Former Republican President, Rupiah Banda, says he is hopeful that Africa leaders will strive to provide sustainable solutions to the many challenges facing the youths in the continent.

Mr Banda revealed that from his interactions with students at Boston University, its affiliate institutions and from the University of Ghana, it came to his attention that African youths are faced with common problems which were not insurmountable if the leaders committed themselves to finding workable solutions.

This is contained in a press release issued by the office of the Fourth Republican President Administrative Assistant, Mikatazo Wakumelo, and made available to ZANIS in Lusaka.

“From the various universities I have been to, the concerns of the African youths are about their future; whether their leadership will be able to provide them with a good health delivery system, education, jobs. Their hope is that the economies of their countries can grow to address their concerns,” President Banda said.

MeanwhileMr Banda is tomorrow expected to continue with his African tour of duty as he heads to Tanzania.

While in Tanzania, Mr Banda is expected to lecture on good governmence and democracy at Mwalimu Nyerere’s Mlimani campus on Thursday afternoon.

His lecture will be attended by staff and graduate students from the University Development Studies and political science.

The Tanzanian trip is part of the Boston University African President Centre where Mr Banda is the current President in Residence.

Mr Banda was recently in Ghana where he shared his experience with staff and students from the University of Ghana, the oldest in that country.

While there he also had an opportunity to meet former Ghanaian President, Jerry Rawlings.

ZANIS

Reuters reports that President Barack Obama won re-election to a second term in the White House on Tuesday, television networks projected, beating Republican challenger Mitt Romney after a long and bitter campaign.

Obama defeated Romney in a series of key swing states despite a weak economic recovery and persistent high unemployment as U.S. voters decided between two starkly different visions for the country.

Obama’s victory in the hotly contested swing state of Ohio – as projected by TV networks – put him over the top in the fight for the 270 electoral votes needed to clinch the White House and ended Romney’s hopes of pulling off a string of swing-state upsets.

Obama scored narrow wins in Ohio, Wisconsin, Iowa, Pennsylvania and New Hampshire – all states that Romney had contested – while the only swing state captured by Romney was North Carolina, according to network projections.

There was no immediate word from the Romney camp on the reported results.

At least 120 million American voters had been expected to cast votes in the race between the Democratic incumbent and Romney after a campaign focused on how to repair the ailing U.S. economy.

Obama enters his second four-year term faced with a difficult task of tackling $1 trillion annual deficits, reducing a $16 trillion national debt, overhauling expensive social programs and dealing with a gridlocked U.S. Congress that looked likely to maintain the same partisan makeup.

Obama’s projected victory would set the country’s course for the next four years on spending, taxes, healthcare, the role of government and foreign policy challenges such as the rise of China and Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

Each man offered different policies to cure what ails America’s weak economy, with Obama pledging to raise taxes on the wealthy and Romney offering across-the-board tax cuts as a way to ignite strong economic growth.

Inside Obama’s Chicago campaign headquarters, staffers erupted into cheers and high fives as state after state was called for the president.

Obama watched the returns on television at his Chicago home. Senior campaign strategist David Axelrod said via email that he was feeling “great.”

Romney made last-minute visits to Ohio and Pennsylvania on Tuesday to try to drive up turnout in those states, while Vice President Joe Biden was dispatched to Ohio. Obama remained in his hometown of Chicago.

The body of late Albert Silwimba, 37, alias Alubusu, who died in a road accident in the late hours of Friday, November 2, 201,2 along Kaoma-Mongu road, has been taken to Lusaka for burial.

Deceased’s uncle, Ackim Chiyeye, confirmed the development to ZANIS in Mongu yesterday at the scene of the accident at Miulwe, 35 kilometres from Mongu Town, adding that burial is expected to take place today.

Meanwhile, Western Province Police Commissioner, Fanwell Siandenge, has refuted claims from the public that the deceased was carrying someone unknown in the vehicle after reports came out that there were female shoes found at the scene in the vehicle.

Mr Siandenge said a search was carried out at the scene after villagers nearby claimed that there was a person retrieved from the car whom they alleged died on the way to an unknown destination but police officers have not found anything.

Silwimba died on the spot while driving a motor vehicle, a BMW registration number ALE 8235 at Miulwe area of Mongu district in Western Province.

He failed to negotiate the curve at Miulwe, went off the road and hit into several trees before the vehicle stopped about 100 meters away from the main road.

ZANIS/

Government is on course in implementing its election campaign promises, Chief Government spokesperson Kennedy Sakeni has said.

Mr Sakeni cited the on-going review of the Republican Constitution, the fight against corruption and the implementation of the decentralisation policy, as being among the major milestones recorded so far.

He was reacting to accusations by MMD president Nevers Mumba that Government lacked consistency in running national affairs.

Mr Sakeni who is Information and Broadcasting Services Minister said in a statement in Lusaka yesterday that Government had not failed to meet the aspirations of Zambians and more was yet to come.

“It is therefore cheap politicking for opposition MMD leader, Pastor Nevers Mumba to accuse the PF Government of lacking consistency. Contrary to his accusations, as reported by Radio Phoenix news this morning (yesterday), it is Pastor Mumba who is inconsistent and unfocused. He is an opportunist who keeps swinging from the pulpit to politics in pursuit of personal glory.

“Pastor Mumba accuses the PF of backtracking on the Public Order Act while his national secretary Major Richard Kachingwe has made it abundantly clear and rightly so, that there is nothing wrong with the current form and force of the Public Order Act. This shows how disorganised the MMD is with Pastor Mumba at the helm,” he said.

