among the strongest opposition parties which will be able to challenge the current government.

Former Works and Supply Minister Mike Mulongoti has come to the defence of Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia Executive Director Reverend Pukuta Mwanza on his sentiments of the alleged abuse of the Public Order Act, with a call on other church mother bodies to condemn injustices in the country.

Speaking in an interview , Mr. Mulongoti said he is shocked that government has come out strongly in condemning Reverend Mwanza for speaking against the injustices in the country.

He encouraged Reverend Mwanza and other stakeholders to be strong and continue speaking for the voiceless in the country.

The former cabinet minister says it is highly hypocritical for the PF to turn around and stick to the laws they condemned while in opposition.

Mr. Mulongoti said the Patriotic Front should not forget that while in opposition, they enjoyed whenever the church condemned injustices by the MMD government.

He has therefore urged Chief Government Spokesperson Kennedy Sakeni to find solutions to issues that Zambians want the government to address as opposed to condemning the truth.

Chief Government spokesperson Kennedy Sakeni was recently quoted as saying that the Foundation for Democratic Process (FODEP) and Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia (EFZ) in particular were issuing statements that were “inflated and lopsided” on the Public Order Act.

“It is clear that the EFZ executive director Pukuta Mwanza and FODEP’s McDonald Chipenzi are determined to ignore the fundamental realities of governance for selfish motives.

“To suggest abuse of power by the State especially on the Public Order Act is the worst form of lies and deceit that can ever come from two self-respecting leaders of the civil society that claim to mean well for the country,” Mr Sakeni said.

Meanwhile, Mr. Mulongoti says the revelations by Tourism Minister Sylvia Masebo that some people have secretly been flying planes into Game parks to illegally airlift government trophy, has the potential to jeopardize the country’s security.

Mr. Mulongoti said the matter is sensitive and that Ms. Masebo should have sealed the loopholes secretly without alarming the nation,a situation he said raises security questions.

[QFM,Times]

The Bank of Zambia has with immediate effect introduced a cap on the effective annual lending interest rates that licensed non-bank financial institutions can charge their customers.

This follows similar recent measures taken on commercial banks by the central bank.

Bank of Zambia Head of Public Relations Kanguya Mayondi in a statement released to media said that this measure has been necessitated on account of the exorbitant interest rates that some non-bank financial institutions have continued to charge their customers.

Mr Mayondi explained that the capping of interest rates is aimed at making borrowing from non-bank financial institutions more affordable and equitable especially to the vulnerable micro-borrowers served by this sector.

He said that as a consequence, the maximum effective annual lending interest rate for non-bank financial institutions designated as microfinance service providers by the Bank of Zambia shall not exceed 42%.

He said that consequently, the Bank will designate non-bank financial institutions qualifying under this measure.

Mr Mayondi added that the maximum effective annual lending rate that will be charged by all other non-bank financial institutions will not exceed 30%.

He said that the interest caps of 42% and 30% have been arrived at by multiplying the commercial bank maximum effective annual lending interest rate, which currently stands at 18.25%, by factors of 2.302 and 1.644, respectively.

He stated that the Bank of Zambia will periodically revise the factors applicable to the non-bank financial institutions interest caps, in response to changes in economic fundamentals and the commercial bank rate.

Mr Mayondi further added that the conditions will apply to new loans written, while existing loans will be allowed to run their course on the current terms unless refinanced.

Meanwhile the Bank of Zambia has directed commercial banks and business entities to accept cheques issued prior to 1st January 2013 in the old currency.

Head of Public Relations Kanguya Mayondi said that the central bank has received reports that certain business entities and some commercial banks are turning away customers holding cheques prior to 1st January 2013 in the old currency.

Mr Mayondi said that cheques issued prior to 1st January 2013 in the old currency are just as good and should accordingly be accepted and processed.

He reminded all business entities and commercial banks that the cheques have a validity period of six months and therefore cannot be deemed to be invalid because of the currency rebasing exercise.

Mr Mayondi said that Cheques, therefore, should be accepted accordingly as they will be processed through the banking system by dividing the amounts by 1,000 to convert the values into the rebased currency.

He said that the Bank of Zambia, in this regard, wishes to remind all business entities and commercial banks that cheques issued prior to 1st January 2013 and in the old currency must be recognized and accepted as payment in order to ensure that well-meaning customers are not inconvenienced.