President Michael Sata has with immediate re-aligned two districts in Southern Province in a bid to improve service delivery and public administration. In a memorandum to the Acting Secretary to the Cabinet Mr. Evans Chibiliti, President Sata directed that a Government Gazette Notice be issued to move the recently created Chirundu District from Southern Province to Lusaka and Itezhi Tezhi District to Central Province.

The President consequently directed that the Surveyor-General moves in quickly to align the boundaries of the two districts on the the new provinces to which they have been re-located. The re-alignment is part of the President’s robust programme to give practical expression to the decentralisation programme and eventual devolution of power to districts.

“In line with our Government policy guided by the Patriotic Front Manifesto, we consider local government as a central feature of the party’s broader aspiration of a well devolved power structure where decision-making processes are as close as possible to the people,”the President said.

The President takes a view that the Decentralisation Policy will only show results once practical steps are taken to properly position both geographical and administrative systems.

“It is a fact that a district such as Itezhi Tezhi is difficult to administer and pose huge logistical problems to be serviced because it is poorly located from the central adminstration point in Southern Province,”President Sata said.

“For instance, to efficiently access Itezhi Tezhi, people have to pass through Lusaka and Central provinces. It is for this reason that this Government sees an urgent need to discontinue this sad scenario which has denied our people the much needed development for many years now.”

Meanwhile, President Sata has appointed Mr. Evans Chibiliti as Secretary to the Cabinet subject to Parliament’s approval. And the Head of State has promoted Youth and Sports permanent secretary Mr. Teddy Mulonga as the new Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet in-charge of Administration.

And the opposition United Party for National Development (UPND) has accused President Michael Sata of attempting to redraw the map of the country in an effort to gain political advantage.

UPND Chairman for elections Ackson Sejani says there is no way President Sata can decide to move Chirundu from Southern Province to Lusaka province without consultation from necessary stakeholders.

Mr. Sejani says the PF government should be careful with their maneuvers stating that if not stopped, they the potential bring about strife in the country.

He told a media briefing in Lusaka this morning that President Sata is only making such decisions to reward chiefs that supported him during elections with paramount Chief positions.

Mr. Sejani says the UPND will use every mean to ensure that the shifting of Chirundu to southern province is not done.

And Siavonga Member of Parliament Kennedy Hamudulu says the people of southern province will not accept any changes in the province.

Mr. Hamudulu says if the government saw it fit to make changes, it would have followed the right procedure of consultation instead of using the back door.

The Patriotic Front (PF) government is alleged to be in the process of moving Chirundu from being part of Southern province to Lusaka province.

QFM

The Help stars Emma Stone as Skeeter, Viola Davis as Aibileen and Octavia Spencer as Minny-three very different, extraordinary women in Mississippi during the 1960s, who build an unlikely friendship around a secret writing project that breaks societal rules and puts them all at risk. From their improbable alliance a remarkable sisterhood emerges, instilling all of them with the courage to transcend the lines that define them, and the realization that sometimes those lines are made to be crossed-even if it means bringing everyone in town face-to-face with the changing times.

PROS

• Very talented cast
• Great story line
• Gives a good depiction of the racism that took place. In one scene the maid is not allowed to use the inside bathroom in the main house ,she is told to use the one outside inspite of the fact that there was a heavy rain storm.

FAVORITE QUOTE

Aibileen: No one had ever asked me, what it felt like to be me. Once I told the truth about that, I felt free.

Aibileen: God says we need to love our enemies. It’s hard to do, but it can start by telling the truth.

CONCLUSION

The Help is a very touching movie based in Mississippi during the civil rights movement . The maids use the book as a way of getting their voices header about how they are often mistreated and disrespected. The movie takes things in both the black maids perspective as well as the white peoples perspective. So it does not feel like a one sided story

The movie has been nominated for 3 Academy awards ; Best picture , Best Actress ,Best supporting Actress

Octavia Spencer (Minnie) has said “I think this movie transcends the time period that it’s portraying. If this project makes us go into our daily lives and makes us view those who facilitate our lives — whether it’s your personal assistant, your gardener, your cleaning lady, whoever — if you aren’t treating them with a level of respect, then, hopefully, after seeing this movie, you will understand the importance of that.”

RATING
5 out of 5

TRANSPARENCY International Zambia (TIZ) president Reuben Lifuka has alleged that the Zambia Railways concession was awarded in dubious circumstances and has proposed that the Patriotic Front government should consider cancelling the deal.

Mr Lifuka said it will not help to pretend that all is well with the Zambia Railways concession and the matter should be resolved.

“The PF government should seriously consider cancelling this concession and finding other ways of commercialising the railway sector,” Mr Lifuka said in statement released yesterday.

Recently, Government cancelled concessions and agreements on the operation and maintenance of Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) scanners at border posts and others related to operations of border points at Kasumbalesa and five other borders.

