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PF cadres line up along a red carpet for party leader Michael Sata
LUSAKA lawyer Christopher Mundia has warned the people of Western Province not to be hoodwinked by Catholic clergy and the PatrioticFront (PF) that the opposition would be an alternative government because it is a tribal party.
He also called upon law enforcement agencies to take appropriate action against people who are in the habit of insulting and ridiculing President Rupiah Banda because it was a crime under section 69 of the penal Code.
He said in a statement in Lusaka yesterday the Catholic clergy did no trepresent anyone as they had no families to worry about if there was a crisis in the country since they had no children.[pullquote]It is regrettable also that without any iota of truth the Head of State is being insulted, ridiculed and scandalised every day by characters who behave like graduates of mental asylums[/pullquote].
Mr Mundia said it was a betrayal of the people of the Western Province to see a person taking up a position in PF because some leaders in PF had an inherent hatred for the people of the province.
“To the people of Western Province, let me appeal to their conscience that PF cannot be an alternative to MMD because it is a tribal party,”he said.
Mr Mundia said it was totally unacceptable for some people to continually insult the president.
He reminded Zambians that the campaign being mounted against President Banda by the clergy, particularly the Catholic Church was also done against the late president Mwanawasa.
“It is not far fetched to believe that our beloved president died as a result of such campaign against him and the same people want to inflict the same damage on the current president who has done wonders in less than three years he has been in office,” he said.
It was totally unacceptable that the country was being turned into a den of hatred, ridicule and contempt for each other abandoning the moral fabric upon which people have existed for many years as one nation.
“It is regrettable also that without any iota of truth the Head of State is being insulted, ridiculed and scandalised every day by characters who behave like graduates of mental asylums.
Some clergy have also joined the band wagon of pseudo political quislings by portraying a picture that hell has broken loose in Zambia simplybecause the president in office is not someone from their province,”he said.
Mr Mundia said some clergy want their “kith and kin” to take over when infact they know that unless there is unity based on love all that the country had gained would be lost.
IN the next few articles to come, I will break it down as to how our politicians are playing games with us, be it the defectors from MMD to PF or PF to MMD, including the so called Rebel MPs. On the expense of development, they have decided to play games moving from party to another just to secure a position of power for personal gain. Are these the kind of leaders we want? The choice is yours. We will be voting soon.
BEFORE the ruling Movement for Multi-Party Democracy (MMD) national convention, former party deputy national secretary Mbita Chitala seemingly saw nothing wrong with the ruling party.
Let us put it this way. Mbita Chitala was interested in the position of MMD national secretary, but unfortunately he did not get the backing that he wanted from President Rupiah, despite his pronouncements in a private tabloid that party organs across the country were clamouring for him to take over the position from Katele Kalumba.
The interpretation, at least going by the interest that Dr Chitala had shown in the position of national secretary, which would have made him the chief executive of the party, is that the man still believed in the MMD vision.
Had he won the position of national secretary, Dr Chitala would today have been appearing in the so-called government owned and State-controlled media not only defending the policies of President Banda and the MMD, but also attacking the opposition, particularly Patriotic Front (PF) leader Michael Sata, who is the main challenger in this year’s elections.
By the way, Dr Chitala was President Banda’s campaign manager in the 2008 presidential elections and went about his work to ensure that he trounces Mr Sata.
But matters have seemingly changed now.
Dr Chitala, who thinks he has so much influence in Mbala is on a campaign trail trashing RB and the MMD while heaping all sorts of praise on Mr Michael Sata.
Question to ask is at what point did Dr Chitala, who together with Akashambatwa Mbikusita-Lewanika are the two founder members of the MMD, come to realise that the PF was the best thing that can happen to Zambia.
Maybe, who is this same Mbita Chintundya Chitala other than the fact that the late Levy Mwanawasa fired him as Ambassador to Libya after failing to play by the rules of international diplomacy?
After spearheading the formation of the MMD, he was elected party deputy national secretary and appointed deputy minister of finance in Frederick Chiluba’s first government. He was later relieved of the post and expelled from the party in 1995.
Together with the late Dean Mung’omba and Chulu Kalima, they formed the Zambia Democratic Congress (ZADECO), which against the advice of other opposition parties unsuccessfully contested the 1996 elections. After that dismal failure, he left ZADECO and active politics only to resurface towards the 2001 elections.
