Join our community of SUBSCRIBERS and be part of the conversation.
To subscribe, simply enter your email address on our website or click the subscribe button below. Don't worry, we respect your privacy and won't spam your inbox. Your information is safe with us.
The Zambia Tourism Board has unveiled the new “Let’s Explore” Tourism Brand at the World Travel Market (WTM) in London, United Kingdom.
Speaking at the launch event held at Excel-London, last evening, Zambia’s High Commissioner to Zambia Professor Royson Mukwena called upon the international community to embrace the new brand and spread the good news about Zambia’s unique tourism products.
Professor Mukwena said that Zambia is fast becoming a preferred destination for investment and holidays because of the peace and democracy that the country has continued to enjoy.
The High Commissioner said the recent peaceful elections in Zambia were a demonstration of Zambia’s maturing democracy and a model for Africa.
Professor Mukwena has also thanked the international community for choosing Zambia and Zimbabwe as Joint Hosts of the 2013 UNWTO General Assembly. He said the win was a sign of confidence in the two neighbouring nations’ capacity to host big events.
At the same event, Zimbabwe Minister of Tourism and Hospitality Industry engineer Walter Mzembi revealed that the Governments of Zimbabwe and Zambia, through their respective Presidents, had already endorsed the General Assembly.
Mr. Mzembi said the event, among other things will give Zambia and Zimbabwe who he described as twins, a chance to re-claim ownership of the Victoria Falls which he said was being hijacked by other countries.
The new brand unveiling which included a video presentation on Zambia’s major national Parks as well as Victoria Falls was conducted by ZTB Managing Director Mr. Felix Chaila and Director of Marketing, Mr. Evans Muhanga.
Among those who attended the launch were Zimbabwe Ambassador to the United Kingdom H.E. Gabriel Machinga, Sun International Marketing Director Ian Anderson, Meridian Club members, Africa Travel and Tourism Association members, RETOSA Representatives, Zambian WTM delegates, Zambian Embassy staff, the Zambian Community in the UK and Miss Zimbabwe 2011 Malaika Mashandu
Staged annually in London, the World Travel Market is the leading global event for the travel industry and attracts almost 48,000 senior travel industry professionals, Government Ministers and International Press.
The 2011 version runs from the 7th to the 11 of November at Excel Exhibition Center in London.
File:Zambian students at the Russian people's Friendship university (RPFU) on stage dancing to mozegata song "time time"
I would like to air my grievances over both the former and present government for continuously neglecting G.R.Z. students abroad. We have been airing our problems to them but all in vain.
I feel like it takes the blocking of the Great East road for them to understand that we are really in need of their consideration. Unfortunately being in a foreign country and Russia specifically is not a joke.
The only way we can air our views is through the embassy which I feel is doing practically very little or nothing at all.I don’t know if it was a political move or not but our friends back at UNZA and CBU have seen their allowances increased 225% during the past 3 years whilst for foreign student a
mere 25% for the same period of time.
We have tried our level best to convince them on simple arithmetic that even someone from all walks of life can understand “The costs of commodities have increased by over 70% in the past 3 years in Russia” which am sure is not felt by the so called diplomats we try to channel our grievances because their salaries have been continuously revised over the same period.
To make it worse our government can’t even give us the same little money on time. Right now as am speaking, the government has not yet sent the money for the student to buy their medical policies and are being threatened to expelled from school because its a law of the Russian Federation for all foreign students to have medical policies before the start of an academic year which starts in September.
I would like to remind the government that we are also Zambian students under Bursaries Committee and we deserve fair treatment.
Armed bandits cut the roof to Great Lakes Product, a firm that deals in fish products in Lusaka, blew the safe with explosives and went away with more sixty-six-million Kwacha stored there.
They got into the building through the roof.
Great Lakes Product Area Manager, Gift Manda confirmed the development in an interview with MUVI TV news.
Ms. Manda says the thieves cut part of the iron sheets on the roof to enter one of the offices where the safe was placed.
She says a security man who working in the night was not aware of the robbery, as the thieves used the roof to get into the building.
[Muvi TV]
National Restoration Party leader Elias Chipimo jr
Elias Chipimo, leader of the opposition National Restoration party, has called for a cautious approach towards the fight against corruption.
Mr. Chipimo is appealing to law enforcement agencies and Government to avoid the excitement that has engulfed the discovery of 2.1-billion-Kwacha buried at former Labour minister Austin Liato’s farm.
He has since asked Government to close up any prospective gaps that are prone to abuse by public officers.