He said TIZ is aware that the railway concession has not proceeded as envisaged and “the company is now nothing but a cash cow for some people”.

Mr Lifuka challenged the Minister of Transport, Works, Supply and Communication to release the reports of the inspector of railways on the performance of the railway concession.

Mr Lifuka said his organisation welcomes the measures taken after the release of the ZRA commission report and prodded Government to thoroughly investigate the issues raised in the report and take legal or administrative action against all erring officers and public leaders.

He expressed disappointment that the Kasumbalesa concession was primarily an unsolicited bid for a project of high national security and importance.

“We find no justification why Government did not proceed to open up the tender to promote transparency in this particular transaction. The manner in which this bid was handled raises more questions than answers,” Mr Lifuka said.

He said it was worrying that Government gave the concessionaire a 14-year lease for 100 hectares of land at Kasumbalesa border and it is shocking that title deeds were issued to the concessionaire, in total contravention of the concession agreement.

Mr Lifuka said it is interesting that the border concession involved primarily one company which was using different names, as reported by the ZRA Commission of Inquiry.

The ZRA commission report revealed that the company used the name Baran for the dry ports and Kasumbalesa bids, and used Zambia (IP) Border Crossing Company Limited during the signing of the contract with Government for the Kasumbalesa concessions.

The company assumed another name – Zambia Kasumbalasa Venture Company during the commencement of operations.

The report says the company was called Zambia (IP) Border Crossing Company when bidding for the five borders but changed the name to Five Border Post Company at the time of signing the contract.
The name changed again to Five Border Post Group, after it took over the construction of Nakonde border post.

Mr Lifuka wondered why the people behind the projects found it necessary to keep changing names and why Government allowed itself to deal with a group of people who were not consistent.

Mr Lifuka advised President Sata to authorise the Minister of Finance to immediately make the ZRA Commission of Inquiry report public, in the same way he did for the Zamtel report.

“The Zambian people deserve to know the full contents of this report. There should be no sacred cows in this process,” he said.

Mr Lifuka said Government should not renege on its decision to cancel all border concessions and warned the PF government to guard against possible corrupt maneuvers by some unscrupulous individuals.

“TIZ is following this case keenly and we will not hesitate to expose and condemn any public officials who will support any unscrupulous activities which impact negatively on the lives of ordinary people,” Mr Lifuka said.

He called on Government to set in motion a process of overhauling the public procurement system, saying it is time loyal and dedicated men and women are given the responsibility of public procurement.

[Zambia Daily Mail]

Sunzu scored the opening goal in Zambia’s 3 – 0 bashing of Sudan .

Zambia will be facing Ghana in the semi-finals . This will be the toughest match for the team in the competition so far .

Sunzu began his career with his brother Felix Sunzu at Afrisport FC and joined 1995 with him to the ex club of his father Konkola Blades. After a super performance in midfield at the 2007 U-20 World Cup, the 19 year old was invited for trials at English side Reading The Championship side was keen on securing him on longer deal but due to a work permit hitch, things did not materialize. He signed an loan contract for LB Châteauroux in September 2008 and turned after the season end on 30 June 2009 back to his club Zanaco FC. Sunzu currently plays for TP Mazembe of Democratic Republic of Congo and was sent off in their opening 2010 FIFA Club World Cup game.

International career

He made his debut against Botswana In a 2009 African Championship of Nations Qualifier. Sunzu helped the Zambia national under-20 football team to a 1–1 draw against Saudi Arabia with a goal. Sunzu presented his country at 2007 U-20 World Cup in Canada. He is included in the squad for the on-going AFCON.

BY KAPA187

National Housing Authority Chief Executive Officer, Elias Mpondela has resigned. National Housing Authority Chairman Mundia Muya announced that Mr Mpondela has left the institution to pursue other interests. Dr Muya said this in a statement issued to ZNBC news in Lusaka.

He said that although National Housing Authority regretted Mr Mponde’s resignation, the board appreciated the valuable contribution that he rendered to the institution.

Mr Mpondela was appointed Chief Executive Officer of National Housing Authority in August 2009.

Last month, workers at National Housing Authority (NHA) in Lusaka downed tools demanding, among other things, the dissolution of the board and removal of top management officials for allegedly “bringing problems” to the organisation.

According to NHA union branch chairperson, Oscar Mwananyanda, the main cause of the work-stoppage was to push management to pay the workers their commutation of leave days. This was to enable them attend to some of their children’s school requirements as the current education allowance was inadequate.

The workers were demanding that Mr Mpondela, human resources manager and director of finance, among other senior staff, be investigated for allegedly “bringing problems at the organisation”.

Mr Mwananyanda cited, among other problems, the alleged unnecessary trips abroad by senior management staff using company funds.

