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Movement for Multiparty Democracy MMD national chairman Michael Mabenga has castigated the MMD North Western Province Executive for calling for his resignation and the stepping down of former President Rupiah Banda from the party presidency.
Mr. Mabenga says there is no way he will relinquish his position as chairman of the former ruling party. This follows the resolution by the MMD Provincial executive committee in North Western Province for former president Rupiah Bwezani Banda to relinquish his position as president of MMD with immediate effect and retires from active politics.
MMD provincial secretary Emmanuel Chihili says the executive further wants Mr Mabenga, and National Secretary Major Richard Kachingwe to resign on moral grounds for lamentably failing to run the party.
Mr. Chihili says the provincial leadership has also proposed that former commerce minister Felix Mutati assumes the MMD Presidency in an interim capacity as they wait for the extraordinary convention.
Mr. Chihili states that the MMD in Northwestern Province are not comfortable and happy with the way the top leadership is handling the party affairs following the painful defeat orchestrated by lack of foresight.
But Mr Mabenga says he will not relinquish his position because of a complaint from one individual. Mr. Mabenga in an interview with QFM radio has also doubted media reports quoting Mr. Chihili. He says the MMD has a procedure which should be followed and not rushing to the media to air grievances.
He adds that the MMD only went to the convention this year and that there is no way the party will organize another convention.
Nkana Assistant Coach Zeddy Saileti has told LT Sports in Kitwe that Saturday’s Barclays Cup quarterfinal fixture between the Wusakile side
and Zanaco will be tough.
Saileti stated that what makes the Nkana and Zanaco encounter interesting is that the two teams are familiar with each other having
met in several league and cup games.
“The game will be tough; I think it is 50-50 and at the end of the day a team that will be work hard deserves to win,” he said.
“We have played Zanaco before, and we know how Zanaco plays so this game will be more like a league game and we are not under pressure,”
Saileti added.
The ex-Chipolopolo striker declared that Nkana was targeting to get a better result when they face the Bankers at Nkoloma Stadium.
“After learning that we will play against Zanaco in the Barclays Cup, we are working hard. In the league will draw 1-1 in Lusaka and here we
lost 2-0, so we are looking forward to get a better result,” Saileti said.
He promised that Nkana supporters should expect the Wusakile Boys to put up a spirited fight in this year’s Barclays Cup Competition.
In other Barclays Cup quarterfinals to be played on Saturday, Power Dynamos will face debutants Luena Buffaloes and Konkola Blades will take on Nakambala at Arthur Davies in Kitwe.
Meanwhile Red Arrows are scheduled to face Division One North side Indeni at Nkoloma Stadium.
Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) president Musa Mwenye has said that at no time did the association’s executive press him to condemn activities of Republican President Michael Sata.
An online publication has indicated that the LAZ Executive has been pressing Mr. Mwenye to condemn the numerous constitutional breaches that President Michael Sata has allegedly committed.
Mr. Mwenye said that the Law Association of Zambia will not allow to be used to fight political confrontations. Speaking to QFM in a telephone interview, Mr. Mwenye said that LAZ will continue to carry out its mandate of saving people, regardless of their political affiliation.
Mr. Mwenye noted that the association can only condemn an act on legal basis either privately or publicly.
And when asked on reports that he is expectant to be appointed Solicitor General by President Sata, Mr. Mwenye said he could not comment on the matter because he was not the appointing authority.
The LAZ president said that President Sata is the only person who can answer such questions because he is the one making the appointments.
Zesco United will not be taking part in this year’s Barclays Cup tournament.
The 2010 champions and record 3-time winners failed to make the top 6 cutoff point by Week 15 matches of this seasons Faz Super Division.
The Top 6 teams in this year’s Barclays Cup tournament are Nakambala Leopards, Nkana, Red Arrows, Konkola Blades, 2010 runner-up Zanaco and 2009 champions Power Dynamos.
Division 1 North promotion chasers Indeni and Division 1 South club Luena Buffaloes from Kaoma complete the quarterfinal set-up for this year’s Barclays Cup.
The quarterfinals will see two doubleheaders taking place this Saturday, October 22 at Nkoloma stadium in Lusaka and Arthur Davies in Kitwe.
The big one will be at Nkoloma where 2010 runner-up Zanaco will face Nkana in a 15:00 kickoff in what is expected to be the big draw game in the preliminary stage of the tournament.
