Former Vice President, George Kunda has described the commission of inquiries established by the PF government as a sheer waste of tax payers’ money.
Mr. Kunda who is MMD Chairperson for Legal Affairs says he does not understand the reasoning behind the commissions noting that strengthening already existing institutions such as DEC, Police and the ACC should have been the ideal.
He has urged the government to disclose the amounts the commissioners get as sitting allowances.
[MUVI TV]
Northern Province Permanent Secretary Emmanuel Mwamba Mwamba has advised Mr. Mucheleka to stop purporting to be senior chief Nkula but instead leave the palace and allow for a smooth ascension to the throne by the recognised chief.
This followed reports that the Bemba royal establishment in Chinsali district had not welcomed government’s decision to elevate Chief Chikwanda of Mpika district to the Senior Chief Nkula throne.
‘President Sata is very much aware of the decision we made as the Shilubemba royal establishment on this matter. Paramount Chief Chitimukulu and his team of advisors made the wisest decision on the matter but now government wants to bring confusion because the incumbent has been on the throne for three months now,chairman of the Ichinga traditional council, Bwembya Tabwe said.
However Northern Province Permanent Secretary Emmanuel Mwamba said President Michael Sata’s decision to recognise chief Chikwanda as new senior chief Nkula of the Bemba speaking people in Chinsali district is in line with the Bemba traditions and customs.
This is contained in a letter dated December 21, 2011 and signed by Emmanuel Mwamba addressed to Maxwell Mucheleka, who is claiming the chieftainship of senior chief Nkula.
Mr. Mwamba explained in the letter that according to the Bemba traditions and customs, when a leadership vacuum for senior chief Nkula arises, chief Chikwanda of Mpika district automatically ascends to the throne.
He observed that the President’s recognition of chief Chikwanda was aimed at restoring traditional customs and norms in the manner the hierarchy to the throne of senior chief Nkula is supposed to be followed.
The Permanent Secretary said it was better for the claimant to voluntarily vacate the palace in order to avoid creating unnecessary succession wrangles in senior chief Nkula’s chiefdom.
Mr. Mwamba further appealed to the traditional leaders and other stakeholders in Chinsali district to accept government’s decision to recognise chief Chikwanda as the new senior chief Nkula.
On 13th December this year, President Sata recognised chief Chikwanda, whose names are James Charles Ng’andu, as senior chief Nkula in conformity with the Laws of Zambia.
However, some members of the Bemba Royal Establishment in Chinsali recently opposed government’s decision to recognise chief Chikwanda as senior chief Nkula claiming that someone else has already been chosen to take up the Nkula throne.
[ZANIS]
FIRST Lady Christine Kaseba has said the campaign for zero-tolerance against gender-based violence, corruption, poverty and moral degradation in society should start at family level.
Dr Kaseba has also called for collective empowerment of needy families if the country is to reduce poverty and attain the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Speaking during the launch of the Families Are Nations (FAN) project in Lusaka yesterday, Dr Kaseba said strong family units were important for national development.
“A family, described as a social group consisting of parents and children, is a unit of socialisation and a basic institution which is key to the structure of society.
“The corporate world needs well-established families to excel, and our Government needs a strong family partnership in creating conducive communities within which to deliver effective national development and governance,” she said.
Dr Kaseba said the family should always remain the major cornerstone of continued social and corporate manifestation in society for the country to effectively manage human and natural resources.
She said efforts to end new HIV/AIDS infections should be effectively applied at family unit level.
“For peace to exist in Zambia, there should be peace at home, within the individual and within the family,” she said.
And Minister of Local Government, Early Child Education and Environmental Protection, Nkandu Luo said the Government would restructure the education system by bringing back the welfare school that would provide adult learning.
Professor Luo commended FAN for incorporating adult literacy in programmes as that would broaden the capacity of the learners, who were mostly women.
And FAN president, Judith Mwila said her organisation was currently addressing some vices that had affected the family unit.
She said FAN was there to fight vices such as corruption and illiteracy, especially among women.
