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State house has refuted reports that President Rupiah Banda has brought soldiers and police officers from Zimbabwe into Zambia to police the forthcoming elections.
Dickson Jere, the president’s special assistant for press and public relations in a statement released to QFM today says allegations by the Patriotic Front, and particularly its Kanyama parliamentary candidate Colonel Gerry Chanda that the said soldiers and police officers are already in Zambia at the invitation of President Banda are false.
Mr Jere has challenged Colonel Chanda to state clearly where the Zimbabwean soldiers and police officers are being offered accommodation as alleged.
He has also encouraged the PF to visit the Zimbabwean embassy or indeed the Zimbabwean Government to verify the claims.
He says at no time has President Banda invited any foreign forces to help in maintaining peace and security towards the elections.
Mr Jere adds that there is no need to bring in foreign forces stating that Zambia has adequate men and women in uniform to take charge of the nation%u2019s integrity and sovereignty as has always been the case with all past elections since 1964.
He further states that the president as commander-in-chief has total confidence in the well-trained and well-experienced defence and security apparatus of Zambia, which makes foreign assistance unwarranted.
Mr Jere says President Banda reiterates his appeals that defence and security forces in the country be left out of the on-going election campaigns.
President Rupiah Banda has appealed to all capable individuals and corporate bodies in the country to offer assistance to the drought-stricken country of Somalia.
President Banda says donations of high-protein food supplements, water or medical supplies would be most appreciated and would go a long way towards easing the crisis in which more than 12.4 million people are experiencing starvation and facing health hazards.
The Head of State says donations should be forwarded to the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU) under the Office of the Vice-President so that Zambia may render support to a fellow African state which is facing the worst drought in many decades.
Mr Banda says while Zambia is actively tackling development challenges, there is nonetheless a great need for Zambia to stand beside Somalia in this hour of immense suffering.
The President has also expressed his support for fundraising efforts by the African Union towards the Somali crisis.
FAZ Division One North League leaders Indeni Coach Tenant Chembo says his side has a bright chance of wining promotion to the Super League this season.
Indeni tops the Division One North League with 42 points after week 23 matches played last weekend.
Chembo said Indeni was targeting to win as many games as possible and collect maximum points to enhance their chances of bouncing back to the elite league.
“Chances of us wining promotion to the Super League this year are bright, we just need to remain focused and wining more games,” he said.
Chembo also acknowledged the challenge other promotion contenders pose in this year Division One North Campaign.
“We are aware that other teams in our league also want to win promotion and this has made competition in the league tough,” Chembo added.
Chembo helped Lime Hotspurs to win promotion to the Super League last season but later this year he parted company with the Ndola based outfit after a string of poor results.
Week 14
24/08/2011
Nchanga 1(Levy Zulu 50″)- Zesco United 0
Faz Division 1 North
24/08/2011
Week 20
Lusaka Dynamos 1(cassius Mumba 15″)- Kitwe United 0
Dario Bonetti has dropped Felix Katongo and recalled Jacob Mulenga for the 2012 Africa Cup Group C away qualifier against Comoros on September 4.
Mulenga returns to the team for the first time since October following his recent recovery from a long-term injury that has seen him score three goals in two league games for hid Dutch side FC Utrecht.
Felix on the other hand has paid the price of virtually being clubless since May being after a brief spell at Green Buffaloes that he followed up with trials in Egypt and Israel.
Bonetti has also resisted to call-up midfielder Andrew Sinkala of Augsburg in Germany.
Meanwhile, the team regroups on Sunday with the 18 foreign-based call-ups expected to starting arriving in camp on Sunday joining the six home-based players who survived week one of training camp in Lusaka.
