Lusaka Police Chief Joyce Kasosa has dismissed online media reports that controversial musician Pilato has been detained over his latest song titled Bufi.
Reports circulated over the weekend that Pilato has been detained at Lusaka Central Police for questioning over the lyrics to his song Bufi in which he denounces politicians for making false promises.
But in an interview, Mrs Kasosa said such reports are unfounded.She said the police have not recorded any such incident and that Pilato is still a free citizen.
“He is free just like any citizen of this country. He is not under any threat of being arrested. It is just rumours,” Mrs Kasosa said.
And Pilato also tweeted that he was safe urging friends and family not to worry saying the story of his arrest is Bufi.
He was also due to perform at a CBU students function on Saturday.Pilato, whose real name is Chama Fimba has caused some controversy over the latest song titled Bufi in which he features with Petersen.
In Bufi, Petersen and Pilato sing about broken promises like cheap fuel, construction of roads and job opportunities for young people.
The song has gone viral on most social sites with many people sharing its file.
The Zambezi River starts as a gently flowing stream passing through and around stilt roots.Surrounded by miombo woodland, the source is an amazing sponge supporting a small strip of swamp forest; a forest with a closed canopy, through which little light filters. It is dark and mysterious with periodic shafts of sunlight. The ground is littered with fallen leaves. A boardwalk has been erected to protect the sponge from tramping feet. Courtesy Zambezi Traveller
Senior Chief Kanongesha of the Lunda people in Mwinilunga district in North-Western province has challenged Tourism and Arts Minister Sylvia Masebo to consider visiting the source of the famous mighty Zambezi River before the United World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) Conference takes place.
Senior Chief Kanongesha observed that Ms Masebo has concentrated too much on going to the Victoria Falls situated in the tourist capital Livingstone leaving out other significant tourist sites like the Zambezi source which is situated in the remote place.
“I’m appealing to Ms Masebo not to concentrate on the Victoria falls but instead she should also deliberately visit other tourist sites like the Zambezi source which we have here. She should conduct a fact finding mission and come and see for herself what we are talking about,” Senior Chief Kanongesha said.
Directions to the source in Mwinilunga
Senior Chief Kanongesha whose chiefdom is spread from Mwinilunga to newly created Ikelengi district boasted that other tourist sites included the Zambezi rapids, Zambezi thick forest and the Chisemwa Cha-Lunda traditional ceremony which is held annually.
He was speaking in an interview with ZANIS in Lusaka.
He observed that Zambezi source has been neglected by the Minister including other government officials and the media hence the need to highlight stories about it.
Efforts to get a comment from Ms Masebo proved futile by press time.
The traditional leader however, disclosed that KR500,000 which was allocated to improve the Zambezi source has gone missing and called on government to immediately prosecute the corrupt officers.
Inspectors from the UNWTO headquarters in Madrid, Spain came to conduct and completed their mission to check on the progress of the UNWTO preparations by Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Recently, Information and Broadcasting Services Deputy Minister Mwansa Kapeya reiterated and declared that Zambia is read to co-host the event.
The Zambian government has among other measures assured the delegates who will come to attend the conference that there will be fast and reliable internet services so as to improve connectivity in the host cities of Livingstone and Victoria Falls town.
A man scoops water right at the source of the mighty Zambezi river
It is also expected that the local mobile telephone operators in the country namely Zamtel, Airtel and MTN will increase visibility in the resort town during the conference.
The successful co-hosting of the event by Zambia and Zimbabwe in August this year would tremendously impact on the promotion of tourism.
Zambia and Zimbabwe are co-hosting the 20th UNWTO General Assembly from 24th August to 29th August, 2013 in Livingstone and Victoria Falls towns.
This is the second time the General Assembly is being hosted in Africa. Senegal was the first African country to host the similar tourism event.
More than 5 000 delegates are expected at the event which is one of the biggest tourism gatherings in the world.
FORMER Minister of Finance and National Planning Ng’andu Magande
National Movement for Progress (NMP) president Ng’andu Magande says Zambia is slowly slipping into a dictatorship under the Patriotic Front.
Featuring on ZNBC’s Sunday Interview programme, Magande said he was disappointed that young people had shown lack of principle by easily defecting to the ruling party causing unnecessary by-elections.
