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Zambia’s friendly against Goa select on Saturday at Nehru Stadium has been enhanced with the Indians reinforcing the side with West African professionals.
Six India-based professionals playing in the Goa Regional league have been added to the team to face Zambia in the latter’s first of two friendly games in India of their weeklong training camp there.
Three Nigerians, two players from Cote d’Ivoire and one Ghanaian professional will be part of the Goa Select team.
Ivorian’s Babakar Keita and Olga Kalou, Ghanaian Moga James and the Nigerian trio of Ndubuisi Okpara, Joel and Ranti Martins will formed the foreign legion of Goa Select.
The game is part of Zambia’s two-match series of friendly games in India with the second a full international against the hosts at the same venue on Tuesday before the team returns home on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Zambia coach Herve Renard is set to give senior debuts to Nkana’s attacking trio of Evans Kangwa and Reynold Kampamba who have been in lightening form their club this season.
Kampamba and kangwa are also part of Zambia Under-20 team that will be defending its Cosafa Youth Championship title in Botswana next weekend.
President Michael Sata, has applauded the combined team of Zambia Police Service, Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) and Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) for conducting a successful operation that resulted in a seizure of K2.1 billion cash at Mr Austin Liato’s Mumbwa farm.
The President said he has learnt with great shock, the discovery of such huge sums of money concealed in a strange and most unusual manner at the former labour minister’s farm.
“No doubt, the Mafia-style under which this money was hidden raises serious questions about how the same was acquired. It breaks my heart to see how someone could go to such extremes to conceal money if it was legitimately acquired,” the President said.
“This only goes to show the Zambian people the extent to which the mandate they gave those they entrusted with authority to preside over affairs of state was abused.”
The President said unearthing a total sum of K2.1 billion buried in two steel trunks under a thick layer of concrete slab in a highly fortified and electronically fitted structure, sends a wrong signal about the image of the country because this is not exemplary behaviour from political leaders.
President Sata said this is just one of the many operations the combined team of investigators were carrying out regarding suspected criminal activity that took place under the previous regime.
“Of late, some suspects have been unreasonably grumbling by issuing pre-emptive statements to try and threaten a duly elected government against carrying out its legitimate mandate. This discovery is a serious indictment on all those elements that may be facing possible charges of corruption and other forms of wrong-doing including those who have seen it opportune and convenient to betray the Zambian people by siding with such people,” the President said.
“Let me make it abundantly clear that this is just the beginning and our colleagues should not panic or resort to desperate measures of seeking false public sympathy by mischaracterising legitimate investigations as persecution. This is not a witch-hunt, we are moving systematically by taking into consideration all leads and clues into what happened in the past. After all the Zambian people are the complainants and they deserve nothing but the truth.”
He urged the investigating wings to ensure that they follow the due process of the law and take to court only those cases they are satisfied with.
PF Leader Michael Sata adressing a rally in Chongwe
PRESIDENT Michael Sata says he avoids taking international trips because he does not want to waste the country’s meagre resources which can be channeled towards poverty alleviation for the benefit of the majority poor Zambians.
Mr Sata has said that he did not want to undertake costly trips abroad because he wanted to minimise on expenditure so that money could be channeled to helping ‘defeat’ poverty for which the Zambian people elected him into office.
Addressing a mammoth public rally at Chongwe grounds to drum up support for the PF candidate for the Chongwe parliamentary by-election scheduled for Monday, President Sata said he was an accountable leader who had rejected a number of recent foreign trips, including one to Australia and another to Malawi.
The president said he could have spent a lot of money already had he been traveling indiscriminately because all his trips required a horde of security and other personnel accompanying him, all of whom were entitled to allowances.
He said such expenses would be enough to build a hospital for the people of Zambia.
President Sata said his first trip outside State House was only on Wednesday this week when he travelled to Magoye in the Southern Province.
Mr Sata said he could not back-track on his position on expensive foreign trips, especially that he condemned and referred to his predecessor, Rupiah Banda, as a mobile president because of the numerous trips he undertook.
And Mr Sata has said that UPND president Hakainde Hichilema should not be trusted with the presidency because he allegedly failed to account for money from the privatisation process.
Mr Sata said when he was minister under the Chiluba administration, then Finance minister Ronald Penza invited Mr Hichilema to manage the privatisation of Luanshya Copper Mines, Kagem Mine and Intercontinental Hotel in Livingstone but that the UPND leader allegedly chose to become chairperson of the same hotel he had privatised.
