THE Business Monitor International Limited (BMI) has predicted that President Banda will easily win this year’s elections as a reward for his government’s recent economic achievements and says grassroots support for the MMD remains strong.

And the organisation says the turbulent past of opposition Patriotic Front (PF) president Michael Sata is likely to prove to be his liability in the polls, and that his national support has fallen since 2008.

The reputable global research organisation, involved in economic, political and social research across the world, has made the predictions in its review of southern Africa for August 2011.

“Programmes to facilitate the use of fertilisers and high-quality seeds have helped to generate two record maize harvests in the past two seasons – an achievement that cannot be overstated in the largely rural country,” the BMI says.

“The government’s efforts promise to increase formal employment, diversify the economy, broaden the tax base and lower poverty levels and we believe that the electorate will reward (President) Banda and his MMD party at the polls,” the organisation says.

It says clearly, grassroots support for the MMD has remained strong because of Government’s progressive programmes aimed at benefitting ordinary citizens and reducing poverty.

The BMI reports that because of the increase in the number of beneficiaries of subsidised farm inputs under the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP) from 500,000 to 890,000 small-scale farmers in the last farming season, the country has witnessed increased participation in food-based agriculture.

“The scheme (FISP) has seen agricultural production soar and this year’s maize harvest is expected to reach over three million tonnes, an improvement on the record 2.8 million tonnes last year.

“The improvements will help stave off food insecurity plaguing other parts of Africa,” the organisation says.

It also notes a huge increase in the number of registered voters from 3.9 million in 2006 to 5.2 million this year, which it attributes to a rising generation of constituents just reaching voting age and increased voter enthusiasm.

On Mr Sata, the BMI says although the PF leader has campaigned aggressively in Western Province lately, he remains a controversial figure who has often expressed admiration for an unpopular president of an African country.

The BMI also says Mr Sata’s anti-foreign sentiment in populist appeals threaten to undermine Zambia’s impressive growth story.

“While recent comments have sought to attract more moderate voters, Sata’s turbulent past will likely prove to be a liability, and his national support has likely fallen since 2008,” it says.

“The MMD has demonstrated that it is still a force to reckon with in local elections, where it has won 62 of 110 wards (compared with United Party for National Development’s 24 and the PF’s 22),” the BMI report says.

It adds that the bickering between the PF and the UPND following the demise of their electoral pact has damaged both opposition parties’ chances.

The BMI was founded in 1984 by Richard Londesborough and Jonathan Feroze, the company’s joint chief executive officers, and is based in Blackfriars, London, with foreign offices in New York and Singapore.

It has customers in more than 140 countries worldwide and has provided reliable analyses, data and forecasts to businesses, banks, financial services companies, governments, academia and research centres.

It was awarded the ‘Queen’s Award for Export Achievement’ in 1997.

The positive prediction comes hot on the heels of the assessment by the International Monetary Fund of the country’s economic programme as “robust and broad-based”, and its reclassification as a lower middle-income country by the World Bank, both in a space of one month.

[Zambia Daily Mail]

THE Electoral Commission of Zambia outsourced the printing of ballot papers for this year’s elections because the Government Printing Department (GP) required about K44 billion to be equipped for the job.

This is against the K1 billion which is in the budget.

ECZ director Priscilla Isaac said in a statement yesterday that K43,897,966,174 is needed to fully equip the department to carry out the job.

She said the commission was left with no alternative but to outsource the printing of the ballot papers.

Ms Isaac said the tender was advertised in daily newspapers for a period of four weeks and it closed on April 29, 2011, but the Government Printing Department did not apply despite being free to do so.

“When the commission started preparations for the conduct of 2011 tripartite elections, it proceeded on the premise that ballot papers for the elections would be printed locally by the Government Printer. To this effect, the commission engaged the government through the Minister of Works and Supply (Gabriel Namulambe) to assess the capacity of Government Printers to print ballot papers for the 2011 tripartite elections,” she said.

She said only K1 billion was budgeted for the rehabilitation of Government Printers.

And the ECZ says the demand by Patriotic Front (PF) that ballot papers for the 2011 tripartite elections be printed in Zambia is unrealistic as there is no company in the country which can undertake a job of that magnitude.

“It is unfair for the PF to say the printing of ballot papers has been arranged between Government and ECZ when stakeholders have been kept abreast with everything that has been happening,” ECZ spokesperson Cris Akufuna said.