But before that, and just after the formation of the MMD national interim committee, which had the likes of Arthur Wina, Vernon Mwaanga, Chiluba, Ephraim Chibwe, Levy Mwanawasa, Andrew Kashita, Aka and Keli Walubita in it, Mbita Chitala was left disappointed at the fact that he was left out.
With that, he wrote a letter to the chairman Arthur Wina in which he pleaded his case. Thereafter, Arthur Wina was left with no choice but to convince other members of the committee to co-opt Chitala as deputy national secretary.
When Chitala was appointed finance deputy minister, he became one of the biggest defenders of the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP), which we know left most of our citizens in dire straits.
Responding to two articles that appeared in the Sunday Times (October 30, 19 94) titled “SAP makes Rich Richer, Poor Poorer” by Josias Mbuzi and another by Nason Banda in the Times of Zambia (November 12, 1994) under the headline “Is SAP in the interest of the majority”, Chitala said “the two are some utopian critics of the government’s reform programme that continue to appear in our media”.
“A quick response to these articles is that they were arrant nonsense and the authors would be well-advised to go back to school and catch up with the recent work in development studies,” Chitala wrote in a response letter.
So, with the support of Chitala, under SAP, about 12 companies were wound up and liquidated, 13 handed back to the owners for almost nothing, 59 mostly run-down farms and companies were sold to non-indigenous Zambians, mostly Asians and Greeks while 51 companies, the very best and profitable of the parastatals, were sold to foreign interests. This last batch included Northern Breweries, Zambia Breweries, Zambia Sugar Company, Daily Produce Board, Mpongwe Development Company, Chilanga Cement, BP Zambia, ZAMEFA, ROP Ltd and Pamodzi Hotel among others. As for the nerve centre of Zambia, the mines, the story is well documented.
Later of course, Mbita was fired, for what he terms opposing corruption and drug dealing in government although it is widely believed that those who truly opposed these traits are Dean Mung’omba, Dr Boniface Kawimbe, Dr Matthias Mpande, Katele Kalumba and Aka.
In his book, Not Yet Democracy, Mbita Chitala accuses Michael Sata, Enock Kavindele, Sikota Wina and his wife Nakatindi as well as the late Kangwa Nsuluka of orchestrating his dismissal from the MMD.
When ZADECO lost the elections, and following the shooting of opposition leaders like Dr Kaunda and Roger Chongwe in Kabwe, Mbita Chitala announced his retirement from active politics on September 11, 1997.
A few years later, he rejoined the MMD after being convinced to do so by Michael Sata who argued that with the death of Ronald Penza, he had remained a lone voice from the Northern Province in the party.
But also, it seems the other motivation for rejoining the MMD was the opportunity to allow him sort out his financial positions. In his book, he admits that he suffered immensely including being denied to supply paper and other office equipment to the bank of Zambia and almost getting killed in Angola where he had gone to look for diamonds.
“While all this was happening, my personal economy was also going down. Bills of all manners were accumulating. I could not pay school fees for my children which forced me to re-locate them from private schools to government schools.
“This caused enormous street on them, but I explained my situation to them. My electricity and water bill was regularly disconnected as was my telephone. The rates of the council remained unpaid and I was a victim of harassment by bailiffs.
“At the same time, I had several court cases. My life was real hell, it was because of all these trials that finally, I made a decision to re-enter active party politics.
With respect to what party it was obvious that my former party, the MMD would be the only sanctuary,” he writes.
Clearly, Mbita Chitala has demonstrated that the decisions he makes in politics are driven more by the stomach than any principles. If his personal economy was doing well, he would not have re-joined the MMD.
With that, one would wonder whether the decision to support Michael Chilufya Sata for the Presidency in this year’s election, is driven by genuine reasons or its because he see’s an opportunity to be rewarded with a job which will eventually improve his personal economy.
Michael Sata should be careful with people like Mbita Chintundya Chitala.
Dora Siliya greets MMD cardres before addressing first press briefing as MMD spokesperson in Lusaka
The MMD in Lusaka has uncovered a scam in which they claim the opposition PF is using the slogan ‘don’t kubeba’ to promote homosexuality.
