THE MMD in Lusaka has unearthed a scam in which Chongwe member of Parliament Sylvia Masebo has been collecting MMD party regalia and cards to be used in a planned defection to the opposition Patriotic Front (PF).

MMD Lusaka Province secretary Samson Mkandawire said in Lusaka yesterday that Ms Masebo has been planning a defection and she wants people to believe that the people of Chongwe are anti-MMD when the truth is that they are happy with what the MMD government has been doing for them.

Mr Mkandawire said Ms Masebo has no right whatsoever, to handle MMD party materials because she is no longer a member of the MMD. He said the people of Chongwe should not listen to Ms Masebo because she is a disgruntled politician who thinks she owns the people of Chongwe.

Mr Mkandawire said Ms Masebo has a tendency of deceiving the people of Chongwe into believing that she is the only one who can represent them.

“She has left the MMD before and joined the Zambia Revolution Party and the people of Chongwe accepted her but this time, she should know that the people are tired of her political gymnastics and they do not want her any more,” Mr Mkandawire said.

He said Ms Masebo is not wanted by the people of Chongwe because she has been disrespectful to President Banda and has been intimidating MMD members to follow her wishes.

Mr Mkandawire said Ms Masebo has been requesting President Banda to appoint her as a Cabinet minister so that she can remain in the party.

“That is pure blackmail which should not be tolerated. Ms Masebo was supposed to respect members of the MMD, including President Banda but instead, she was giving him conditions, for her to remain in the MMD,” Mr Mkandawire said.

And Mr Mkandawire said Ms Masebo should stop dragging the President into her failure to develop Chongwe because she had greater capacity to develop the area.

“She has held ministerial positions before but she still failed to push for the development of the district.We respect her decision to leave the MMD for the PF but she should desist from blaming President Banda for her failure to take development to Chongwe,” Mr Mkandawire said.

Mr Mkandawire wondered how Ms Masebo will work with the PF when she has been condemning and insulting Michael Sata, the leader of the opposition party.

“She has been insulting Mr Sata and now she says she wants to work with him. I wonder how that is going to turn out,” Mr Mkandawire said.

The Zambia Association of Musicians (ZAM) has refuted media reports that musicians were paid K10 million each for singing solemn songs at the funeral of the late second Republican President Frederick Chiluba.

ZAM President Maiko Zulu said no musicians was paid the K10 million to sing at late Dr. Chiluba’s funeral.

He instead explained that ZAM only coordinated the recording and performance of the “Amazing Life” song. He said that the song was a tribute and local musician’s collective contributions towards State funeral of the late second Republican President.

He added that the performance by the non-choral musicians were purelynon-profiting project.

Mr. Zulu said this in a statement made available to ZANIS in Lusaka yesterday.

He said the said it was therefore unfair for some sections of the media to suggest that ZAM musician were performing commercially.

The ZAM boss described the media assertion as cheap politicking and unprofessional journalism which may have negative impact on the general development of the music industry and the credibility of musicians in the country.

“No musician to our knowledge was paid K10 million to sing at the funeral of the late D. Chiluba. The amazing life tribute song project
was a noble and collective towards state funeral by Zambian musicians under the auspices of the Zambia association of Musician and it was purely non-profit project. It is therefore unfair ion the part of some section of the media to suggest that ZAM where performing
commercially, ” he said.

He stated that ZAM will not allow it name to be tarnished over what he termed a genuine contribtion to national cause.

He ha since urged people and the media not to politicize the musicians participation during the funeral although the person who died was a political leader, he was President of the country for ten years.

“ZAM will not allow its name to be tarnished over what was a genuine contribution to a national cause. Our musicians’ participation during the funeral should not be politicized because we feel that despite it being the funeral of a political leader, it was also the funeral of a man who President of the whole of Zambia for ten years, ” he said.

Mr. Zulu has advised the public who have any queries to contact their secretariat adding that the association is professional, accountable and very transparent.

He advised the media to gather their fact before publishing statements saying doing so will dispel doubts to the credibility of
the news articles and avoid damaging allegations.

According to a story carried in one of dailies, last week, government is reported to have paid K10 million to non-choral musicians who were signing during the funeral of the late second republican president.

ZANIS

Government will soon introduce a monthly allowance for people with disabilities in Zambia.

Ministry of Community Development and Social Services Permanent Secretary Sherry Thole disclosed today that the disability allowances are meant to assist the physically challenged persons.

