MMD Lusaka Province Chairman William Banda has challenged all opposition political party leaders to condemn political violence ahead of this year’s tripartite elections.

Mr. Banda told ZANIS in an interview in Lusaka today that the growing culture of political violence in the country should be condemned by all political leaders before, during and after the elections.

He advised opposition leaders especially to emulate President Banda who has on many occasions spoken against any form of violence.

The provincial chairperson said all political players in the country should embrace dialogue whenever they have grievances and not resort to violence.

He advised the youth to be wary of political leaders who may want to use them in violent activities before, during and after the elections.

Mr. Banda said Zambians should preserve the peace the country has enjoyed by ensuring that violence is not entertained at any point in the electoral process.

ZANIS

And visiting American Ambassador at Large for Global Women Issues Melanne Verveer has commended the Zambian government for its efforts in addressing the problem of girl’s child in schools.

Ms. Siliya said this is as a result of immediate suspension to all teachers found wanting in sexual harassment related cases while pending investigation.

She said Ministry of Justice was collaborating well with her ministry by intensifying the prosecution of under age sexual offenders.

Ms. Siliya said this in a speech read for her by Education Deputy Minister Dr. Boniface Kawimbe. This was during the Girls Leading Our World (GLOW) event in Lusaka today.

She said government is also encouraging girls who drop out of school because of pregnancy under the re-entry policy.

The minister, however, stated that despite the achievements made, government is still facing challenges in keeping the girl child in school.

The education minister has since called for concerted effort in discouraging early marriages especially among school going children who are below 18 years.

Ms. Siliya said the programme of keeping girls in schools should be encouraged by families, community, the church,and traditional leaders.

“The challenge of keeping the girls in school has to be met at several levels; at the level of the family and community. This should not be left by the government or the ministry of education alone.

There should be continuous sensitization of the importance of girl child education targeting the parents, church, traditional and civil
leaders.” He said.

The minister has also commended the Forum for African Women Educationist in Zambia (FAWEZA) and Campaign for Female Education (CAMFED) for supporting the vulnerable children in schools through provision of scholarships.

And Ambassador Melanne Verveer has commended the Zambian government for its efforts in addressing the problem of girl’s child in schools.

Ms. Verveer , who also met with girls and teachers from selected schools Peace Corp offices , said education for a girl child remains the best possible way of fighting problems in the world.

She said women and girls continue to face the same problems of illiteracy and abuse world over but noted that most African countries have since started making strides in addressing the problems.

The Ambassador has also advised government to continue investing in the education of girl children for them to have meaningful development.

“Educating a girl child still remains the biggest investment for a nation especially a developing nation like Zambia to attain growth.
By educating women we are educating the family and the nation, ” she said.

She has also applauded the girls for their determination and vision in life.

And Forum for African Women Educationist in Zambia (FAWEZA) National Coordinator Daphne Chimuka said her organization is working with other cooperating partners in providing scholarship to needy girls.

Ms. Chamuka also said they are having problems in returning girls in schools because of the safety problems.

She said the provision of scholarships has,however, helped the girls to remain in schools.
[ ZANIS ]

Six suspected criminals last night abducted Zambia Daily Mail Executive Director, Evans Milimo before getting away with his vehicle.

Ms. Siamana has explained that the criminals abducted Mr Milimo at the gate of his house in Avondale and they later dumped him in Linda compound in Chilanga area.

She has further explained that the criminals got away with Mr Milimo’s vehicle, a Toyota Prado registration number ABR 3302.

Police have since launched a man hunt for the criminals.
[ MUVI ]

Movement for Multiparty Democracy(MMD) Deputy National Secreatry Chembe Nyangu has dispelled allegations that government is funding the ruling party’s campaign activities ahead of the 2011 polls.

Mr. Nyangu said assertions that the ruling party was using government resources to finance its political campaigns in this year were untrue.

He told ZANIS in an interview in Lusaka today that former Kafue constituency parliamentarian Bob Sichinga’s accusations are baseless.