MMD task force spokesperson Chiwele Maimisa says ‘don’t kubeba’ slogan is a message to homosexuals not to speak now but wait until PF leader Michael Sata comes into power.
Mr Maimisa says the calls for change means that once in power the PF will allow laws that support homosexuality.
He says the opposition party is desperate and is using youths most of whom are unaware of the true meaning behind the slogan.
Mr Maimisa has advised youths to refrain from being used as tools of violence.
And MMD Spokesperson Dora Siliya has cautioned Zambians against voting for opposition Patriotic Front leader Michael Sata because he allegedly betrayed freedom fighters during the liberation struggle.
Ms Siliya says Mr Sata allegedly acted as an informer to the colonial masters by exposing all schemes by freedom fighters among them Kenneth Kaunda and Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe.
She wonders why a politician who allegedly betrayed the cause of Zambia’s liberation struggle should now rise to aspire to lead the nation.
Addressing scores of people at Chitulika village market in Mpika, Ms Siliya said the PF leader’s fight for the Presidency is misplaced in the light of his questionable political background.
Ms Siliya also accused Mr Sata of having been among political leaders who opposed the provision of subsidised farmer inputs leading to the exploitative cost of fertiliser during his service in government.
At the same meeting MMD national Youth Chairperson, Moses Muteteka said former President Frederick Chiluba could not anoint Mr Sata to succeed him because he knew he lacked leadership qualities befitting a head of state.
Mr Muteteka who is also Local Government Deputy Minister said Mr Sata and the PF can not form government because the opposition party was born out of frustration after Dr Chiluba settled for late President Levy Mwanawasa as his successor.
President Rupiah Banda is tomorrow set to leave for a two-day extra-ordinary summit of the Southern Africa Development community ( SADC ) in Namibia.
President Banda, who is also the Chairman of the SADC organ on defense and security cooperation, is expected be among his fellow heads of states and government.
The summit is expected to discuss the progress works of the implementation of a joint Free Trade Areas ( FTAs ) among the African region blocs, which includes the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa COMESA and the East Africa Community ECA.
The SADC Summit will also discuss issues partnering to regional peace and security following the recent SADC Troika organ summit held in Zambia in March this year.
Host President of Namibia, Hifikepunye Pohamba, was mandated to call for an extra –ordinary summit to discus issues that were agreed upon at the Livingstone Troika organ meeting.
This is contained in a statement made available to ZANIS by the special assistant to the President for press and Public Relations Dickson Jere in Lusaka today.
Accompanying President Banda will be Foreign Affairs minister Kabinga Pande , Commerce and Trade Minister Felix Mutati and other senior government officials.
President Banda and his delegation will return to Zambia after completing the scheduled business in Namibia.
Government has welcomed the introduction of community service as a non- custodial sentence which it sees will help decongest prisons in the country.
And Zambia Law Development Commission Deputy Director Joyce Shezongo said that few people were faced with community service sentencing though the Community Service Sentencing was enacted in 2000.
Eastern Province Permanent Secretary Eularia Zulu said government has been concerned for a long time about the congestion in prisons.
Ms Zulu said that the 1996 special report on prisons and condition of detention Zambia prisons, the State was drawn to the lapses in the criminal justice system,the treatment and condition of inmates.
She was speaking in a speech read on her behalf by Chipata District Commissioner Moses Nyirenda at New Crystal Springs workshop organized by Zambia Law Development Commission in Chipata today.
She stated that it was for this reason that government was committed to meeting the United Nations (UN) minimum rules for non-custodial measures.
Ms Zulu said that having studied the report, it led to the discussion on non-custodial measures the enactment of the Penal Code and prison act of 2000 providing for non-custodial act
The Permanent Secretary said that government through the Ministry of Home Affairs which had the portfolio to manage prisons was anxious to see the implementation of community service sentencing come to pass.
And Zambia Law Development Commission Deputy Director Joyce Shezongo said that few people were faced with community service sentencing though the Community Service Sentencing was enacted in 2000.
Ms Shezongo said that there was need to have increased appreciation of community service sentencing as an alternative to custodial sentencing.
She also said that the Zambia Law Development Commission would facilitate recommendations for the implementation of the Law on community service sentencing.
