SCORES of people who went to attend the Press Freedom Committee (PFC) of the Post forum addressed by Patriotic Front (PF) leader Michael Sata yesterday at Mulungushi International Conference Centre were disappointed with Mr Sata’s hesitant responses to several questions and described him as a time waster.

Inside the conference hall and outside the building, several people who were seen moving either in a group or two were heard whispering and complaining over Mr Sata’s failure to articulate national issues properly.

Some condemned Mr Sata of diverting questions from the audience and resorted to attacking President Rupiah Banda and Vice President George Kunda.

Others were spotted holding dark corner meetings and buzzed Mr Sata’s failure to substantiate what PF would do if it was elected different from MMD’s national affairs.

Most of the youth who appeared to be students were heard saying Mr Sata should stop playing with people’s mind describing him as time waster for lack of explaining national matters in a right manner.

“Gentlemen, I thought we came here to listen to constructive things but this man (Mr Sata) kept on attacking President Banda and Mr Kunda what for? Even the way he was answering questions its like he was not prepared,” some people were over heard saying.

Mr Sata who did not look to be in a jovial mood during the forum like in most rallies or meeting he addresses gave an excuse to the audience to twist their questions if he did not respond them well.

“If I haven’t answered your question properly there is no harm for you to twist your questions again,” he said Mr Sata also refused to answer to a question from one of the members of the audience who wanted to find what stance PF would take if it lost this year’s election against the ruling MMD.

But Mr Sata instead accused the ruling MMD of hiding some ballot papers in Lusaka and that he knew the locations of the ballots and that PF would fight hard to ensure there was transparent in handling of ballot papers.

“We know the MMD is hiding some ballot papers in Lusaka and we shall expose them,” claimed Mr Sata. He said, if elected the PF would immediately facilitate enactment of the failed Republican Constitution within a period of 90 days and the national document would protect interest of all citizens.

He said Zambia needed a strong Constitution that could give dignity and empowerment to citizens and a Constitution that would restrict more powers to the president.

Mr Sata also accused the ruling MMD of buying voters cards and National Registration Cards (NRC) from some citizens especially the refugees in areas like Maheba refugee camp.

He alleged President Banda and his MMD administration have decided to purchase several motor vehicles for campaigns when the police service had fewer vehicles pointing at a police officer who was sited at the main entrance of the conference hall.

“The PF will strengthen the public service commission and increase the number of employees in the formal sector such as police and prison officers,” he said And instead of giving the right response on the mobile hospitals after some people asked him to comment on the facilities, Mr Sata said President Banda decided to remove former Local Government and Housing Minister Brain Chituwo from ministry of health and decided to appoint an engineer Kapembwa Simbao who is also former Health Minister but lacked knowledge on mobile hospitals.

Mr Sata however assured Zambians that PF would carry out peaceful campaigns.

[Times of Zambia]

STATE House has dismissed former Works and Supply minister Mike Mulongoti’s statement that President Rupiah Banda is lazy describing him as a frustrated politician who has resorted to telling lies to please his political allies.

Special assistant to the president for Press and public relations Dickson Jere told ZNBC news in Mfuwe yesterday that Mr Mulongoti was a bitter person because he was fired by President Banda.

Mr Jere said in his quest to please his political masters, Mr Mulongoti had embarked on a campaign to try and put President Banda’s name in disrepute.

He said President Banda was the most hard working Head of State who even holds meetings at mid night. He said former Finance and National Planning minister Situmbeko Musokotwane could confirm that the Head of State held meetings on various national issues as late as mid night. Mr Mulongoti was quoted in yesterday’s Post Newspaper saying President Banda was a lazy man.

And MMD Chisamba aspiring candidate Moses Muteteka has said the statement by Mr Mike Mulongoti that President Rupiah Banda is lazy has just exposed how ignorant the former minister is about the operations and working of the Head of State.