[Times of Zambia]
President Michael Sata has directed Minister of Finance Alexander Chikwanda to table the report of the Zambia Revenue Authority Commission of Inquiry before cabinet.
Mr. Sata was however, disappointed that the Chairperson of the ZRA Commission of Inquiry Kingsley Chanda did not give a summary of the report.
The President was speaking at State House, when he received the Report of the ZRA Commission of Inquiry, which was set to look at the operations of the Zambia Revenue Authority.
Mr. Sata instructed Mr. Chikwanda to draw a cabinet memo so that cabinet could look at the document.
The President is also disappointed that a parliamentarian refused to appear before a Commission of Inquiry on the contract for the supply, installation and commissioning of the Zambia Air Traffic Management Surveillance Radar System.
He explained that a parliamentarian refused to appear before the Commission of Inquiry because it is NOT serious.
And Mr. Chanda said he is confident that the Report will help government in tax administration.
President Sata appointed the ZRA Commission of Inquiry to also among other things investigate the awarding of contracts to various firms and establish whether the law was followed.
Over one hundred witnesses appeared before the ZRA Commission of Inquiry, which sat for over a month.
[ZNBC]
GOVERNMENT revenue amounting to K12 billion has been kept in an account at a private commercial bank in Lusaka since January, contrary to regulations that such should be immediately transferred to the central bank.
Times investigations reveal that this money is tax revenue collected by the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA).
The money has been lying idle for the last 11 months in the said account referred to as ESCROW account.
It has also been revealed that the K4 billion payment in a transaction President Michael Sata intervened and stopped midway, was to be made from the ESCROW account.
It is not yet established how many other transactions have taken place in the said account.
The President disclosed at a swearing-in ceremony in October this year that there was a “scam” in which ZRA was about to pay K4 billion to a “fake” clearing firm operating scanners at the northern border town of Nakonde in Northern Province.
Mr Sata immediately instructed the Zambia Police Service and the Ministry of Finance and National Planning to block the payment and investigate any other transactions that could have been made from State coffers to pay the firm.
The president noted that the scanners at the border post belonged to the Zambian people through the ZRA.
“This morning, ZRA was supposed to pay K4 billion to a front of somebody who was in my office but the scanners which are at Nakonde belong to the Government of the Republic of Zambia through ZRA,” Mr Sata said when he made the disclosure in November.
Documentation has also revealed that the same local commercial bank is holding US$1 million belonging to Mpundu Trust Limited, whose source is unknown.
The Times has learnt that the named local commercial bank received instructions from a Cabinet minister in the previous regime to open this account.
The Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) has since opened investigations into the matter.
President Sata recently instructed law enforcement agencies to investigate how a private bank account belonging to Mpundu Trust Limited, got to hold a colossal sum of $1 million.
The president gave the directive in the wake of revelations that Mpundu Trust had unexplained funds in one of the commercial banks in the country.
On the basis of the colossal amounts involved, the president felt that it would only be fair and prudent for the DEC in liaison with other law enforcement agencies to professionally and systematically investigate the matter.
Recent media reports revealed that Mpundu Trust was linked to former president, Rupiah Banda.
[Times of Zambia]
FORMER Transport and Communications Minister, Dora Siliya, yesterday refused to appear before the Sebastian Zulu-led commission of inquiry and instead sent a written submission.
Ms Siliya contended that matters for which she was being summoned were already adjudicated upon by a tribunal that cleared her.
[Times of Zambia]
She said the allegations against her had persisted despite the fact that the courts had dealt with them.
“I submit that the said allegations have already been subject to litigation and have had their veracity in the courts of law,” Ms Siliya said in response to a letter authored by Mr Zulu, dated December 13, 2011, requesting her to appear before the commission.
Ms Siliya said she found it difficult to appear before the commission because it would not have allowed her legal representation.
The commission also heard that Ms Siliya allegedly forced her permanent secretary, Mukuka Zimba to transfer all officials from the ministry of Transport and Communications for opposing a K1.5 billion (300,000 Euros) single-sourced deal in favour of Selex Sistemi
Integrati for the installation of the non-existent air services management system radar at Kenneth Kaunda International Airport in Lusaka.