Mr.Chipimo further urged government to urgently clarify concerns that the republican president single sourced a firm to renovate state house.
The Zambia Federation of Employers ZFE says government’s directive to employers that they should engage casual workers on permanent basis is not sustainable.
ZFE President Alfred Masupha says the directive will cause chaos in the industry but he did not state how.
Mr. Masupha says government should allow employers to continue employing casual workers as per current Employment Act without interference.
He was speaking in Lusaka on Saturday night during the Employer of the Year award presentation.
And Labour and Sports Deputy Minister, Rayford Mbulu says government will only encourage employers to consider employing casual workers on permanent basis if they have worked for over six months as stipulated by law.
He also told ZNBC news in an interview that government will make wide consultations among Zambians on the retirement age through the available processes as it is now just a matter of public debate.
Yesterday the PF government said that it wants all investors operating in Zambia to introduce pension schemes for their workers.
Finance Deputy Minister Alfrida Kazembe said that pension schemes play an important role in reducing old age poverty.
Mrs. Kazembe added that government through her ministry will also ensure that all retirees are paid their dues on time.
She was speaking at the 4th Zambia Association of Pension Funds annual ball in Lusaka on Friday evening
Meanwhile Association Chairperson Dr Richard Mwiinga says the pension industry has embarked on a deliberate plan to educate people on the need to plan for their pension.
Dr Mwiinga also added that the association is looking forward to a time when different companies will start recording a 1-hundred percent pension contribution.
RP Capital Advisors Limited acted as the lead transaction adviser to the Government of the Republic of Zambia (“Government”) in the partial privatisation of Zambia Telecommunication Company Limited (“ZAMTEL”).
We noted that a Commission of Inquiry (“Commission”) was recently established to investigate this transaction.
However, before the Commission’s findings are officially released,we wish to express our grave concerns about misleading statements regarding the transaction which have appeared in the press, some of which are attributed to members of the Government. These provide a distorted account of our involvement in the process and the results thereof and suggest, entirely without any factual basis, a failure by us to discharge our obligations. In sum, we would like to set the record straight with regard to the quality and integrity of the services we have provided to the Government and the people of the Republic of Zambia.
We deeply regret that, despite our offer to do so, we have not been given an opportunity to make our representations to the Commission of Inquiry. We were unable to address the allegations made against us.
Thus, it appears that the Commission’s process and findings have been conducted with wholesale disregard for due process, fairness and natural justice.
RP Capital Advisors Limited has sent a letter to the Honourable Minister of Justice of the Republic of Zambia expressing our concerns in more detail.
RP Capital Advisors Limited provided services in connection with the privatisation of ZAMTEL pursuant to the terms and conditions of a legally binding agreement with the Government. This agreement was signed following a procurement process conducted by the Zambia Public Procurement Agency.
The process of ZAMTEL privatization was designed to be open,competitive and transparent to afford the Government to select the best and highest bid.
More than 30 parties showed initial interest in the privatization process and raised inquiries on ZAMTEL, 8 of which also made initial submission and prequalified in the process. After a lengthy period of due diligence of ZAMTEL by the prequalified bidders, 4 non-binding and subsequently 3 binding bids were received. The 2 highest and best bidders in the consideration of the Government were invited to the final round of negotiations. The aggregate consideration paid by the selected best bidder, LAP Green, amounted to total of USD 257mn.
(1) USD 97.7 million to be paid on behalf of the Government to employees of ZAMTEL to settle redundancy liabilities;
(2) USD 20 million to be paid on behalf of the Government to settle historic pension liabilities;
(3) USD 42.6 million to be paid to the Government;
(4) USD 32.7 million to be paid on behalf of the Government to settle historic Zambian state supported Chinese bank loans; and
(5) USD 64 million into ZAMTEL to re-capitalize the company.
In addition the winning bidder has assumed more than USD 70 million worth of guarantees previously provided by the Government to ZAMTEL’s suppliers, eliminating any further need for financial assistance by the Republic of Zambia to ZAMTEL. To the extent of our knowledge, at closing of the privatization process in July 2010, all these payments were duly made by this bidder.
The foregoing sets out the entire immediate monetary benefit to the Republic of Zambia at the time of partial privatization of ZAMTEL.
Further, this process had subsequent positive impact on the telecommunication sector in the country and resulted in the decrease in prices for telecommunication services for the benefit of the people and businesses in the Republic of Zambia.
