MINISTER of Information, Broadcasting and Tourism Given Lubinda says owners of online publications should state their identity to make it easier for aggrieved parties to seek redress.

He said publishers hiding their identity should not be allowed to tamper with freedom of speech and press freedom through online publications.

“I know some people are hiding in the fact that they cannot be reached. Everyone running a publication should declare where they are to be found. Cowards must not be allowed to interfere with freedom of speech,” Mr Lubinda said.

He said this when he appeared on a special programme on Zambezi FM in Livingstone yesterday.

Mr Lubinda said the attorney-general’s report on the legal framework within which online publications are operating will soon be presented to Cabinet to address the matter.

A few weeks ago, President Sata directed attorney-general Mumba Malila to investigate the legal framework in which online publications are operating in Zambia following complaints from the public about the stories some of them have been carrying.

The minister also reiterated his advice to the public media to always report fairly and professionally and always remember that they are run on public resources.

He said the public media should not take advantage of the latitude the Patriotic Front government has given them to write defamatory stories because the government will not bail them out in the event that they are found wanting.

[pullquote]He said the public media should not take advantage of the latitude the Patriotic Front government has given them to write defamatory stories because the government will not bail them out in the event that they are found wanting. [/pullquote]

Mr Lubinda said the public media should not use the press to settle political scores, but mirror the aspirations of the public.

“From our lesson during the 2011 campaigns, we know how the public media can be deceiving. We would like them to reflect the true aspirations of the people. I appeal to them to do one thing; report accurately, fairly and truthfully,” Mr Lubinda said.

Meanwhile, Mr Lubinda has called on all residents of Livingstone, including street vendors, to support the declaration of the city as a tourist capital. He said street vendors should control their vending.

Mr Lubinda said he wants to see an increase in the quality of tour operators in the city, as they are the ones who help to attract tourists to the capital.

He said despite Livingstone being the tourist capital of the country, it lacks professionally qualified personnel to run the tourism and hospitality industry.

And asked in a separate interview how much the current technical committee of experts on the constitution is getting, Mr Lubinda said it is not important to know the amount.

“It is not how much has been budgeted for, but the cost of getting the business done, that is what is most important,” Mr Lubinda said.

[Zambia Daily Mail]

The opposition MMD on the Copperbelt says calls to lift former President Rupiah Banda’s immunity are premature and unnecessary.

MMD Copperbelt Province Information and Publicity Secretary Yotam Mtayachalo said it is immature to call for the lifting of the the immediate past Republican President Banda ‘s immunity because there are no legitimate grounds to warrant such action.

The MMD further charged that former President Banda’s immunity can not be lifted over mere allegations unless a strong evidence was established against him.

Mr. Mtayachalo was saying this at a press briefing held at the Party’s secretariat in Kitwe today.

He has also advised Zambians and the ruling PF Government not to exert unnecessary political pressure on investigative wings of government so that they can do a good job.

However, Mr Mtayachalo said the MMD on the Copperbelt was in support of any well intended measure designed to fight corruption but measures put in place should not be meant to settle political scores in the name of fighting corruption.

He observed that it was clear that the majority of Zambians were against the culture of removing immunity of former presidents, a tendency that leaves them labeled as corrupt leaders which he observed that it was not health for the nation.

And Mr Mtayachalo advised the PF Government the channel the limited national resources which are being spent on commissions of inquiry to strengthen governance institution such as the Police, Drug Enforcement Commission, Anti-Corruption Commission and the Auditor General’s Office to help them operate effectively.

He further advised Government to put in place watertight financial controls to prevent public officers from abusing public funds.

Meanwhile, Mr Mtayachalo has cautioned Information and Broadcasting Tourism Minister Given Lubinda against using demeaning and provocative language against former Vice President George Kunda through the Public Media.

He said the former vice president and the MMD mighty have misused the public media but that does not mean that they should not be accorded space in the public the media.

Mean while Mr Mtayachalo has criticized government’s recently announce plans to start importing finished petroleum products from neighbouring Angola saying the move would destroy the business viability of Indeni Oil Refinery and Tazama Pipeline unless government puts in measures to protect the two companies from unfair completion.

He added that importation of finished petroleum products would lead to the closure of the two energy companies and other related companies that depend on these companies there by resulting in massive job loses in the country.

ZANIS

Former Education Minister Dora Siliya has finally appeared before a combined team of investigators at the former Task Force offices in Lusaka where she has been warned and cautioned.

