President Michael Sata, yesterday met 10 Nsenga chiefs from Eastern Province.

The chiefs who attended the closed – door meeting which lasted for over an hour included senior chief Luembe, senior chief Mburuma, chief Sandwe, chieftainess Nyanje, chief Nyamphande, chieftainess Mwape, chief Mumbi, chieftainess Mwanjabantu, chief Ndake, chief Nyalugwe and some members of the Nsenga Cultural Association.

During the meeting, the traditional leaders who spoke through chief Nyamphande praised the President for taking a bold step by revoking the recognition of Mr. Everson Mumba as senior chief Kalindawalo of the Nsenga people.

The chiefs stated that President Sata’s decisive and swift action on this long-standing dispute has freed the Nsenga people and brought dignity as well as harmony among the chiefs and traditional elders in Nsenga land.

They also expressed concern on the numerous border disputes between chiefdoms and requested that Government makes available boundary maps for chiefdoms to traditional leaders.

In response, President Sata said there was need for the Government and the people to respect chiefs and that traditional leaders should be included, and be at the centre of national development.

The Head of State directed the Minister of Education Dr. John Phiri to expedite the process of construction secondary schools in chiefdoms as per promise by the Patriotic Front (PF) Government.

He said the PF Government was determined to ensure that sufficient resources are allocated to rural areas to facilitate the development of schools, hospitals, chief’s palaces and roads among others.

President Sata advised deputy ministers and members of parliament to develop a habit of visiting chiefdoms whenever parliament goes on recess to assist in speeding up developmental projects.

The meeting was also attended by justice minister Hon. Wynter Kabimba, defence minister Hon. Geoffrey Mwamba, home affairs minister Hon. Edgar Lungu, agriculture minister Hon. Emmanuel Chenda, chiefs affairs minister Prof. Nkandu Luo, education minister Dr John Phiri, local government deputy minister Hon. Forrie Tembo, mines deputy minister Hon. Charles Zulu, agriculture deputy minister Hon. Nicholas Banda, chiefs affairs deputy minister Hon. Susan Kawandami, Eastern Province minister Hon. Malozo Sichone, Muchinga Province minister Hon. Charles Banda and Eastern Province permanent secretary Emmanuel Mwamba among others.

An 11-year-old Lusaka school girl drowned and died yesterday morning when she tried to cross Ngwerere stream. The girl was identified as Josephine Mwelwa who was a grade three pupil at Justin Kabwe School.

This is according to Mandevu Member of Parliament (MP) Jean Kapata who told the media when she visited Ngwerere stream where the girl drowned and died yesterday at around nine hours in the morning.

Ms. Kapata, who is also Deputy Minister of Community Development, Mother and Child Health, expressed sadness at the death Josephine.

She said the pupil was swept away by water as she tried to cross on a bridge made of rail steel on the Ngwerere stream.

And Deputy Minister in the Office of the Vice President Harry Kalaba also regretted the death of the minor.

By press time, the body of the minor had not yet been retrieved from the stream.

Mr. Kalaba called for the speeding up of the process of retrieving of the body.

The two Deputy Ministers were accompanied by Lusaka Province Minister Freedom Sikazwe, Lusaka District Commissioner (DC) Ashel Kampengele, Lusaka City Council (LCC) and Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU) officials.

The Zambia Army and the Zambia National Service (ZNS) were still on scene around 13:00 hours trying to retrieve the body of Josephine from Ngwerere stream.

Meanwhile, Ms Kapata has said her constituency requires K10 billion to construct 27 bridges.

Ms. Kapata said so far seven bridges have been constructed in the area at a total cost of K1.5 billion, which was gotten from the Constituency Development Fund (CDF).

Ms. Kapata said two bridges were built in Garden compound, one in Ng’ombe while the other five are in Chipata compounds.

She said she was keen to ensure that the 27 bridges are constructed as soon as possible in her constituency.

She pointed out that the building of the 27 bridges has been long overdue.

The MP said the bridges will reduce cases of people dying through drowning in the rain season.

The Lusaka City Council (LCC) is compiling a report on the state of drainage system in the city following the heavy downpour which left some parts of Lusaka flooded.

Floods covered Lusaka’s Kamwala shopping area, town centre, Kulima tower bus station and some residential areas following the rains that poured from around midnight to midmorning of yesterday.

LCC Assistant Public Relations Manager Mulunda Habeenzu told ZANIS in an interview yesterday that council engineers were in the field assessing the situation before a report is written.

Mr. Habeenzu said the affected areas will be worked on as soon as the report is done.

