Poetry is an art form that needs to be developed and brought to the spotlight .  To start off this series we have two poems

Dear husband by Androphene Mulali

” Dear husband

You were my Mr. Right

In my eyes you could do no wrong

I was so young and head over heels, blinded by my love

I couldn’t see that all it was, was the fast tracking wheels

To a place men feverishly call hell

Well…I call home

All I wanted was for us to marry

I couldn’t wait to be your wife

Cook clean, look after you and your children to carry

How naïve and juvenile my love for you was

I did not realise the veracity if the matter

Which is that the gravity if this natural disaster you call a marriage

Quickly lost its sanctity

I did not grasp the true essence of your stupidity

Before I came to realise my own stupidity, after saying I do to a man who obviously didn’t

A man who won’t, or is it that you can???…STOP HITTING ME!??

The signs were there, but ignorance is bliss, so I ignored them

Instead I blamed myself and made excuses for you,coz you said “baby am sorry,il never do it again it’s a one time folly”

I couldn’t bear the thought of walking away from what we had spent years building

Wait or is it what I spent years building??

Cause now that everything is clearer, I know for a fact you didn’t put in jack

You are such a jack… STOP HITTING ME!!

They say appetite comes with eating, but your appetite for my tears, my disgrace, and my pain is insatiable

And now my face is not sociable, because it looks like it was run over by a train, what do you gain??

My mother once told me that it was a good horse that never stumbled and like a good wife I never grumbled

But you doubled your punches

Was loving me like a real man loves his wife so difficult??

For the only love between us was that between your fist and my face

Your foot in my stomach, my womb became a tomb in which my child was destined never to leave alive

STOP HITTING ME!!

Is it my fate to die at the hands of a rake?

A Scorned bitter woman, full of hate

Am gathering my last shred of self respect

My love beaten, dying and am leaving you

So watch me walk away, my head held high

My hips swaying to the sound of my heels, no jezebel

But am sure as the sun that you are going to hell

I guess this is my valediction to end this addiction

So cry me a river or until your eyes pop out, I won’t stay

So please stop hitting yourself, coz now you realise that your folly was not a folly in itself until you lost the only woman you ever truly loved

Wife… “

DARE TO BELIEVE By Mwape Mumba

” Remove the veil of deception from your eyes
as they come to you differently disguised

As they secretly and differently have improvised

their malicious deceptions that cover your eyes.

Get up and rise

its your choice to be knowledgeable and to be wise

With belief their is no surprise

So learn…

So that u devise a master plan that will better our lives

I echo the words

“get up stand up,stand up for your right,yes get up stand up and don’t give up he fight”

Once u are given this chance and once is the plight

To stand up and be strong in the fight for what is right,

As obvious as comes day so there comes night.

So don’t stop…

u understand me right?

Its a process to be monitored in total closeness that if u are not in line with your choices you end up giving in to total foolishness

So ask for grace

The veil of deception something that is there from the inception of life… taking you into a certain direction… Filled with joy and strife But its up to u, u hold it in your hands

So  make that decision…

Remove the veil and see the truth

So get up stand up, Stand up for what is right yea get up stand up and don’t give up the fight…

don’t give up the fight…”

By Kapa187

Government yesterday took to Parliament the Anti-Corruption Bill which is aimed at effecting amendments to the Abuse of Office clause.

Justice Minister, Sebastian Zulu, presented the Bill to Parliament for amendment.

The MMD government repealed the Anti-Corruption Act and removed the Abuse of Office clause, saying it was discriminatory against leaders and Government officials who engaged in personal businesses.

Mr Zulu is expected to present the Bill for second reading on March 23, this year.

The minister explained that the Bill would continue to provide for the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to have powers and functions for the prevention, detection, investigation and punishment of corrupt practices and related offences based on the rule of law.

Mr Zulu said the Bill would provide for the protection of witnesses, experts, victims and persons assisting the commission.

It would also provide for nullification of corrupt transactions, and payment of compensation for damages arising from corrupt activities.

The Bill repeals and replaces the Anti-Corruption Act 2010 and provides for matters connected with or incidental to the foregoing.

[Times of Zambia]

The opposition United Party for National Development (UPND) has challenged party members allegedly planning to challenge party president Hakainde Hichilema to come out in the open instead of causing instability in the party.

