THE Patriotic Front (PF) has blamed the United Party for National Development (UPND) for its possible defeat in the forthcoming general elections.

PF secretary-general Wynter Kabimba told Radio Phoenix in an interview yesterday that UPND is going into the elections as a ‘spoiler’ party.

Mr Kabimba said UPND fully knows that it cannot win this year’s elections but wants to contest.

He also said any reasonable person in the country knows that the UPND cannot win the presidential election this year.

Mr Kabimba accused the UPND of trying to spoil PF’s chances of winning this year’s elections. He said the battle to determine who forms Government after the elections is purely between the PF and the ruling MMD.

Reacting to Mr Kabimba’s statement, UPND spokesperson Charles Kakoma described it as baseless. Mr Kakoma said his party will win this year’s general elections.

“Mr Kabimba should know that things have changed on the ground in Lusaka and the Copperbelt provinces.

The PF should not think it still controls the provinces. The UPND has penetrated the two regions,” Mr Kakoma was quoted as saying.

FORMER President Frederick Chiluba has called on Copperbelt residents to vote for President Banda in this year’s tripartite elections for continued development.

Dr Chiluba said President Banda deserves a fresh five-year mandate so that he can continue developing all parts of the country.

“President Banda has demonstrated good leadership in the short period he has been in office. This is why it is important for Zambians and the Copperbelt in particular to rally behind him. RB has a good pace in which all of us should follow,” he said.

Dr Chiluba was speaking during the funeral service of Zambia national soccer team player Willie Phiri at United Church of Zambia St Marks congregation in Chingola yesterday.

The former President paid tribute to President Banda for his commitment to national development.

Dr Chiluba said President Banda has managed to distribute development equally and deserves another term in office.

He also called on mining firms to improve conditions of service for workers in the wake of the increasing copper prices on the international market.

“With healthy copper prices, a lot can be done by mine owners to improve the lives of their workers,” he said.

Dr Chiluba said the Copperbelt is an important province which influences the country’s political and economic direction.

He said this is the reason why the people of the Copperbelt should rally behind President Banda’s candidature to help him win the elections.

“President Banda has worked very hard. He is a hard worker who needs the support of every Zambian. He has taken evelopment to every part of this country. We are witnessing massive development in Zambia and Copperbelt residents must support President Banda because he is a visionary leader,” Dr Chiluba said.

[Zambia Daily Mail]

Patriotic Front (PF) Matero Member of Parliament, Faustina Sinyangwe says she will re-contest her seat on the MMD ticket.

Mrs. Sinyangwe says her decision to join the ruling MMD stems from massive consultations with the electorates in Matero.

She explained that the fact that the PF has rejected her does not mean that her political career has come to an end.

Mrs Sinyangwe noted that the MMD and its government on the development projects needs to be supported by concerned Zambians.
[ MUVI ]

The Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) plans to launch a campaign dubbed Good Husband campaign in a bid to include men in the fight against Gender Based Violence (GBV).

YWCA Managing Director Patricia Njovu disclosed the development to ZANIS in a telephone interview in Lusaka today, saying preparations the launch is under way.

Ms. Njovu said the men’s network needed to be strengthened as it had an important role to play in the fight against GBV.

She said there was need for support from men as most GBV cases were perpetrated by men hence the need to educate them on the scourge.

Ms Njovu said sensitisation programmes were still being conducted in various townships and Linda compound was one of them, to help mitigate the negative impact that GBV had on its victims and the role that the masses could play to curb GBV.

Meanwhile, YWCA bemoaned increasing numbers of street girls on the street. Ms. Njovu said the break down of extended families was contributing to the street kids as most families had now resorted to the nuclear system of only father, mother and children.

She said Civil Society and Government should step in and devise effective programmes aimed at reducing the number of children on streets.

She said Government should consider increasing funds to the Ministry of Community Development and Social Welfre which deals with such issues.