Their other complaint was that employees were being denied salary advances when faced with problems.The workers accused management of non-remittance of Pay-As-You-Earn to the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) as well as contributions to the National Pensions Scheme Authority (NAPSA) even after making deductions from workers salaries.

ZNBC

By Maurice Makalu

I thought I could share some important information from around Africa about the FORMER owner of Zamtel, in case some of you miss them. And just by the way, I would like to appeal to those who have been scared by some UK legal expert who said Zambia could pay as much as $3 billion in penalties to please chilax. He was just bluffing, probably because he wished he could make some money from Lap Green’s losing battle. You know lawyers and their marketing: threats and intimidation to the opponent!

If there are any who are indeed scared by that expert, it is simply because they have not read the sound legal arguments, facts and exhibits in the Sebastian Zulu report. So their ignorance is causing the fear and it is being exacerbated by politicians of doom and gloom. If not that then they are scared simply because they feel inferior to “UK people.” So it is “UK” that is scaring them.

Here is Lap Green for you….from around Africa.

1. UGANDA – 16 Dec 2011

“Uganda Telecom Ltd (UTL) will receive capital from the Libya Africa Investment Portfolio Green Network (LAP Green Network), which owns 69% of the telco, according to local news source The Observer. LAP Green Network’s new board chairman Wafik Shater said ‘We are currently looking at UTL’s critical funding need for the remainder of this year. After ascertaining the actual funds required, we will inject them into our operations here.’ UTL has suffered indirectly as a result of sanctions imposed on LAP Green Network by the UN during Libya’s civil war, worsening the telco’s already substantial debts.”

Lap Green took over UTL in July 2007. So, by the time of UN sanctions in March 2011, UTL under Lap Green management was ALREADY in WORSENING substantial debts. In March 2011 UTL’s network was disconnected from MTN Uganda over $8.27 million in disputed interconnection fees. Service has resumed but the matter is still in court. In September Airtel Uganda threatened to follow suit, over a further $4.2 million in payments.

So when you hear anybody say Lap Green Uganda is a success story, know they are just lying. Pray for them to show some love for mother Zambia.

2. RWANDA – April 2011

“Rwanda is looking for suitors for national carrier Rwandatel after the government stripped Libya’s LAP Green Networks operating license last month (March 2011). The Rwandan government stripped LAP Green Networks of the license for failing to meet key performance targets in terms of investment, network roll-out, coverage and quality of service. Although Rwandatel acquired its operating license in 2007, it only started mobile operations in December 2008.”

UN Sanctions were imposed on Libya on March 29,2011, so they were not the cause for Lap Green’s failure to pay. As at January 2012, a Rwandan court ordered that Rwandatel be liquidated. Lap Green is joining the line of chancers to take over Rwandatel.

3. NIGER – June 2011:

“Niger’s government has canceled an agreement for LAP Green Network of Libya to buy 51 percent of state-owned telecommunications companies Sonitel and Sahel Com, said Salifou Labo Bouche, communications minister. We are currently looking for another buyer,” the minister said on national television yesterday. The decision comes after the government “waited in vain” for a payment from the Libyan company, he said.”

The agreement was signed in Jan 2011, so for 6 months, Lap Green couldn’t pay. We can’t even use the excuse of a civil war because in Jan 2011, Libya was peacefully under Gadhaffi. Only Tunisia was in flames.

4. ZAMBIA – January 2012

So if Lap Green is such a calamity in other countries, how did it manage to succeed so quickly in Zambia? Several reasons:

(a) Zamtel had the best infrastructure amongst all of Lap Green’s acquisitions in Africa.

This is really the main reason. This is shown by the fact that when ZDA announced the privatisation of Zamtel in mid 2010, it said Lap green would invest $127 million over three years following privatisation. Mr. Hans Poulsen, then CEO, was quoted as saying, “The investment will mainly go into restructuring the company; acquiring new technology, building a 3G network, extending network coverage and at the same time re-launch the brand.”

However, in January 2012, newly appointed Chairman of LAP Green, Wafik Alshater, said, “Zamtel is now a Zambian success story. SinceLAP Green’s acquisition, the telecommunications company has attracted over 400,000 new customers and grown its market share from 3% to 11%. Lap Green has committed itself to investing US$129 million (ZK670 billion) in Zamtel over two years so as to create a truly competitive and world class telecommunications company.”

This means by January 2012, that $129 million investment was yet to be done. So the success from 2010 to date was on already existing Zamtel infrastructure.

(b) This best infrastructure was given to them on a silver platter.

In addition to receiving the gift of $64.25 million (money for 25% shares) from government to fund its first year operations, government settled its telephone bills which at acquisition amounted to $7 million and at the time of the Zulu report, only $100,000 was outstanding. So in just over a year, government gave Lap Green $71 million free of charge. On top of that, it cancelled tax liabilities amounting to $100 million. Furthermore, Lap Green did not pay the $257 million in full. Instead $64 million of that was to be paid as equity capital over three years.