And Zambia Police Service spokesperson Elizabeth Kanjela has clarified her earlier statement to the media stressing that the former Minister has being warned and cautioned not charged as earlier reported.

ZANIS reports that Ms. Siliya who was smartly dressed and looked composed appeared at the former Task Force offices at 08:30 hours in the company of Lusaka lawyer Lubinda Linyama.

Ms. Siliya who was questioned by a combined team of officers from the Drug Enforcement, Anti Corruption Commission and Zambia Police for over an hour refused to talk to journalists as she opted to remain mute amid pressing questions from the press.

Ms. Siliya who is also former Communications and Transport Minister was summoned to appear before the investigators to answer charges of irregularities surrounding the supply, delivery, installation and commissioning of the Traffic Management Surveillance Radar System at Kenneth Kaunda and Harry Mwaanga Nkmbula International airports in Lusaka and Livingstone respectively.

And Zambia Police Spokesperson Elizabeth Kanjela confirmed that Ms. Siliya appeared before the investigators and has since being warned and cautioned for abuse of authority of office contrary to section 99 of cap 87 the laws of Zambia.

Ms. Kanjela has clarified that the former Minister has being warned and cautioned not charged as earlier reported in the morning.

She explained that Ms. Siliya was summoned to appear before the investigators in relation to the awarding of tender of supply, delivery, installation and commissioning of the Traffic Management surveillance Radar System at Kenneth Kaunda (KK) and Harry Mwanga Nkumbula international airports.

[pullquote]She explained that Ms. Siliya was summoned to appear before the investigators in relation to the awarding of tender of supply, delivery, installation and commissioning of the Traffic Management surveillance Radar System at Kenneth Kaunda (KK) and Harry Mwanga Nkumbula international airports.[/pullquote]

She noted that this happened between July 2008 and July 2010, adding that investigations are still going on.

Ms. Siliya was last week was expected to appear before a team of combined investigators, but kept the officers waiting as her lawyer Sakwiba Sikota later informed the police that his client was unwell.

Ms. Siliya is allegedly to have ordered the cancellation of a duly awarded contract for supply, delivery, and installation and commissioning of ZATM-RADAR at KK and Harry Mwaanga Nkumbula international airports to accommodate SELEX Sistemi Integrati an Italian company through single sourcing.

ZANIS

An Australian woman has survived a terrifying fall after her bungee cord snapped during a 111-metre (364-feet) leap off Africa’s Victoria Falls Bridge, plunging her into the crocodile-infested Zambezi River below.

Erin Langworthy, who suffered only cuts and bruises in the fall on New Year’s Eve, said it was a “miracle” that she had survived the plunge into the rapids below the bridge, which borders Zambia and Zimbabwe. “It felt like I had been slapped all over,” the 22-year-old from Perth told Australia’s Channel Nine television.

Below is the Video footage showing the accident

EMPLOYEES at Kansanshi Mining Plc who are involved in the production of gold fear that their fertility could be affected by the rigorous infra-red searches they are subjected to every day.

The employees, who did not want to be named, said they are worried that their reproductive systems are under threat because of the unwarranted searches which expose them to radiation.

“We are subjected to searches almost every hour. There are always fears we can steal gold from the plant, so they search us several times,” one miner said.

They complained that even when miners go to answer the call of nature, they are exposed to an infra-red search on all parts of the body.

The workers, who have appealed to Labour Minister Fackson Shamenda to look into their plight, said some categories of workers are not searched or exposed to infra-red radiation.

The gold production unit is kept sacred and no dignitaries or government officials are allowed to tour it, one worker said.

And Government will soon carry out a labour audit on companies which have hired expatriates, to reconfirm the relevance of giving expatriates certain jobs, Labour, Youth and Sport Minister Fackson Shamenda said in Solwezi at the weekend.
The audit is aimed at establishing the qualifications and jobs that expatriates hold.

Mr Shamenda, Vice-President Guy Scott, Foreign Affairs Minister Chishimba Kambwili and Minister of Mines Wybur Simuusa were in Solwezi to ask miners at Kansanshi Mine to return to work after a wildcat strike.

The miners complained that there is a huge gap in conditions of service between them and expatriates.

“We will verify their qualifications and check if the qualifications and skills match,” he said.

Mr Shamenda said Zambia has many qualified professionals who can take up jobs that have been given to expatriates, especially in the mining industry.

HE said his ministry will soon set up a database of workers to ensure that only qualified expatriates are allowed to work in the country.