This was revealed yesterday during the sitting of the commission of inquiry on the contract for the supply, delivery, installation and commissioning of the Zambia Air Traffic Management Surveillance Radar System (ZATM-RADAR) at Kenneth Kaunda airport and Harry Mwaanga Nkumbula Airport in Livingstone.
The commission heard that despite a 300,000 Euro advance payment having been paid to Selex Sistemi Integrati, the radar has never been installed at the airport, which left the commissioners wondering where the money had gone.
In her submission yesterday, Ms Zimba told the commission that Ms Siliya directed her to transfer all the officials who objected to the process of installing the radar at the airport in Lusaka.
A member of the commission, Ngosa Simbyakula, who is also Deputy Minister of Justice, asked Ms Zimba to explain whether it was in order to single-source the firm which had apparently failed to do the job for which it was paid.
The contractor has instead delivered further quotations amounting to more than 10 million Euros to repair the radar which has not been installed.
Ms Zimba said she made consultations with then permanent secretary for administration, Victor Kashoki who was also against the idea of transferring people on the basis that they had objected to the then minister’s advice.
Ms Siliya had cancelled a duly awarded contract worth nine million Euros awarded to Thales Air System for the supply, delivery, and installation of a ZATM-RADAR at the two airports in Lusaka and Livingstone.
The contract was instead given to Selex through a single-sourced arrangement.
And Dr Simbyakula produced a document for perusal by senior procurement and supplies officer, Innocent Dizomba, which revealed that Selex asked for a further 455,000 Euros, 275,000 Euros and other amounts totalling 8 million Euros to reactivate the radar which is non-existent at the airport.
This was after Mr Dizomba pleaded ignorance about further payments which were being sought by Selex.
Mr Dizomba explained that he had not seen any documents relating to the radar because he was just transferred from the Ministry of Tourism.
The espionage thriller begins in 1997, as shocking news reaches retired Mossad secret agents Rachel (Helen Mirren) and Stephan (Tom Wilkinson) about their former colleague David (Ciarán Hinds). All three have been venerated for decades by their country because of the mission that they undertook back in 1966, when the trio (portrayed, respectively, by Jessica Chastain, Marton Csokas, and Sam Worthington tracked down Nazi war criminal Vogel (Jesper Christensen) in East Berlin. At great risk, and at considerable personal cost, the team’s mission was accomplished – or was it? The suspense builds in and across two different time periods, with startling action and surprising revelations
PRO’S
CON’S
FAVORITE QUOTES
Young Stefan: No matter what, the truth stays in this room.
David: What if we could go back. Would it be different?
Young Rachel: I’m not brave, I’m terrified.
CONCLUSION
Very good movie with a gripping story that will keep you at the edge of your seat. If you like your spy thrillers tense, gripping and meaningful, The Debt should be on the top of your must-see list.
RATING
3 out of 5
BY KAPA187
LUSAKA lawyer Robert Simeza has sued Ellis and Company and its client Elizabeth Mzyeche, wife of late Andrew Hadjipetrou, for wrongful seizure of his two motor vehicles.
Mr Simeza, as an executor of Mr Hadjipetrou’s Will, has sued Ellis and Company and Ms Mzyeche over their action to use a writ of fieri facias (writ of execution directing a sheriff to take goods).
Mr Simeza was appointed as an executor and trustee of Mr Hadjipetrou’s Will which included Andrew’s Motel and payment of school fees for the two minor beneficiaries.
On Friday, court bailiffs seized Mr Simeza’s two motor vehicles, a Mercedes Benz S-Class registration number ABD 8031 and Honda CR-V registration number ABC 3779.
But according to a writ of summons filed by Simeza, Sangwa and Associates in the Lusaka High Court on Tuesday, Mr Simeza said Ellis and Company, acting in concert with Ms Mzyeche, maliciously issued a writ of execution directed at his residence house number 10 Ngulube Road, Prospect Hill Lusaka executed against his personal assets.
“The defendants besieged the plaintiff’s residence which they wrongfully entered and executed the writ on the plaintiff’s personal assets and thereupon seized two of his motor vehicles,” the writ of summons reads in part.
