PRESIDENT Sata says he has found investors to take over operations of Mazabuka’s Munali Nickel Mine, which was recently put under care and maintenance for the second time.
The move is aimed at saving a number of jobs that are at risk of being lost at the mine.

Mr Sata announced this when he addressed a campaign rally in Magoye yesterday to drum up support for Patriotic Front (PF) candidate Eugene Munyama in the November 28 parliamentary by-election.

At the peak of the global financial crisis in 2009 the mine was put under care and maintenance and only resumed production in March 2010.

But just a few days ago the mine stopped production due to insolvency.

The President told scores of Magoye residents who attended the rally that they should vote as they wish and that he will not force them to vote for Mr Munyama. He, however said should Mr Munyama win he would appoint him Southern Province Minister.

“If you people here still trust Hakainde Hichilema (UPND president), it is not my problem. It is your problem. It is up to you to reject him (Mr Munyama), the choice is yours. You have had your own UPND MPs for 10 years but you have seen what they have done for you. Southern Province is one of the richest and if we work together as one, the sky is the limit,” Mr Sata said.

Mr Sata instructed Southern Province permanent secretary In’utu Suba to advertise for feasibility studies for the Magoye, Mazabuka-Nampundwe Mine and the Mazabuka-Itezhi Tezhi roads.

He said UPND MPs have no solution to the animal diseases that have continued to ravage the province.

Mr Sata said if elected, Mr Munyama will find it easy to access funds for development from Government.

The President cautioned Mr Munyama against neglecting the people once elected MP.

[pullquote]“When I was in MMD government, the late Ronald Penza picked him (Mr Hichilema) to sell parastatals. We gave him Luanshya Mine to sell but we have never seen the money. We gave him Lima Bank to sell but he got a house for Lima Bank and that is the one he lives in. We gave him to sell Kagem Mine but we don’t know how much he sold it. We gave him to sell Intercontinental Hotel in Livingstone but today he is the chairman of Sun Hotel (the former Intercontinental Hotel).[/pullquote]

“When you go to Parliament don’t just go to drink tea and beer. Speak for the silent majority. Some people go to Parliament and forget where they come from. I am talking from experience because I was MP for 20 years and I know problems of MPs,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mr Sata has questioned Mr Hichilema’s source of wealth after the latter chaired the Zambia Privatisation Agency, which was responsible for selling Government companies and institutions.

However, Mr Hichilema could not be reached for comment on his mobile by press time.

“When I was in MMD government, the late Ronald Penza picked him (Mr Hichilema) to sell parastatals. We gave him Luanshya Mine to sell but we have never seen the money. We gave him Lima Bank to sell but he got a house for Lima Bank and that is the one he lives in. We gave him to sell Kagem Mine but we don’t know how much he sold it. We gave him to sell Intercontinental Hotel in Livingstone but today he is the chairman of Sun Hotel (the former Intercontinental Hotel).

“Today Mr Hichilema has more than 75,000 animals in Southern Province. Where did he get those animals?” Mr Sata wondered.

Mr Sata said Mr Hichilema has no track record of political experience and that he assumed the UPND’s leadership using money.

The President reiterated that in 2009 Mr Hichilema formed the pact with the PF in the hope that he would lead the alliance in the event that Mr Sata died.  “After seeing that I did not die in 2010 he left,” he said.

Mr Sata said shortly before the September 20 tripartite elections, the UPND leader started peddling lies that he had died.  Mr Sata also dismissed Mr Hichilema’s claims that he (Mr Sata) is tribalist.

He said he is determined to address problems of all Zambians regardless of their tribe because hunger does not choose tribe.

Mr Sata also said he has appointed a number of people from other tribes to key decision-making positions.

To demonstrate this, Mr Sata announced that he has appointed former minister in the UNIP government Frederick Hapunda as a diplomat.

Speaking at the same rally Minister of Information, Broadcasting and Tourism Given Lubinda said Mr Hichilema hijacked the UPND and that he has been peddling lies because it has become difficult for him to lead the opposition political party.

The PF local leadership commended Mr Sata for choosing Mazabuka as his first place to visit outside Lusaka after winning the September 20 tripartite elections.
And speaking when he paid a courtesy call on Chief Hanjalika, Mr Sata also instructed Minister of Agriculture Emmanuel Chenda to buy tractors, which will be given to traditional rulers to lease them out to farmers.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL Mumba Malila has submitted to the Lusaka High Court that more than 80 MMD motor vehicles were seized because they were bought using public funds.