Mr. Sichinga is according to media reports to have stated that the MMD was abusing government resources to fund the MMD campaigns ahead of the 2011 tripartite elections.

However, the MMD Deputy Secretary general said his party is greatly dismayed with Mr Sichinga’s assertions, warning him to desist misleading the Zambian.

He challenged Mr.Sichinga to show evidence to the general public so that the the law could take its course.

Mr. Nyangu said Mr Sichinga knows very well how government operates adding that the ruling party has it’s money for it’s campaigns not as reported in the media.

” Mr Sichinga is a bitter man who has never worked in Government in all his political career because of aligning himself with the opposition political parties which will never win any election, ” he said.

Mr. Nyangu lameneted that Mr Sichinga is a desperate politician who has joined the Patriotic Front hoping that the opposition party will win this year’s elections .

He stated that it was wishing thinking by any one to believe that the PF will ever rule this country because it has no economic agenda to improve the well being of all Zambians.

Mr. Ngangu noted that Zambians has seen what President Rupiah Banda has done for this country to deserve to be re-elected during this year’s elections.
[ ZANIS ]

North-West Railway Company (NWR) has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Tagos Group of Companies, a United States (US) based company.

The MoU is for the implementation of the 405 Kilometre rail project at a cost of US$500 million.

ZANIS reports that NWR Chairman Enock Kavindele said the project is important for the country as it will open up North Western Province to a lot of mining activities.

Mr Kavindele disclosed that North Western Province now produces about 66 percent of the country’s copper but that there is no means of bringing ore to smelt the copper.

The North West Rail Company Chairman said during a Press Briefing in Lusaka today at Mulungishi International Conference Centre on the sidelines of the 10th Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) forum that a lot of work has been made.

He said the Province has been been depending on trucks to haul the ore adding that this had resulted in congestion on the road.

Mr Kavindele said the implementation of the North West rail will give a different outlook to the province.

He said about 4000 jobs are expected to be created from the project that will largely be financed by the American company.

He further said Government has given a lot of licences to various mining companies for mining rights and explorations in the province hence the project will help enhance mining activities in the area.

Mr Kavindele described the project as big and that it will require the support of all stakeholders including Government, the Private Sector among others.

Speaking at the same briefing, Tagos Group of Companies Chairman Milton Scot said transparency and a good democratic government was the yard stick for US investment in any particular country in the world.

Mr Scot said Zambia’s positive democratic and transparency record has helped the country attract capital investment from the US.

He urged the Zambian Government to continue upholding transparency and good democratic principles for accelerated US investment in the country.

ZANIS

United States of America (US) State Secretary Hillary Clinton is this afternoon expected in Zambia where she will address the ongoing 10th Africa Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA) Forum which officially opened in Lusaka yesterday.

According to a media release at Mulungushi International Conference Centre, the venue of the Forum, Mrs Clinton is scheduled to arrive here at 16 hours (4PM) and will address the high level meeting at 16: 45 hours (4 45 pm).

Mrs Clinton is the first Secretary of State who is visiting Zambia in over 30 years and she also expected to officially close the high level meeting.

ZANIS reports that the US Secretary of State while in the country is also expected to launch the American Chamber of Commerce at Hotel Intercontinental tomorrow morning.

On the same day, Mrs Clinton together with President Rupiah Banda will also grace the official opening of University Teaching Hospital (UTH) Paediatric Centre of Excellence.

AGOA, a US initiative comprises 48 eligible member African countries but only 37 are attending represented by their Ministers at Government level, Private Sector and Civil Society and entrepreneurs.

President Rupiah Banda yesterday officially opened the Forum stating that economic dividends that member states seek from the initiative can best be realised when all African countries strengthen and entrench sound democratic practices and uphold good Governance.

And in a speech that was delivered on behalf of US President Barack Obama during the official opening of the Forum, Mr Obama assured that next year, his administration would be looking at ways to ensure that Africa Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA) eligible countries were helped to unleash their growing dynamism of economies.

The Forum is being held under the theme: ‘’Enhanced Trade Through Increased Competitiveness, Value Addition and Deeper Regional Integration,’’ has attracted over
3 000 delegates.