He said the defendants seized the vehicles in the company of well over 20 helpers picked from the streets and three armed police officers.
Mr Simeza said the wrongful execution and seizure complained of was deliberate and maliciously conceived by the defendants.
He said other than to cause mental distress, anguish, grief, pain, humiliation and embarrassment to him and damage his self-esteem, the defendants calculated the wrongful execution.
Mr Simeza is, therefore, claiming a declaration that the writ of execution directing a sheriff to take goods issued by Ellis and Company and Ms Mzyeche directing the sheriff to enter his residence, was wrong and ill conceived.
He is also claiming damages for trespass, damages for wrongful execution and damages for loss of use of the seized motor vehicles.
Mr Simeza is further demanding for damages for mental distress, exemplary damages and or alternative, aggravated damages and costs.
[Zambia Daily Mail]
SOME bakeries in Lusaka have increased their prices of bread despite President Sata’s appeal in October to bakers not to go ahead.
A Daily Mail survey around some parts of Lusaka revealed that some bakeries in Garden compound, Northmead and Kabwata area have increased by K200 to K500 respectively.
The some bakers who declined to be named attributed the increase to the high cost of doing business while others said they will also adjust their prices upwards next week.
In Kabwata a loaf of Family bread which used to cost K5,000 will now cost K5,900, Standard bread will cost K4,900 from K4,000 while bread rolls will sell at K5,500 from K5,000.
A notice at one bakery stated that the increase has been necessitated by increasing input cost.
“This serves to inform you that bread prices have been adjusted upwards with immediate effect. This has been necessitated by ever increasing input cost,” it read.
In Garden compound bakeries are expecting to increase by K200 and this has been received with shock.
Gideon Manda, a resident of Garden Compound said the cost of living in Zambia has become too expensive adding that some people cannot afford to buy bread at current prices.
“I am shocked that bread has become too expensive now, we as parents will not be able to provide a decent breakfast meal for our children because most of our children depend on bread, “he said.
Another resident Kelly Chileshe said they unjustifiably trying to hike prices in a bid to make a killing because of Christmas and New Year celebrations.
Agnes Nkoma, a Kabwata township resident, called on Government to intervene in the matter and ensure that prices of bread are stabilised in order to reduce the cost of leaving which she described as expensive.
“Some of us are not employed, we cannot afford to buy bread anymore and this is what we consume almost everyday. We will be very glad if government consider reducing the price, “she said.
Meanwhile Zambia Consumers Association executive secretary Muyunda Ililonga says consumables such as bread are expensive for the majority of Zambians adding that Government should ensure that the cost of living in the country is reduced if poverty levels are to reduce in the country.
Mr Ililonga said the reason being advanced by millers for the increase in the price of bread is not substantiated.
He said some millers have attributed the increase in the price of bread by K500 to the weakening Kwacha against the US dollar.
Government recently authorised the importation of 20,000 of wheat and 5,000 tonnes of wheat flour to supplement the current shortfall of 60,000 tonnes of wheat.
[Zambia Daily Mail]
MINISTER of Mines and Natural Resources Wilbur Simuusa has directed Zhongui Mining Group Limited to conduct an environmental impact assessment (EIA) and compensate the Zambia Forestry and Forests Industries Corporation (ZAFFICO) for invading its land before the Chinese mine starts operating.
The mining group is the owner of the US$690 million Ichimpe Copper and Cobalt mining project in Kalulushi.
And Mr Simuusa has challenged the Chamber of Mines of Zambia (CMZ) to state its position on the perception that mining companies are not honest in their voluntary tax declarations before Government can consider appointing independent international auditors to carry out compliance audits.
In an interview on Tuesday, Mr Simuusa said the matter is being resolved and that he has directed ZAFFICO and the Forestry department to evaluate the liabilities involved.
The MMD Government under former President Rupiah Banda allowed Zhongui Mining Group Limited to start the construction of the Ichimpe Copper and Cobalt Mine without conducting an EIA and on ZAFFICO land.
