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Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD) Spokesperson, Dora Siliya has called on President Michael Sata to lead with the same enthusiasm during the run up to last year’s general elections.
Ms. Siliya said that millions of Zambians expect action oriented policies. Ms. Siliya noted with concern that President Sata seemed overwhelmed by the country’s challenges such, as the fight against corruption and creation of employment.
She added that since ascendancy into office, President Sata has never outlined his plan to the Zambian people on how he intends to govern the country.
Meanwhile,the Women in Law in Southern Africa (WLSA) has implored parliamentarians in the country to critically debate on matters of being accountable on public resources.
WLSA Regional Coordinator Matrine Chuulu said time has come for Members of Parliament to consider matters of accountability seriously.
Ms. Chuulu said parliamentarians from both the ruling and opposition political parties should not always be at conflict when debating on issues of national interest.
She told ZANIS in Lusaka today that parliamentarians should propose for debate in the house real issues that negatively affect ordinary Zambians.
The WLSA Regional Coordinator pointed out that it is essential for all parliamentarians to make the government of the day accountable to all Zambians.
Ms. Chuulu said all well meaning citizens would like to see MPs engage into issue based debates and not on mere political debates.
And Ms. Chuulu has expressed happiness over the disclosure by the Auditor General that her office was contemplating on setting up an Auditors’ Commission that will also audit and monitor the operations of her office.
She has since applauded the Auditor General, Anna Chifungula for that initiative adding that this indicates that her office adheres to governance principles of transparency.
Government’s revised minimum wage has been challenged in the Lusaka high court by the Zambia Federation of Employers (ZFE). ZFE has sought judicial review of the government’s decision to issue Statutory Instruments to increase the minimum wages for domestic and shop workers describing the move as illegal.
ZFE has sued the Attorney General Mumba Malila on behalf of Labour Minister Fackson Shamenda. In a statement of claim filed in the Lusaka high court the union is asking the court to quash the Minister’s decision.
The organization wants the Court to declare that Mr. Shamenda acted ultra Vires under section 71 of the Industrial and Labour Relations Act. ZFE also wants the court to declare that the refusal by the Minister to determine its application for review was illegal.
The employers’ organization through its Executive Director, Harrington Chibanda ,further claims that as a result of the Minister’s move the country has experienced riots and job losses.
United Party for National Development (UPND) President Hakainde Hichilema has charged that the rights and liberty of Zambians are threatened under the PF Government, as any opposing voice will be suffocated and criminalized.
Mr Hichilema said that the recent deportation of Lundazi based Catholic Priest Fr Viateur Banyangandora by the government is a serious assault on Zambia’s democracy.
Mr Hichilema in a statement released to the media the deportation is a further signal to all that the one party “pick up and lock up” syndrome and detention in secret locations is back
The UPND leader added that this is a clear attempt by President Michael Sata’s government to silence all voices that speak the truth or have a different view or position from that of the government.
He questioned what explanation is there for the deportation of a Priest for passionately speaking about the plight of the poor.
Mr Hichilema further questioned the justification for the bundling Fr Banyangandora and whisking him away from Lundazi as though he was a criminal and subsequently deporting him to Rwanda.
He said that the UPND finds it unacceptable that a priest in a Christian nation can be deported for merely preaching a message addressing the plight of the poor.
He wonders whether the mention of the low cotton price is a danger to the peace and order of the country.
Youth and Sports Minister Chishimba Kambwili has reassured pupils around the country that the reintroduced National Service will not have any element of military training.
Mr. Kambwili said that contrary to assertions by some sections of society that the skills training will have an element of military training; government will only offer survival skills to prepare young people for the future.
Speaking when he addressed pupils at Twashuka High School in Roan Constituency in Luanshya District, Mr. Kambwili said all well-meaning Zambians should support the initiative.
He explained that the training will only include entrepreneurial skills in fields such as carpentry, bricklaying, computers among others.
He said this will help young people to start their own businesses without necessarily waiting for government to give them jobs.