Team
Goalkeepers: Kennedy Mweene (Free State Stars, South Africa), Jacob Banda (Zesco United) and Kalililo Kakonje (TP Mazembe, DR Congo)
Defenders: Francis Kasonde (Unattached), Nyambe Mulenga (Zesco United), Stoppilla Sunzu, Emmanuel Mbola (TP Mazembe, DR Congo), Kampamba Chintu (Bidvest Wits, South Africa) Joseph Musonda (Golden Arrows, South Africa), Dennis Banda (Green Buffaloes),Jimmy Chisenga (Red Arrows), Thomas Nyirenda (Konkola Blades)
Midfielders: Rainford Kalaba (TP Mazembe, DR Congo), Noah Chivuta (Free State Stars, South Africa), William Njovu (Hapoel Ironi Kiryat Shmona, Israel),Justin Zulu (Hapoel Rishon LeZion, Israel), Kennedy Mudenda (Power Dynamos)
Strikers: Christopher Katongo (Hainan Construction, China), Collins Mbesuma (Golden Arrows, South Africa), James Chamanga (Dalian Shide, China), Given Singuluma (TP Mazembe, DR Congo), Emmanuel Mayuka (Young Boys, Switzerland), Jacob Mulenga (FC Utrecht
Princess Nakatindi Wina (l) talks to her husband Sikota Wina during a press briefing at their resident in Lusaka
Veteran politician and MMD founder member Princess Nakatindi Wina has advised political parties to preach peace ahead of this year’s Presidential and Parliamentary elections.
Princess Nakatindi Wina says Zambia is a beacon of peace in Africa.
She has called on leaders of all political parties participating in the election to encourage their members to tolerate one another despite having divergent political views.
She was speaking an in interview with ZNBC News at her residence in Lusaka’s Mimosa Farm.
Princess Nakatindi who is also former Kanyama constituency MMD Member of Parliament says Zambians must remain calm and campaign peacefully to avoid bloodshed.
And Northmead Assembly of God presiding pastor Bishop Joshua Banda believes the 2011 elections in Zambia will be peaceful.
Bishop Banda says the church will continue praying for peace before and after the elections.
And The Zambia Bus and Taxi Workers Union has urged its members to avoid being used as tools of violence during the ongoing campaigns ahead of the September 20th polls.
Union President James Liambai has told bus and taxi drivers not to resist being used by politicians to cause anarchy in the country during and after the elections.
Mr. Liambai has advised bus and taxi drivers to avoid putting stickers on their vehicles because they ferry people of different political affiliations.
He says bus and taxi drivers should vote for leaders who will help them improve their lives.
Mr. Liambai has further challenged bus and taxi drivers to ensure that they abide by the traffic rules to avoid causing unnecessary accidents.
This is contained in a press statement released to ZNBC News in Lusaka on Thursday.
The Southern African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (SACCORD) says the people condemning Foundation for Democratic Process (FODEP) President Dr. Alex Ng’oma on reports that he allegedly attempted to steal a ballot paper in South Africa should wait for him to come and give an explanation on the matter.
SACCORD executive director Lee Habasonda has told QFM news that it is not fair for people to come up conclusions before hearing from the person being implicated.
Mr. Habasonda observes that it will only be fair for people to conclude after Dr. Ng’oma comes back from the South Africa so that he can give his side of the story.
Over the weekend, Dr. Ng’oma was accused of stealing a presidential ballot paper in South Africa where he has gone as part of the team monitoring the printing of the ballot papers for the September 20th general elections.
Zambia’s annual inflation rate for the month of August has declined to 8.3 percent from 9.0 percent in July, 2011.
The decrease in the inflation rate has been attributed to reductions in food and non-food prices, the Central Statistical Office has revealed.
CSO deputy director William Makaya says of the total 8.3 percent annual inflation rate in August, 2011, food products accounted for 2.5 percent, while non-food products in the consumer price index accounted for a total of 5.8 percent.
Mr. Makaya further reveals that the annual food inflation rate was recorded at 5.4 percent decreasing from 5.9 percent in July, 2011.
He says that a comparison of retail prices between July, 2011 and August, 2011, shows that the national average price of a 25 KG bag of white breakfast mealie meal slightly reduced by 0.3 percent, from 47,987 to 47,855.
He adds that the national average price of a 25 KG bag of white roller mealie meal slightly increased by 0.2 percent , from 33,536 to K 33,604.