He said the report, which was expected to be ready by yesterday but delayed because engineers were locked in a meeting which lasted the whole day, will also help determine the extent of the flood and further help identify affected drainages.

When asked whether the council has plans of making an embankment on the Bombay drain in Kamwala where some shops are likely to be affected by floods should heavy rains continue, Mr. Habenzu said all the drainages in the city will be worked on if the report suggests that they are in a bad state.

Some shops in Kamwala area lie very close to the Bombay drain which has no portal flame to stop it from expanding.

The shops that are close to the Bombay drain are therefore likely to collapse should the rains continue.

Meanwhile, the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU), a department in the Office of the Vice President which is in charge of mitigating disasters, has been inspecting the drainage system in the city to ensure that any kind of disaster is prevented.

Recently, Deputy Minister in the Office of the Vice President Harry Kalaba inspected the Bombay drain and other drainages in the city and directed the council to clear garbage in the systems to avoid blockages.

And when contacted for a comment on the reported flood in the city, DMMU National coordinator Patrick Kangwa could not comment as he was in the field to access the flood situation in the city.

ZANIS

Former President Rupiah Banda has concludes residency at Boston University. During his residency, President Banda delivered a series of lectures in the United States, and also in Ghana, Tanzania, and South Africa, sharing his perspective and experiences as the Fourth President of Zambia with students, faculty, and public- and private-sector leaders.

In the final lecture of his residency in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, President Banda offered wise advice to democratic governments on the continent, saying:

“What people want are solutions, services, and accountability. They have no use for ideology, no attraction to the anger and attacks, and no patience for incompetence. The message I am hearing from so many young people, not only in Africa, but around the world and particularly in places I have been to under the African Presidential Center lecture series, this year, is that they are ready to work together, united, to pursue pragmatic solutions to social problems, and the problems they face—namely unemployment. And this is precisely the difference between governance and government: the embracing of democracy as a tool to facilitate cooperation rather than only perpetuate competition.”

President Banda also participated in the 2012 African Presidential Roundtable, an annual forum hosted by the African Presidential Center, which brings together former heads of state and government, public and private sector leaders, and students and faculty from APC’s American-African Universities Collaborative. In 2012, President Banda was joined by his colleagues, President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria, President Ali Hassan Mwinyi of Tanzania, President Pedro Pires of Cape Verde, President Benjamin Mkapa of Tanzania, President Joaquim Chissano of Mozambique, President Amani Abeid Karume of Zanzibar, President Nicéphore Soglo of Benin, and President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa.

President Banda served as the Eighth President-in-Residence at Boston University’s African Presidential Center, and his residency ran from March-November, 2012. As part of his residency, President Banda also visited schools and universities that are part of the African Presidential Center’s American-African Universities Collaborative, including Morehouse College, Elizabeth City State University, the University of Dar es Salaam, and the University of Ghana, Legon.

As President-in-Residence, President Banda follows such notables as former Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda, President Q. Ketumile Masire, former president of Botswana, President Antonio Monteiro, former president of Cape Verde, and Mo Ibrahim prize-winner President Festus Gontebanye Mogae, former president of Botswana.

The African President-in-Residence program is an initiative of the African Presidential Center at Boston University and is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The African Presidential Center has taken an unprecedented approach to studying democratization and free-market reform in Africa.

Through this residency program for former democratically elected African leaders, the African Presidential Center provides a forum for sharing the insights and expertise of past and present heads of state and government.

The African Presidential Center’s other initiatives include its internationally renowned African Leaders State of Africa Report, as well as its annual policy forum, the African Presidential Roundtable.

Police in Monze have arrested the Dean for the school of Science and Technology at Rusangu University for allegedly using forged documents to obtain employment at the institution.

Police sources disclosed to ZANIS in Monze today that 47 year old Donald Siame was arrested on Monday after a tip from informers that he had forged qualification documents which he purported were obtained from London.

Mr Siame purported to have a bachelor’s degree and a masters in agriculture sciences and was employed by Rusangu University as dean of science and technology.

When questioned by the police, Mr Siame admitted having not obtained the documents from the University of Zambia (UNZA) and a docket of forgery has since been opened against him for further investigations.

Police sources told ZANIS in an interview that information reached when students of Rusangu University in the department of agriculture sciences complained that he was not lecturing properly and suspected he was not qualified to handle the department.

Mr Siame is currently detained in police custody at Moomba Police station in Monze pending establishment of sources of the documents so that those involved may also face the wrath of the law.