The president said the Government had allegedly not seen money raised from the privatisation of the facilities to which Mr Hichilema was associated and warned that he would abuse power should Zambians make him president.
He said Mr Hichilema lacked experience as a politician, especially that he had never served at lower ranks but merely jumped the ladder to lead the UPND after the death of founder president Anderson Mazoka.The Chongwe parliamentary by-election resulted from the resignation of Japhen Mwakalombe as an MMD MP.
Mr Sata said he had decided to give Mr Mwakalombe a job as high commissioner because the former MP was a credible man who did not want to benefit from a corrupt victory.
Mr Mwakalombe won the Chongwe seat in the September 20 elections.Other candidates contesting the Chongwe seat are Adrian Bauleni of the UPND, the Forum for Democracy and Development (FDD) has DavidChulu while UNIP will be represented by Jahannes Mativenga.
The president said Mr Bauleni was appointed Zambian ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo where he was allegedly rejected by the government of that country and later resigned to join UPND.
The president urged the people of Chongwe to equally reject Mr Bauleni to avoid poverty and underdevelopment.
Mr Sata also said his critics had been proved wrong after having had campaigned that his presidency would deliver Zambia into war.
[Times of Zambia]
Editors note:Our sincere apologies for the errors in the article and the inconvenience caused
JUSTICE Minister Sebastian Zulu has asked top leaders in the previous government to stop issuing negative statements about the Zamtel Commission of Inquiry findings as some of them allegedly benefited alot from the proceeds from the privatisation of the telecommunications company.
Mr Zulu has revealed that a well-known law firm owned by one of the top MMD officials allegedly benefited over K190 million from the Zamtel privatization exercise.
The minister, who described the sale of Zamtel as “fraud and economic sabotage” said at a Press briefing in Lusaka yesterday that it was unfair that former MMD top officials who benefited were now in the forefront condemning the outcome of the inquiry without shame.
“Let these named MMD top officials declare interest in the Zamtel sale because a law firm received K190 million from Zambia Development Agency (ZDA) for unknown services.
These findings were not stage-managed, whoever is saying this is just trying to cover up something,” the minister said.And a team of experts hired by the commission of inquiry to do a thorough research on the sale of Zamtel and its assets discovered that ZDA had a suspense account in which legal fees were paid with all supporting documents.
And justice Minister Sebastian Zulu disclosed that LAP GREEN is externalising its capital following the recent inquiry into the privatisation of the telecommunication company.
And Chairperson of the technical committee constituted to inquire into the sale of Zamtel, Dimple Ranchhod says George Kunda and Company legal firm was paid 190 million kwacha during the procurement of the ZAMTEL deal.
Mrs Ranchhod says the revelation on the payment of the same funds to the legal firm was discovered at the Zambia development Agency -ZDA-
She also divulged that RP capital did not evaluate ZAMTEL assets.
The K190 million payment to the legal law firm allegedly had no supporting documents.Chairperson of the experts committee, Dimple Ranchhod, said upon questioning the ZDA chief accountant on the K190 million paid to one of the top officials in the MMD, it was discovered that the money was allegedly not paid for legal services but for unspecified services.
“ZDA failed to show the committee any documentation supporting the payment of the K190 million to a named legal firm,” Mr Ranchhod said.
[pullquote]“Let these named MMD top officials declare interest in the Zamtel sale because a law firm received K190 million from Zambia Development Agency (ZDA) for unknown services.[/pullquote]
Meanwhile, Citizens Forum executive director Simon Kabanda has said it is irresponsible for former vice-president George Kunda to claim that the findings were stage-managed when the commission of inquiry was just confirming earlier findings by the Dennis Chirwa-led rribunal.
Mr Kabanda also called for the immediate reversal of the 75 per cent sale of Zamtel to Libya’s LAP Green given the irregularities that had come to the fore.
Mr Kabanda said in Lusaka yesterday that the irregular and fraudulent manner that Zamtel was sold had already been observed by civil society organisations which petitioned the matter before the tribunal.
He said it was clear from the onset that there were some irregularities in the manner that the former government of the MMD undertook the privatisation of Zamtel.
“It is surprising that George Kunda could come out this way because the issues coming out now are not new. You will recall that the civil society organisations had taken this matter to a tribunal and a lot of irregularities were found, only that then Communications and Transport minister Dora Siliya was being shielded by the former government,” Mr Kabanda said.
File:A youth in business -cashing in on Tujilijili (brandy or gin packed in small sachets)
THE Government will soon issue a statement to guide the production and sale of alcoholic beverages packaged in sachets in an effort to curb abuse of alcohol.