In summary, a company on the verge of bankruptcy with declining customer base and number of subscribers (a distant 3rd place in terms of number of subscribers for mobile services in a market of 3 participants) and negative book equity value was sold to a telecommunication operator with significant means. Thus, creating value for the Government and the people of the Republic of Zambia.
What is more, the result of privatization still leaves the Republic of Zambia with a blocking minority stake in the re-capitalized company and right to IPO the Company on the Lusaka Stock Exchange. In addition, the Government stands to gain an additional payment from the investor based on the financial performance of the company in the future.
The price achieved for a controlling stake in the company was one of the very best among privatizations of telecommunication assets on the African continent.
Thus, the results of the privatization were exceptional given the state of ZAMTEL. This would not have been possible without high level of commitment of all stakeholders involved namely the Government ministries; ZDA; and ZAMTEL management and trade union leaders in the process of restructuring the company leading into the partial sale of ZAMTEL.
We regret having to make a statement in this manner, in particular because the information furnished in this statement is readily available from public sources. The circumstances however, leave us with no other choice in order to protect our integrity.
ABOUT RP CAPITAL ADVISORS LIMITED
RP Capital Advisors Limited is an independent financial advisory firm focused on providing advice to public bodies, private clients and corporations in emerging markets. We combine substantial industry experience, financial expertise, and local market insight. Our advisory team is comprised of a group of people with a wide range of industry and financial experience from diverse backgrounds.
A political Activist says the MMD’s move to suspend its Labour Affairs Chairperson, Austin Liato over the 2-billion kwacha saga is unfair because it portrays him to be guilty even before investigations are completed.
Dante Sanders condemned the opposition party, saying Mr. Liato deserved better as he was a faithful party member.
He says Mr. Liato’s suspension sends wrong signals to the public.
Mr. Sanders also praised the Law enforcement agencies for unearthing the 2.1 billion kwacha which was discovered buried at Mr. Liato’s Mwembeshi farm last week.
A combined team of Zambia police, Anti Corruption and Drug Enforcement Commission -DEC- officers carried out the operation.
[ZNBC]
File:A boy playing in stagnant water in Chawama township of Lusaka(picture is not of the missing toddler)
Bishop Chrispin Songiso from Bethel Pentecostal church in John Laing says a boy aged between one and two was picked-up by a church member along Kafue road near marks car wash.
Bishop Songiso says he has been keeping the boy at his home since Friday.
The boy who only understands Njanja is unable to tell the names of his parents.
Bishop Songiso has appealed to parents missing a child between one and two to check with him at Bethel pentecostal church in John laing.
He has however reported the matter at Castle police post near Chawama compound.
The MMD has suspended former Labour Minister Austin Liato from the Party. MMD National Secretary Richard Kachingwe says Mr. Liato has also been suspended as party chairman for labour.
His suspension comes in the wake of the recent discovery of 2.1 billion kwacha at his home by the investigative wing.
Maj. Kachingwe says the party and its entire membership has learnt with great shock the discovery of the money at Mr. Liato’s house.
He says the party at the moment has no better details than what has been provided to the press by the investigative wings.
Maj. Kachingwe congratulated the investigative wing for the discovery .
He says the party wishes to distance itself from the same in order to give Mr. Liato time to deal with a personal matter.
Katatala Ryan Nkole , AKA Mr. Miyagi , was born on the 2nd of may 1990.My hobbies are writing poetry,recordind music,going out,kicking it with my friends, hanging with my girl friend cooking,watching stand up comedy cooking around making my friends laugh and traveling dang my list is long..He is a young entrepreneur running his own resturant and other small ventures, he also does music , hiphop in particular.
He completed his o’levels in 2007 and started working for his mum for a year then went into college in June 2008. He was there for 8months then had to dropped out due to his father falling ill, while off from school he joined his family business where he worked for a year and a half. He decided to go complete his diploma which he did and graduated top of his class.
KAPA187: Where does the name Mr miyagi come from?
Mr Miyagi: The name Mr. Miyagi , well I was very intrigued by the first or should I say original karate kid just the way Mr miyagi who played a sensei(mentor/teacher),taught Daniel son karate and he was just supper cool and very soft spoken and he had swagger..plus the name is just cool dont you think? Plus in a few years when im running the hip hop game I can mentor upcoming rappers.
KAPA187: What made you decide to start making music and what separates you from other zambian rappers?
Mr Miyagi: Uhmm it was some time when I was in the 9th grade bow wow n em was hot ,all the girls liked rappers so I thought ey let me try this out see what happens n I started writing..what separates me from other rappers I have confidence in my ability some might even call it cocky,not to blow my on horn but im creative, i have great delivery.