Intolerance
“We are getting back to the old days of the one party state where clearly it was said at a mass rally that if you do not vote for us we will not bring development. Now that is not supposed to be in our democratic dispensation,” said the former finance minister between 2002 and 2008.
He said the culture of intolerance that is being championed by the PF government that has seen several opposition leaders being arrested at the slightest occasion was bad for the country.
“I want to plead to the president to leave a legacy of a peaceful Zambia, right now there is a lot of anxiety among a lot of people especially the young politicians who are being detained wherever they surface. Let him give the space also to express themselves,” Magande said.
By -Elections
He said the excuse by defectors that they were crossing over the floor to take development to their constituencies was defective.
“The by-elections we have analyzed them and we said to ourselves, is this a worthwhile exercise? We said to ourselves it is not because at the end of the day what are the issues?” he wondered.
“Yesterday (Saturday) somebody resigned in Northwestern province when they discussed his elections all they said was now that I have resigned from this party and joined the ruling party development will come. How?”
He said it was disappointing that young people had shown lack of principles.
[pullquote]Recently somebody resigned in Northwestern province when they discussed his elections all they said was now that I have resigned from this party and joined the ruling party development will come. How?[/pullquote]
“Some of these people who are resigning from the opposition parties to go and say because I have joined this party development will come to you, they do not understand and sadly most of them are young people,” he said.
“Young people are supposed to have principles, they are supposed to understand, have visions which they can give to the people that under whatever circumstances wherever I will be what I believe in is what I am going to do.”
He said, “If you are going to be changing like some of them are changing at the moment then I do not know where we are going. I remember one of them failing to answer a question that; if PF loses in 2016 and another party wins are you going to join the other party to hunt for development? And he could not answer that question”
Magande said the steps being taken by the PF government smacked of dictatorship.
“So for me really the question that you can only deliver development in your area if you belong to a ruling party to me that is in a dictatorship.”
He said, “Some people suspect that it is where (by-election) most of the money is going, that is why some of the things are having prices increased, that is why mealie-meal prices are being increased we have exhausted the budget for by-elections. Is that a good thing for national development when people require money elsewhere. It is not worthwhile.”
[pullquote]So for me really the question that you can only deliver development in your area if you belong to a ruling party to me that is in a dictatorship[/pullquote].
Pf’s disastrous Fertilizer Support Program
Magande said the Fertilizer Support Programme under the PF government had proved disastrous.
“The economic reason is not there. I am an Agriculture Economist, you need eight bags of fertilizer minimum per hectare of maize… now that it is two bags, I do not know what you can produce on two bags,” he said.
“They should take it where it was that is why we are having difficulties with food security in the country. People are given two bags and they cannot produce and when they produce they cannot produce a surplus.”
Removal of Subsidy on Fuel
Magande said removing the subsidy on fuel was wrong.
“Somebody was saying after all the government was right to remove the subsidy on fuel and I said that do you know that fuel affects even the least, the most vulnerable, the least developed person out there in the villages,” he said.
“This time is harvest time, you need to move the crop now and they have increased the price for diesel.It means therefore the vehicles that are going to collect the crop for this poor guy to take it to the market they are going to increase the price.”
He said, “I know that someone can say that we are increasing ministers’ prices because some ministers have vulnerable relatives but there are certain economic fundamentals that certain resources, certain assets they do peculate …they go down up to the lowest level. Just now because of fuel prices somebody at Chazanga who has a child who has to be rushed to Matero health centre the taxi driver has put another five kwacha there and he cannot deliver his child.”
Zambia has been hit by rampant fuel increases that have seen fuel, mealie meal and bus fares shooting up.
Three opposition UPND Parliamentarians in Monze district in Southern province have raised KR1.9 million in order to purchase a brand new grader to rehabilitate the poor road infrastructure in the district.
The three Parliamentarians are Bweengwa Constituency Member of Parliament (MP) Highvie Hamududu, Monze Central’s Jack Mwiimbu and Vitalis Mooya of Moomba constituency.
Bweengwa Constituency MP Highvie Hamududu said the earth moving machine (grader) would be bought locally at Caterpillar Zambia Limited.