ZANIS

Defence Minister Kalombo Mwansa has disclosed that Government will investigate allegations leveled against Zambian soldiers serving at the UN Peace keeping mission in Sudan.

Dr Mwansa dispelled claims that the Zambian soldiers went into hiding in barracks and maintained that the soldiers were fully executing their duties of protecting civilians among other chores.

Speaking to Journalists in Lusaka today, he said his Ministry would investigate the authenticity of the report from foreign media before taking any action but dismissed the report as being premature at this time when investigations were still on course.

ZANIS reports that the Minister said he would soon issue a comprehensive report on the matter in which he would state Government’s clear position.

Reuters is quoted as saying Zambian soldiers on a UN peace keeping mission in Sudan are hiding in barracks instead of protecting civilians.

The foreign media quoted a named Diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity that the UN is investigating actions of Zambian peacekeepers assigned to conduct regular patrols and protect civilians in Abyei, a disputed region between South and North Sudan.

The Diplomat also disclosed that Zambian soldiers in the North African largest country stayed holed up in their barracks for a period of two days during violent clashes between the Northern and Southern forces that sparked fights of tens of thousands of civilians in that country.

ZANIS

Chisamba Member of Parliament (MP) Moses Muteteka is disappointed with lawyer Rodger Chongwe for trivialising the office of the president.

Mr. Muteteka says Dr Chongwe should understand that the president has a constitutional right to intervene where people need to be assisted.

He says the president is in charge of the entire country and was elected by Zambians a.

Mr. Muteteka was reacting to a story in the Post Newspaper in which Dr Chongwe said president Rupiah Banda is abusing institutions like ZESCO through his recent solar geysers project.

He advised Dr Chongwe to learn to appreciate initiatives aimed at benefiting the people, and avoid being personal.

Mr. Muteteka was speaking with ZNBC News in a telephone interview.
[ ZNBC ]

The Zambia Episcopal Conference-ZEC has called on all Catholics in the country to embrace a calm spirit and an attitude of forgiveness and reconciliation.

ZEC President George Lungu says the dignity of the faithful in Christ is in forgiveness and reconciliation.

Bishop Lungu who is also Bishop of Chipata, also states that Catholic teaching does not promote homosexuality.

He says acts of homosexuality are seriously wrong and sinful.

Bishop Lungu says under no circumstances can homosexual acts be approved.

And Bishop Lungu has stressed that the official position of the Zambian Catholic Bishops is to remain neutral in as far as partisan politics are concerned while concentrating on the prophetic ministry of helping the poor.

This is contained in the Pastoral letter from the Catholic Bishops which was read out in Catholic Churches across the country on Sunday.

Recently, president Rupiah Banda said at no time has he and the MMD government planned to campaign against the Catholic church.

To the contrary, president Banda said government appreciates the role the church plays in the development of the country.

The president said this in a speech read on his behalf by Defence Minister Kalombo Mwansa during the ordination of Bishop Evans Chinyemba as Mongu Diocese bishop.
[ ZNBC ]

Chembo is an upcoming Zambian singer/songwriter who is currently based in the UK. I can describe her music as soulful RnB

KAPA187: Welcome to the interview room. So Chembo, I assume you started singing at an early age. When did you become serious about making music and what was your motivation?

CHEMBO: Yes you can say that. The thing that made me start singing was writing, I started writing songs when I was 11/12 and continued this until I was 16 but never really had intentions of singing them myself, then a friend at school after hearing me sing in assembly suggested I start recording, so around that time I went to the studio with my songs and recorded my first song. It was called “what do I know” and I’ll never forget hearing it back and thinking wow, I wanna get better at this.
KAPA187: Is there a main theme in your music or do you touch on various topics?

CHEMBO: I would say with the songs people do hear, like the ones on www.reverbnation.com/chembo the main theme would be boys, I think. Mainly because they say a lot about where I was at the time I wrote them. I write pretty autobiographical so it will always be about where I am at a particular time. But in future releases people can look forward to a change in genre and also deeper issues like life and relationships, but my writing I feel will give a fresh spin on topics widely sang about.