Mr. Kambwili said government will also setup a youth bank from which graduates from such training camps will borrow money to start their own businesses.
He appealed to parents to allow their children to undergo such training so that they can later become self-reliant.
“No one should lie to you that you will undergo any military training at such camps because we are not at war with anyone so why should we give you military training?” he wondered.
Meanwhile, Mr. Kambwili has assured pupils at Twashuka High School that the construction of the School hall will be completed by December this year.
He said government will find money to complete the project which started four years ago.
Mr. Kambwili said it was difficult to understand why the works have taken long to be completed.
He said it was saddening to see the difficulties pupils go through during their examinations and assured, amid cheers from the pupils, that their challenges will soon be a thing of the past.
Cardinal Medardo Mazombwe celebrating mass as a cadinal in Lusaka.
President Michael Sata this morning visited Cardinal Medardo Mazombwe who is admitted to the Zambia Italy Orthopedic Hospital with a spine problem. Archbishop of Lusaka Telesphore Mpundu has disclosed that Cardinal Mazombwe will this morning be evacuated to South Africa to undergo specialist treatment at Morning Side Hospital.
The President who arrived at the Italian Hospital at 08:24 hours briefly held private talks with hospital management before he visited the ailing cardinal. President Sata was met on arrival at the hospital by Archbishop Mpundu, Finance Minister Alexander Chikwanda and other senior Government officials.
Mr. Sata wished Cardinal Mazombwe a quick recovery.
And Archbishop of Lusaka Diocese Telesphore Mpundu described Cardinal Mazombwe’s condition as serious. Archbishop Mpundu stated that a team of medical experts that attended to the clergyman recommended that he be evacuated to South Africa for specialist treatment.
He told Journalists in an interview in Lusaka today that Cardinal Mazombwe who has been admitted to the Italian Hospital since July 26 is suffering from severe spinal pains.
If PF campaigned on “More money in your pockets ”in 2011, today,it wants “more money in politicians pockets!” Politicians are among the best paid in than nation and any attempt to increase their salaries at the time that our hospitals have no drugs is an insult to the electorate. As a minister of religion, I feel that to continue rewarding politicians at the detriment of national development is immoral.
I am not against the PF government but opposed to allowing them steal from the masses. Most discussions are being focused on the over 100% increment for the President but that is missing the point. All Members of Parliament have taken advantage of legal means to steal from the public. They law makers pass laws that make it possible to abuse public resources legally.[pullquote]One wonders why we should spend millions of dollars on a person whose food, housing,transport and other basic needs were met by taxpayers for years and who has continued to receive a very high salary for life[/pullquote]
We need to realize that since the advent of war on corruption, our politicians know too well that they are likely to be arrested for abusing public funds. Rather than risking arrests,abusing public resources through “legal” means remains the only available avenue. Since this stealing is perfectly legal, politicians cannot be put behind bars when they leave their offices.
Let me illustrate my point.
When the London judge Mr Justice Peter Smith found him guilty of misappropriating public resources on May 4,2007, Chiluba defended his actions by pointing to his entitlements.Chiluba argued that his wealth came from his income and allowances.Pointing to the fact all his living and other expenses were borne by the state, Chiluba argued that if junior civil servants have bought houses and paid their children’s school fees in foreign colleges and universities from allowances, how about him who was president for 10 years? Of course, Judge Smith’s handling of the case and the rationale behind his ruling was questionable, but that does not mean Chiluba did not misappropriate public funds.