KAPA187: Listening to your music, i feel you are influenced by the likes of lil’wayne and other “southern” rappers . What is your main inspiration?
Mr Miyagi: my main inspiration to do music comes in the form of 5 rappers namely
1.drake reason he changed hip hop via mix tapes he came from nowhere n he did it without a deal which I wana almost mimic
2.j.Cole his just deep man he speaks the truth and talks and he is supper intelligent
3.M.i his the best m.c Africa has and one day im gonna get signed to him
4.busta rhymes dang his just breath taking
5. its a tie between krytic, 5-4 and thugga lets just say they are my local idols..
KAPA187: You are also a young entrepreneur . People your age like to enjoy life not have many responsibilities , how do you stay focused.
Mr Miyagi:.how I stay focused firstly I like things i.e nice clothes ,perfumes, eating at nice resturants and traveling so to achieve all these things I have to stay focused and put in work you can say I took everybody’s weakness and made it a strength its my fuel plus my mom after losing my dad I fill like there is a gap so I have to take care of her plus she dont play around lol
KAPA187: Is music something you are will continue with in the future on is it more of a hobby?
Mr Miyagi:. its more of a hobby but if it takes me higher who am I to turn it down
KAPA187: Do you have any hidden talents?
Mr Miyagi:. do I have a hidden talent ,No but im multi talented. I always seem to get people cracking up so I guess comedy and because of my creative mind I help out a company with marketing and ideas for commercials
KAPA187: What is you ultimate life goal ?
Mr Miyagi: musically I want to get signed to chocolet city a nigerian record label then later on ink a deal with young money, genral life goal to have successful business empire and be a force to be reckoned with internationally take what my dad left to the next level .
KAPA187: What has been your biggest achievement in music?
Mr Miyagi: biggest achievement not yet my man but ask me that on our next interview im gonna have an answer for you
KAPA187: The best moment in my life was when…..
Mr Miyagi: The best moment in my life was when I did a music video with Paul the prince shout out to him and I was in town and kaponyas where shouting and I quote ” ba miyagi ati shani muli ba kali” I felt good…and also when I got a contract for my restaurant to cater for a workshop
KAPA187: By the time you are 50 years old what will you have achieved
Mr Miyagi: when im 50 by Gods grace I would have achieved my goal of having my own 5 star restaurant and a state of art recording studio
KAPA187: When can your fans expect an album
Mr Miyagi: .my album hmm uhmm I will drop a mix tape every 3 months then by this time next year my album will be ready but for now im doing the mix tape thing I have two out right now so halla at me on gifted @im_mr_miyagi for the music search for i-am-mr-miyagi on soundcloud.com
….. Thanks
THE MUSIC
LIE TO YOUR MAN
This is an undeniable hit , the hook and beat will be stuck in your mind .
He samples lines from Trey songz and uses them for his chours.
The Kitwe City Council says it is disappointed with the low pace of construction works at the Freedom Park Shopping Mall by Platinum Gold Equity Limited.
Kitwe Mayor Chileshe Bweupe says the construction works should have been be completed in 36 months but to date very little development has taken place.
He was speaking during a press briefing in Kitwe on Friday.
Mr. Bweupe says the local authority is now worried that the contractor, has not made any serious progress on the project and has not even attempted to sign a new MoU after the first one expired on May 15, 2010.
He, however, stated that the council is obliged to develop the city to modern standards as such it will compel the company through various available statutes to ensure that the project is completed.
Meanwhile, Kitwe City council are consulting other stakeholders to remove vendors from the streets as the December deadline approaches.
Acting Town Clerk Bornwell Luanga says the local authority wants to ensure all key stakeholders are engaged in the process.
Mr Luanga was speaking at the opening of a consultative meeting on how to deal with street vendors on Thursday.
He says stakeholders will form a TaskForce to come up with suggestions on how street vendors will be moved to designated markets.
And Council Director of Community Development Monica Mwanza says the council has taken time to go round markets in the city to see how best to occupy the vendors.
Meanwhile a disabled street vendor Winstone Matafwali urged the local council to take into consideration the plight of the disabled when planning market places.
Inspector General of Police Dr martin Malama with his deputy Stella Libongani during a press briefing in Lusaka yesterday
Inspector General of police Martin Malama says investigations into the 2.1 billion kwacha cash found at former Labour Minister Austin Liato’s farm are continuing.
