The Non-Governmental Organization Coordination Council (NGOCC) says it is shocked by the appointment of FDD leader Edith Nawakwi by President Michael Sata to oversee the bio-fuel investment project in the country.

NGOCC board Chairperson Beatrice Grillo says Ms. Nawakwi owes the women movement a comprehensive explanation on her position on the presidential appointment.

Mrs. Grillo says the women movement is aware of the fact that there is nothing wrong with the opposition working closely with the government of the day but states that what is of major concern with regards this appointment is the level at which these politicians work together.

Speaking to QFM News in an interview, Mrs. Grillo adds that appointments are welcome as long as they do not affect the ability of the opposition to provide the necessary checks and balances to government.

She states that Ms. Nawakwi’s appointment will definitely put her in a very awkward position seeing that she is the top leader of a political party who is expected to provide leadership to the party.

Mrs. Grillo says the women movement is looking forward to having a discussion with the FDD leader to really get a clear understanding of the matter.

The NGOCC board chairperson states that if the FDD leader has truly aligned herself to the ruling Patriotic Front, it will be a blow to the women movement, which she says is trying to advocate for women participation in politics.

QFM

ZESCO says it is still investigating the origin of the fire that gutted eight (8) apartments at Kabwe’s Railways Quarters compound.

The power utility company has however, denied allegations that the fire started from the prepaid meters, saying there was no faulty prepaid meter that was installed in any of the apartments.

Speaking in an interview with ZANIS this afternoon, ZESCO Principle Engineer for Kabwe Branch, Bright Mwaipopo said before the incident, the company had never received any verbal or written complaint from the victims indicating that the prepaid meters were faulty.

He said while the company sympathizes with the fire victims on their loss, it also regrets the fact that the victims have decided to put the blame on the prepaid meters even when there is no authentic proof that the fire came from the meters.

He added that preliminary investigations done so far have proved that there was no one in the apartments at the time of the incident and since the entire household property has been engulfed, it is difficult to tell where the fire really came from.

Mr Mwaipopo however, said investigations on the matter are still underway and management will submit a conclusive report to the company headquarters for further scrutiny.

He further advised Kabwe residents to report any notable faults promptly to avoid such incidences in future and also assured the communities where the prepaid meters have been installed that there is no need for alarm as the meters are genuine and safe.

And Kabwe District Commissioner Patrick Chishala said he will lobby for support from the Kabwe business community and other well-wishers in order to assist the fire victims.

Mr Chishala who sympathised with the victims however, urged them to learn from their experiences and move on with their lives even as the matter is being investigated.

Meanwhile, the fire victims are adamant that the fire that destroyed their apartments and damaged their household property came from the prepaid meters.

They alleged that ever since the meters were installed, they have been faulty and they had to this effect, reported to ZESCO on several occasions but that no action was taken by the power company.

The victims who are currently being accommodated by friends and relatives are demanding compensation and one of the victims Christance Chikota insisted that she had been to ZESCO on severally but she received no assistance from the company staff.

On Wednesday, a fire has burnt a block of quarters consisting of eight (8) apartments at Kabwe’s Railways Quarters compound, leaving 11 families homeless.

ZANIS

UPND Chairperson for Women Affairs Namakau Kabwiku has accused the PF of electoral malpractices ahead of the Mufumbwe parliamentary by elections.

Mrs Kabwiku alleged that the PF candidate Steven Masumba has been dishing out gifts to various institutions and individuals in Lalafuta Ward with a view to win votes.

She told journalists in Lalafuta Ward that Mr Masumba bought iron sheets worth K1 million for Lalafuta market and also gave Lalafuta Basic School Head teacher K1 million to buy desks.

Mrs Kabwiku alleged that the former Local Government Deputy Minister also made a donation of K1 million to Lalafuta Evangelical Church of Zambia.

She claims the PF candidate bribed and intimidated UPND Lalafuta Ward Councillor Davan Mukwemba to buy votes in the area.

She charged that the iron sheets were confiscated from the Councillor by UPND and MMD officials and will be handed over to the police because the Electoral Commission and the Conflict Management team were not present in the area.

She claims that the police confirmed the incident.

But when contacted to comment on the matter, Mr Masumba referred all questions to his campaign Manager Jean Kapata saying he will not speak to any media until the elections are over.

Efforts to contact Mrs Kapata failed at press time.

Meanwhile, campaigns ahead the Mufumbwe by elections have intensified with the top two parties poised to win the seat, PF and UPND holding a number of peaceful rallies.

The political atmosphere continues to be stable aided by heavy police presence.

ZANIS

Government has disclosed that it will deliver a comprehensive statement following the rising cases of fire incidents across the country.

Speaking in an interview with ZANIS yesterday, Local Government and Housing Minister Emerine Kabanshi stated that she has since asked officers in her ministry to prepare a report regarding matters and all concerns on how to deal with eventualities of fire accidents.