Mr Shamenda also said there are ‘very serious’ salary disparities between management and unionised workers in most companies in the country.

“The audit will ensure that expatriates doing jobs that Zambians can do are sent away to pave way for locals,” he said.
Mr Shamenda also said the ministry of labour will engage qualified Zambians, including those in the diaspora, to take up jobs that will be left by some expatriates who are not qualified.

He also said that government will not tolerate any investors abusing Zambian workers.

Mr Shamenda also bemoaned the high levels of casualisation of labour in mining companies, saying the Ministry of Labour will review labour laws to resolve the problem.

[Zambia Daily Mail]

PRINCE Imasiku Mutangelwa has described people advocating the secession of Barotseland and the announcement of the so-called Barotseland cabinet as ‘insane’.

Mr Mutangelwa has called on Government to identify the culprits behind the illegal cabinet, saying they need to be incarcerated or put in a mental institution before they plunge the national into chaos.

Mr Mutangelwa, who has previously been arrested and charged over his sentiments on the Barotseland Agreement, said Government should find the people circulating documents suggesting that a cabinet has been put in place in Barotseland, saying : “These characters are causing alarm in the nation.”

“This is insanity. The state must identify them and put them in prison or take them to Chainama (Hills Hospital) before they cause chaos with their alarming statements,” Mr Mutangelwa said.

Mr Mutangelwa said in an interview yesterday that most of the people named in the ‘Barotseland cabinet’ were not consulted over their appointment to the illegal cabinet.

“These statements are just meant to distract Government as they have no backing from the people of Western Province. Government must identify these people and take them to Chainama – where they belong,” Mr Mutangelwa said.

And some of the people named in the purported Barotseland cabinet have denied links to the formation of a government in Western Province, saying they were not consulted and have no idea who was making the appointments.

Nyambe Namushi, a commissioner on the Mongu Commission of Inquiry into the Mongu riots of January 14, 2011, who was named as the deputy administrator-general, said the reports have injured his reputation.

Mr Namushi said he only learnt of his appointment through the Zambian Watchdog, an online publication.

He said he has written to the publication, asking the publishers to retract the statement because he does not even know who appointed him.

“All the people in that cabinet were not consulted and have no clue who was appointing them,” Mr Namushi said, adding that it was the work of fanatics, trained to misdirect people’s attention.

Mwangelwa Mbikusita Lewanika, who has been named as Finance Minister in the Barotseland government, said his reputation has been damaged because people are connecting him to calls for secession, when the Barotse Royal Establishment can competently deal with the matter.

“It’s very damaging to those of us who have been named. It’s a cowardly act that people should desist from because they only damage other people’s reputation and even the whole process of Barotseland discussions,” Mr Lewanika said.

Mukubesa Ilukena, one of those named in the cabinet, said some people can do anything to frustrate Government.

Mr Mutangelwa, however, said he strongly believed President Sata cannot be disturbed by fanatics. “President Sata is always on the ground and ahead of things. He should not let anyone disturb him from pursuing his vision,” he said.

He said the PF government should not get distracted by alarming statements which have no backing from the people of the Western Province.

Mr Mutangelwa commended the PF government for its stance against corruption.

He said corruption has in the past disadvantaged most citizens, as a few greedy individuals were pocketing all the resources.

Mr Mutangelwa said “all those characters that deceived the people of Zambia that they were governing us but were instead stealing from them must be investigated and brought to book”.

President Sata last month said a group of people in Western Province is attempting to form a state within a State and has already appointed a Prime Minister.

The President described the situation as serious and castigated the police and ministers of Defence and Home Affairs for failing to deal with the matter.

Mr Sata said there was no need for the army to intervene in the matter because they might end up ‘slaughtering’ people, adding that bloodshed over the issue was unnecessary.

Under the previous Government last year, police killed and maimed people over similar agitations in the province. Other people were arrested but pardoned when Mr Sata won the presidency and currently, a commission appointed by the President is still sitting to investigate the incident.

President Sata recently held talks with representatives of three groups from the Western Province to discuss the matter.
In August 2000, Mr Mutangelwa, then leader of a small group known as the Barotse Patriotic Front, was sought by police for questioning after he made statements supporting a separatist rebellion.

Later the same month, Mr Mutangelwa sought asylum in the residence of the South African High Commissioner, but his request was denied.

He was subsequently arrested and charged with belonging to an unlawful society.

[Zambia Daily Mail]