He says the average price of 1KG of dried kapenta reduced by 5.5 percent from K55,179 to 52,132, while the average price of 1kg of tomatoes reduced by 8.4 percent, from K 4,492 to K4,114.
Mr Makaya however, says the national average price of a 20 liter tin of maize grain increased by 4.2 percent, from K 16,978 to K 17,678.
Zambia also recorded a trade surplus valued at 4-hundred and 40 billion Kwacha representing a growth of 19.7 percent for the month of July.
In June the country recorded 527.3 billion Kwacha surplus which means the country exported more in value terms than it imported.
The major export products include copper consumer goods and raw materials.
Police in Mongu have arrested a 21-year old man of Imwiko Compound in Mongu District for defiling a 7-year old girl of the same compound.
And another man of Wegingbrg Compound in Mongu District has been arrested for defiling a 3 year old girl of the same area.
Western Province Police Chief Fanwel Siandenge confirmed the incident in Mongu .
Mr. Siandenge said the incidence happened between 09:00 and 10:00 hours of Monday.
He said the case was reported to police by the mother of the daughter who said her daughter was defiled by a known man of the same compound.
Mr.Siandenge added that the child was defiled when the mother was out to the market adding that the girl sustained serious injuries.
He said the culprit has since been arrested and will appear in court soon.
In the other incidence, Western Province Police in Command said the incident happened around 11:00 hours on Sunday this week.
Mr. Siandenge said the matter was reported to Police by the girl’s uncle.
The Commanding Officer has since appealed to parents in the Province to be leaving their children in safe hands whenever they are going somewhere in order to avoid such cases.
The Lusaka Province Teachers Committee has praised President Rupiah Banda for announcing the sale of houses to teachers of Tanganda and mine Basic Schools in Mufulira.
Committee Chairperson George Mutambo and his vice Benard Matantilo says the decision taken by the President shows that he has a heart for all Zambians.
The two have appealed to teachers throughout the country to rally behind President Rupiah Banda and the MMD party.
This is contained in a statement released to ZNBC News in Lusaka on Thursday.
At a public rally in Mufulira, President Rupiah Banda assured Tanganda and Mine Basic Schools teachers in the area that government will give them an opportunity to buy the units they are occupying.
Mufulira District Commissioner Rabecca Mukuka distributed the letters of offers to the sitting tenants Wednesday afternoon.
Mrs. Mukuka says it is the policy of government to provide accommodation to all Zambians.
She says government has offered the house to all the sitting tenants at the two schools at cost of three point two million kwacha.
And Committee Patron Wisdom ‘Destroyer’ Nkandu has dismissed assertions that the gesture by government to offer them houses is a campaign gimmick.
Mr Nkandu says his committee started making the petition to the government in 2006 during the time of late President Levy Mwanawasa.
[ZNBC]
President Rupiah Banda is tomorrow expected in the Eastern Province for a three-day working visit.
The President will during his visit to the Province officiate at the Kulamba traditional ceremony of the Chewa in Katete before attending the Malaila traditional Ceremony of the Cikunda people in Mfuwe district.
President Banda is expected to pay a courtesy call on Paramount Chief Kalonga Gawa Undi of the Chewa people.
He will later officiate at the Kulamba Ceremony which will take place at Mkaika in Katete on Saturday.
On Sunday, President Banda will be guest of honour at the Malaila Ceremony of the Cikunda people in Mfuwe.
This is according to a statement issued to ZNBC News by Special assistant to the president for press and public relations Dickson Jere.
The MMD Government has continued to support traditional ceremonies in all the nine provinces.
President Banda has since assuming office in 2008, stressed the need for a strong cultural heritage among Zambians.
He will be accompanied to the Eastern Province by senior Government and MMD officials.
He is expected to leave the Eastern province after concluding scheduled business there.
[ZNBC]
UNITED Liberal Party (UPL) president Sakwiba Sikota has said it is not practicable at this stage to talk of having the ballot papers for this year’s elections done by another printer as it would present the risk of failing to meet the constitutional requirements regarding the dates when elections are to be held.