He said the South African company, Universal Print Group of Durban, which has been contracted to print ballot papers, was awarded the tender in a transparent manner.

PF secretary general Wynter Kabimba said during a press briefing yesterday that the opposition party would rather have the ballot papers printed in Zambia under security arrangements agreed by all stakeholders.

Mr Akufuna also said allegations by Mr Kabimba that the ECZ and President Banda held a meeting at which they agreed on the date of the elections are unfounded.

[Zambia Daily Mail]

Opposition Patriotic Front (PF) is demanding that ballot papers for the 2011 tripartite elections should be printed in Zambia, by Government printers.

PF Secretary General Wynter Kabimba says stakeholders were not consulted over the awarding of the contract to a South African Company.

Mr Kabimba says the ECZ has not told stakeholders what went wrong with the original arrangement to have the ballots printed in Zambia after all stakeholders were taken on a tour of government printers.

Mr Kabimba said during a press briefing in Lusaka on Tuesday that printing of ballot papers in a general election is a matter of public interest and should be done in consultation with all stakeholders.

He says the ballots should be printed under security arrangements agreed to by all stakeholders to avoid suspicion.

The Electoral Commission of Zambia has explained that it issued an invitation of sealed bids from interested bidders through open tender procedures and that the tender was advertised in the media.

In announcing the awarding of the contract to Universal Print group, ECZ Spokesperson Cris Akufuna said that eight companies responded to the bid invitation and were evaluated in accordance with the laid down procedure.

ZNBC

The Electoral Commission of Zambia ECZ has completed the correction of anomalies on the voter’s register.

And the commission is finalizing the voter’s register in readiness for this year’s tripartite elections.

ECZ Chairperson Irene Mambilima says the voters’ register is now in its final stages.

She was speaking in an interview with ZNBC News in Lusaka on today.

Justice Mambilima says preparations for the elections are on course.

And the Electoral Commission has launched the translated version of the Electoral Code of Conduct in seven languages.

The languages are Lunda, Luvale, Bemba, Nyanja, Kaonde, Tonga and Lozi.

Speaking during the launch on Tuesday, Justice Mambilima said the code of conduct is the first step in resolving and minimizing electoral conflicts.

ZNBC

SUPASTAR DEEJAY

Supastar Deejay is a club DJ , he plays at popular Lusaka night club Hollywood City

KAPA187: How did you get the name supastar deejay?

SupaStar Deejay:  I started with the name crazi Hussein, then it changed to insane-Hussein, i kinda suffered abit of an identity crisis till one of my friends started calling me Supasta deejay,
I thought it was cool, simple and catchy. I liked it and it stuck. Rach you’re a fool for that one, lol.

KAPA187:  What made you decide to become a Dj , what or who was your inspiration.

SupaStar Deejay:   Since I can’t sing or dance, djaying was the next best thing, it was a hobby in the beginning , but 2 years later it became a career. My love for music is what inspires me.
But there’s alot of deejays that i look up to, Dj’s such as Dj Cleo, Dj Waxxy, Dj fresh, Dj Tiesto, David Guetta and Vj Takt and the list goes on and on.

KAPA187:  Out of all the tunes you have, which one ‘never fails’?

SupaStar Deejay:   I have too many classics which never let me down so I will give you two:
Sean Paul – Like glue, Shabba ranks – Bedroom Bully (classics)

KAPA187:  When Djing at a club , is your set pre planned , or do you just go with the flow.

SupaStar Deejay:  I go with the flow. Music is more of a feeling, the role of a Dj is to read the crowd and NOT to be predictable so it’s better to go with the flow.
I try by all means to be as spontaneous as I can be and also as creative, that’s why they say Dj’ing is an art.

KAPA187:  Do u play a particular type of music , or do you mix it up.

SupaStar Deejay:   I mix it up. It’s much more fun mixing different kinds of music, and because people have different music preferences everybody will be kept on their feet.
I play music that I like more or less, and I like all genres of music from hip hop to house to dance to the dancehall.

KAPA187:  When was the first big occasion you Deejayed for, and how did it feel?

SupaStar Deejay:   The road to Zain Mtv music video awards Zambia that was held at Hollywood city. It was the build up show to the main award show in Kenya in 2009.
It was an honour to be one of the two dj’s selected in Zambia to play at the event,i felt like a star! it was an exciting experience.
It was the most organised party i had ever been to, from the stage performance to the dance floor to the drinks at the bar. It was sold out and it was on MtvBase, Like how cool
was that, and the best part was all my friends were there to support like always, thanx guys.