The fact that the Zambian magistrate John Chinyama acquitted Chiluba on all counts of corruption in 2010 demands explanation. Many Zambians were quick to put the blame on President Rupiya Banda’s influence over the judiciary, but that is somehow missing the point. Chiluba could have used the legal system to defraud the nation of millions of dollars. The Entitlement’s Acts of Zambia could have made it possible for Chiluba to accumulate millions of dollars in 10 years.[pullquote]Zambians should question the morality behind building former presidents houses; legislators receiving tax free “sitting allowances” and salaries while those who earn peanuts have no houses built for them, given allowances and are highly taxed[/pullquote]
According to the Presidential Emoluments Act of 2009, the President is entitled to “a salary and allowances at such rate as the Minister responsible for finance may prescribe.” The Benefits of Former Presidents Act Cap.15, states that former presidents are entitled to “a tax free monthly pension at the rate of eighty per cent of the incumbent President’s emoluments, a furnished executive house built or bought in Zambia by the State; three drivers, three motor vehicles with free maintenance and entitlement to fuel.
The immorality of such entitlement is clear. In 2009 for example,President Kaunda’s house cost Zambian taxpayers over $2 million.Zambians must build houses for all former presidents, even when they have villas in the most expensive areas of Lusaka. One wonders why we should spend millions of dollars on a person whose food, housing,transport and other basic needs were met by taxpayers for years and who has continued to receive a very high salary for life. Where did he put his salary and unlimited allowances he received while in office?
File:A House occupied by Police Officer in Mongu district in Western Province
It is criminal at its best that in the nation where the majority of Zambians live on less than 1 dollar a day, the State provides millions to one individual. The fact that politicians are enriching themselves at the expense of masses is deplorable. Friends, it is not what politicians are entitled to but what is fair for all.
The current entitlements which politicians enjoy are not simply morally wrong but discourteous to the electorate who put them in power.
Zambians should question the morality behind building former presidents houses; legislators receiving tax free “sitting allowances” and salaries while those who earn peanuts have no houses built for them, given allowances and are highly taxed.
Unless this form of robbery is confronted and done away with, Zambian politicians will continue to sing “anti-corruption” hymns and choruses in order to get international aid while stealing from masses through immoral entitlements. It is time the nation put a stop to this form of robbery. Mr. President, we don’t want more money in your pockets but in our pockets!
File:Night revelers take to the stage at a night club in Lusaka
THE spate of grisly murders of young women in Lusaka have continued with the latest being that of a 23-year-old of Woodlands who is suspected to have been raped before being killed.Mazuba Kapembwa’s body was picked up in the morning of yesterday under a row of bushes near a named night club on Chilumbulu Road.This brings to three number of women gruesomely murdered in the capital city in a space of three weeks.
Police say, Mazuba, a mother of three of house number 22, Cedar Road in Woodlands, is believed to have been raped before being killed because the zipper on her trousers was found open.Zambia Police Service deputy public relations officer, Charity Chanda and Josephine Mweemba, mother of the deceased, confirmed the murder of Mazuba.Her body was picked up yesterday around 11:00 hours under the hedge on Chilumbulu Road,Ms Chanda said.Ms Chanda said Mazuba’s body had no injuries.
Mazuba is believed to have gone out with an unidentified friend on Monday night using an unidentified minibus.Mazuba’s body is in the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) mortuary awaiting post-mortem.And speaking in an interview yesterday, Mazuba’s mother, a widow, said a female friend of her late daughter went to their house around 16:00 hours on Monday and together with Mazuba’s children, they went to some nearby shops.Ms Mweemba said Mazuba returned home around 19:00 hours and informed her that she had friends outside and that they would be going out.She left the youngest child who is about one year old and said she had friends and they wanted to go to the shops.My last words were that, don’t go. These days, people kill, She said she would go and come back, the grief stricken mother said at the family home in Woodlands.She said around 10:00 hours yesterday, she received a call from a congregant at Woodlands Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) that someone had identified the body of her daughter in Chilenje.Ms Mweemba said she immediately went to Chilenje but was told that the body had been taken to UTH.Ms Mweemba said she found Mazuba’s body wrapped in chitenge material at the Brought in Dead (BID) section at UTH.She said her body was intact though her wig had a lot of grass on it.The shoes and handbag have been recovered but her phone is missing, she said.Ms Mweemba said while at the mortuary, she also met Mazuba’s boyfriend.Ms Mweemba said Mazuba’s boyfriend was the father to the youngest child who is one-year and three months old.