He said some sections of society calling for the postponement of elections should acknowledge the fact that it was not possible and practicable because doing so would be failing to meet the Constitution requirement regarding the dates when election should be held from time Parliament is dissolved.
Mr Sikota who is also a lawyer by professional said the attempt to have elections postponed was would present a real risk and as such it was not practicable to talk about changing printers at this late stage.
He said the Zambian Constitution under article 88 (7) provided that whenever the National Assembly was dissolved, presidential elections and elections to the National Assembly and that the first session of the new Parliament should commence within three months from the date of dissolution.
He said in a statement released in Lusaka yesterday that once Parliament was dissolved, its life could not be extended.
“Notwithstanding the dissolution of Parliament, the president under Article 88 (9) of the Constitution may if he considers that owing to the existence of a state of war or of emergency in Zambia, if it is necessary to recall Parliament, he may summon the Parliament that has been dissolved to meet and that Parliament shall be deemed to be the Parliament for the time being but the general election of members of the National Assembly shall proceed and the Parliament that has been recalled shall, if not sooner dissolved again, stand dissolved on the day appointed for the nomination of candidates in the general elections,” he said.
Mr Sikota said Article 88 (8) provides that at any time when the Republic of Zambia was at war, Parliament may from time to time extend the period of five years specified in clause (6) for not more than 12 months at a time provided that the life for the National Assembly was not extended under the same clause for more than five years.
He said Zambia was not at war and as such, the above did not apply. Mr Sikota said Constitutionally, Zambian elections would have to be held by the 28 October 2011 at very latest.
[Times of Zambia]
Late Republican President Levy Mwanawasa’s son Patrick has given a cold reaction to President Rupiah Banda’s call for him to return to the ruling MMD.
Speaking with Qfm in an exclusive interview in Lusaka , Patrick says he will not get back to the MMD adding that it is a foregone political party that has lost direction.
He says if President Banda regards him as his nephew, he should have groomed him in political leadership stating that the opposition Patriotic Front is the only party in the country that has embraced youths and women.
Patrick who is the PF’s aspiring parliamentary candidate for Kafulafuta constituency says his campaigns are progressing well adding that he is headed for victory.
He says people of Kafulafuta have realized that the MMD under the leadership of President Banda has neglected them as no major developments have taken place in the area since the demise of his father in 2008.
He has also urged Zambians not to believe what is being published in the public media about the MMD growing in support saying the reports do not reflect the situation on the ground.
He has since called on Zambians to vote for change of government in this year%u2019s general elections if the challenges they are facing are to be addressed.
[QFM]
By Dr.Charles Ngoma
Wherever I go in Zambia I see imitation. We are very good imitators but the trouble is we do not imitate the right things. We are good imitators of fashion. Now as George Santayana said, ‘Fashion is something barbarous, for it produces innovation without reason and imitation without benefit.’ How so true! Our young men and women want to dress up like their idols on television and in the movies. Zambian ogle at the latest gadget, the latest video game, latest in everything that is consumable when they cannot afford. This is a trend that knows no status in our society and even the poorest of the poor would covet a better mobile phone that has the smart capabilities! This insatiable appetite for the latest is fuelled by those who have the ability to travel to ‘south’ the short form for South Africa. Those who cannot afford the high cost of the real thing will make do with the imitated imitation from China and these are ubiquitous. China is the world’s biggest producer of imitations, and the ever warming Sino-Zambia ties are a real conduit for these cheap imitations that flood the country.
We imitate even in religious affairs. I can well remember the days when every native born Zambian preacher would don an American accent in their preaching. God was pronounced as Gad and Amen was Eh men, just to sound like from across the Atlantic ocean! In the present time, America is not much in the vogue but we are picking up certain traits from our West African friends, especially the Nigerians. Our musicians are the worst imitators almost to the point of annoying. We have had imitated Congolese soukous (nick-named rumba) for ages, but recently we have migrated to American style hip-hop, rap and so called ‘gospel.’ In the meantime reggae is on the back burner. Not to be outdone, these different genres of music have even found their way into so called ‘worship’ services and churches. We are imitators.