KAPA187:  That must have been a great experience , whats the funniest thing that ever happened at an event?

SupaStar Deejay:  It was a Saturday night at Hollywood City, i was playing T.i’s Live Your Life and i accidentally ejected the CD midway through the song and instead of silence in the club to my surprise the crowd was singing along to the chorus, it was so awesome, talk about live accapella hey, it’s always fun to hear the crowd sing along to your music.

KAPA187:  You currently Dj at Hollywood city night club, how did you get that opportunity.

SupaStar Deejay:   Hollywood City had just opened and at that time I was living in the same neighbourhood and i was coincidentally looking for a dj gig, I was looking to become a resident Dj anywhere. I got an audition and next thing you know, I was hired!

KAPA187:  Guess you were at the right place at the right time ,What’s the best event you’ve played at/put on?

SupaStar Deejay:   SADC battle of the Dj’s which was held in Windhoek, Namibia. It took place in September 2010, it was so great because I got to meet and dj with dj’s from all over southern Africa.
We had 30minute battle sessions and the croud was off the hook, it was a mixed crowd too, and guess what? Everybody was a winner because we all came with our own flavours from our home countries.

KAPA187:  When all the partying is over, what do you do to relax?

SupaStar Deejay:   I watch movies ; action, horror and scifi, I also like to hang out with

my friends and listen to music lol, i take my music with me everywhere i go, literaly .

KAPA187: In 5 years I will be…

SupaStar Deejay:   A music producer and one of Africa’s hottest dj’s. Becoming a producer is another big step that I would love to take and it’s something that i am working on, so look out for me.

KAPA187:  Any advice for upcoming DJ’s 

SupaStar Deejay:  Dj’ing is lots of fun but it’s always great to have a backup plan as a just-in-case, you never know what tomorrow could bring and remember to always play ‘it’ safe. And remember there’s nothing better than the feeling of being appreciated for work done. It pays to work hard, so in anything you do, do it with a passion.

MUSIC

Here is a sample of one of his mixes

A link to the full mixtape can be found on his facebook page.

BY KAPA187

CHIENGI member of Parliament Katele Kalumba has challenged the Patriotic Front (PF) to tell the nation how it will fight corruption when it is encouraging the principle of ‘don’t kubeba’, which is synonymous with the vice.

Dr Kalumba, who is former MMD national secretary, said in an interview from Chiengi yesterday he has studied the concept of ‘don’t kubeba’ and that its underlying political message is immoral because it encourages Zambians to be deceitful.

“‘Don’t kubeba’ is a discourse of immorality and untruthfulness. If the PF can teach people to be untruthful in principle in terms of political practices, how can they fight corruption because the principle of ‘don’t kubeba’ is the same principle as corruption?” Dr Kalumba said.

“If people don’t believe in something, they should be bold enough to state that they don’t believe in some ideologies or a particular political party, that is truthfulness. And yet our colleagues in the PF are inciting Zambians to be deceitful and immoral by accepting things knowing pretty well that they don’t intend to do the acts they are being given to do, assuming that there is corruption,” Dr Kalumba said.

He said it is unfortunate that the PF is inciting its members to hide their political affiliation while pretending to be MMD members.

Dr Kalumba advised MMD members not to feel ashamed to be identified as members of the ruling party.

[pullquote]”Let the MMD trumpets blow. Speak the truth if they come to you; tell them the truth. Now, the PF is telling people to be deceitful. I wonder how they will convince Zambians to vote for them when the policies they are propagating are ‘don’t kubeba’” Dr Kalumba said.[/pullquote]

“Let the MMD trumpets blow. Speak the truth if they come to you; tell them the truth. Now, the PF is telling people to be deceitful. I wonder how they will convince Zambians to vote for them when the policies they are propagating are ‘don’t kubeba’” Dr Kalumba said.

He said Zambians don’t know what the PF stands for because of its ‘don’t kubeba’ policy, which is vague.

“That is why Zambians are confused about homosexuality, on one hand the PF is fraternising with gay activists in Europe, and on the other they are telling people that God would not have created Adam and Eve if he wanted them to be homosexuals,” Dr Kalumba said.

He said MMD members should be proud of themselves and their leaders.

[Zambia Daily Mail]