On July 13, this year, Ruth Mbandu, a 19-year-old student at the National Institute of Public Administration (NIPA) was grisly killed in an incident widely suspected to be a ritual murder.Ruths disfigured body was found in the early hours of Saturday on July 14, in Emmasdale residential area, a few metres away from her mother’s house with her facial skin and eyes removed.
On July, 28 another woman, Sharon Tembo, aged 27 was murdered in Matero Township as she was returning home from her hair salon around 22:00 hours.
Meanwhile, one person died while 14 others sustained serious injuries when a motor vehicle they were travelling in overturned on Mukonchi Road, two kilometres north of Kizito Primary School in Kabwe.The accident happened when the driver of a Canter light truck, registration number, ACL 6365, Osten Ntomba, 30, of Munkonchi Kanyemu area lost control due to suspected excessive speeding.The deceased has been identified as Bupe Muwowo, 37, also of Mukonchi area who died on the way to the hospital while the 14 injured passengers were admitted to Kabwe General Hospital.Ms Chanda said the driver of the vehicle was charged with causing death by dangerous driving.
Federation of Free Trade Unions of Zambia (FFTUZ) president Joyce Nonde-Simukoko
FFTUZ President Joyce Nonde-Simukoko has charged that the behavior of the Zambia Federation of Employers over the new minimum wage is shameful.
Mrs. Nonde-Simukoko said no genuine member of the labour movement could criticize government for revising the statutory instrument governing the minimum wages.
She said some ZFE officials have cried foul over the new minimum wage and yet they were silent on the injustices that the labour movement endured during the MMD administration.
“Why are they crying now? When it suits them they keep quiet and they cried the loudest when only a few of their members are affected.”
“As FFTUZ, we don’t sympathize with their position because we believe even the 522,000 revised minimum wage for a domestic worker is too little,” she added.
Mrs. Nonde-Simukoko said the officials from ZFE should refrain from peddling lies that the MMD administration consulted the labour movement when coming up with the last minimum wage.
“As far as I can remember, Hon Liato never consulted anyone,” Mrs. Nonde-Simukoko observed.
She was speaking during a dialogue meeting in Lusaka between the PF and the labour movement organised by the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung.
Mrs. Nonde-Simukoko also called on the PF government to start working on delivering its promises of putting more money in the worker’s pockets.
“I think you have been celebrating and it is now time to start working.”
Meanwhile, the Non-Governmental Organization Coordinating Council (NGOCC) has said that while the revision of the minimum wage is a welcome move, government should have taken a holistic approach in its implementation to avoid confusion.
NGOCC board chairperson Beatrice Grillo said that the issue of the minimum wage needs to be handled very carefully or risks being a flop if not well handled.
Mrs. Grillo said that telling people or companies that lack capacity to increase the minimum wage for employees to implement that minimum wage without looking at the mechanism of implementation is a waste of time.
Speaking to QFM News, Mrs. Grillo noted that government needs to take a lot of factors into consideration as the nation does not want to see a situation where people get fired as a result of the minimum wage.
PF secretary general Wynter Kabimba has urged PF parliamentarians to ensure that they work towards fulfilling the party manifesto. Mr. Kabimba has noted that the PF leadership will not hesitate to impose sanctions should some of its members of parliament fail to perform.
The PF secretary general has said the party leadership is committed to ensuring that it delivers to the Zambians in line with the current party manifesto.
But when asked by QFM news how the PF leadership rates the performance of its parliamentarians following President Sata’s observation that the PF parliamentarians were not working according to his expectations, Mr. Kabimba declined to comment.
Last week, President Sata said the PF parliamentarians have not done much in trying to deliver development and urged them to work towards addressing the challenges being faced in the country.
Meanwhile, the PF General Secretary has made a passionate appeal for dialogue between employers and the workers following the impasse surrounding the new minimum wage.