Now, there is nothing inherently bad about imitation. Imitation is the way the human being learns and develops. Indeed the holy scriptures urge on the devout to imitate Christ and Confucius said, ‘By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest.’ We can turn this habit of imitation into something very productive if we imitated the right things and the right people.
Politics.
Let us imitate how the most enduring and successful political systems are doing things. The western democracies have not always been this successful. There was a time when they also used to attack each other violently during elections. However, they learnt how to do politics in peace. They learnt how to debate issues and let the power of words convince the voters not bribes and coercion. They learnt to accept defeat with dignity and support the government of the day. The civil service learnt to obey the government of the day and assist politicians to achieve their pre-determined goals. Let’s imitate that.
Civic responsibility
Most cities in the developed world are clean and tidy. There is order and every citizens knows where they stand in that order. People do not throw litter anyhow and where there are regulations about recycling, everyone tried to their best to allocate their refuse accordingly. Many people are engaged in voluntary activities even if they are unemployed, where they feed the homeless, raise funds for charity or serve in the military and police service. Let’s imitate that.
Honesty and probity.
Corruption is everywhere, but I have been impressed with the sense of honesty by which the vast majority of people in the west serve. From the cleaner in the office right up to the chief executive, everyone puts in a good day’s work at the office. I have never seen anyone chatting on the phone, using company or government time and phones for long hours on personal business. I have never seen anyone surfing the internet to log into Facebook or Messenger during working hours while neglecting to do their work. Nearly everyone has their own PERSONAL computer at home where they can do that. It is not surprising that internet traffic and comments on Zambian websites grinds to zero after working hours because many use and abuse the office computer! As for phones, yes, there are personal mobile phones but texting and chatting during work hours on private and personal matters is theft of your employer’s time. In the west, people tend not to accept gifts given in the course of and by reason of their public service. As they say, ‘there is no such thing as a free lunch’ there is an aversion to receiving gifts. Let us imitate this.
Local amenities and conveniences.
Take a short cut through an alley way in Zambia and your nose is assaulted with faeculent and ammoniac smells from human waste. This is partly because of the lack of decency but also the lack of provision of conveniences by the local governments. We throw litter everywhere and defecate anywhere because we have been brought up to think that as long as no one is looking, we are in the bush! No, my friends, we are now in the city and city waste does not just disintegrate and mix with soil. It accumulates and lingers forever. If there is a provision for public toilets, there will be no water in th toilet and no toilet paper. I cannot think why a person would not find some paper first of all before answering the call of nature instead of using the wall! How do smears get that high? We can imitate the public amenity and convenience cleanliness of our friends. If the councils cannot do this, we have been electing wrong people into office.
Order.
Now this I believe is one of the most admirable things that I have ever seen in western countries. Take a Google map and pick out one city in Europe and another in Africa and you can see the neat arrangements of buildings and streets. They do not have to be tarred at all, but there is order. Trees are preserved and green fields are conserved. Turn to a Zambian town and the only part that looks orderly is that which was planned or built before 1964. Ever since independence, we through city planning to the wind and every man did what was right in his own eyes, in a great majority of cases. Houses are built without a pattern and order. Some houses have been built before a road is there. In western cities there is road paving everywhere and some roads have cobble stones because they were done more than 500 years ago! Why can’t we learn to put stones (which we have in abundance) to pave our public places like bus stations and markets? We can imitate this.
Personal behaviour in public.
This follows right on the heels of order because it is orderly behaviour. Have you noticed that no one will get in or stay in a queue in Zambia unless they are told or forced to do so. The principle of quieting is not native to us. We can imitate our friends.