KAPA187: Are all your songs in English, if so do you think that will make it harder make it big in the Zambian music scene?

CHEMBO: Yes all the songs I have recorded to date have been in English, with the exception of “holla at me” which features Trizzo who raps in Nyanja and is amazing at what he does, I feel Zambians can get that song. I have recently written one or two songs fusing English and Bemba/Nyanja. I feel if the music is good then getting onto the scene won’t be that hard but yes the language can help me reach more listeners for sure. I’m still learning so I have room to grow and improve.

KAPA187: Describe how it felt the first time you heard one of your songs on the radio.

CHEMBO: the first time I heard my song on radio it was on Qfm and dj Vinyl was the first dj to ever give me that chance and it was amazing!!! I kept screaming in my house, I was so happy and it was truly surreal. When I was in Zambia in 2010 and I would very occasionally get some airplay, I still had the same buzz; it’s an incredible feeling, always.

KAPA187: Besides music what else are you interested in?

CHEMBO: I’m currently studying to be a performance artist/actor. I love art too and do little illustrations in my free time. I’m really into baking, it’s something that I find quite challenging and intend to get better at. I’m also a guitar student. But my favorite thing to do is blog. I have a blog on www.blackgirlstyle.tumblr.com where people can follow me using Google. Blogging is awesome.

KAPA187: for the people, who haven’t heard your music before, describes your sound in 5 words

CHEMBO: Five words? That’s hard. Umm POP, SOUL, REGGAE, YOUNG, NON-GENRE-SPECIFIC.LOL.
KAPA187: If you could open for any artist on tour who would it be and why.

CHEMBO: I would love to open for Lady Gaga because of her creative open-mindedness, I love people who just DO and don’t hold back. Plus have you seen how dedicated her fans are? It would be great to get people who love my music like that. But at the moment any great artist would be incredible.
KAPA187: What 5 songs are most played on your iPod right now?

CHEMBO: I use my phone for this. 1 is Pour Le meilleur by Lylah. 2 is Pillow talk by Ijahman Levi. 3 is Motivation by Kelly Rowland. 4 is Bad boy by Kano and 5 is Holla at me by Chembo

KAPA18: What is the best advice you have ever got?

CHEMBO: My mum told me once to “Learn everything I possibly can before I decide I want to do music” and to “have a vision for what I want to achieve because there is no point is having sight without vision”

KAPA187: Who inspires you?

CHEMBO: Aretha Franklin is one of those women I listen to and think wow! Zambian Artists like Krytic and Zonefam who are just grinders, having been around them and seeing their work ethic, also Uk artists and friends who go hard in their craft, because I really have the hunger to be great I feel there is inspiration everywhere from the most popular artists to the upcoming

KAPA187: In ten years I will be…….

CHEMBO: Career wise? I’ll be recognized for my music and acting, I’ll still be learning and evolving as an artist. Be an amazing acoustic guitarist too. ha!
I’ll also have a family and be happy and living in Zambia probably.

KAPA187: How can your fans contact you, and listen to your music?

CHEMBO:
Facebook: chembomusic
Twitter: Chembomusic
Thank you for the interview, I appreciate the opportunity.
THE MUSIC

She made her first video for the song “Sugar honey ice tea” last year. It’s a nice, simple, artistic, creative video. The song its self is one of those you put on repeat, lay back and listen to over and over again.

SUGAR HONEY ICE TEA VIDEO

Holla at me is more up tempo . “if you want some holla at me ” she says in the chorus. It features Trizzo rapping in Nyanja. It’s a nice song to dance to in a club or in your bedroom.

Holla At Me

By KAPA187

By Daimone Siulapwa

OVER the past few months, the talk has been mostly on Mbita Chitala and Mike Mulongoti, who only a few months ago, seemed to be men woven in the ruling MMD linen before falling out of favour with the MMD.