He said the seizure of the motor vehicles in question was legally justified and supported by the Zambian Constitution because they were procured using public funds.
Mr Malila was responding to a petition by MMD national secretary Richard Kachingwe, who had challenged police seizure of 101 vehicles.

He said the vehicles in the custody of the police and those that were about to be seized were all bought using public funds.

He stated that police had instituted investigations to find out the alleged use of public funds or the acquisition by the MMD of more than 175 motor vehicles, among others.

Mr Malila said the Zambia Police Service had so far taken custody of 84 motor vehicles for investigations and the MMD was not the only one claiming ownership of the seized vehicles.

Apart from the MMD, a named company and some individuals from whom the vehicles were recovered were also claiming ownership of the vehicles.??Mr Malila said the true ownership of the motor vehicles was yet to be established, adding that the MMD would be expected to prove that it was the owner of the vehicles as claimed by Major Kachingwe.

He further stated that investigations carried out so far had revealed that the vehicles in question were imported, cleared and registered under unclear circumstances.??He said there was reason for the investigators to suspect that duty was not paid on the vehicles.

Mr Malila said it was necessary and legally justified for the Zambia Police Service to continue keeping the vehicles until the on-going investigations were concluded.

The attorney general said the vehicles were not in danger of being vandalised.

He further said it was not clear who the petitioner was between Maj Kachingwe and the MMD.

“The State is not aware of the petitioner’s claim that MMD members’ homes are being subjected to illegal searches.

The petitioner will be put to strict test to prove that allegation,” he said.??Maj Kachingwe had petitioned the attorney general claiming that the MMD’s 101 vehicles had been indiscriminately targeted by Patriotic Front members and the Zambia Police Service.

He alleged that the money used for the procurement of the vehicles in question was from private resources and donations to the party.

He accused the police of having objected to the release the vehicles, and further alleged that the residences and offices of MMD members and officials had been subjected to illegal search contrary to Article 17 of the Constitution.

Lusaka High Court Judge Annie Sitali set February 20, 2012 as the date for commencement of trial in the matter.
[Times of Zambia]

Born 6th July 1987,firstborn in a family of seven girls. Her’s has always been a musical family,her father was a rhythm guitarist and her mother a soloist in a gospel band back in the 80’s.

With school consuming all her time (she has a degree in Linguistics and Literature and is currently pursuing a second degree in Law), music was left on the back burner until 2010,when she was encouraged by her uncle, the legendary Lukundo “Superman” Siwale, co C.E.O and founder of So’ Good Entertainment, to take part in a Zambian tv competition dubbed The Ultimate Slinger a show aimed at producing Zambia’s next mainstream musical sensation though she had to drop out of the competition for personal reasons,the fire was lit and burned strongly
It was this that led her to begin recording at So Good Entertainment, under the mentorship of Chifumbe “Buttah” Sikazwe and Grant Mutema, who produced her first tracks, “Feel So Good” and “That Woman”

Kapa187: Your new song “my kinda cute” is like a breath of fresh air to the zambian music scene , but before we get into that , where did it all begin .What was the defining moment when you said this is what i want to do with my life.

Scarlet: 2010, i took part in a show called the ultimate slinger on tv2…i didn’t finish it,but when i left the show, i decided i would try recording for fun because my brother had just opened a studio….so i did…a song called “feel so good” that will be on the album….i loved it…and the rest as they say is history…

Kapa187: How did you decide on your particular sound , which i can describe as adult contemporary R&B / soul?

Scarlet: my sound is actually better described as adult contemporary soul, and afro jazz….i have steered away from rnb because i feel it restricts what i try to do….my producer, James “The King” Sakala, is earth and fire and i am wind and water..our music is very real..so we have come up with an eclectic combination of mainstream sound mixed with a lot of ethnic influences like flutes and bongo drums….i sing mostly in english…so we needed to find a way to keep our roots….

Kapa187: Name 1 local and 1 international artist that you really admire and say to yourself “one day i will reach that level”

Scarlet: locally…i love Maureen Lilanda’s grace….i don’t really think i’m looking at anybody and saying i wanna be that big you know….i wanna be the best i can be at what i do….BUT i wanna be unforgettable, like patti la belle and natalie cole and miriam makeba and all those great women who made magic on stage and in my headsets….that’s what i want, to be that girl from zambia that people will remember even if its only for one song….