Nkana have never qualified to the Barclays Cup semifinals and the furthest they have been is the 2007 quarterfinals where they lost 1-0 to Konkola Blades in the inaugural tournament.
And in the lunchtime kickoff at the same venue, Arrows will host Indeni at 13:00.
At Arthur Davies, Power face Division 1 South promotion contenders Luena in a 15:00 kickoff while Blades take on Nakambala at 13:00.
The semifinals will be held on October 29 at Nkoloma while the final will be played on November 19 at Arthur Davies.
This year’s winners will like last year take home K150 million but the runners up not go empty handed unlike last year.
The loser will get K75 million while the coach and the player of the tournament will pocket K10 million and K5 million respectively.
FLASHBACK Former Zambia national soccer team assistant coach George Lwandamina steps in a new Toyota Raider which was given to him at State House at the time
The Football Association of Zambia says one of the motor vehicles which was never returned to Football House has been located parked at State House.
FAZ Communications Manager Eric Mwanza says the vehicle is the one which was under discussion at the weekend.
Mwanza says as the Football body withdraws the other Hilux from former coach Dario Bonetti, it is their wish to take both vehicles for services in readiness for handover to the new coaches who will be appointed soon.
He says the other vehicle caught fire while in the hands of Bonetti and FAZ had to give him the one he had been using until the termination of his contract.
He says FAZ is now trying to engage State House on possibilities of returning the motor vehicle.
Mwanza says it has never come to the attention of the Association as to why the motor vehicle was never surrendered to Football House for use by the coaches.
Over the weekend, FAZ had asked government to investigate the whereabouts of a Toyota Hilux vehicle, meant for national soccer team coaches.
FAZ Communications Manager, Erick Mwanza said at the time that the association was unaware of the whereabouts of the said vehicle, since it was handed over to State House a few months ago.
The respective vehicle was among 3 double-cab Toyota Hilux vehicles donated to FAZ by First Quantum Minerals in 2009.
If you are a fan of zambian music , you have most probably heard of Zedbeats. It is the premiear channel on youtube to get the latest and greatest zambian music videos and songs on demand.
BEGINNING
Zed Beats was started on 20th, May 2010, by a student,,studying in the USA. He had a great passion and love for Zambian music. Being abroad for a number of years it was very hard to find latest Zambian music and videos anywhere and to keep in touch with what was going on in the Zambian music industry. He figured there must be many more Zambians in the diaspora facing the same problem. Music from other countries ,especially Nigeria , is very popular in other countries .
He decided to start Zedbeats with 2 main objectives:
To make Zambian music global, and reach people who have never had the opportunity to enjoy it. This would in turn help expand the Zambian music industry and its reach and consequently help the Zambian artists, record labels, videos producers etc , get more out of their music & crafts.
To help Zambians all over the world have better access to Zambian music and keep up to date with it.
He traveled to Zambia in 2010 and got hold a lot of the new Zambian music and videos and started making contacts in the industry.
He then started by creating a Youtube channel called Zed beats. This served 2 purposes.
It allowed people to listen to the songs and watch the videos but they were not downloadable , this was in order to not contribute to piracy that is hindering the growth of zambian music.
Youtube already had a base of people from all over the world who search for music and videos so setting up the channel dedicated to zambian music would attract a lot of people and make it grow in popularity.
ZED BEATS ON YOUTUBE
The youtube channel is currently the number 1 destination for Zambian music online. Since it’s inception (17 months ago), it has grown rapidly and offered the Zambian Music industry over 2.5 million views/listen from ears all across the world and continues to get 10,000 views daily.
Several of the countries that now enjoy Zambian music had previously never even heard of ZAMBIA, but have now fallen in love with its music, thanks to Zed Beats. And a couple of songs exposed by Zed Beats have even gone on to make the charts in those countries ,for example “Captain Charlie” by Josi went to the top of the charts in Ned Caledonia and Vanuatu, which are island countries in the South Pacific.
Josi “Captain Charlie”
Zambian music can now be heard playing in clubs all over the world, even where people do not even understand the language.
LAUNCH OF THE WEBSITE
The new Zed Beats website is intended to be the “go to” website for anything Zambian music. There are plans to add more features. Currently, Zambian music lovers can get free music downloads, artist profies and interviews, music videos, charts and countdowns.
This has been in the plans for the very start, but has finally come to fruition. The world is ready for Zambian music.
To show how much the world has been waiting for this, within 3 days of launching the website, there were over 12,000 music downloads from it.