UPND secretary general Winston Chibwe said that anyone who has plans of challenging Mr. Hichilema should wait for the party convention.

Mr. Chibwe said that it was cowardice behavior to rush to the media to spread unwarranted information about the party president when the right channel of dialogue can be followed.

Speaking in an interview with QFM, Mr. Chibwe said that the UPND is a democratic party and any person with intentions to stand on any party position should patiently wait for the party to hold its convention where new leaders will be put in office.

QFM

A campaign to bring accused war criminal Joseph Kony, the fugitive head of Uganda’s Lord’s Resistance Army rebels, to justice has gone viral on the Internet.

The hashtag ‘#stopkony’ was among top trending topics on Twitter on Wednesday.

The campaign was launched by the non-profit group Invisible Children with an emotional 30-minute video which has been viewed more than 7.3 million times on YouTube and attracted more than 150,000 comments.

‘Invisible Children’ and ‘Uganda’ were also among the top trending topics on Twitter on Wednesday. A number of celebrities joined the campaign by tweeting links to the video and promoting the campaign.

“JOSEPH KONY, leader of the Lords Resistance Army is located in Uganda, and abducts children to murder their parents. He takes girls and forces them to be sex slaves. He has abducted over 30,000 children and forces them to be soldiers. FEW know his name and even FEWER know his crimes. Make him FAMOUS. 99% of the world are not aware and without spreading awareness we will NOT be able to catch the rightful attention ”

Find out more in this video

Parliament yesterday unanimously approved the abolition and creation of Government ministries and departments recently established by President Michael Sata.

Vice- President, Guy Scott said the President had constitutional powers to realign Government ministries and departments to make them more effective.

Ministry of Education, Science and Vocational Training now becomes Ministry of Education, Science, Vocational Training and Early Education.

The other ministry created are the Ministry of Lands, Natural Resources and Environmental Protection. It was previously called Lands, Energy, and Water Development.

Ministry of Mines and Natural Resources is now called the Ministry of Mines, Energy and Water Development.

The Ministry of Local Government, Housing, Early Education and Environmental Protection has been changed to Ministry of Local Government and Housing.

Supporting the motion, leader of the opposition, Felix Mutati (MMD) said the decision by President Sata to abolish and establish the Government ministries and departments would foster efficiency in the civil service.

Mr Mutati, who is Lunte MP, said the opposition resolved to support the decision as it would streamline operations of the Government ministries and departments
[Times of Zambia]

By Fr Frank Bwalya (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR – GIZ)

Get Involved Zambia (GIZ) wishes to add its voice to the current debate in Zambia regarding appointment of “party cadres” to public service or government positions.

Before we state our position, we wish to make it clear that our understating of a “party cadre” is that he or she is a fulltime and devoted member of a political party who spends a lot of personal time and even resources in organizing and campaigning for their political party. We think this is the original good meaning.

Unfortunately, the term “party cadre” acquired a very negative connotation under the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) regime. It came to be associated with violence, incompetence,corruption, abuse of authority, intolerance, human rights violation and partisan narrow mindedness, to mention but a few.

Given the original good meaning of the term “party cadre” it is our considered view as GIZ that there is nothing wrong about appointing party cadres to public service or government positions as long as they possess the required qualifications. Such party cadres should also have a record of competence and they should be committed to national goals that transcend narrow partisan interests.

However, we wish to categorically state that belonging to the ruling party in itself should not be a qualification and neither should it be a disqualification. As such, we see no problem with President Michael Sata appointing loyal party cadres who organized the Patriotic Front (PF) and campaigned for this once minority party under very hostile conditions.

It should be appreciated that these party cadres fully share in the vision and programmes of the PF as expressed in their party manifesto which is the basis for the social contract that the PF party has signed with Zambians that gave them the mandate to govern.

It is not true that the practice of appointing cadres doesn’t happen elsewhere in the world. The truth of the matter is that it happens everywhere including India, America, England and many other so-called advanced democracies.

We think that even those who are against this practice today would do the same if given a chance to form government.

Against this background, it is our considered view that we need to insist on qualification, competence, professionalism and patriotism.

However, we oppose appointment of party cadres to constitutional offices such as that of Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and Solicitor General.