Local Government, Housing, Early Childhood Education and Environmental Protection Minister Nkandu Luo has said that the Government will soon make a comprehensive statement on illicit alcoholic beverages such as those in sachets (commonly known as Tujilijili).
Professor Luo said such forms of alcoholic beverages had immensely contributed to alcohol abuse in the country as well as contributing to gender based violence.
Prof Luo has since urged the civil society to operationalise the Gender Based Violence (GBV) Act.
She was speaking when she officiated at the Non-Governmental Organisation Coordinating Council (NGOCC)’s 15th General Assembly in Lusaka yesterday.
Prof Luo said the civil society should partner with the Government in raising awareness on the existence of the GBV Act.??She said both men and women needed to be sensitised about the existence of the Act because people were still not aware that GBV was a crime.
She said there was need for vices like alcohol abuse to be curbed because they fueled gender-based violence.
A combined team of law enforcement officers on Thursday unearthed and seized two point one billion Kwacha from former Labour Minister Austin Liato’s farm in Lusaka West.
Officers from the Police, Anti-Corruption Commission and the Drug Enforcement Commission undertook a two hour joint operations to uncover and seize money buried in two trunks at Mr Liato’s farm number 44 in Mwembeshi area.
The law enforcement officers are expected to question Mr LIATO over the money suspected to have been corruptly obtained and held in contravention of the Banking and financial services Act.
A ZNBC news crew that checked on the former Task Force on Corruption Officers in Woodlands in Lusaka around 03:00 hours on Friday found the joint team of Security officers counting through the stacks of cash bundles in fifty thousand Kwacha notes.
Inspector General of Police Martin Malama who was at the Former Task Force on Corruption offices, vowed that no stone will be left unturned in pursuit of plundered public resources.
Dr Malama says all culprits will be brought to book regardless of their political or social status.
And Police Spokesperson Elizabeth Kanjela says Mr Liato will appear before the law enforcement officers to account for the money.
Ms Kanjela says Mr Liato will be accorded a chance to explain how he acquired and held on the cash suspected to have been looted from public coffers.
Following the recent successful launch of their Vehicle and Asset finance product in Zambia, First National Bank Zambia (FNB) yesterday officially launched their home loans product to the Zambian market at Lusaka’s Inter Continental Hotel.
The main features of the FNB home loans product are flexible pricing, terms and accessibility appropriately suited to the local market. The launch is most timely, taking into consideration the increasing consumer demand for houses, the few options available for affordable housing finance, the recent decrease in the base lending rates and Government’s priority to increase the number of low to medium cost housing units in the country. FNB Zambia becomes the fifth retail financial institution to provide property finance in the country. The Honourable Minister of Local Government, Housing, Early Education and Environmental Protection, Professor Nkandu Luo was in attendance as Guest of Honour.
Speaking at the launch, FNB Zambia Chief Executive Officer Sarel van Zyl said: “The home loans product will give our customers access to housing finance for the purpose of buying, renovating, building and releasing equity out of their asset at a competitive and flexible pricing structure.” He further added: “the launch of the home loans product is just one example of our commitment to innovation across our entire range of retail banking products to be introduced in Zambia”.
FNB offers a comprehensive range of retail lending products including mortgage loans, vehicle and asset finance, personal and business loans to Zambian nationals and residents.
During the past decade, significant investments in key sectors and the overall infrastructure of Zambia has led to solid economic growth and a budding property market. Unfortunately, the shortage of housing units has remained large due to the low effective demand brought about by affordability factors such as low formal employment levels, low income and the high cost of borrowing.
Housing finance is said to be starved of credit options and many consumers yearn for innovative options to finance the purchase of a home. Research in the local market further indicates that short term loans and high interest rates significantly increase repayments, thereby making the dreams of many Zambians to own their own house impossible. In line with FNB Zambia’s vision to “Create a Better World” and with the above mentioned in mind, FNB developed their home loans product for its Zambian clientele.
FNB is proud to be the first bank in Zambia to introduce a product that will allow home buyers to get an upfront bond. An upfront bond is a pre-approved certificate that displays the amount of finance that has been approved in principal by the bank for which the customer qualifies, before they start looking for a house.
Honourable Nkandu Luo commented: “Residential finance has remained expensive and unaffordable for the majority of Zambians with the largest growth in the housing sector being self-build projects as individuals purchase land around the major cities and build their own houses over a period of 3 – 7 years. It is timely that FNB Zambia has entered the local property finance market, offering an alternative option on flexible as well as innovative pricing and terms.”