Mr Siame joined Rusangu University in 2010 to date and has been getting a salary and other entitlements using forged qualification documents.

Meanwhile, one person has died in a road accident while others sustained injuries after a Toyota Hiace Minibus registration number ALC 2973 they were travelling in overturned near Munangandu farms.

The accident happened about four 4 kilo meters away from Monze on Monday around 17:00 hours due to over speeding by the driver of the bus which was heading to Mazabuka.

The deceased has been named as Mwaka Pela aged 31 a teacher at Kayuni east primary school in Monze district who sustained a deep cut in the head and suffered internal injuries.

The body of the deceased is lying in Monze mission hospital mortuary while other passengers sustained minor injuries and were discharged immediately after being treated.

The driver of the minibus Live Siangandu aged 38 years of Mazabuka was discharged from hospital yesterday and has since been arrested for causing death by dangerous driving and will appear in court soon.

The Zambia National Women’s Lobby has distanced itself from the Non-Governmental Organisations’ Coordinating Council (NGOCC)’s opposition of the K1.5 billion allocated to the Office of the First Lady.

Women’s Lobby Chairperson Beauty Katebe Phiri tells QFM News in a statement that it is her organisation’s considered view that if NGOCC wanted to oppose the allocation in question, it would have done so at the stage when the Yellow Book of the budget was publicized.

Ms Phiri adds that the NGOCC could have lobbied Parliament not to approve the allocation.

She says the mandate of the Zambia National Women’s Lobby is to advocate for the empowerment of women, and that they are therefore delighted that the Office of the First Lady has been funded in such a transparent manner as this will foster good governance and accountability.

Ms Phiri states that it is a known fact that all the past First Ladies had activities attached to their offices funded by tax payers’ money which has never been audited because no one could trace the vault of the expenditure.

She says the Women’s Lobby commends government for the transparent manner it will allow the Zambian people to monitor the expenditure of the First Lady’s office.

Ms Phiri has further called for the need to ensure that the Office of the First Lady is constitutionalised.

QFM

The American authorities are searching for Patricia Chisanga, who is wanted for defrauding hundreds of thousands of dollars from Medicaid.
The elaborate plan began in D.C. and included the 33-year-old’s boyfriend, who has already pleaded guilty.
Chisanga is now on the inspector general’s most wanted fugitive list.
Authorities say Chisanga and Ben Odunzeh opened and ran Emerald Medical Services on Georgia Avenue. Between 2008 and 2011, the two defrauded the D.C. Medicaid program and hundreds of needy clients to the tune of $525,000.

“Billing for services not rendered, cheating the patients out of supplies, cheating the taxpayers out of money,” listed Nick DiGuilio with the Office of Inspector General.

The indictment says Chisanga routinely “altered and falsified forms,” providing less expensive, motorized wheelchairs while billing Medicaid for the top-of-the-line models. Investigators say she pocketed as much as $5,000 per device.

Additionally, authorities say Chisanga delivered only partial orders for incontinence product but billed Medicaid for the entire tab.Emerald has since closed up shop.

At Topp Dogg Tattoo, the tattoo parlor next door, tattoo artist Ronald Johnston couldn’t believe it.

“Seemed like a nice person…You never know, you never know,” Johnston said.

Odunzeh was arrested at the airport trying to leave the country.Chisanga got out; she’s believed to be in Zambia.

Source [ABC 7 News]

Russian ambassador to Zambia Boris Malakhov has died. He died an hour after he received a coronary artery bypass surgery at Pretoria’s Zuid Afrikaans hospital in South Africa.

Boris Malakhov graduated from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations in 1975 and was employed by the Foreign Ministry the same year.
In 2008, Boris Malakhov was appointed as Russia’s ambassador to Zambia.He was 59 years old and is survived by a wife and daughter.

The opposition Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD) says it is yet to make its final position about its plans to petition the Mufumbwe seat which was won by PF’s Stephen Masumba in the 8th November parliamentary by-election.

MMD president Nevers Mumba says the party is today meeting to make its position known on the matter.

Dr. Mumba says it will be inappropriate to state what the way forward is because the party has not yet met to decide following the submission of a report from its campaign team in Mufumbwe.

Recently, Dr. Mumba indicated that his party will petition the Mufumbwe election results citing malpractices by the ruling PF.

And asked on the ultimatum issued by party youths on national secretary Richard Kachingwe and his deputy Chembe Nyangu to step-down, Dr. Mumba says the party stands firm by its resolve not to openly discuss inter-party issues.

He says all issues affecting the party are being handled well within the party structures.

QFM