“I have insisted that the mine owners should conduct an EIA. We will not allow them to start operating without an EIA which is approved and without looking at issues of compensating ZAFFICO,” Mr Simuusa said.
Mr Simuusa hopes that the issue will soon be resolved because the Patriotic Front (PF) government is in a hurry to create jobs for Zambians.
The Ichimpe Copper and Cobalt Mine is expected to create 1,700 jobs at the construction stage and more than 2,000 once the mine is opened in 2014.
Ichimpe Copper and Cobalt Mine is expected to produce 35,000 tonnes of copper and 2,000 tonnes of cobalt per annum.
During the groundbreaking ceremony on May 18 this year, former President Banda said: “I have observed that this mine is being developed on a piece of land whose surface rights are held by ZAFFICO. I am advised that ZAFFICO had just planted its second generation of trees and therefore it is a productive plantation.”
And Mr Simuusa has challenged CMZ to state its position on the perception that mining companies are not honest in their voluntary tax declarations before Government can consider appointing independent international auditors to carry out compliance audits.
Reacting to calls by CMZ that Government appoints independent international auditors to carryout compliance audits, Mr Simuusa said it is unfortunate that some mining companies are claiming that their mining costs have increased by 20 percent after Government increased mineral royalty tax.
“Let us use this audit to ensure that all the statements mining companies are making are correct. We should be very clear as to the reason why we want the audit.
“From the look of things, it is like the Chamber of Mines is trying to defend mining companies. What are their findings as Chamber of Mines? Let them state their position on the perception that mining companies are not paying enough tax,” Mr Simuusa said.
[Zambia Daily Mail]
POLICE yesterday warned and cautioned MMD Lusaka Province chairman William Banda and eight other party members for unlawful assembly.
Lusaka Province division police commissioner Charity Katanga confirmed the development in an interview.
Ms Katanga said Mr Banda and about 20 other MMD members unlawfully assembled at a named eating place between Kabulonga and Woodlands where they were planning to organise people to rise against the PF government, for failing to fulfil its campaign promises within 90 days.
“We are recording warn and caution statements from them, then we will release them and carry on with our investigations,” Ms Katanga said.
She said the group had a closed-door assembly between 10:00 hours and 14:00 hours and refused to answer knocks from plain-clothed detectives who approached them.
The commissioner said uniformed police only managed to apprehend Mr Banda and eight others when they arrived at the scene.
She said police will continue investigating the case and have asked Mr Banda and his colleagues to report back to police next week.
[Zambia Daily Mail]
GOVERNMENT has given manufacturers of infant formula and baby food stuffs a one month ultimatum in which they should write to the Ministry of Health indicating challenges they are facing before they can start abiding by regulations contained in Statutory Instrument (SI) 48 of 2006.
The SI 48 regulates the marketing of breast-feeding substitutes in the country and restricts the way that breast milk substitute manufacturers market their products.This was the reason behind a large-scale seizure of infant formula in Mansa and Kasama stores last month.
Infant formula was removed because of the messages and pictures that were displayed on the packaging. The claim is that the packaging made an attempt to persuade mothers to feed their infants the substitute instead of breastfeeding, which is a direct violation.
It is recommended that all women breastfeed exclusively for the first six months of an infant’s life. And while mothers cannot be forced to breastfeed, the guidelines on formula sales are in place to help encourage breastfeeding, which has been proven in multiple studies to provide many benefits to mother and baby.
In an interview yesterday, Ministry of Health permanent secretary Peter Mwaba said his ministry held a meeting with stakeholders on November 24 this year during which it was resolved that manufacturers of baby foodstuffs should explain challenges they face before their products are completely withdrawn from the market.
Dr Mwaba said if stakeholders do not get back to the ministry on the agreed date, Government will take it that they have agreed to follow SI 48 regulations.
He said the ministry is aware that most manufacturers of both infant formula and baby food stuffs are not following what is stipulated in SI 48.
Dr Mwaba said although all stakeholders showed willingness to abide by SI 48 during last month’s meeting, they will have to inform the ministry when they will be able to start following SI 48.