Kapa187: Music is not an easy profession what challenges have you faced?

Scarlet: im just starting out,so i’ve struggled with identifying my sound….and of course, finances are a trip!  so we work very hard….but i have a great team…my So’ Good Entertainment crew, my management, Jamiel Banda,  my stylist Mwamba Nakazweh of Lily’s Pepelia….my family, my label execs, Lukundo Siwale and Chifumbe Sikazweh they make sure i have a buffer around me that ensures that i don’t get discouraged…and radio, wow! the djs have been so good to me…..so far so good….

Kapa187: Tell us about a moment in your career  that you will never forget.

Scarlet: my first live band performance….with Ebony Soul….that was beautiful! that’s what i wanna do forever!

Kapa187: Do you have any hidden talents ?

Scarlet: wow,not hidden….i cook…i bake…and i’m really good with hair and make up,do those count????

Kapa187: Back to “My kinda love” it is a very good song , what was your inspiration for it ?

Scarlet: My Kinda Cute was a song i wrote as a collaborative effort with Victor “KRYTIC” Muligisa and Theophillus Holland Gausi….last year….so when i made this version i was just adding to it…we had to write about all the things we loved about our partners….so i was inspired by the guy i was dating at the time….

Kapa187: If you had to change something about you , what would it be.

Scarlet: i would stop doubting myself so much…and stop being so tolerant of everything….i think i also need to grow tougher skin…i cry easily… 🙂

Kapa187: Where can your fans get to listen to your music , and when will your album be out?

Scarlet: my music…so far we have been giving it out piece by piece mostly for radio airplay…but  next month we will be on myspace, reverbnation, youtube and a couple other sites, we are also in the process of launching a full scarlet website so just watch this space…..

Kapa187: What do you hope to achieve in your career , what is your ultimate goal?

Scarlet: i want to be unforgettable…..and i also want to reach a level where i can be a voice for people who have something to say….im young, and i think young people go through a lot of things that are very relevant…i want to be able to speak out for good causes and have people listen and lend a hand….musically i really want to bring the magic of live music back…in a big way…so yeah,thats what im working on….

Kapa187: Any last words for your fans

Scarlet: thankyou thankyou thankyou….they give me so much love its ridiculous and i will keep doing this until they don’t want me to anymore….look out for my first album single “Me And My Music Man (Tino Farra)” dropping in December….i think people will be pleasantly surprised…..

THE MUSIC

MY KINDA CUTE

Whatever you are going through this song will put you in a good mood.

Live performance at Arabian nights

“I want to be unforgettable…if something I said or something I sang, changes a life or puts a smile on someone’s face, or causes them to shed a tear because of the beauty of its truth, then that’s good enough for me….I like the idea of spreading happiness… I just want to touch someone with my voice and my smile….”

BY KAPA187

The former government has defended the sale of Zamtel saying it was transparent, above board and according to the law.

Former Vice President, George Kunda has disputed the preliminary outcome of the Commission of Inquiry appointed to investigate the sale of Zamtel to Lap Green of Libya, which established that the transaction was fraudulent and illegal.

According to the former Vice President, the transaction is well documented at the Zambia Development Agency (ZDA).

He has however, endorsed Government’s decision to table the Zamtel report before cabinet saying it is supported by law.

Mr. Kunda warned that a prospective reversal of the Zamtel transaction is a threat to foreign investment in the country.

He has described the setting up of commissions of inquiries, as unprecedented and stage-managed by the current Government.

Mr. Kunda, who is a lawyer, is saddened that the terms of references for the commissions of inquiries seem to be predetermined.

He has advised the Patriotic Front (PF) to inherit all liabilities and assets that were left by the previous government saying it is a norm of governance.

MUVITV

First Republican President Dr. Kenneth Kaunda has assured the Chinese government that the PF government under the leadership of President Sata is ready to engage China as economic development partner.

ZANIS reports that Dr. Kaunda says President Sata does not in anyway hold any anti-Chinese feelings as the world tended to believe in the past especially in the run up to the September 20 tripartite elections which saw him ascend to the presidency.

He said President Sata is a truthful, genuine and honest man who always stands for the truth.

Dr. Kaunda said this today when he visited the China non-ferrous Metals Mining Company in Beijing.