Mr Hamududu said they decided to put the moneys together because government alone cannot manage.
“We the MPs in Monze district have decided to put our heads together and raised K1.9m to buy a grader in order to repair the feeder roads that are in a dilapidated state. The funds were approved by the entire Council because we realize government alone cannot manage to do everything for us,” Mr Hamududu said.
He said the funds were from Constituency Development (CDF) from the three areas respectively and that the entire Monze district council has approved the decision.
Mr Hamududu said the roads in the district leaves much to be desired and to quicken the procurement process, the parliamentarians who are also civic leaders at the Monze district council decided to put their heads together and came up with the move.
He added that a good road network is cardinal to the transportation of produce from the small scale farmers in the district.
Meanwhile, the Bweengwa MP has projected a good harvest from the farmers in Monze district and that he hopes the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) would not disappoint the farmers in paying them their moneys for the maize they will supply to the Agency.
The Supreme Court judgment is really ambiguous and suspicious and it seriously erodes the confidence of the judiciary among the citizens.
It also confirms the perception that our government under siege by a few individuals who think they are larger than the majority Zambians who gave Michael Chilufya Sata a job in September 2011.
President Sata seems to be answerable to these few individuals than the majority Zambians that gave him that vote he dearly wanted for the ten years he was in the opposition.
This case of Judge Lovemore Chikopa has its genesis in the DBZ Vs. JCN Holdings and the Post Newspaper.
The three judges entangled themselves in this case out of duty and delivered a judgment through Judge Nigel Mutuna.
By delivering that judgment against the “Mighty Two” the three judges burnt their fingers and smoked their professional integrity.
To fix them, a morally questionable Judge Chikopa was hastily brought in from Malawi.
[pullquote]By delivering that judgment against the “Mighty Two” the three judges burnt their fingers and smoked their professional integrity.[/pullquote]
Judge Chikopa is the Executioner of the sacrificial lambs that have to die professionally for doing their job.
Yes, they have to be sacrificed so that others can see that you don’t have to play with the big boys with connection to State house.
It reminds me of the olden days when we used to say “UNIP – Mulilo, Waikatako – Wapya!” (UNIP – is Fire, You touch it – you are burnt).
I wonder what future lies ahead for the other three Judges, Justice Mervin Mwanamwambwa, Justice Irene Muyovwe and Justice Hilda Chibomba, who disagreed with the rest of the Supreme bench in the majority judgment?
I would not be surprised if these three judges, including High Court Judge F. Chisanga, are victimized or deployed in undesirable manner to make them pay for touching the “Big Boys” of our dearest once Man of the people, man of action H.E Michael Chilufya Sata.
The State has been very determined to sort out the three judges and this is why they have kept Judge Chikopa for so long.
They knew this would come to pass and they know Judge Chikopa will do the job he was hired for.
If anything, this man is already compromised by the fact that he was accorded five star hospitality in Hotels and luxurious villas in Zambia, eating free food, drinks and a good perk for his family back home.
Surely even if there was a genuine case to probe, can such a man be trusted to conduct a fair and independent investigation?
The Acting Chief Justice owes a lot to President Sata, otherwise she is nowhere near that office by qualification.
It’s only Sata who can keep her in an acting position for this long defying all professional advice.
Her Ladyship has passed her usefulness at the helm of our Judiciary.
[pullquote]She would have emphasized the silent law on separation of powers that a Judicial Complaint Commission is there to serve a purpose and the Executive need to respect all procedures set in disciplining erring Judges.[/pullquote]
If indeed she had anything worth being in that office for, the nation would have been granted a tribunal to probe Hon. Sylvia Masebo over the ZAWA debacle.
If Justice Chibesakunda was useful, she could have accented the independence of the Judiciary by seeing rationale in Justice Flugency Chisanga’s judgment.
She would have emphasized the silent law on separation of powers that a Judicial Complaint Commission is there to serve a purpose and the Executive need to respect all procedures set in disciplining erring Judges.
With this judgment, how is the independence of the Judiciary guaranteed and where is the separation of powers?
With the fore-going, the civil society and all well-meaning Zambians need to unite to demand for Justice in the Chikopa tribunal.