Hosting of AGOA meetings alternates between the US and member African countries. So far, Mauritius, Senegal, Ghana and Kenya have hosted the forum.

AGOA is an American initiative that was coined in 2000 and signed into law by former US President Bill Clinton. The initiative allows eligible African member countries to export selected goods to America duty free.

ZANIS

INSIDIOUS

The creators of the SAW franchise and the producers of paranormal activity came together to try and scare the living daylights out of you. I can say that they were successful, Insidious has many scary moments.

The movie finds a teacher and his wife, move into a new house with their three children. Things are seemingly going good for them, but there is something amiss in the place they call home. It starts with little things like books mysteriously falling off the shelves, household items disappearing only to appear someplace else. Their young son starts to hear voices in the walls and is drawn to the attic, where he has an accident. He just has few bruises so nothing is made out of it until it he goes to sleep that night and falls into an unexplainable coma. That is when horror starts, as baby monitors pick up strange voices, locked doors suddenly open, alarms go off for no reason. Best line in the movie “It’s not the house that’s haunted………..it’s your son!”

PROS

It puts a twist on the haunted house cliché.

Creative camera work and lighting enhance the scares.

Provides genuinely scary moments that will make your heart skip a beat.

CONS

The ending scenes were a bit over the top.

The comedy moments were not necessary as they did not add to the plot.

CONCLUSION

Insidious is a horror movie that will get your heart pumping, provide a few laughs, and give plenty of skin crawling scares.

FAVORITE QUOTES

Dalton Lambert: “Last night I watched myself sleep, and then I flew away.”

Elise Rainier: “its not the house that’s haunted…it’s your son..”

BY KAPA187

A WITNESS has testified that despite The Post Newspapers Limited and JCN Holdings signing an undertaking to pay back the K14 billion debt and having documents relating to the same, the duo failed to so.

?And another witness, Development Bank of Zambia (DBZ) managing director Abraham Mwenda testified that The Post Newspapers and JCN Holdings were liable for the obligation they assumed as shareholders.?

DBZ head of credit Hephzibah Nainwiindwa Beyani, 47, of house number 953 Y2K, New Avondale, told the court yesterday that JCN Holdings were in court because they did not honour their obligation to pay back a debt it owed DBZ.?

Ms. Beyani, testifying before High Court Judge Albert Wood in a matter in which DBZ has dragged The Post newspaper, JCN Holding, MNB lawyers Mutembo and Nchima Nchito to court for failing to pay back a K14 billion loan.

?In continued cross-examination, Mr Mutembo Nchito asked Ms Beyani why JCN and The Post newspapers were in court, she responded that the duo was in court because when Zambian Airways ceased operations, DBZ asked them to honour their debt payment to the bank but they disputed the bank’s agreement.

?DBZ is claiming K14 billion and interest at the contractual rate and that in the alternative, an order that Mr Mutembo Nchito executes a guarantee or be deemed to have executed a guarantee under clause 8.6 of the syndication of the loan agreement.

?The bank has also asked the court to issue an order that in the alternative, Mr Nchito should pay back K14 billion under the personal guarantee clause.

?According to the statement of claim, JCN Holdings, The Post Newspapers, Mr Nchito and his brother Nchima were shareholders in Mine Air Services Limited, which used to trade as Zambian Airways.

?Ms. Beyani said her understanding was that the process of acquiring the shares was not completed because the airline was defunct while the process was still going on.?“So the issue is not about shares but the undertaking by the shareholders, namely The Post newspapers and JCN Holdings who had signed an undertaking to pay back the DBZ debt,” she said.?

She said the bank sometimes took a risk of financing and investment and at the same time got collateral as a fallback position in case the project failed, adding that in the case of Zambian Airways, the bank assessed the situation before giving out the money.?

Dr. Mwenda said the payback guarantee was intended to safeguard the interests of the bank and its subsequent exit.