So who on earth can fail to succeed when there is free money coming from all over?

(c) Zamtel only needed to retrench, not to “desperately” recapitalise, to become profitable. So whoever would have had the guts to fire its employees would have succeeded.

As at March 2010, Zamtel revenue was K385 billion, its staff costs were K253 billion. This was 65% of revenues compared to industry average of 25%. The loss at the same date was K104.8 billion.

So all somebody needed to do was to fire the excess 40% staff costs. This would have translated into cost savings of K154 billion (40% of revenue). The $71 million that was given to Lap Green could then have been channeled into retrenchment packages. Zamtel would have instantly become profitable, like it did under Lap Green, and the other creditors it had would have been settled, including the cancelled $100 million tax liabilities.

5. ZAMTEL: BEST PRIVATISATION DEAL IN AFRICA???!!!

Given the above, what did those politicians and “experts” mean when they told us to celebrate and be proud, saying, “Zamtel was the best telecoms privatization deal in Africa?”

They meant that out of 10, some got zeros, ones and twos; we were the only one with a three: the best among the worst.

6. LIBYA – 27 January 2012

Libya is undecided on the future of its African investments. Mohammed Abdul Aziz, Libya’s deputy foreign minister, admitted on Thursday that the National Transitional Council (NTC) does not yet know the exact extent of Libyan investments on the continent.

Earlier this month, Mustafa Abdul Jalil, the chairman of the NTC, said: “There may be investments that would be better for the Libyan people for them to be closed”. Abdul Jalil added, however, that Libya would increase its investments in Sudan, particularly in agriculture and property. “Reason and justice require us to direct agricultural investments close to Libya instead of the Far East or Central Asia,” he said.

7. CONCLUSION

Now you know. There is nothing to miss about Lap Green. Let us just calculate their change from whatever they spent, give them back and remain with OUR Zamtel. But also, let us not rush to mass re-employee in the name of “creating jobs.” That would be foolish!

Last night Chipolopolo made Zambia proud by convincingly beating Sudan, 3 goals to 0 ,and qualifying to the semi-finals for the first time in 16 years .

The  goals came from Sunzu in the 15th minute , Katongo in the 64th through a penalty, and Chamanga , coming in as a substitute for Mayuka ,in the 86th minute.

Here is a look at Chamanga’s career.

CAREER

Chamanga made his international debut on 26 February, 2005 against Botswana and five months later he scored his first international goal in the COSAFA Cup semifinal against South Africa. His goal against Bafana Bafana earned him his first move abroad as the then South African Premier Soccer League side Bush Bucks signed him in 2005. After Bush Bucks were relegated in 2006 he signed with Supersport United where he was the club’s top goalscorer for the 06/07 season.

He was part of the Zambian 2006 African Nations Cup team, who finished third in group C in the first round of competition, thus failing to secure qualification for the quarter-finals. He netted Zambia’s opener against Sudan (2008 African Nations Cup) in the Chipolopolo’s 3-0 win. Chamanga also scored Zambia’s first goal at the 2006 African Nations Cup against Tunisia.

He scored a record-breaking five goals for Swallows in a 6-2 league win against Platinum Stars on December 9, 2007. This included a hat-trick between the 20th and the 24th minute.

In April 2008, Chamanga moved to Chinese Super League club Dalian Shide, after he scored 14 goals in ABSA Premier League for Moroka Swallows in the previous season.

BY KAPA187

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
“They saw the works of the Lord, his wonderful deeds in the deep”
(Psalm 107:24, NIV)

TODAY’S WORD from Joel and Victoria
The scripture says is Psalm 107:23, “They that go down to the sea and do business in deep waters, they will see the wonders of God.” Friend, you and I were created to do business in deep waters. In other words, we’re not supposed to have little dreams or little plans. We are supposed to have big dreams. We are supposed to go out into the deep things God has for us.

But understand, when you’re out there in the deep waters, you can’t touch the ground. You can’t see the shoreline, and at times, it can get a little rocky. You may not always see how things are going to work out. But, the scripture tells us that deep calls to deep. In other words, God is the one who has called you to the deep waters. He is with you, and He knows there are deep things on the inside of you. Remember, in deep waters, you are not alone. God is with you, and He’s causing those deep things inside of you to come forth.

If you feel like you are out in the deep today, if you feel like you are overwhelmed, remember, you are in the right place and God is with you. You will see His wonderful deeds in the deep, and you will fulfill the plan He has in store for you.

A PRAYER FOR TODAY
Father in heaven, I surrender every area of my life to You. I hunger for every single thing You have in store for me. I choose to trust You out in the deep waters knowing that You have good things in store for me in Jesus’ name. Amen.
— Joel & Victoria Osteen