Regular income earners, who are either FNB or non-FNB clients, will be eligible to access FNB’s innovative range of home loans finance facilities, which includes a home owner’s and credit life insurance policy that provides cover against death, permanent disability and critical illness, a quick response time and a maximum repayment period of 20 years at affordable interest rates.
“FNB hopes this venture will give a great boost to the housing sector, empower Zambians and contribute immensely to the economic growth of the country. These are all part of FNB Zambia’s continued strategy to contribute towards local development and growth”, concluded van Zyl.
File:Give us a bribe...Traffic police officers confront a public service bus driver at Longacres in Lusaka
Transparency International says corruption is getting worse in Southern Africa adding that the number of people paying bribes for public services was increasing.
The report focuses on Zambia and five other African countries.
The new survey from Transparency International, which was released this morning in Berlin Germany, shows the police are seen as most corrupt.
The report revealed that 56 percent of all those who come in contact with public service providers were asked to pay a bribe in the past year.
The survey also found that across the region 62 per cent of people believe corruption has become worse in the past three years.
Daily Lives and Corruption, Public Opinion in Southern Africa surveyed more than 6,000 people in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe between 2010 and 2011.
“Governments must wake up to the fact that people will not tolerate corruption any more and start reforming weak institutions, particular the police. People have a right to feel that they are protected by the police and not harassed,” said Chantal Uwimana, Regional Director for Africa and the Middle East at Transparency International.
The report found that people in all six countries named the police as the most corrupt service provider of the nine featured in the survey and that most bribes were paid to the police.
The results showed some regional differences. In four out of the six countries people reported paying bribes to speed up services but in South Africa and the DRC more bribes were paid to avoid problems with the authorities.
In five of the six countries people trusted the government more than non-governmental organisations, the media, international organisations or the private sector to fight corruption. In Malawi, however, non-governmental organisations were trusted just as much as the government.
File:Street vendors selling their wares outside Shoprite Suppermarket
Inflation in Zambia fell to 8.1 percent in November from 8.7 percent in October due mainly to a reduction in fuel prices introduced by new President Michael Sata, its statistics agency said on Thursday.
A poll of 10 analysts surveyed by Reuters this week said inflation in Africa’s biggest copper producer should average 9 percent in 2011, before slowing to an average of 7.9 percent in 2012.
Chibamba Kanyama, a member of the Economic Association of Zambia, said inflation was likely to remain stable in the next few months despite an expected increase in consumption in the final month of the year.
“End-year festive demand will have a slight impact but food prices will remain stable owing to a reduction in maize prices,” Kanyama said.
Sata’s administration, which came to power at the end of September, unveiled an expansive pro-poor budget earlier this month, although there was no relaxation in monetary policy that has largely kept a lid on prices for the several year.
The Central Statistics Offices also said Zambia recorded a trade surplus of 187.5 billion Zambian kwacha ($37 million) in October, from 1,179 billion in September. ($1 = 5,105 Zambian kwacha)
Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping (R) meets with former Zambian President Kenneth David Kaunda in Beijing, capital of China, Nov. 24, 2011. (Xinhua/Rao Aimin)
Kenneth David Kaunda, Zambia’s first president, arrived at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People to meet with Vice President Xi Jinping Thursday.
“I come on an important mission from my president,” Kaunda said to Xi, who hailed the 87-year-old politician as a “founder of friendship” between China and Zambia.
“You came to China despite the long journey as a messenger of friendship, for which I have great admiration,” Xi told Kaunda, who is visiting China as a special envoy of Zambian’s new President Michael Chilufya Sata, who assumed the presidency on Sept. 23 this year.
“Zambia and its new government will continue to promote friendship and cooperation with China,” said Kaunda, who led Zambia’s independence campaign and ruled the African state from 1964 to 1991.
The friendship between Zambia and China has endured the test of time, Kaunda said, recalling his meetings with late Chinese leaders Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai in the 1960s and 1970s.
During those meetings, China agreed to fund and build the 1,800 km-long Zambia-Tanzania railway. Mao’s “Third World” theory, referring to developing countries seeking national independence, also debuted during a 1974 meeting with Kaunda.
“The China-Zambia friendship, established by leaders from an older generation, is all-weather in nature. The railway is a historical milestone for our friendship,” Xi said.