Piracy of Zambian music is strictly not advocated. ALL the downloads offered on the website are legal free downloads offered by the artists themselves or their record labels, producers and/or promoters
FUTURE PLANS
Help the Zambian Music industry develop further so artists can make a worthwhile living from it.
Help Zambian artists reach more markets even more by collaborating with artists from other countries
See Zambian music get to the point where Zambian artists can be invited to foreign lands to hold a concert perform and pack the place with non-Zambian Zambian music fans.
See more Zambian musicians nominated for more international and prestigious awards.
Visit the site to watch the latest zambian music videos such as:
POMPI -CHIPOLOPOLO
Also a Zed beats mixtape , with one and a half hours of non-stop zambian music
For more information you can follow zed beats on Twitterand Like them onFacebook
WORKS and Supply Permanent Secretary Watson Ng’ambi has said his ministry received instructions from State House to single-source the procurement of four armoured luxury 4×4 Lexus motor vehicles.
President Sata recently questioned the logic by his predecessor to buy two luxury vehicles worth K3.6 billion amidst other pressing needs in the country, and also ordered the police to look for two other Lexus vehicles that had been procured.
Mr Ng’ambi said the ministry received instructions to seek permission from the Zambia Public Procurement Authority to allow it to buy and make the vehicles bullet-proof in line with the specifications that came in writing from State House.
On Sunday, through his administrative assistant Mikatazo Wakumelo, former President Rupiah Banda said he was not a procurement officer to be involved in the procurement of vehicles and that people who bought them were still serving in the Government. That was in reaction to revelations by President Michael Sata that Mr Banda’s administration bought four luxury Lexus vehicles and wondered what value they were adding to the people of Zambia.
Mr Ng’ambi said State House generated the quotation from one company in Germany and delivered it to the ministry to facilitate the purchase of the vehicles. “You know that we cannot buy anything that State House does not want. We received instructions and a quotation from one company in Germany to buy the four vehicles,” Mr Ng’ambi said.
He said having made all the arrangements, officials from State House, the Government controller of transport at the Ministry of Works, John Kasanga and other security personnel travelled to Germany to supervise the stripping and armour-plating of the vehicles.
Mr Ng’ambi said no-one had authority to question what State House had arranged because specifications on where the vehicles should be bought and their details were received from there.
He said a Government team went to Germany in August this year to supervise and facilitate transportation of the vehicles to Lusaka. President Sata recently questioned the logic by his predecessor to buy two luxury vehicles worth K3.6 billion amidst other pressing needs in the country. Speaking when he swore in Zambia National Service Commandant Nathan Mulenga and his deputy Alick Kamiji on Tuesday last week, Mr Sata expressed disappointment at the expenditure on the luxury vehicles.
However, Mr Banda last weekend welcomed the investigations into the matter, saying he was not a procurement officer. He said he was available at any given time to answer to any clarification which the current Head of State may have before they are made public.
FORMER MMD national secretary Katele Kalumba says a working relationship with the ruling Patriotic Front (PF) will serve the long-term interests of the MMD as opposed to a partnership with the United Party for National Development (UPND).
Dr Kalumba said: “A partnership with PF will help serve the long-term interests of MMD. Partnerships with weaker candidates never impress me. By helping PF govern, the MMD will come out better in the public eye than simply helping the UPND ascend to power by obstructing PF.”
Dr Kalumba said there are many internal issues that the MMD needs to resolve before it can become a viable partner with any political party. “There is a history on the part of the UPND which needs to be carefully understood or how its pact with PF fractured and why it fractured. The content matter of that fracture was principally centred on leadership.”
Dr Kalumba added: “I don’t think the MMD has consulted enough about its own leadership issues to marry itself with UPND, which also has its own leadership issues.”
And Parliamentary chief whip Yamfwa Mukanga has advised the MMD to reflect before entering into a pact with the UPND, saying the latter are inconsistent.
In an interview yesterday, Mr Mukanga said the partnership between MMD and UPND is not new because the two opposition political parties worked together in the National Constitutional Conference (NCC) which the PF boycotted.
“The pact between MMD and UPND is not new, they worked together at the NCC but the UPND withdrew when they brought the constitution to parliament so the MMD should now start thinking,” he said.
Mr Mukanga, who is Minister of Transport, Works, Supply and Communication, described the pact between MMD and UPND as a marriage of convenience because the UPND will abandon them at the last minute like they did with the PF.