Mr Muteteka who is immediate past deputy minister of Local Government and a former senior private secretary to the late president Levy Mwanawasa said the office of the president was an institution that operates from anywhere.

“Mr Mulongoti doesn’t seem to understand how the president works. What does he mean that he is lazy, that he comes for work late. The president has an office at his home and sometimes can work from there.

“The office of president is not as easy as he wants to put it because sometimes he doesn’t sleep. Because of the time differences sometimes the Head of State has to stay awake to communicate with other heads of states,” he said.

Mr Muteteka said it was not possible for the country to have achieved so much economically and in terms of development if the president was lazy.

[Times of Zambia]

MMD National Secretary Major Richard Kachingwe says the party will respond accordingly to the writ of summons by the Patriotic Front (PF) general secretary Wynter Kabimba who has sued the party and Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) for allegedly failing to collect import duty from the party for the importation of campaign materials worth about K3.5 billion brought into the country.

Mr Kachingwe who confirmed receipt of the summons from the PF said his party would soon respond to the allegations leveled against his party by Mr Kabimba. According to the writ of summons filed before the Lusaka High court, Mr Kabimba wants an order that ZRA assesses and charges duty payable by the MMD on all its campaign materials and motor vehicles imported for this year’s elections.

Mr Kabimba who has also sued the Attorney General as the second defendant and MMD national secretary Major Richard Kachingwe as third defendant wants an order that the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) investigates and discloses to the general public the source of income by the MMD used for the purchase of about 100 Toyota Hilux motor vehicles, buses, 5000 bicycles and about 1000 bales of chitenge material and T-shirts.

He is further claiming for an interim mandatory and prohibitory order of injunction against the MMD restraining the distribution of motor vehicles, bicycles, chitenge materials and T-Shirts until the duty payable is assessed by ZRA and payable by the MMD.

The PF is also claiming any relief the court may deem fit and costs. According to a statement of claim filed in the Lusaka High Court, Mr Kabimba stated that on July 28, 2011, President Rupiah Banda dissolved parliament and set September 20 this year as the date for tripartite elections.

He said on August 1, this year, President Banda during a function held at Intercontinental Hotel in Lusaka launched the 2011 election campaign for the MMD.

He said after the launch, Maj Kachingwe started allocating campaign materials to its adopted candidates in form of bicycles, bales of chitenge material, motor vehicles and T-Shirts.

Mr Kabimba said on August 7, 2011, President Banda officiated at a function in Lusaka where the said materials which were allegedly imported into the country in large quantities were allocated.

He said the MMD’s campaign material was liable to import duty and other incidental taxes which the first defendant had negligently failed to charge and or collect on behalf of the government treasury of the Republic of Zambia.

Mr Kabimba said the consignment of the third defendant’s campaign materials included about 100 Toyota Hilux motor vehicles, bales of Chitenge materials and T-Shirts and at least 5000 bicycles all valued at over K3.5 billion.”

Mr Kabimba claimed that the MMD’s consignment of campaign materials was disproportionate to its income adding that the MMD had no investment portfolio or any business activity from which it would earn such income to justify the expenditure on the material.

He further stated that the DEC is obliged by law to institute investigations into the source of the income or disproportionate expenditure levels by the MMD and inform the public accordingly.

Mr Kabimba said ZRA should not allow the MMD to use its imported consignment of campaign materials before import duty and other taxes are paid to the commission.

And in an affidavit in support of ex parte summons for an interim order injunction pursuant to Order 29, Rule 1 of the Rules of the Supreme Court of England, 1999 edition, Mr Kabimba averred that DEC had not investigated the MMD’s source of income in accordance with its mandate.

[Times of Zambia]

Opposition Patriotic Front President Michael Sata has promised to re-visit the Mun’gomba draft constitution within 90 days once voted into power.

Mr. Sata said that the country only needed a strong constitution that will protect all citizens in the country unlike the current situation where citizens are not secured.