Comprehensive Judicial reforms have to be instituted starting with the removal of Justice Chibesakunda and her deputy.
CHILUFYA TAYALI
Executive Director
The Zambian Voice
Livingstone City Council workers removing makeshift structures for street vendors from Mosi-oa-tunya road in Livingstone on Friday to promote cleanliness in the city ahead of the August 2013 UNWTO conference
MOSI-OA-TUNYA Road, which is the main street in Livingstone, is currently clear and looking clean following Tourism and Arts Minister Sylvia Masebo’s action last Friday to remove the vendors.
The town centre component of the street, which was previously overcrowded with different types of street vendors, currently has free space for people to freely move from one place to another.
By yesterday (Sunday), the street was still without vendors and it looked clean unlike the previous situation.
On Friday last week, Ms Masebo accompanied by officials from her Ministry as well as the Livingstone City Council and Zambia Police Service removed vendors from Mosi-oa-tunya Road and assured them of continued Government support to continue trading elsewhere.
About 146 vendors have since been relocated to Green Market opposed the former Provincial Administration Block for Southern Province.
A Livingstone resident Malvin Chitiyo said the removal of vendors was timely and long overdue as the street was becoming very dirty on daily basis.
Mr Chitiyo, who was one of the youths who helped Ms Masebo and her delegation to get of vendors, said Livingstone was Zambia’s tourist capital and it was therefore important that the city was kept clean at all time.
“If any vendor feels offended from this operation, it means such a person is dirty even where he or she comes from.
I am strongly in support of this operation which we have been waiting for a long time. This is a tourist capital and we must keep the city clean. Vendors were making the city dirty and it is clean now,” Mr Chitiyo said.
He said the nearby Victoria Falls Town in Zimbabwe was regarded cleaner than Livingstone City in Zambia because vendors were not allowed to overcrowd the street.
Mr Chitiyo urged Livingstone residents to be focussed and change their mindset so that they begin embracing cleanliness.
Some tourists from Netherlands, who were witnessed the removing of vendors from Mosi-oa-tunya Road on Friday afternoon, praised Ms Masebo and the Government for the action taken.
They said the safety of tourists and other visitors was currently guaranteed as they would move in the street freely.
United Street Vendors Foundation (USVF) Southern Region chairperson Patrick Mubanga said the removal of vendors was welcome and long-overdue.
Mr Mubanga however asked the Government to allow vendors to operate in other streets away from Mosi-oatunya Road as well as at Green Market as toilets were still being constructed at the designated trading centre.
And Ms Masebo asked vendors to put themselves into groups depending on the type of the business they were engaged in and come up with business ideas so that Government could assist them.
Addressing the vendors at Livingstone City Council on Friday afternoon, Ms Masebo said the Government had a tourism fund to empower citizens including vendors interested to invest in tourism.
“We must start trading in an orderly and proper manner instead of cooking food in the streets where there are no toilets.
We had to remove you immediately because we don’t have enough time before the UNWTO General Conference as we only have 90 days before the event. Inspectors from UNWTO headquarters will be coming here this month to check we and we may lose the opportunity to host this big event if you overcrowding the city and raising security concerns,” she said.
Ms Masebo asked the police to enforce the law and ensure that vendors did not return to the streets after their removal.
Secretary General of the ruling Patriotic Front (PF) Wynter Kabimba
Justice Minister Wynter Kabimba has said calls for Malawian Judge Lovemore Chikopa to go back to his country are misplaced and unjustified.
Mr Kabimba said those criticising Judge Chikopa’s engagement to head the tribunal to probe the conduct of three suspended judges, did not mean well for the country but portrayed cheap politicking on issues of national interest.
Mr Kabimba was reacting to Heritage Party leader, Godfrey Miyanda who said that Judge Chikopa should go back to Malawi and that his stay in the country was a cost to government.
“When the tribunal was not sitting, General Miyanda was among those that called for his return to Malawi and now that the tribunal has been given a go-ahead, he is still calling for the same thing. What does he want? It does not make sense at all,” Mr Kabimba said.