Xi highlighted the mutual support demonstrated by both countries on issues concerning core interests, as well as sound coordination in international affairs and fruitful cooperation in various fields.
China cherishes its friendship with Zambia and will work with the country’s new government to deepen substantial cooperation, Xi said.
Kaunda said he appreciated China’s past support for Zambia in its drive for independence and reminded Xi about Africa’s efforts to help China regain its seat in the UN in 1971.
“Assistance from China and fruitful cooperation have fueled the development of Zambia’s economy and society,” Kaunda said at the end of their hour-long meeting.
The Royal Dutch Airlines KLM will begin operating direct services to Zambia effective May next year.
In a statement made available to MUVI TV news, states that the decision has been prompted by Zambia’s rapidly growing economy and the expanding demand for passenger services to and from the country.
Lusaka becomes KLM’s 72nd international destination.
The route will be serviced using a state-of-the-art Airbus A330-200 aircraft.
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines was founded in 1919, making it the world’s oldest airline operating under its original name.
As the Controversy continues on the prospective reversal of the Zamtel transaction, it has now emerged that the transaction was the second best placed telecommunication deal on the African continent.
In its continued spirited defence of the transaction, the former governing political party, MMD, claims it did a decent job on the Zamtel deal to Lap Green of Libya.
Felix Mutati, Former Commerce and Trade Minister, whose Ministry oversaw the tendering processes has accused the PF government of distortion of facts.
Mr. Mutati says the current government is only focusing on the net and not gross proceeds of the transaction after debt and pensioners were paid.
He said unlike in the past where pensioners were left languishing, the Zamtel deal ensured that former workers were paid their dues on time.
Mr. Mutati says the deal is a model of the best privatization in the country because it followed what is provided for by the law.
Situmbeko Musokotwane, Finance Minister in the previous alleged corrupt administration equally added his voice with an observation that the transaction was in the interest of revamping the broke Zamtel at the time of deal.
Dr. Musokotwe, who is MMD national chairperson for economic affairs, claims there is nothing irregular about the Zamtel transaction.
However, a six member Technical Committee tasked to investigate the sale of Zamtel to Lap Green of Libya has described the whole process and sale as an economic sabotage.
The Technical Committee claims Lap Green fail short of the qualifications that were shortlisted by Zambia Development Agency-ZDA.
Technical Committee Chairperson, Dimple Ranchhod says a lot of information pertaining to the sale of the telecommunication company has been destroyed.
She says her committee has also found that there was a suspense account established to settle the legal fees for Zamtel which was also allegedly paid George Kunda and company for the services which were not provided.
The Committee consisting of six experts in the field of law, procurement, accounts, communications and Valuation has cast down suggestions by some stakeholders that it had a predetermined out as outrageous.
The committee has further questioned why Government acquired twenty-five percent shares when it injected 184 Million US Dollars of the total 257 Million Dollars as the numbers do not tally.
Zambia held its first full day of training on Thursday after arriving in India early on Wednesday morning.
Herve Renard’s team is in India on a 7 day training camp where they will play two warm-up games on Saturday and Tuesday.
Team manager Stan Kaseko said from Goa that the team was in good health.
“We started from there on Tuesday and arrived in Goa on Wednesday at 05:00 in the morning,” Kaseko said.
He said the team got down to the business of training late on Wednesday after resting.
Kaseko said the team of Thursday held a full days training on Thursday and the routine will continue on Friday.
On Saturday, Zambia will play Goa-select in an 11:30 Zambian time kickoff before taking on India on Tuesday at the same venue.
Meanwhile the team traveled to India without Konkola Blades midfielder Thomas Nyirenda who suffered an injury two weeks ago while preparing for the Nigeria friendly.
Nyirenda was replaced by defender Oswald Kalamba of DR Congo club Lupopo.
Zambia will face South Africa in a friendly game away on January 7.
Faz vice president Boniface Mwamelo said the friendly game was tentatively set to be played in Port Elizabeth.
The friendly is one of three pre-Africa Cup warm-up games lined up for Zambia.
The others are against Angola and Botswana whose dates are yet to be confirmed.
“We want to play both those games with the full team because it will not make any sense to play them with players who will not be going for the Africa Cup,” Mwamelo said.
He also revealed that the December 11 date against Angola was not confirmed.
“Angola want us to play them in Luanda but it will be difficult if it means travelling there. And we are still trying to see if we can fly Botswana into South Africa to play them when we go into camp there.”
Zambia will set up training camp in South Africa after Christmas to prepare for their 2012 Africa Cup outing in January.