He said all affected stores such as Shoprite, Spur and Pick and Pay have been allowed to sell their remaining stock but have been advised not to order new stock.
Dr Mwaba said government is willing to hold another meeting with stakeholders to agree on the date when the unwanted food products will completely be withdrawn from the market.
He said government will ensure that health related laws are strictly adhered to by all stakeholders.
And Dr Mwaba said the infant formula and baby food that was seized from Shoprite stores in Kasama and Mansa last month will not be returned but will be handed over to court as evidence.
The Football Association of Zambia has handed a life ban on Faz Western Province Division 2 club Antonio FC vice chairman Jackson Biemba.
Faz communications officer Erick Mwanza said at Wednesday’s weekly press briefing at Football House in Lusaka that Biemba was found guilty of uttering unwarranted attacks against Faz.
“He (Biemba) was summoned before the disciplinary committee to answers charges of unwarranted attacks against the Football Association,” Mwanza said.
“After deliberation the disciplinary committee banned Mr Biemba for life effective 17th December 2011. I have been duly mandated by the chairman of the disciplinary to announce this decision.”
Biemba two weeks ago told the local press that Faz president Kalusha Bwalya was arrogant for saying sports minister Fackson Shamenda was being misled about how Faz was run in an interview the 1988 Africa Footballer of the Year gave BBC African Football.
The Antonio vice chairman also told Kalusha to humble himself after had said in the same interview that he was not concerned that Government would not pay for Herve Renards salary.
Meanwhile, Faz and the sports ministry have since reconciled and agreed to work together to source Renard’s salary.
Government has advised the labour movement in the country not to simply criticize government over the intended adjustment of the retirement age from 55 years to 65 years, but to make contribution in a factual manner.
Labour, youth and sports minister Fackson Shamenda has since cautioned the labour movement against making threats to government on issues that concern the general populace.
This is in response to the rejection of the proposed government retirement age of 65 by the Zambia Congress of Trade Unions ZCTU and the Zambia Federation of Employers (ZFE) from the current 55 years.
Mr. Shamenda says it should be realized that the issue of the retirement is a matter of all ministries, of which cabinet has to decide upon.
He has advised the labour movement to find a better way of forwarding their concerns on issues instead on imposing on government, stating that it would not work out well because some issues have a number of actors.
The labour minister said this when he officially opened the tripartite consultative labour council meeting in Lusaka today.
The consultative meeting was among other issues looking at the minimum wage and the retirement age.
Earlier, ZCTU president Leonard Hikaumba said the labour movement welcomes the president’s directive to revise the minimum wage, which he says will go a long way in improving income levels for workers, who are not covered by union representation.
Mr. Hikaumba however states that the labour movement still considers it of utmost importance for social partners to look at the issue critically so that the outcome will be accepted by all.
And ZFE President Alfred Masupha says the federation respects workers rights at all times but will not tolerate any act of indiscipline in workplaces.
Mr. Masupha has since appealed to workers in the country to desist from retrogressive trends which he says can engage the country into reverse gear and make it lose the admirable gains that it has made over the past years.
And director of the International Labor Organization (ILO) for Zambia, Mozambique and Malawi, Martin Clemmensson has observed the need to examine the extent to which the current minimum wage is being implemented by the different players in the country’s economy.
Mr. Clemmensson has also called for careful analysis of the different implications of increasing the retirement age stating that the tripartite consultative meeting needs to strike a balance between the demand and supply side of the labour market.
[QFM]
Police sources at Kapiri Mposhi Police Station confirmed the incident to ZANIS today and named the suspect.
The sources said the named Headtaecher was arrested around 10:00 hours yesterday.
The father to the victim, Julius Mwanza who is also a teacher at the same school found the named fellow teacher in the act and apprehended him.
The named teacher who forced himself on the child was later taken to Mboloma Police Station.
He has since been charged with defilement contrary to Section 138 of the penal code chapter 87 of the laws of Zambia.
He is currently detained at Mboloma police custody and will appear in court soon.
ZANIS efforts to confirm the matter with Central Province Commissioner of Police, Dr. Solomon Jere failed as he is out of the country.
© Lusaka Times