Ms Kabanshi noted that as government it remains committed to addressing any possible occurrences of fire disasters in the country.

She however said that government is not sitting idle on various issues which the country is encountering adding that it is for this reason that government is taking such reports with the most urgent attention they deserve.

Ms Kabanshi however implored Zambians to stay calm as government works out modalities on the matter pertaining to fire cases.

The country has of late recorded a number of fire cases sweeping through some buildings among them being the Luanshya Railways Building, a Timber Manufacturing company on the Copperbelt and a Block at the Railways Quarters in Kabwe.

In Kabwe this week, fire has burnt a block of quarters consisting of eight (08) apartments at Kabwe’s Railways Quarters Compound, leaving 11 families, homeless.

The fire which started at about 16:00 hours yesterday caused damage to household property worth millions of Kwacha.

The fire also gutted some important academic and employment documents belonging to the occupants who cried as they helplessly watched their apartments go down in flames.

[pullquote]Residents have, however, condemned the poor response of the fire crew, which was notified about the incident a few minutes after the fire started but only arrived at the scene an hour later.[/pullquote]

However, no life was lost in the inferno, as everybody rushed out of the apartments, immediately.

The cause of the fire and extent of the damage have not yet been established, although the residents said the fire was as a result of poor electrical wiring and clustering.

Residents have, however, condemned the poor response of the fire crew, which was notified about the incident a few minutes after the fire started but only arrived at the scene an hour later.

And Kabwe District Commission, Patrick Chishala, expressed disappointment over the conduct of fire fighters who did nothing but neglected the community they serve.

Earlier, the fire crew arrived at the scene without water, much to the disappointment of the occupants and upset residents who watched from the streets.

By the time the fire crew came back, the entire block had collapsed and all household property was in ashes.

Meanwhile, there was a near punch up between residents and fire brigade officers as the residents accused the fire fighters of arriving too late to quench the inferno.

ZANIS

The Professional Teachers Union of Zambia (PTUZ) has welcomed the removal of Education Permanent Secretary Mirriam Chinyama and has described the action as long overdue.

Professional Teachers Union of Zambia General Secretary Kangwa Musenge said this should serve as a warning that the current government has set focus and ambitious plans on how best to run the education sector.

In a statement made available to ZANIS, Mr Musenge stated that the Republican President is only demonstrating that he wants effective operations in the Ministry of Education.

Mr Musenge alleged that everyone has been complaining within the Ministry and has called on the president to ensure the next individual to be appointed as Permanent Secretary is a seasoned civil servant who understands the civil service.

Mr Musenge further claimed that there were no indications of progress in the Education sector and saw failure in bringing sanity in the trade unions under Ms Chinyama’s stay as Permanent Secretary.

And Mr Musenge said as PTUZ it strongly condemn the suspension of its president Vincent Mwitumwa and Provincial Chairperson Fabian Chilala by Monze District Education Board Secretary and has asked government to intervene saying it is a violation of Labour laws.

He also said that there are some District Education Board Secretaries who are in the habit of frustrating government efforts and with a tendency of quarreling with teachers.

Mr Musenge observed that most of the District Education Board Secretaries openly declared the support for the former ruling party the Movement for Multi-party Democracy.

ZANIS

The Technical Committee on Drafting the Zambian constitution says it has successfully completed the District Consultative Fora on the constitution- making process in North-Western, Copperbelt, Lusaka, Southern, Central and Eastern provinces.

In a statement to ZANIS today, Committee Spokesperson Enerst Mwansa disclosed that the third and final round of the District Consultative Fora comprising Luapula, Muchinga, Northern and Western provinces started on Monday 29th October and will end on 3rd November 2012.

Mr Mwansa said the Fora has been among other things examining and deliberating on the clause of the first draft constitution and also considering comments and recommendations from community consultative Fora.

He explained that after completion of all Fora, the Technical Committee will submit reports with comments and recommendations to the provincial constitution convention for consideration in all 10 provincial centres.

He said the provincial conventions will be mandated to examine and deliberate on the clauses of the first draft constitution which will culminate into the holding of the National and Sector- Groups convention.

Mr Mwansa said after considering the first draft constitution, reports, comments and recommendations from the provinces, the National and Sector-Groups convention will submit validation report with comments and recommendations to the Technical Committee for input into the final draft constitution.

Meanwhile, The Technical committee on drafting the Republican Constitution has removed Simon Kabanda as its Spokesperson replacing him with Ernest Mwansa.

In a statement made available to the media, the committee has however not given reasons for Mr. Kabanda’s removal.

Some sections of the media recently linked Mr. Kabanda to the Zambia Association of Musicians (ZAM) fraud involving K71 million.

ZANIS