Dr. Kaunda explained that President Sata had sent him to China as a special envoy to reassure the Chinese government and its people that the Zambian government is ready to support and work with the people of China.

He explained that President Sata has written a letter to the President of China Hu Jintao which will be handed over to his Vice President Xi Jinping tomorrow in which he outlines his readiness to work with China.

Dr. Kaunda noted that President Micheal Sata had sent him to Angola a few weeks ago on a similar mission to renew Zambia’s relations with that country.

ZANIS

MY Home Town (MHT) managing director Silas Mungala says he will cooperate with law enforcement agencies to establish whether public funds were used in the purchase of the 29 electric motor bikes that have been seized from MMD outspoken Petauke Member of Parliament Dora Siliya.

Mr Mungala said in an interview from his base in Choma on Monday that it is unfortunate that the issue of the seized electric motor cycles valued at about K140 million has brought about political undue excitement.

“I will be able to lay everything to rest. I want someone to come to me in an official manner so that we can lay everything to rest,” Mr Mungala said.

He said there are many of such electric motor cycles running in all parts of the country which his organisation has supplied for sale.

“Those motor cycles are all over the country, we bought them for sale. Unless I see them, that is when I will be able to confirm that they are the ones,” Mr Mungala said.

Mr Mungala said the electric motor cycles will be easy to identify if they are the same ones supplied to the MHT Petauke Chapter because they are branded.

He said unless there shall be an official enquiry on the seized electric motor bicycles, he would not be able to comment on the matter.

Mr Mungala challenged the Government to make an official inquiry to My Home Town in as far as the motor bikes that were confiscated from Ms Siliya, the former Education Minister in the MMD government.

“Unless I get an official query on the matter that is when I will be able to give a statement. If there is an official inquiry let them come to me but as far as I am concerned no bicycles belonging to My Home Town have gone missing,” Mr Mungala said.

He, however, said his organisation has not received reports that the motor bikes are missing, adding he would have been the first to report the matter to police had there been claims of missing bicycles.

He, however, clarified assertions that Ms Siliya is the matron for MHT stating that the Petauke law maker is in fact an ordinary member of the organisation.

Meanwhile, JIMMY CHIBUYE reports that Lusaka lawyer Sakwiba Sikota has accused the Patriotic Front (PF) of harassing and persecuting Ms Siliya and other members of the opposition MMD for nothing other than political vindictiveness.

Mr Sikota said Ms Siliya and other members of the MMD are being persecuted for crimes they have not committed.

But Chief Government spokesperson Given Lubinda has charged that Mr Sikota is being myopic in his thinking by accusing Government of persecution when the police are still investigating the matter.

Mr Lubinda said the PF Government is not using the police to harass and persecute any MMD member and advised Mr Sikota not to be a “cry baby” to win public sympathy.

Mr Lubinda said the police will not follow people who are innocent but will endeavour to pursue and interrogate individuals they suspect to have acted against the law.

He said Government will not allow any person or institution to interfere with the operation of the police because it wants security wings to conduct their duties professionally for justice to be dispensed.

Mr Sikota said at a press briefing in Lusaka yesterday the action by the police to search Ms Siliya’s house and subject her to interrogations on how she came in possession of 12 motor cycles, under the brand name of My Home Town, amounts to harassment and persecution.

On Friday last week, Police searched the premises of Ms Siliya and asked her to provide proof of ownership to the 12 motorised bicycles, 12 pieces of MMD branded chitenge materials and four motor vehicles found at her house.

But Mr Sikota said many Zambians have motor vehicles and they have not been asked to provide proof of purchase of the said vehicles as the Taskforce has requested Ms Siliya do so.

“The persecution of our client has been extended to even her son who was called to the Taskforce over the same issue. This is the extent of the persecution and harassment of the Siliya family that the State is engaged in,” Mr Sikota said.

Mr Sikota said Ms Siliya, who is also is a patron of My Home Town Petauke branch registered under the Societies Act Cap 119 of the Laws of Zambia informed the Taskforce that she received the motorised bicycles from My Home Town head office in Choma who have distributed the motor cycles to other branches in Namwala, Ndola and Lusaka.

He said the alleged witch-hunt should stop because it is clear and evident and wondered why the police have targeted Ms Siliya on the My Home Town motor cycles and not others involved in the project.

Mr Sikota said Government should stick to good governance and the worldwide principle that one is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

He said the country is being taken back to the dark days of SITET and the Leadership Code when everyone was a suspect and subject to arrest for having any form of property.