?Mr. Nchito suggested to the witness that what the bank wanted was that if JCN Holdings and The Post Newspapers were held liable as guarantors of the debt, one of the directors of Zambian Airways (Himself) should be compelled by the court to sign a guarantee that they will pay back the debt, Dr Mwenda said it was about paying back the debt.
[ Times of Zambia ]

ADVANCED African Solutions plans to construct grain silos countrywide with a minimum of US$100 million investment earmarked for the project.

In an interview in Lusaka, Advanced African Solutions managing director Keith Smith said the company has submitted a proposal to Government to construct silos in Zambia.

Mr Smith said work is expected to start once the project is approved.

“We are ready to start construction of silos in Zambia as soon as Government approves the project. The project is demand-driven and US$100 million is a minimum, we can invest over a US$1 billion,” he said.

Zambia has for the past two consecutive farming seasons recorded bumper harvests and requires adequate silos for the storage of grain.

Mr Smith said two options are involved in funding the project; either government funds10 percent of the cost or the Advanced African Solutions funds the entire project and later lease the units.

Advanced African Solutions is a United States company with offices in southern Africa. The company is in real estate development and construction management sector. It is involved in projects such as road construction, education, energy, agro-business, health-care, residential, hotel and leisure.

He said the projects are managed on build – operate – train – transfer basis in countries where it operates like South Africa, United States and the Middle East.

Mr Smith also said the firm is discussing with Government on possibility to supply mobile hospitals that comes in tractor-trailers with slide out pods.

The hospital trailer is the patient care facility and is divided internally into the surgical suite for operative procedures, shock resuscitation and the emergency care unit.

Mr Smith said the support trailer has two levels inside containing the equipment, supplies and also provides a lounge, kitchen and sleeping quarters for the staff to rest.

The company also supplies mobile hospitals that provide fast, mobile, climate controlled, state-of-the-art, emergency or primary medical.

Mr Smith said the mobile hospitals have proven to be flexible medical facilities that can provide preventive and acute medicine to urban and rural areas and can be used in any emergencies, disasters or quarantine facilities.

He said the company holds on the project for five years after building and operating the units, as well as training the owners and finally transferring the knowledge to the locals.

[Zambia Daily Mail]

ALL 14 Patriotic Front (PF) members of Parliament (MPs) who attended the National Constitutional Conference (NCC) say they will not re-contest their parliamentary seats on their party’s ticket.

Group spokesperson Peter Machungwa said in a statement released in Lusaka yesterday the MPs have resolved not to re-contest their seats on the PF ticket because of the humiliation they have suffered at the hands of the party’s president Michael Sata.

Dr Machungwa said the decision was arrived at after a meeting of the MPs to discuss their political stand and future.

“I would like to inform the nation that all the MPs who attended the NCC will not contest their seats on the PF party ticket,” Dr Machungwa said.

He said now that the country is heading towards the polls, it is important that all politicians state clearly who they support and what they have to offer Zambians.

He said it will not benefit anyone to be ambiguous on which party ticket they will re-contest their seats.

Dr Machungwa said the PF leadership has lost respect for the MPs and subjected them to public ridicule despite their contribution to the opposition party.

“We arrived at this decision because the PF leadership has marginalised us and subjected us to insults and other kinds of abuse,” Dr Machungwa said.

He said the PF leadership has shown utter disrespect for the MPs by continuously dragging them to court in spite of the court decision that they should not be expelled from the party.

Dr Machungwa said it is humiliating for the MPs to be expelled from the PF because of attending the NCC, which was for the public good.

“We were expelled a number of times, but the courts of law ruled that we could not vacate our seats in Parliament just because we participated in the NCC,” DrMachungwa said.

He said individual MPs are still considering which party to join and re-contest their seats on, and will make public statements at the right time.

“Each one of us will make an individual decision and announce very soon as to which party ticket he/she will re-contest their seats on,” Dr Machungwa said.

He said it is not automatic that all the MPs will be adopted by the various political parties in the country as they have to be assessed to establish whether they can win an election.

“The party which each MP chooses will have to prove that it is possible for that MP to win the seat,” Dr Machungwa said.

[Zambia Daily Mail]