“If you keep on getting divorced, you should think twice why you keep on getting divorced. UPND has never been consistent that is why they don’t even have a Speaker, deputy speaker not even the deputy chairman of committees, the UPND was even beaten by the FDD, a one-man party in the House,” Mr Mukanga said.
He said President Sata’s address to the First Session of the Eleventh National Assembly is about changing mindsets and the manner in which development is pursued.
Mr Mukanga said it is unfortunate that the MMD and the UPND want to enter into a pact just to frustrate progressive PF policies that are for the benefit of the people.
“In this new dispensation, we will ensure that things are done in a transparent manner so that we can have a Zambia that will be fit and habitable. We are in Government and every Zambian must be told what Government is doing. We were in opposition but we worked hard and the people gave us the mandate so why should people frustrate what we are doing?” Mr Mukanga said.
He said opposition political parties are there to provide checks and balances but not to frustrate Government programmes. Mr Mukanga also said Government will expeditiously reintroduce the abuse of office clause in this sitting of Parliament in order to effectively fight corruption.
“President Sata’s speech gave the direction that Government and Parliament will take. That clause has to come in this sitting of Parliament because we want to fight corruption and that should be done expeditiously,” he said.
FLASHBACK President Rupiah Banda talks to workers at the Mobile Telecommunications mobile telephone assembly plant in Lusaka
ZAMBIA’S mobile phone assembling plant, M-mobile Telecommunications, (M-Tech) Limited says the increasing number of imported mobile phones on the market has impacted negatively on the firm’s growth.
M-Tech chairperson Mohamed Seedat said the firm has since 2009 faced stiff competition due to the influx of phones being imported cheaply.
“Business has not been favourable, because of the stiff competition from the phones being dumped on the market from China which are heavily subsided. This has resulted in us failing to fully penetrate the local market,” he said.
M-Tech mobile handsets with double sim cards cost K150,000 while those with a single sim card cost K140,000 but the market is awash with cheaper handsets with some costing as less as K50,000.
The US$10 million mobile phone assembling plant was set up in 2009 to provide affordable mobile phones to the public and to enhance economic development through employment creation.
Mr Seedat said this in an interview in Lusaka recently.
He said there is need for Government to come up with policies that will protect the local industries.
Mr Seedat said Government should introduce a system to register all phones coming into the country because most of the handsets are allegedly being imported duty-free.
He said reducing the cost of production will also enable local products compete favourably with imported products.
Mr Seedat said plans to export mobile phones to countries within the southern region are on hold because like Zambia, the countries have not been spared from the influx of heavily subsided mobile phones.
He, however, said the firm is committed to grow and contribute to the country’s economy adding that the company is negotiating with local mobile service providers on possibilities to partner in business.
M-Tech has since 2009, produced 12,000 single and dual -sim phones. “M-Tech plans to produce about 5,000 phones by the end of this year and plans are also underway to produce triple-sim phones,” he said.
FORMER Foreign Affairs minister Kabinga Pande, former secretary to the treasury Likolo Ndalamei and former President Rupiah Banda’s special assistant for press and public relations, Dickson Jere, on October 17 appeared before law enforcement officers at the former Task Force on Corruption offices in Woodlands Extension.
The trio were questioned on matters relating to the missing gold at the Drug Enforcement Commission .Mr Pande and Mr Jere, in the company of lawyer Sakwiba Sikota, arrived in a white tinted Land Rover Discovery, registration number ABR 8930, at the offices at 14:35 and were followed by Mr Ndalamei.
Officers handling the cases stopped journalists from entering the premises. A handful of MMD cadres in party attire came to give solidarity to the men.The interrogation lasted for three hours.
Mr Ndalamei, who was the first to leave the premises, refused to speak to the press.“I have no comment over this matter,” he said as he drove away.
Inspector General of Police Martin Malama confirmed that investigations into the matter are on. “Officers are carrying out a thorough and professional job so that justice is delivered,” he said. Dr Malama said details would be given after investigations are concluded.
One female officer, whose identity is not known, stopped journalists from entering the premises. “Nobody from the press should be allowed inside, just allow this car in,” she said, pointing at the Land Rover carrying the people summoned.
Journalists, cameramen and photographers had a tough time trying to get a glimpse of the people who had been summoned. They borrowed a ladder from a nearby house, and mounted it at a wall fence next to the premises. The initiative by the media personnel was short-lived as officers ordered them to remove the ladder.