ZANIS reports that Ms. Thole said the monthly allowance will be given to less privileged disabled persons under the Government programme of financially empowering disabled persons.

She has since called for the provision of accurate information on disability issues which Government can use for planning purposes.

She said lack of such information was hindering implementation of various Government programmes for the disabled people. Ms. Thole said this when she launched the Rehabilitation and Research Resource Centre at the Zambia Agency for Persons with Disability (ZAPD) offices in Lusaka today.

She has further implored ZAPD to use the research data that will be gathered for strategic planning. She said Government wants well tailored plans and budgets that will be responsive to the needs of the targeted beneficiaries.

Ms. Thole has thanked Opportunity Zambia, a Norwegian sponsored disability organisation, for funding rehabilitation of the resource centre.

She also appealed to cooperating partners and international non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to help fund research projects in order for disabled people to engage in research.

And Opportunity Zambia Programme Advisor, Alick Nyirenda, said his organisation disbursed K3 billion towards the programme of disability in Zambia in the last two years.

Mr. Nyirenda said his organisation, which is being sponsored by an organisation for disabled persons in Norway, has also spent K47 million on refurbishing the
resource centre at ZAPD. He has since commended the relationship his organisation is enjoying with organisations for disabled persons and the Government in Zambia.

Speaking earlier, Zambia Agency for Persons with Disability (ZAPD) Director General Charles Mwape said the resource centre will help in planning and mitigating the challenges persons with disabilities are facing.

[ ZANIS ]

The ruling Movement for Multi party Democracy (MMD) has maintained that its leadership in Government will continue uplifting the living standards of Zambians.

MMD Spokesperson Dora Siliya said the party has for the past ten years fostered economic development.

ZANIS reports that Ms. Siliya said currently, the ruling party is seeking to achieve the Vision 2030 of making Zambia a middle income
country.

She was speaking last night during the MMD media cocktail held at Intercontinental Hotel in Lusaka.

She said due to the hardworking Government, Zambia has continued to be one of the best performing economies in Africa.

Ms. Siliya has since urged Zambians to vote for the MMD government in order for it to continue undertaking development in the country.

She thanked the media for the pivotal role it plays in disseminating information to the public and enabling them to make informed
decisions.

She added that the partnership between the media which is refered to as the fourth Estate and the ruling party is important to the
development of the country.

ZANIS

Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) chairperson Justice Irene Mambilima has maintained that the commission will not extend the voter verification exercise which came to an end June 12.

This follows calls by political stakeholders for an extension to allow more registered voters to have their details verified before the final register is compiled.

Speaking in Lusaka today during the ECZ/political parties’ liaison Committee meeting, Justice Mambilima said the commission has little time left before the forthcoming tripartite elections and that extending the verification exercise will have a negative impact on the commission’s preparatory works.

Justice Mambilima says the commission remains committed to ensuring that the country holds transparent, free and fair elections.

She says the ECZ has made headway in preparing for the coming general election and that all stakeholders will be kept updated on the progress regarding the elections.

Justice Mambilima has however said that in response to the concerns raised by stakeholders; the ECZ printed out hard copies of names of people, who registered as voters for every constituency and in all polling stations to ensure that no one is left out in the final register before certification which is expected by July, 31, 2011.

QFM

Minister of Finance Situmbeko Musokotwane says the economic growth Zambia is experiencing is as a result of the bold steps Second Republican President Frederick Chiluba took to privatize the economy.

Dr. Musokotwane says Dr. Chiluba unlocked the private sector when he privatized the economy.

He says Zambia’s economy will continue to grow as long as the country remains peaceful and maintains economic fundamentals such as inflation.

Dr. Musokotwane says peace is also an important element for investments flow.

He says the inflation rate should remain low if Zambia is to continue recording economic growth.

The Minister was speaking when he officiated at the Economic Review and Trade Finance Seminar organised by Access Bank in Lusaka.

He says part of the country’s economic growth will remain in the mining sector and that one third of all taxes in the country will be generated from mining firms.

And when presenting an overview of the Zambian economy, Leader of Deloitte Mining Advisory Services Ebrahim Takolia said the country’s GDP growth is expected to continue over the years.

Mr. Takolia says copper and cobalt will continue to play a significant role in Zambia’s economy.

He also said there has been a significant increase in foreign investments since 2000.

And Access Bank Zambia Managing Director Mukwandi Chibesakunda says the bank is ranked tenth in the industry, with deposit liabilities of about eighty million United States dollars.

The ranking shows 135 percent growth from thirty four million US dollars in 2009.