Last year, President Michael Sata suspended Supreme Court Judge Phillip Musonda, and two High Court judges, Nigel Mutuna and Charles Kajimanga over their conduct in a civil case involving, the Development Bank of Zambia as complainant, and The Post Newspapers Limited, Mutembo Nchito and JNC Holdings Limited as defendants.
The tribunal comprised, Judge Chikopa, as chairperson, and members Justices Thomas Ndhlovu and Naboth Mwanza, as well as Chipili Katunasa as secretary.
On Friday, Mr Malila when asked, whether or not the Executive would heed to the advise by the Supreme Court bench of seven headed by acting Chief Justice Lombe Chibesakunda, not to proceed with the tribunal to probe alleged professional misconduct of the trio, he said the State would proceed with the tribunal as it was on firm ground to do so.
Mr Malila said the advice by the Supreme Court Judges in their ruling on Thursday was a mere recommendation which the Executive was free to heed to or to the contrary.
He said the majority judgment that was passed on Thursday was clear to the effect that President Michael Sata was within his powers to suspend the judges and subsequently appoint a tribunal to probe them.
Judges Musonda, Mutuna and Kajimanga had in May 2013 sought a judicial review in respect of the decision made by President Sata on April 30, 2012, to appoint a tribunal to investigate them.
Ms Justice Chisanga had stayed the proceedings after Solicitor General Musa Mwenye on May 17, 2012 filed an application asking the court to set aside an ex-parte order granted to suspended judges on May 16, 2012 for leave to apply for judicial review.
But Mr Malila was dissatisfied about Ms Justice Chisanga’s ruling and appealed against the whole ruling delivered on May 24, 2012.
Zesco United moved into second place today after a resounding 4-0 away win over troubled Forest Rangers in a Ndola derby played at the Trade Fair Grounds.
The three-time champions jumped from eighth to second replacing Nchanga Rangers who collapsed to a 3-1 loss at the hands of struggling Lime Hotspurs in the lunchtime kickoff at the same venue.
Zesco took a 2-0 halftime lead thanks to strikes from Winston Kalengo and Maybin Mwaba in the 11th and 20th minute respectively.
Kangwa Chileshe added Zesco’s third goal in the 61st minute before Kalengo completed his brace seven minutes later.
Zesco are now four points behind Nkana on 15 and 19 points respectively from eight games played.
Forest meanwhile exchange places with Lime with the latter moving from bottom to 15th while the former slump into 16th place.
A Special council meeting held by Bemba Traditional Councillors (BTC) has resolved to ignore President Michael Sata’s decision to put the Mwamba chieftaincy on hold.
President Sata had decreed that Henry Sosala should not be referred to as Senior Chief Mwamba of the Bemba people in Kasama until controversy surrounding the chieftaincy settles.
The meeting called Ichenje, held in late Chief Chitimukulu’s area, was attended by traditional councillors called Bashi Lubemba and the caretaker of the Chitimuluku paramount chieftaincy, Chief Chimba, resolved that Mr Sata’s actions were eroding the powers of Bashi Lubemba who are responsible for making royal appointments or dethronements.
Sources that attended the meeting said the Bashi Lubmeba emphatically maintained they still consider Henry Sosala the duly appointed senior Chief Mwamba.
When contacted acting Chief Chitimukulu, Chilufya, confirmed the resolutions but said bashi Lubemba would travel from Mungwi on Monday to give the official position on the matter to the Press.
Mr Sosala was however, quoted on Radio Mano saying the position of Senior Chief Mwamba had not made him royal. Speaking in his native ichiBemba, Mr Sosala said: “Ine nafyelwe imfumu kabili nkafwa imfumu.
Tekweba ukuti nasangwike imfumu elo naile pali bu Mwamba. Nafyalwa ku bafyala imfumu.”
When translated Mr Sosala said he was born a royal and would die a royal as his mother was a queen mother who gave birth to chiefs.
President Sata in a letter addressed to Traditional Affairs Minister Nkandu Luo said it was not the intention of his administration to meddle in chief’s succession processes but would not stand aside and watch confusion take root.
Mr Sosala had been quoted by a daily newspaper as having said he had not undergone traditional initiation ritual are required by custom.
The Labour and Social Security Minister, Fackson Shamenda who is also Ndola Central Member of Parliament says the Patriotic Front government is an inclusive government which wants to have ministers from all corners of the country.