After a long wait, the Land Rover drove out of the premises as journalists gave chase. Mr Jere, who was followed to Spar Supermarket at Crossroads Shopping Mall by Muvi Television crew, described the episode as interesting. “Ask the police if I have been implicated. I have not appeared anywhere, I only escorted Mr Pande,” he said.
And when contacted for a comment, Mr Sikota said he could not comment. “I am in a meeting right now so call me at 20:00 hours,” he said.
The gold was seized in 2007 by DEC at the Kenneth Kaunda International Airport from two Zimbabwean nationals who tried to evade sanctions against Zimbabwe by trying to re-export the gold through Zambia.
President Sata said Mr Jere, and former President Rupiah Banda’s son, James, met with Swiss-Romanian businessman Nicolae Bogdan Buzaianu, a person the Drug Enforcement Commission has implicated in the purchase of the gold and is on the Commission’s wanted list.
Vernon Mwaanga with Rupiah Banda during the campaign
VETERAN politician Vernon Mwaanga says the MMD’s loss to the Patriotic Front (PF) in the September 20 general elections is a sign that it overstayed in power and stopped listening to advice and the will of the people.
The former MMD Chief Whip said in a statement issued in Lusaka on October 17 the change of government witnessed on September 20 is a reality check for the MMD and signal that the former ruling party had overstayed in power.
Mr Mwaanga said the change of government should, however, not lead to a repetition of the mistakes the MMD government may have made in its 20-year rule.
He said President Sata has made laudable moves which should be encouraged because it is important to put Zambia first, as leaders will come and go, but Zambia will always remain.
“It is my hope and expectation that President Sata, whom I credit with pragmatism, because I served with him in the 1991 cabinet, will use his power and authority to unite the country,” Mr Mwaanga said.
He said the PF government should take this as an opportunity to right the wrongs and bring about positive change in the country.
Mr Mwaanga said the change of government should not be an opportunity for retribution, vindictiveness and settling of old scores, because as the old adage goes “two wrongs do not make a right”.
He hopes the new government will build on the development the MMD government brought, while discarding the bad ones.
Mr Mwaanga said the loss of elections and power by the MMD came as a shock to many party members, particularly the younger ones, who have never experienced opposition politics.
He said some people do not realise that MMD was in opposition when it was formed after March, 1990 but it functioned as a responsible and mature opposition party up to November, 1991.
Mr Mwaanga said on September 20, the voice of Zambians was loud and clear because they voted democratically for change, and all citizens should accept their verdict and honour it.
“I am proud to be a Zambian and to have witnessed a peaceful transfer of power, at a time when the African continent has been under a microscope after the ugly scenes which have been witnessed in other parts of our continent,” he said.
[pullquote]“I am proud to be a Zambian and to have witnessed a peaceful transfer of power, at a time when the African continent has been under a microscope after the ugly scenes which have been witnessed in other parts of our continent,” he said.[/pullquote]
Mr Mwaanga said political power should not be for individual leaders but for citizens who have acquired a new appetite for the rule of law, democracy, good governance and want to practise politics of inclusion.
He said it is, therefore, necessary for Zambians to give the PF led-government of President Sata time and an opportunity to play out its economic and governance agenda.
Mr Mwaanga said every new government deserves to be given a chance to prove itself to the electorate and even to make its own mistakes. He urged Mr Sata to get to work so that the economic gains and other achievements the country has made during the last few years are not reversed, but enhanced.
Mr Mwaanga said the election of Mr Sata as fifth President marks the end of an era and the beginning of a new one.
He paid tribute to former President Rupiah Banda for the manner he conceded defeat and the orderly transition of power he facilitated. Mr Mwaanga said Mr Banda should be left to retire in peace and dignity because there are many good things he did for Zambia which should not be forgotten in the euphoria and excitement of the PF victory.
He hopes the MMD, a party he helped found 20 years ago, will accept the present political reality and become an effective, constructive, mature and responsible opposition.
Meanwhile, a senior MMD official says most members of the party were sidelined during the Presidential campaigns, another reason that could have led to the loss during the elections.
[pullquote]Mr Mwaanga said Mr Banda should be left to retire in peace and dignity because there are many good things he did for Zambia which should not be forgotten in the euphoria and excitement of the PF victory.[/pullquote]
The official, who declined to be named , said the party organs were left out and that instead, it was State House staff and former President Banda’s children that were put in charge of the campaigns.
“We were totally forgotten during campaign time as MMD senior members. The campaigns were hijacked by government officials and President Banda’s children. Only the national secretary, Major Richard Kachingwe, was included in the campaign team,” the official said.