[Zambia Daily Mail]

Zambia’s fourth president Rupiah Banda lamented at what he described as persecution of some of the ministers who served in his administration. Mr Banda said he was surprised that this was happening despite him having accepted to hand over power peacefully.

He said he did not understand why some PF members were grabbing bicycles from MMD members in Chipata even after the former ruling party handed over power peacefully.

Mr. Banda travelled to Chipata by road and was escorted by three official vehicles.

Zambia’s fourth president said he now felt betrayed by a number of MMD members whom he thought were loyal to him at the time he was at the helm of the country and the party.

Addressing his sympathisers in Chipata at the weekend, Mr Banda said he was disappointed with members who deserted the party shortly after realising the MMD’s 20-year reign had come to an end.

This was Mr Banda’s first visit to Eastern Province after being defeated by Patriotic Front’s leader, Michael Sata in polls held on September 20.

Mr Banda said he has learnt a lot of lessons from the loss and that he has come to know which people were genuine members of the former ruling party.

The former head of State apologised to the people in the province for supporting the candidature of former MMD provincial chairperson, Kennedy Zulu at the party’s provincial conference prior to the tripartite elections.

Chipata business executive, Chilufya Chishala, was the preferred candidate for the position of MMD provincial chairperson but Mr Banda intervened and endorsed Mr Zulu and instructed delegates at the conference to support his candidate.

Mr Zulu was, however, among the first National Executive Committee members of the MMD to defect to the ruling PF after the elections.

“I have a case before you the people of Eastern Province for defending Kennedy Zulu as provincial chairperson,” Mr Banda told his supporters who met him at the Chipata-Lundazi Road junction.

He urged MMD members in Chipata not to be ashamed following the loss but to remain united and reorganise the party so as to be able to take on future elections.

Mr. Banda said the MMD scored many successes in the economy citing the rehabilitation of roads, construction of new hospitals and schools as some of the developmental projects the MMD successfully executed during his reign.

‘MMD did a lot during my tenure in office. More roads, schools, hospitals have been built across the country, there is no need of being ashamed of ourselves, instead we should be proud of that,’ he said.

The former head of State was later driven to his Chasimpa Bwezani Farm on the Chipata-Mfuwe Road,

And acting provincial chairperson, Ezekiel Mtonga said the MMD was strong in the province.

Mr. Mtonga said the defection of the former provincial chairperson, Mr. Zulu to the PF had not disturbed the party.

As Zambian women joined the rest of the world in commemorating 16 days of gender activism to raise greater awareness around women’s rights, a Jerabo man in Kalulushi allegedly killed in cold blood his 18-year-old wife and later tried to cover up the suspected murder, Police confirmed yesterday.

It is not clear what time the senseless murder occurred but the victim has been identified as Prescosia Chama.She has left behind a one-year-old baby she had with the same Jerabo.This is according to police spokeswoman Elizabeth Kanjela.

“It appears he beat her up quite a lot and when she died, he tried to cover it all up by tying a wire around her neck and hanging her with the same wire in order to make it appear like a suicide,” Kanjela said, “but the post-mortem shows that she did not commit suicide. She could have died as a result of the violent beatings.”

Ms Kanjela told the Daily Mail that Joseph Soko, who has a history of violence, has been arrested and “will appear in court as soon as possible to answer murder charges.”

The infamous Jerabos—a street lingo term which means ex-jail boys or plain thieves—are notorious for their disregard for the law in particular and human life in general.

Their favourite pastime is to hijack on highways truckloads of copper destined for exportation from the various mining houses in the Copperbelt province or beating up people, mostly womenfolk.

In April they stormed a Kitchen Party in Kitwe and beat up the women who were having a party there because one of the girls in the party, the host apparently, had refused to marry one of their copper-thief bosses.

Chama, whose one-year-old child is unlikely to grow up with both parents, is not the only Zambian woman who has been brutalised and killed needlessly in Zambia in recent years as studies show “a sharp rise” in violence against women.
[Zambia Daily Mail]

As 2011 comes to a close , there are some movies that you will need to watch before entering the new year.

THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO

Mission Impossible 4 – Ghost Protocol

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0LQnQSrC-g&ob=av3e

Sherlock Holmes : Game Of Shadows

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tj3qx_HbPSE

J. Edgar

BY KAPA187