Chitala is a former Ambassador to Libya while Mulongoti is a former Minister of Works and Supply, who at some point also served as Chief Government spokesperson. It was not long that these two men were seen defending the MMD policies in a way that seemed like their next breath depended on that very act.
But times change, or rather human beings change, and the two are now among the staunchest critics of the government and President Rupiah Banda. The two can say whatever they want to say as the justification for their change of stance, but one thing is clear, it is driven by what they can get personally from the other end. Added to that is personal vengeance, nothing more nothing less, for it is clear that ideologically, the two seem not to have any problems with the MMD policies which they have been defending for the better part of two decades.

For that very reason, it is advised that these two men, at best, be ignored by right-thinking citizens of this country who want to see this poor nation move forward economically, politically and socially.

But then, that is not all, there is another section that we need to be guard against – we are talking about the so-called Patriotic Front ‘rebel’ Members of Parliament. These MPs fell out of favour with the PF following their decision to participate in the National Constitutional Conference (NCC), a decision which was against their party (or Michael Sata’s stance).
The decision to attend the NCC forced the party to expel them, and as things stand now, they are only clinging to their positions through a court injunction. The interpretation of this court injunction, in an ideal situation, would be that these MPs do not want to be forced out of their party. In other words, these are members who would not find comfort anywhere else other than the PF, the party they believe best represents their interests and that of the nation.

But going by the conduct of these individuals, it is quite clear that they do not believe in the PF policies and programmes at all. The injunction they sought which has kept them in Parliament to date has more to do with protecting their personal fortunes than anything else.

Put simply, they fear that their expulsion from the PF will make them lose out on the gratuities that MPs are expected to receive at the end of their current terms in Parliament.

However, these MPs claim that their differences with the PF stem from the fact that the party leader is dictatorial in nature, and for them, they have simply refused to give in to him. In other words, they have no problem with the policies of the PF as a party, but the leadership skills of its leader.

Assuming this was indeed true, what is the best action that these PF MPs ought to have taken? The best was to go the way Zimbabwe’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) faction led by Professor Arthur Mutambara undertook.

After differing with Morgan Tsvangarai, they simply walked out and formed their own party. They took this move knowing very well of the risks involved which included starting all over afresh. The same can be said about the Congress of the People (COPE) which broke away from South Africa’s African National Congress (ANC) following the recall of Thabo Mbeki. In other words, in a democracy, this is what people do when they differ on some fundamental issues. And differing with the party leader on his leadership skills as have the PF ‘rebel’ MPs is very fundamental.

The only way they can justify their stay in the party is under the pretext of trying to reform the party from within. But going by their conduct since their falling out, it is quite clear that they are not trying to fight from within. These are people merely waiting for Parliament to dissolve and then get their gratuity after which they will move to another party.

These MPs, led by Luapula MP Peter Machungwa and his Matero counterpart Faustina Sinyangwe, have been behaving more like MMD than PF members since their falling out. In fact, they have been more vocal in defending MMD policies than the MMD members themselves. The result or evidence of this lies in the fact that one of their kith and kin Besa Chambaka, who is Bahati MP, has been rewarded with an appointment as Luapula province Minister by President Rupiah Banda.

For the uninitiated, what this means is that these MPs are waiting for Parliament to be dissolved and for the MMD to hopefully adopt them as parliamentary candidates in the forthcoming general elections. In other words, for them, it is about what they can personally get out of a given arrangement. In this case, aligning themselves with RB and disparaging Michael Sata, their supposed party leader.

Now just like PF leader Michael Sata ought to be wary of characters like Mike Mulongoti and Mbita Chitala, who are seemingly showing him support for what is obviously personal gain, the MMD should likewise be cautious. These are people ready to support a particular candidate in the morning, a different one at noon, yet another in the evening, and another at mid-night and again another at dawn.