He said the people that surrounded the former President lied to him and made him believe that everything was in place.
The official said some popular members of the party were not adopted during campaigns and were sacrificed for people that were hand-picked by a certain group within the party.
He said the same people that surrounded Mr Banda are the very ones that have now run away from him.
Mighty Mufulira Wanderers remained unbeaten under new coach Kellies “paymaster” Mwaba from fourth games in charge.
On Sunday, Mighty beat Chambishi 2-0 at Shinde Stadium in Mufluira to keep their now slim chances of promotion bright with four games to go after 30 matches played.
Ex-Power Dynamos goal machine Mwaba has now recorded three wins and one draw since taking charge at Shinde three weeks ago.
Wanderers are 4th on 51 points, six behind second placed Indeni who lost 1-0 away to Division 1 North leaders Konkola Mine Police at Konkola Stadium in Chililabombwe on Sunday.
Konkola Mine Police a have now moved up to 61 points after 30 games played.
President Michael Sata has said today that the zero-tolerance stance against corruption adopted by the new administration is irreversible. The President reaffirmed that the government is firm on its fight against corruption both in the public and private sector with full commitment and vigour.
“During the campaigns we made an undertaking that we shall robustly fight corruption and we shall do just that. The policy of this government is that any person who has aggrieved the Zambian people economically and otherwise, in the past or present, must face the law,” says the Head of State.
“Make no mistake about it, because we are resolute on combating corruption and all its offshoots even if it means losing friends. We are ready to make that sacrifice for the sake of the Zambian people whom we promised and as a result they gave us the mandate to preside over this country’s affairs.”
President Sata said the law enforcement agencies will investigate any past and present acts of corruption and ensure that the culprits are prosecuted within the due process of the law.
“I’m confident that professionalism and exemplary ethical conduct shall be the bedrock of this process,” said the President through a media statement issued by his Special Assistant for Press and Public Relation George Chellah..
The President emphasized that the crusade against corruption will be done without malice or witch-hunt and shall be non-selective because he does not believe in selective justice.
[pullquote]“This government has not made a decision at any level regarding the removal of anybody’s immunity. And nobody has even talked about it either from the party or government’s side. It is therefore, preposterous that some political stakeholders and leaders among us are attempting to frustrate this crusade by throwing innuendoes and half-truths on this noble cause,” said President Sata. [/pullquote]
“This government has not made a decision at any level regarding the removal of anybody’s immunity. And nobody has even talked about it either from the party or government’s side. It is therefore, preposterous that some political stakeholders and leaders among us are attempting to frustrate this crusade by throwing innuendoes and half-truths on this noble cause,” said President Sata.
“I must repeat that, we are unwavering on this score and nothing other than justice shall prevail. As for those who have expediently decided to side with corruption and the corrupt, we leave it to the Zambian people to see and know them for who they are and what they stand for. A moment ago, we all campaigned on the platform of fighting corruption, so what has changed?”
File:One of the Kitchens at Nkhrumah Teachers' training College in Kabwe(2009)
Nkrumah College of Education (NCE) students in Kabwe Monday morning staged a peaceful demonstration demanding among other things that their institution be transformed into fully fledged University.
The students who marched along Luapula streets and kept singing the national anthem and reciting the Lord’s prayer in unison, met a barricade of police officers in riot gear at the junction of Luapula and Munkoyo street about 500m from the college.
The Police pushed the students back up to the college gate where Central Province Permanent Secretary Deny Lumbama later addressed them.
Nkrumah student’s union (NKRUSU) president, Martin Chishimba says students feel government is delaying to transform the college into a fully fledged university and thereby denying them facilities of University.
Chishimba says the students are concerned by the delay especially that from 2009 when the institution was declared a university, it is still operating under college conditions and yet it has qualified lecturers to teach University level.
He says the students are also demanding that their institution be completely delinked from the University of Zambia so that it can be moderating examinations independently.
He also says students are demanding to be considered for bursaries like their colleagues at UNZA and Copperbelt University.
Another complaint they have is that the school demands full payment of K1, 800, 000 from them as school fees and yet they will not be in school for a full term.
And addressing the students Central Province Permanent Secretary, Deny Lumbama who was flanked by his deputy Luke Mankapi, says his office will channel the demands to the ministry of education for parliamentary approval.
He appealed to the students to get back to their studies while government looks into the matter.
Mr Lumbama promised students that his office will deal with the issue of payment as it is a local matter.