Mr. Kabimba said the misunderstanding which has arisen following the over 100 percent upward adjustment of the minimum wage is unfortunate and might negatively affect economic performance.
He said the party is concerned that the misunderstandings have led to the death of a Chinese miner at Collum Coal Mine.
‘We as the party in government are concerned that this matter is not being handled very well between the workers and the employers. We would like to appeal to the concerned parties to embrace dialogue and not confrontation over this matter,” Mr. Kabimba said.[pullquote]“You surely cannot pick out a single riot at Collum and say the riots are now countrywide. I don’t think that is the correct position. Yes, we do have a few pockets of industrial unrest but these are not countywide,” Mr. Kabimba said.[/pullquote]
He however dismissed reports that the labour unrest following the new minimum wage has a national character.
“You surely cannot pick out a single riot at Collum and say the riots are now countrywide. I don’t think that is the correct position. Yes, we do have a few pockets of industrial unrest but these are not countywide,” Mr. Kabimba said.
Mr. Kabimba said the party is in full support of the move taken by Labour Minister Fackson Shamenda to revise the minimum wage.
The PF Secretary General was speaking on the sidelines of a two day dialogue meeting between the ruling party and the labour movement in Lusaka organised by German NGO, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung.
And in his presentation, Mr. Kabimba warned that corruption in the PF will weaken the very fabric on which it was founded.
He said corruption pushed the MMD out of government and warned that the same could happen to the PF if it fails to root out corruption from the party.[pullquote]“I know there is corruption even in the PF and as SG, am warning that this cancer will eat up the PF the same way it did with the MMD if left unchecked,” Mr. Kabimba warned.[/pullquote]
“I know there is corruption even in the PF and as SG, am warning that this cancer will eat up the PF the same way it did with the MMD if left unchecked,” Mr. Kabimba warned.
Mr. Kabimba also charged that the PF will not provide cover to any former MMD leader who has joined the PF seeking protection from corruption allegations.
He said the PF will not provide sanctuary to all those that have corruption allegations hanging over their heads. “We want clean members, all those running away from the MMD for fear of prosecution are not welcome in the PF.”
Zambia Botswana bus from Lundazi that was involved in an accident at Mnoro area about 10 kilometers to Chipata on the Chipata-Lundazi road
The number of people who have died on Zambian roads since the start of 2012 has hit a record 400 from 6,000 road traffic accidents recorded.
Road Transport and Safety Agency Spokesperson Mercy Mwila-Khozi said in an interview in Lusaka that by end of July this year, road carnage had claimed 400 people mostly due to human error.
Mrs. Mwila-Khozi said the number of people dying on Zambian roads had continued to rise despite numerous efforts by stakeholders to improve road safety.
She said road traffic accidents is now one of the top three causes of death in Zambia which needs to be reversed.
“We have continued losing many lives due to road accidents and we have suddenly seen a rise in the numbers since the start of 2012,” Mrs. Mwila-Khozi said.
Mwila-Khozi also revealed that RTSA has since submitted a report to the Office of the Vice President on the increase in road accidents in Zambia.
“The report is ready and has been submitted to his Honour, the Vice President’s office and we have detailed strategies we hope if implemented could help reduce the number of people we are losing on our roads,” she said.
The RTSA Spokesperson also called for increasing support from all stakeholders in efforts aimed at improving road safety.
“Road accidents are now an economic issue. It is becoming costly for Zambia to lose so many people on our roads. It is also affecting our GDP and thereby increasing poverty levels.”
“This is not a RTSA issue alone and this is why at the beginning of this year, the RTSA, Zambia Police Service, Road Development Agency (RDA) and the National Road Fund Agency (NRFA) in recognising that road traffic crashes were a scourge that needed concerted effort created a joint enforcement strategy, which has resulted in these organisations working as a team,” Mrs. Mwila-Khozi said.
She also defended the performance of RTSA in administering road safety in Zambia.
“As an agency, together with collaborating partners we have done very well in accordance with our mandate although we have faced some challenges such as inadequate human resource.”