The PF leader said that the constitution of the country should be left to provide security to civil servants whom he said are not secure as they can be kicked out of employment at any time without proper guidelines being followed.

He was speaking in Lusaka today during a public forum by the Post Newspapers’s Press Freedom Committee.

Mr. Sata said that it was unfortunate that the draft constitution failed to pass due to the selfishness of Republican Vice President George Kunda, who he said appointed himself commissioner of the National Constitution Conference in order to make money.

Mr Sata said that the office of the Republican Vice President carries too much power. Mr Sata claimed that the Vice President has too much power, enough to make the incumbent manipulate the running of the economy.

Mr Sata could not however state exactly what his party plans to do in order to restrict the respective powers once elected into office.

QFM

RISE OF PLANETS OF THE APES

The movie starts with Will Rodman (James Franco) on the verge of discovering a cure for Alzheimer’s disease , the animal tests were a success so he  presents his finding to some investors so that they would let him start human trails . Something goes horribly wrong with one of the apes, so the whole program is shut down. Still determined to find a cure , Will not only takes his research home with him (he also adopts an infant chimp(Caesar) that has been exposed to the experimental drug), but he also begins treating his father Charles with the serum.

No real apes were used in the making of this movie, all were humans, filmed and then transformed through motion capture by the effects company, Weta Digital. Who have previously worked on Lord of the Rings, Kong and Avatar.  So no apes were harmed during the making of this movie.

PRO’S

• The CGI was simply amazing they really made Caesar and the rest of the apes come to life and made them display real emotion.
• You really feel for James Franco’s character ,Will Rodman , has he goes to great lengths to try and find a cure for his fathers Alzheimer’s disease.
• It was amazing to see the transformation of Caesar, from somewhat of a house hold pet to the leader of the apes as they rise to freedom
• Andy Serkis, most well known for playing smeagol in the Lord of the Rings Movies , did a tremendous job as Caesar.

RATING

5 out of 5

FAVORITE QUOTE

Caesar: Caesar is home!

Caesar: (Sign Language) Apes alone weak. Apes together strong.

Caesar: (sign language) Am I am pet?

Caroline:  Some things aren’t meant to be changed.

CONCLUSION

If I had to choose one word to describe this movie it would be phenomenal! I thoroughly enjoyed it from beginning to end. It had incredible acting and CGI work.

In the first half of the movie you can say Caesar is living the good life, but as the movie rolls along and he sees how his fellow apes are mistreated he side with them. The second half of the movie stole the show; the climax was the scene at the golden gate bridge , it was stupendous.

The movie can be said to have some social commentary as it shows a marxist view of the oppressed masses edging towards revolution. Will Rodman (James franco) may feel like he is somewhat of a father to Caesar but he is also represents the “colonial oppressor” .Caesar soon realizes that he is not a near-human but the best of the apes , and takes it upon himself to lead his “people” to freedom.

BY KAPA187

By Gray Soko
The buzz word during the election campaigns has been “ development” but I have some searching questions or observations to make:

• What if we plan a new road and rail network rather than the annual often shoddy repairs? Not only would we decongest traffic and reduce accidents but also provide quicker transportation. Such a network would also open up vast lands that are lying idle.

• What if we stopped looking at the number of second hand cars on our roads as an indication of development and planned to establish vehicle assembly or manufacturing plants? Not only would we create employment but also advance our technological knowhow as we would have to compete with the outside world for quality products and become innovative.

• What if instead of clapping the ears of transporters whose buses ( especially mini buses ) cause so much loss of life through accidents trying to arrive at their destinations on time we looked at developing an efficient and fast public transport system? Who remembers the “rail cars” of the 70s or the mooted underground train systems of years past? Perhaps not too far back, ZCCM tried a rail link within Lusaka ( Matero to Chilenge).

•  What if instead of concentrating on keeping us alive by building more hospitals, clinics and mobile clinics/hospitals and importing drugs and medical equipment we planned to prevent disease, improve the environment , research on drugs and manufacture high tech equipment for use in hospitals? What if we stepped aside and reviewed the training of our medical personnel to make it the best possible? How has Cuba excelled in this field despite being under siege by the USA for so long?