Well, there are many other areas of public and private life which I could mention but let this suffice to jog us into being better people for a better country. We are good at imitating and if we are that good we would do very well in a very short time. There is no shame in imitating, because the west imitated from the Romans, the Romans, from the Greeks, the Greeks from the Persians, the Persians from the Babylonians, the Babylonians from the Sumerians but all imitated from the Africans. Let us take up our rightful place in history and be once again the innovators. Let me paraphrase a quote from the German-born American composer, conductor, pianist, and professor, Lukas Foss- ‘For years that may mean imitation. Then, one day, it is like a door opening, and a new thought comes in. Why not try this instead. Suddenly we are doing something original, almost in spite of ourselves.’
Shoprite Group (JSE:SHP) treasury shares in Zambia have disappeared at a cost to the SA company of R70m.
Chief executive Whitey Basson told analysts in Sandton on Tuesday that it was uncertain that the shares would be recovered, so a provision was made. If they are rediscovered, the provision will be written back in the current year.
“They are shares in Shoprite Group in SA but they are blocked in Zambia. They were issued at the time we listed in Zambia with a view to gradual release over time. We thought they were with the transfer secretaries but they weren’t. We might well find them. If there were foul play, we would hope to get them back but in the meantime we decided to provide for the loss in full.”
Because the shares are blocked, Shoprite shares in Zambia trade at half their value in SA, so there is a very large arbitrage opportunity for anyone who can sell Zambian registered shares into the SA market.
The R70m was only 2.8% of Shoprite Group’s R2.52bn taxed profit for the year. If the shares are recovered, the write-back of R70m could give a handy effective R140m start to the in the current year.
The Zambian setback was a rare blaps in Africa’s biggest retail group. Diluted headline earnings growth of 12% was a bit short of market expectations but it shaded most Shoprite’s rivals and was achieved in spite of numerous difficulties.
First, this year was 52 weeks, not 53 as in 2010. Second, because of higher profits at higher tax rates in certain African countries, the tax rate rose to 34.7% (32.7%). Third in the current year 14.6m workdays were lost to strike action. Fourth, a million jobs have been lost in SA in the past two years and the unemployment rate rose to 25%.
Electricity and water costs rose R266m to more than R1bn. That was serious for a company with a pre-tax profit margin of only 5.4%. Electricity tariffs also reduced disposable incomes across the economy. Municipal rates rose 45%.
Inflation, normally a retailer’s best friend, was hardly measurable. The strong rand made imports cheaper but reduced the translation of non-SA earnings. There were 78 new stores and more than 7 000 new jobs were generated in the group.
CEO Whitey Basson was satisfied that some 64% of SA shoppers buy at his stores – up from 47% in 2005. He was happy that Shoprite won many awards including No 1 supermarket in the Sunday Times Top brands survey.
Basson is happy with African expansion. It is in six of the fastest growing economies in the world. The population of SA’s largest cities was 15.2m, while those in Nigeria house 25.9m. SA GDP per capita is higher at $10 700, compared to Nigeria’s $25 00 and Angola’s $8 200.
The group was successful at home as well. Shoprite sold 900m eggs and 9 352km of boerewors, enough to reach from Cape Town to Delhi.
While the supermarkets and furniture showed growth around about inflation, the smaller businesses, such as liquor, Hungry Lion and Computicket outperformed. The distribution centres and the IT systems improved efficiency.
Shoprite is number 135 retailer in the world and has set its sights on being in the top 100. It would love to get back into India and has heard encouraging sounds from the Indian government.
[moneyweb.co.za]
The European Union -EU- has refuted reports that it has funded Presidential candidates that successfully filed in their nominations with close to one billion kwacha for the September, 20 elections.
EU Head of Delegation in Zambia, Gilles Hervio says the reports are false.
Mr Hervio has told ZNBC News by telephone, that the EU has not funded any presidential candidate.
He says the EU has only funded the Electoral Commission of Zambia and the United Nations Development Programme.
Mr Hervio says the ECZ has been given 5.9 billion kwacha, equivalent to five million Euros for the next three years.
And Mr Hervio says ten EU election observers have arrived in the country to monitor the September 20 elections.
He says about 24 more observers are expected in the country on Saturday.
President Rupiah Banda has invited International Observers to monitor the September 20 polls which has 10 Presidential Candidates