“Zambia’s total network of 67,000 km and a core road network of 40,000 km, the difference if road safety was left to RTSA alone is that (1) RTSA officer is expected to enforce at least 200 km of the road network daily because the agency’s current set up is only 197 members of staff since inception,” she added.
She said the 197 members of staff are distributed to over 25 RTSA stations countrywide making it difficult to police the entire road network in the country.
“Infact the 197 approved staff establishment is comprised primarily of the administrative staff and only three Road traffic inspectors and those are expected to enforce the entire road network in Zambia.”
The RTSA Spokesperson however noted that the government is committed to changing the landscape and in July 2012 approved increasing the Agency Structure to 370 staff.
The Private Sector Development Association (PSDA) has observed that the use of appropriate technological methods in the housing and construction sectors would assist the country to provide affordable housing units to the general populace.
Private Sector Development Association Chairperson Yusuf Dodia noted that technology plays a fundamental role in the development of any country.
Mr. Dodia said it was through technology that tangible results in the housing sector can be spotted in infrastructure and other developmental works.
Speaking in an interview with ZANIS, the PSDA chairperson stated that bringing on board other avenues to tackle the housing deficit would help address the housing challenges which the country has been facing.
He lamented that Zambians had been crying for better accommodation in the area of housing for a very long period.
Mr. Dodia further urged Zambians to be proactive in the area of technology in order for them to have their livelihoods improved.
He underscored the need for the use of technology saying this was another way to reposition and enhance capacity for the housing schemes.
He stated that coming up with new ideas of modern housing construction methods was one of the cost effective ways to critically look into.
He said Zambians should ponder having other means of constructing houses such as adopting the interlocking bricks which are made of only soil and water, a much cheaper and convenient method.
And Mr. Dodia has praised the National Housing Authority (NHA) for announcing its five year strategic and business plan which is mainly anchored on adopting innovative modern construction methods with a view to make affordable housing units to Zambians.
Meanwhile, National Council for Construction (NCC) board chairperson Levy Zulu said the council will support any ventures that are undertaken by an individual or the corporate world to make affordable housing units across the nation.
Mr. Zulu stated that it was significant that NHA considers adopting other ways of having housing units owing to the increased demand for accommodation in Zambia.
Government will endeavour to provide a safe and secure environment within which all investors will operate.
This is contained in a statement released to the media in Lusaka yesterday by Chief Government Spokesperson Kennedy Sakeni.
Mr. Sakeni assured the Chinese community at Collum coal mine and investors at large, that Zambia is safe for them and their investment.
He stated that government deeply regrets the death of a Chinese supervisor who died during a workers protest over wages in Sinazongwe, Southern province.
Mr. Sakeni said government is confident that police will carry out thorough investigations on the incident in order to bring the culprits to book.
He said the incident is unfortunate and uncalled for adding that it is abnormal of the peaceful and hospitable nature of the Zambian society.
He has since urged workers as well as employers in the country to embrace dialogue in resolving their differences.
Meanwhile, barely four days after workers at the Chinese run Collum Coal Mine in Sinazongwe protested demanding to be paid the new revised minimum wages, another group of workers employed by a Chinese firm to construct Zambia Air Force (ZAF) houses in Lusaka have downed tools for similar reasons.
A check at the construction site in Twin Palm area found that the workers had abandoned the area.
According to eye witnesses, the protests started in the early hours and by around 09:00 hours, the workers had left the scene.
“It’s like they are copying what happened at Collum Coal Mine because they were demanding for more money. They started protesting around 07.00 hours,” the source said.
Construction works of the modern infrastructure have reached an advanced stage.
Efforts to get a comment from the firm’s management team proved futile.
Zambia and Zambia renew old rivalries on Wednesday when they clash in a friendly in Ndola.
The warmup match will mark Zambia’s second game at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium.
Zambia’s first game at their brand new home on June 9 finished 1-0 in their favour after beating Ghana in a 2014 World Cup qualifier.