• What if we made our central position on the continent our niche? Make Zambia the air and rail traffic hub of Africa. Make the “landlocked” situation work for us. We seem to have lost Lusaka’s niche for international conferences on African issues. We could even plan for Lusaka as capital for the AU, our generations of peaceful existence being our premium. The Lusaka and Ndola “international airports” are less than provincial airports in neighbouring countries.

• · What if instead of beating our chests on “bumper” harvest, referring to only maize, we develop agro industries to produce maize products like corn flakes which we still import. What if we looked at improving the nutritional status of our children as a goal rather than producing more maize for export. How can we make the school going children from poor families eat better at school ? Is Mount Makulu Research Centre for example adequately funded and are we getting full benefits of its research? Are we giving the other food products that we can abundantly produce adequate attention as we give to getting fertilizer for maize?

•  What if we restructured the civil service hierarchy, which I believe follows the British model up to now to serve us better. Late FTJ once watched reporting time for civil servants and of course saw what we always see, late reporting from top to bottom. One reason is these civil servants did not have any “work” to do so why go early? Maybe up to 80% just report for work but do no work. Pay is assured though, it is not based on productivity but presenteism. Quite often you still get paid even if you are not there. Once in a while we stumble on “ghost” workers.

•  What if we came to terms with what has not worked in terms of local government and boldly implemented provincial administration on carefully determined federal system. Can we seriously say the current provincial ministerial system and district commissioners add value? LPM tried to relook at the district commissioners to be technocrats but the political reward mentality of “it pays to belong to …party)was still strong.

•  What if the districts had counselors appointed on merit rather than elected party cadres who have given themselves the right to curve out land for themselves. What if we had town planning again so that the haphazard “development” is brought to an end? Residential plots on graveyards, houses being built on sewer and waterlines and what should be open spaces or parks. Councils have failed and we cannot be doing the same things that have failed and expect different outcomes.

• What if we made civic and political leaders accountable to those who put them in power by having the “recall” strategy instead of them thinking the offices are theirs to keep for the term regardless.

•  What if we added value to our mineral resources and exported finished products instead of making the invitation of investors to open mines and export raw material and profits thereof such an insatiable ambition. So much employment and technological development would result and the youths in technical colleges will have something to look forward to. What do the geologists, mining engineers, metallurgists, artisans look towards for when the employment opportunities seem so finite.

How I wish there would be such a debate, such a leader with vision for a better Zambia and not be content with “continuity” or the status quo.

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE

“What if some did not believe? Shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?”
(Romans 3:3, KJV)

TODAY’S WORD from Joel and Victoria

So often, people allow the opinions of others to hold them back and water down their dreams. We have to realize, there will always be critics and naysayers in life. One of the most important things you can learn is that other people don’t have to believe in you in order for your dreams to come to pass. Other people don’t set the limits for your life — you do. It’s not what others say about you that affects your life, but what you say and believe about yourself. In today’s verse, the apostle Paul is saying, “It doesn’t matter if other people don’t believe. Their unbelief is not going to keep me from believing in my dreams.” When God puts a promise in your heart, it’s not up to other people to bring it to pass, it’s up to you! You don’t need everyone to validate you. You have to follow the voice of God for yourself and allow Him to order your steps.

Today, know that God sees the hidden treasures inside of you. He wants to bring those treasures out and make your dreams reality. As you get rid of the old, defeated thoughts and replace them with what God says about you, you will remove the limits so you can live the abundant life God has in store for you!

A PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, thank You for another day to see Your goodness in my life. Help me to see myself the way You see me. Help me to see the plans You have for me so that I can be empowered by You to fulfill my destiny. I love You and bless Your name today. In Jesus’ Name. Amen

— Joel & Victoria Osteen