Speaking when he addressed heads of government departments at Council chamber in Itezhi tezhi district yesterday, Mr Shamenda said there is nothing wrong for people from other parties scramble for government positions.
“There has been a lot of criticisms that we are causing by-elections by poaching opposition members of parliament. That is not true. The appointments are meant to ensure PF government has ministers from all corners of this country,” Mr Shamenda said.
He said that the party has a lot of Legislators whom it can appoint in various government positions but they are looking at inclusiveness.
“There so many good and hard working ministers like Dr Patrick Chikusu who is not being harassed by his party and he has continued working for the people of Zambia,” Mr Shamenda said.
He also said that his party cannot stop opposition members of parliament who want to join PF because they have a right to belong to any party.
Mr Shamenda also defended the appointment of more deputy ministers by his government saying that without them work would be very difficult for cabinet ministers.
“We need deputy ministers because those people help us a lot. We cannot be everywhere every time and deputy ministers help take government presence when cabinet ministers are not able to reach certain places where government presence is required,” he said.
And Acting Senior Agriculture officer, Petronela Lubasi said that government has not been confirming people who have been acting for a long time.
Ms Lubasi said that many people have upgraded their qualifications but have not been elevated or confirmed and have been acting perpetually.
But Mr Shamenda said that government is working out modalities to address those issues adding that public services will now be an enviable place to work in due to continuous PF government’s policy to improve conditions of civil servants.
He said that the government from September will be paying their lowest worker K3,200 and challenged private institutions to match up with the government standard on paying their workers.
10-man Nchanga Rangers capitulated in the last five minutes of the second half to crash 3-1 away at the Trade Fair Grounds in Ndola and hand bottom placed Lime Hotspurs their first win of the season.
Second placed Nchanga were all over Lime for most of 85 minutes and took a deserved lead in the 70th minute through winger Alex Ngonga who headed in a corner.
However 10 minutes later, Ngonga was sent off for a punching an opponent inside the box as they lined up for a Nchanga corner.
Nchanga were denied second goal in the 84th minute when Kasonde Bwalya headed in the ball but it ruled out for offside by Wellington Kaoma.
A minute later, Mwelwa Mendela headed in equaliser to beat goalkeeper Rabson Muchelenganga.
Lameck Kafwaya put Lime ahead in the 87th minute with a fine volley past Muchelenganga.
Dead on 90 minutes, Brian Mwila thumps in left footed shot from close range to send Nchanga to their second league defeat of the season.
Ex-Power Dynamos defender Zifa Nkhoma says under-fire Beston Chambeshi should not be fired.
Power on Saturday lost 2-1 to a resurgent Roan United in what is a stuttering start to the 2013 season dropping from eighth to 11th place after that defeat on 10 points and with two wins all season.
“You can’t fire Beston he is a very good coach,” Nkhoma said.
“The problem is most of the players at Power Dynamos they have grown big headed that’s why they can’t win.
“They should respect the coach, official and the supporters.
“They are getting a lot of money but they are not concerned about football.”
Chambeshi last season failed to retain both the league and Barclays Cup to finish second behind Zanaco after taking full charge from Fordson Kabole who was fired at the start of the 2012 campaign.
“If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. All these blessings will come on you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God.”
(Deuteronomy 28:1–2, NIV)
TODAY’S WORD from Joel and Victoria
God rewards the people who seek after Him. Every time you obey His Word, His blessing will follow. If you’ll learn to obey Him in the small things, if you learn to pass the small tests, there’s no limit to how high God will take you. The scripture says, “When we fully obey God, blessings will chase us down and overtake us.” You can’t outrun the good things of God.
Always remember, when you obey God in the small, He will release big blessings. He has big opportunities, new levels of favor, healing, restoration, vindication, promotion, planned in your future. As you stay faithful to Him, you’re going to step into the fullness of your destiny and be all that God has created you to be!
A PRAYER FOR TODAY
Father, today I bless and lift You up because You are worthy. I dedicate myself to You afresh and anew. Keep me close to You and help me see Your goodness as I obey Your Word and honor You in all that I do in Jesus’ name. Amen. — Joel & Victoria Osteen