Herve Renard’s side of mostly home-based players will be looking to revive that old Dag Hammarskjöld magic and to maintain Zambia’s fabled unbeaten run in Ndola.
However, Zambia have lost both their last two meetings against Zimbabwe.
The two sides’ last meeting on August 10 in Harare last year ended in Zimbabwe’s favour.
Zimbabwe won that friendly 2-0 at Rufaro Stadium.
Prior to that, Zimbabwe also reigned supreme on November 9, 2009 when they beat their northern rivals 3-1 in the final of the Cosafa Cup final at Rufaro.
Zambia trace their last win over Zimbabwe to July 27 2008 in South Africa.
Zambia won 5-4 on post-match penalties in the Cosafa Cup at Secunda after finishing scoreless in their quarterfinal meeting.
The vulnerable but viable farmers in Chibote village of Kawambwa district have been cautioned against exchanging agricultural inputs meant for Food Security Programme (FSP) with local beer.
Assistant Community Development Officer, Chola Chakopo said it was a pity that some vulnerable but viable farmers in Chibote have a habit of exchanging fertilizer with local beer, a development that has worsened the hunger situation in the area.
Ms. Chakopo issued the warning in Chibote on Friday during a sensitization meeting in readiness for this year’s winter maize growing, which has been delayed.
The vulnerable but viable farmers in this area grow their off-rain season crops on the wetlands between August and November.
She said the inputs that will soon be given to vulnerable but viable farmers are meant to reduce hunger among the people and wonders why some beneficiaries resort to exchanging fertilizer and seeds with local beer.
However, she noted that after the introduction of the FSP, most vulnerable people’s sufferings have reduced because they had put the commodity to good use.
Ms. Chakopo also said in certain areas, some people have done better than before after receiving inputs for winter maize growing and have therefore managed to sponsor their children to school.
She cited Kabanda Area Coordinating Committee (ACC), whose members were doing fine in winter farming, as one of the areas that have done well.
She said the members of this committee have since diversified in crop production, paid back their loans and saved some money in banks.
Meanwhile, Ms. Chakopo has clarified that the Food Security Programme (FSP) was not a politically driven programme.
She said the programme was not political but developmental adding that whoever gets a loan from it should pay back so that other vulnerable but viable farmers can also benefit.
The Patriotic Front party says it will not allow people with criminal records to join it as a way of getting away from the crimes committed.
PF secretary General Winter Kabimba says the PF party is not desperate for numbers and would not allow the people that allegedly committed crimes to use the ruling party as a scape – goat.
Mr. Kabimba has indicated that party will only welcome individuals that clean records are committed to drive the social economic policies of the ruling party for the benefit of the majority Zambians.
Mr. Kabimba was speaking at a consultative meeting held between the labor movement and patriotic Front Party.
And Mr. Kabimba has also noted the PF government will not intimate the labor movement but will view it as a partner in development.
And speaking at the same event the federation of the free trade Unions of Zambia (FFTUZ) president Joyce Nonde – Simukoko advised the PF government to ensure that cooperate greed is addressed.
Mrs. Simukoko has also castigated the labor leaders that condemning the newly revised minimum wage.
The labor leader instead has described the minimum wage as low adding that employers in the country as well as parties such as the MMD have no moral right to accuse the PF government of not having consulted on the minimum wage.
Mrs. Simukoko has wondered why the employers did not call for dialogue when the minimum wage was set at K250, 000.
Mrs. Simukoko has also reminded the MMD it is one party that never consulted when it came up with laws that suppressed workers in the country adding that it is for this reason that the MMD lost favor from the workers.
And Zambia Congress of Trade Union (ZCTU) president Leonard Hikaumba has also called for maximum wage.
He says currently there are so many disparities in most companies between the management officials and lower ranking employees describing the trade as unfair.
Mr. Hikaumba says ZCTU agrees with the policies of the PF on the workers and pledged support to efforts aimed at improving the welfares of the employees in the country.