We also oppose appointing cadres to senior civil service positions such as that of Secretary to the Cabinet. Moreover,we believe that it is wrong to appoint party cadres to head vital state institutions such as the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC).

We are happy that President Michael Sata has not gone against this.

Finally, we urge Mr Sata to ensure that he embraces every principled Zambian who is ready to support his PF-led government. He should always conduct himself as a statesman and love everyone including those that want him to fail.

Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman has commended Zambia for embarking on a constitutional reform process with the end goal of strengthening democracy through a more even distribution of power.

Under Secretary Sherman has challenged the youth to remain engaged throughout the process.

She has also encouraged the Zambian government, Technical Committee, and National Assembly to work closely with civil society throughout the process, to educate Zambians about the implications of reform measures, and to interact substantively with all levels and regions of society in an inclusive dialogue that will result in a durable constitution that enjoys broad consensus, particularly young people.

During her visit, she met with head of the Constitutional Technical Committee, Chairman Annel Silungwe and met with national leaders, civil society, youth, prominent female leaders, and journalists.

The Under Secretary exchanged views, underscored U.S. interests, and explored ways to strengthen collaborative efforts that promote good governance, economic growth, regional security, social development, and human rights.
In her address, Under Secretary Sherman announced that the United States government plans to provide $1.26 million in new assistance aimed at strengthening good governance and supporting institutions working toward constitutional reform.

She noted that support would be offered to the Technical Committee, the National Assembly, and civil society organizations. Under Secretary Sherman said the United States seeks to support those working toward constitutional reform to find ways to bolster the capacity of civil society and public institutions, and to further the goal of ensuring peace and prosperity for all citizens

In her meeting with Vice President Guy Scott, Under Secretary Sherman lauded Zambia’s peaceful democratic transition as a model of democracy.

In her discussions, Under Secretary Sherman urged continued public engagement on issues related to shared foreign policy priorities, including transparent anti-corruption efforts focused on institutional reform and elimination of gender based violence.

Under Secretary Sherman is the highest ranking U.S. official to visit since Zambias peaceful democratic transition in September 2011.
Her visit highlights the long-term U.S. commitment to Africa and strengthens the strategic partnership between the United States and Zambia.

[QFM]

THE Registrar of Societies has rescinded the decision to de-register the MMD in the interest of good governance and democracy.

The MMD has engaged Hobday Kabwe & Company to help resolve the issue of close to K400 million in outstanding arrears from annual returns.

Registrar of Societies, Clement Andeleki, said Mr Kabwe had requested his office to see how best they could resolve the arrears which have accumulated since 1993.

He said in the interest of good governance and in order to prevent the declaration of 55 parliamentary seats vacant, his office would discuss other ways through which the K390 million could be settled.

“I have been approached by several stakeholders involved in good governance and democracy not to deregister the party as this would be an injury to the young democracy and the economy of the country more especially that we recently held elections,” he said.

He said his office had written several reminders to MMD from as far back as 1993 about its obligation to pay annual returns.

Mr Andeleki availed the Times of Zambia copies of the reminders which date back to 1993 with the most recent one being in 2007 when MMD was still in power.

He also availed the Times of Zambia copies of the application by the MMD to register 156 branches countrywide of which the Registrar of Societies gave the party certificates to this effect.

“All the documentation concerning these transactions is available and we have also forwarded the accumulated bills of the amount to the party lawyer who has since confirmed receipt,” he said.

He said the move was not politicall y motivated but was a requirement for the party to remit annual returns.

And copies of correspondence obtained by this newspaper indicate that the then Registrar of Societies in 1993, a Mr C.M. D. Zulu, wrote to the MMD on November 16, 1993 reminding the party that it had not submitted annual returns from the time it was registered on January 4, 1991.

“This circular serves to remind you to submit the same immediately failure to which will constitute penalties against office bearers,” the reminder read.

Another letter dated February 2, 2007 and signed by then Registrar of Societies, Jones Mwelwa, also reminded the MMD on the need to register its branches countrywide.

Mr Mwelwa said it was a legal requirement under Section 6 (1) of Cap 119 of the Laws of Zambia and SI No 48 of 2004, pursuant of rule No 22 of Section 38 of Cap 119 that all branches of registered societies or organisations, churches and political parties be registered by his office.

QFM