Dr Malama said that police are still pursuing the matter and the nation will be informed once investigation are concluded.
However, he could not state whether Mr Liato has been summoned in connection with the same case.
Dr Malama said that police are still pursuing other cases and investigations should not be seen to be political.
He warned that police will investigate wherever a crime has been committed and will move in to correct the situation.
[pullquote]“According to the BOZ Act, money is supposed to be in circulation. The way this money had been stored gives a basis to investigate why it was kept in such a manner,” Ms Kanjela said.[/pullquote]
On Friday early morning, combined team of police, DEC and ACC officers dug out the money in question from a hole at the former minister’s house in Mwembeshi. The money is now in State custody at the former task force offices.
The money was in bundles of K50,000 and K20,000 notes with Zanaco and Bank of Zambia (BOZ) stickers on them. The stickers had dates of March 10 and 15, 2011 on them.
Officers from the Drug Enforcement Commission, Anti-Corruption Commission and the Zambia Police arrived at plot No. 44 Mpamba settlement at 16:00 hours on Thursday to conduct their operation.
According to a police spokesperson Ms Kanjela, acting on a tip-off from members of the public, a joint team of officers with a search warrant broke into an incomplete house which had an elaborate security system with an alarm. The officers dug through two thick layers of concrete with conforce wire. Underneath, they found two trunks which also contained a safe each with money in them.
The officers discovered the two trunks two hours after they arrived at the house and left the house yesterday morning at about 03:00 hours. She said using picks, an axe and shovels which the officers had carried with them, they dug through two floors of concrete reinforced with conforce wire before they found the treasure trove.
Ms Kanjela said police will summon Mr Liato to ascertain whether the money is his and why he was keeping such huge amounts of money underground at his home. She said Mr Liato was not at home at the time and when called on his mobile phone, he told officers he was on his way from Kaoma.
“According to the BOZ Act, money is supposed to be in circulation. The way this money had been stored gives a basis to investigate why it was kept in such a manner,” Ms Kanjela said.
She said the officers also discovered a brand new Mercedes Benz car and a Toyota Prado which were also locked in a garage which also has an elaborate security system. Ms Kanjela, however, said the two vehicles were not seized.
Health authorities in Kapiri Mposhi district are worried that there is high default rate of Anti Retroviral Therapy (ART) amongst people living with HIV/AIDS in the area.
District ART coordinator, Oscar Mwenda says many people put on ART through normal channels were defaulting the treatment for unknown reasons.
Mr. Mwenda says the defaulting rate in the area is posing a great threat and contradiction to the fight against the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
ZANIS reports that he revealed this during a Support Group indaba organized by Development Aid from People to People (DAPP), Practical Action and the Network for People Living with HIV/AIDS (NZP+) in Kapiri Mposhi on Saturday.
And Central Province Practical Action, Programs Officer, Alex Nyakatsapa says support groups should retain their relevance by ensuring that they stick to their terms of reference which aim at bridging the gap in health service provision.
The Indaba is an initiative aimed at strengthening the coordination of Support Groups and helps them conform to prescribed requirements of operations.
“O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever!”
(1 Chronicles 16:34, AMP)
TODAY’S WORD from Joel and Victoria
No matter what is going on in life, you can find a reason to thank God. What you dwell on is what you will draw into your life. You can either focus on your problems, or you can focus on your blessings. The question is: do you want more problems, or do you want more blessings?
One thing I’ve noticed is that when you live with an attitude of constant gratitude, not only do you thank God for what He’s done in your life, you start thanking Him for what He will do in your life. You thank Him for opening doors for you. You thank Him for increasing you. You thank Him for bringing the right people into your life. When you say “thank you” to God for the things that are coming, it’s really a declaration of your faith in Him. You are saying in essence, “God, I’m so sure of Your goodness, I’m so sure that You’re working in my life that I’m going to thank You right now for what You are going to do tomorrow!”
Friend, that’s the kind of faith that pleases God. When we trust in His goodness and believe that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him, that pleases His heart so much. So today, have an attitude of gratitude. Let your faith say thank you. Praise Him throughout the day with a humble heart and watch what He will do on your behalf!
A PRAYER FOR TODAY
Father in heaven, thank You for another day to praise You. Thank You for all You have done in my life. Help me see Your hand of blessing as I continually acknowledge and praise Your name in Jesus’ name. Amen.
The Zambia Tourism Board has unveiled the new “Let’s Explore” Tourism Brand at the World Travel Market (WTM) in London, United Kingdom.