These people are a danger to our society! They do not deserve another chance. If the ‘rebel’ MPs feel that the leadership of RB is way better than that of Michael Sata, then they should resign their membership and jump ship. They should not worry about the cost of the by-elections; it is us the tax payers who will bear the costs. It is the price we have to pay for the multi-party democracy we were calling for. On the other hand, if they agree with the PF policies and only disagree with the leadership style, then they are still free to break loose and form their own party much the same way the MDC and ANC comrades did.

Otherwise, these people deserve to be discarded, just like Mbita Chitala and Mike Mulongoti. In any case, some of these only joined the PF after being rejected as candidates on the MMD ticket in 2006. This simply means that these characters are willing to take any action to secure their personal fortunes.

A sad scenario indeed for a country which proclaims to be in a hurry to develop!

Aluta Continua!

FORMER Patriotic Front (PF) Secretary General Edward Mumbi has said PF leader Michael Sata has now resorted to using the language of callboys because he has no campaign platform which he can use to gain and hold the confidence of serious-minded Zambians ahead of the 2011 elections.

Mr Mumbi said the callboys language which Mr Sata was now using should make the PF leader’s sympathisers to doubt his caliber to provide quality leadership like President Rupiah Banda had done in the last two years he has been in office.

He was reacting to a story in some sections of the media where Mr Sata was quoted telling Lusaka residents to get geysers that the MMD Government had brought, but “don’t Kubeba.”(Don’t tell them)

He said Mr Sata was shaken with the achievements made by the ruling MMD and President Banda because he was aware that the MMD had set the stage for victory in the 2011 elections.

“Mr Sata may think don’t kubeba is against the ruling MMD, but he will be shocked that the same don’t kubeba works against him. People may be saying do not tell the PF that we have turned against them because of their hooliganism,”

“Looking at what the ruling MMD under President Banda has done, I can safely say the ruling party is set for victory and this is why even Mr Sata is shaken. He is shaken, but instead of campaigning on issues that will help him gain and hold the confidence of the electorate, he has resorted to using the language of callboys. The man is totally stuck and the only issue he has is to explain to the Zambians his support for homosexuality,” he said.

He said Zambians should realise that Mr Sata was totally blank and had no platform on which to base his campaign because everything he would want to tell the people that he would come and do, had already been done by President Banda.

Mr Mumbi also said if Mr Sata was elected as Republican president in the 2011 elections, he would easily get rid of the rich traditional culture of Zambia and replace it with the culture of homosexuality and lesbianism.

He said, unlike some opposition leaders who attend some traditional ceremonies together with President Banda or Vice-President George Kunda, Mr Sata has never attended any traditional ceremony to show regard for Zambia’s traditional culture.

Mr Sata was a very bad leader and that it was not coincidence that whoever had worked with him, was complaining about his dictatorial kind of leadership.

He said even those misled Zambians who think their lives would improve if Mr Sata became Republican president would live to regret because PF and Mr Sata had no plans for Zambia.

Zambians, especially youths would live to regret in an unlikely event that Mr Sata was elected because the PF leader had no plans for the country while the governance of the country would overnight become dictatorial rule.

He said Mr Sata has already exhibited bad leadership through his inconsistences and he should not be entrusted with the authority of Republican presidency because he would easily put the Zambia’s economy and security at risk.

Meanwhile, Anglican Church in Central Africa has re-affirmed its stance against the practice of homosexuality.

Anglican Province of Central Africa overseer Albert Chama said in Kitwe at the weekend that the church would continue to make it clear that it would not condone homosexuality.

Archbishop Chama said the church wanted to ensure every member in the province was aware of its stance on the subject.

He said the church should not be misunderstood when it interacted with the rest of the Anglican community around the world, some of whom could have allowed the practice.

“We have made it very clear even to churches around the world that we interact with that if there are any members or priests that practice homosexuality, they should keep them away from us,” he said.

Archbishop Chama said it was not an issue that the church would shift its position and that the Anglican community in Zambia and the rest of the province should be assured.

The Anglican Central African Province comprises Zambia, Malawi, Botswana and Zimbabwe.
[ Times of Zambia ]