He said in line with the PF Manifesto, the review of the Republican Constitution was currently underway to give the people a Constitution they would call their own.

Mr Sakeni said the fight against corruption had been revitalised so that public resources did not end up ‘in the pockets of a greedy few’ at the expense of national development.

He said as a result, there had been renewed donor confidence and support to Zambia’s development programmes which had dropped drastically at the height of corruption under the MMD rule.

“We have accelerated the pace of devolving power to the people. This can be seen, in among other measures, the creation of the 10th Province, Muchinga, and several new districts around the country.

“This Government has also demonstrated unprecedented commitment to gender equality as seen in President Michael Sata’s landmark appointments of the womenfolk to high and influential positions in the public service such as the Judiciary, Zambia Police Service and others, where, for the first time, we have women at the helm.

Foreign Affairs Minister Given Lubinda has directed the Zambian Embassy in New York to account for other Zambian victims besides the Zambian couple affected by the Hurricane Sandy, which has in the past few days swept across the East Coast of the US.

Hamunji Sianyabo and Victoria Chishimba have joined hundreds of thousands of Americans victims affected by the loss of life and property because of Hurricane Sandy

Mr. Lubinda said in an interview that he has informed Zambia’s Ambassador to the US for a comprehensive report to ascertain if there are more Zambian nationals affected by the Hurricane Sandy.

“I have written to the Ambassador in US and the Zambia Embassy is looking into the matter. I’m aware of the Zambia couple that was affected by the Hurricane Sandy and there is a possibility that there are could be more Zambian victims therefore as Government we would like to know,” Mr. Lubinda said.

The Minister regretted the development but thanked the US Government for their efforts in helping the Hurricane Sandy victims.

The Zambian couple, domiciled in the city of Seabright, New Jersey, lost all their belongings in super storm Sandy, which has been pounding America’s East Coast of late.

Leader of Zambians in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut Henry Sakala indicated that most Zambians resident in the US were affected in one way or the other.

Mr. Sakala said besides damage to the roof of their house which left them homeless, the couple lost all the household goods, including one of their two motor vehicles, a Ford Wind Star.

No Zambian is known to have died but the BBC reports that at least 85 people perished after the monster storm felled enormous trees, downed dangerous power lines, swamped homes with floodwater and inflicted billions of dollars worth of damage.

Among the people killed were those trying to save the lives of others.

Hurricane Sandy has even led to the cancellation of the annual New York City marathon, according to the Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

ZANIS

Fire swept through six shops at ZIMCO yard on Freedom Way in Lusaka destroying property worth several millions of Kwacha.

Shop owners woke up to a rude shock, when they found debris from the inferno which started around 01:00 hours.

The cause of the fire could not immediately be established.

Fire fighters from the Lusaka City Council (LCC) and the Zambia Air Force (ZAF) had a tough time in quenching the inferno, raising more concerns from on-lookers in the capacity by fire fighters to protect public property.

The LCC fire fighters were the first to arrive on the scene but struggled to gain entry to any of the shops as the premises had been locked up by the owners at the time they were knocking off.

The ill-equipped fire fighters could not cut the locks and resorted to banging on the grille doors in the hope of knocking them down as the raging fire moved on, clearly completely consuming wares in one shop before moving on to the next.

The squad was forced to squirt the water over the roof and the small openings. This led to the two LCC engines running out of water without registering any meaningful impact on the fire.

The two engines left the scene to fetch more water and it was not until close to an hour after they had been gone that a more technologically advanced fire engine from the Zambia Air Force (ZAF) arrived.

Though not helping to save any of the merchandise in the shops, the arrival of the squad from ZAF made a difference as the fire quickly seemed to have come under control.

Apart from two ladies that came to the scene, all the shop owners were not present as the blazing fire consumed their life-time savings.

The two arrived at different times and both openly wailed upon seeing what state their business were in. One of them was only relieved upon realising that her shop had not yet been touched by the fire. She quickly called on members of the public to while mobilizing those that she had come with to dash into the shop and salvage what they could.

Lusaka Mayor, Daniel Chisenga said the LCC fire brigade had problems accessing fire hydrants which were supposed to be found near buildings.

Mr Chisenga said the local authority had plans to purchase more fire engines.

A check found shop owners, most of who were dealing in automotive spare parts, milling through the remains of their stores.

Juldan Motors, which operates near the gutted building, hurriedly moved busses and passenger chairs away from the ravaging flames, while customers scampered for safety and helplessly watched the inferno take its toll on part of the building.

A bus which had been left right in front of the building was only a few minutes from catching fire before the driver, whose whereabouts had remained unknown for a good while, arrived and hurriedly drove it to safety.

An eye witness, Mike Lungu, who is a fuel attendant at Ravasia filling station, said he and his colleagues noticed the building on fire around 01:00 hours.

One of the affected business owners of Sangwani minimart, Evaristo Tonga was visibly shaken by the extent of damage caused to his shop.

“Everything is shattered. You can’t even pick anything from here, as you can see,” Mr Tonga said.

He said he had lost property and undisclosed cash which was left in the shop.

Kentam Investments proprietor, Kennedy Botha and Felix Chongo, another owner of one of the burnt shops, estimated a loss of over K150 million and K300 million, respectively.

The Mayor attributed the fire brigade’s failure to control fires to lack of fire engines.

He said LCC would soon sign a Memorandum of Understanding with a private firm, Firecom, which runs a fire fighting business in the mines, to help in operations.

“When developing structures, it is very important to provide the local authorities with building plans because failure to do so is costing the city so much money,” Mr Chisenga said in an interview.