The two day workshop was comprised of participants from the Zambia Police, Zambia Prisons, Ministry of Justice, Social ware fare and other stake holders.
President Rupiah Banda has commissioned rehabilitation of works on selected urban roads on the Copperbelt which will gobble one trillion Kwacha ( K 1 trillion)
President Banda said the commissioning of the road works programme is another massive programme that his government has embarked on in seven districts on the copperbelt.
The president was speaking in Kitwe today when he officially commissioned the rehabilitation works on selected roads on the copperbelt in Kwacha constituency at Mitanto high school grounds.
The urban road rehabilitation program is targeting approximately 500 kilometers of both tarmac and gravel roads and is estimated to cost about K1 trillion.
” This programme is on because of the serious state of disrepair that these roads have been in for many years,’ the President said.
President Banda said urban roads have been depreciated over time and because of this towns are dusty and look old and dilapidated.
Government through the RDA has embarked on major rehabilitation and up grading of main trunk roads countrywide while urban roads have so far not received the same urgent attention due to limited funding.
The President expressed his happiness that at long last government has also secured funding to rehabilitate selected roads in Lusaka , Kafue, Kapiri Mposhi, Kabwe Districts.
The seven towns towns on the Copperbelt targeted include Ndola, Kitwe, Mufulira, Chingola, Kalulushi, and Chililambobwe, respectively.According to President Banda, this programme will alleviate hardships road users face due to the poor state of the roads.
” The rehabilitation of the roads will facilitate the easy movement of the people goods and services, it will also significantly reduce vehicle maintenance costs and reduce on travel time, ” the president noted.
President Banda said the selection of roads to be worked on was mainly based on factors such as bus routes centers for social amenities like markets hospitals police station and residential areas.
President Banda also said the implementation of the programme will be coordinated by RDA the national road fund agency the road transport and safety agency the lo9cal authorities and the rural road unit under the ministry of works and supply.
He said the proposed urban roads are expected to complement the works on the road development agency 2011 annual work plan and the Japanese international development agency JICA programme on the copperbelt.
He said government has also mobilized funds to supplement the RDA 2011 annual wok plan budget were a provision for food for work activities will be done.
The president said government will provide maize grain from the 2.6 billion tonnes bumper harvest to pay people who will volunteer to participate in working on the roads as this will give work opportunities to people living in the communities where roads are located.
Mr Banda stressed contractors to carry out works on paved roads in various towns have already mobilized to commence works soon.
” I expect that all contractors and consultants who have been awarded these contracts will perform according to specific standards quality and timeliness,” he added
President Banda also commended Mopani Copper Mines for making available K50 billion for the rehabilitation of Chibuluma and Sabina Mufulira roads while government in its road annual work plan for 2011 has provided K20 billion for the maintenance of the same road.
He said government intends to upgrade the main trunk roads including urban and feeder roads country wide.
Meanwhile well wishers in Kitwe have donated 50 bicycles to the ruling MMD party. This was done during a commssioning of the rehabilitaion work on urban raods in the district..
And works and supply minster Gabriel Namulambe said 32.6 kilometers of urban roads will be tarred in kitwe and on an average of 30 kilomters in all district on the copperbelt will be done.
Mr. Namulambe said the next 14 days president Banda will flag off the rehabilitation of the Kalulushi Lufwanyama road. he said this is because government would want to see that roads are passible
Communications and Transport Minister Professor Geoffrey Lungwangwa says the increased number of motor vehicles in Zambia is a positive indicator that the country’s economy is growing.
Professor Lungwangwa said this development is due to government’s effective implementation of various social-economic policies.
He said the country could now boast of about half a million vehicles on its streets, indicating that the economy was growing and citizens were now in a position to afford buying vehicles of their choice.
The Minister said this in Livingstone recently when he met civil servants and heads of government departments to get first hand information on their concerns and challenges.
Professor Lungwangwa said Zambia was set to surpass other countries on the continent in terms of development due to its impressive growth rate.
He said the nation’s vision of turning into a middle income country by the year 2030 was imminent despite some critics claiming that government had not achieved any tangible results in terms of implementing developmental programs.
Professor Lungwangwa urged civil servants to continue implementing government’s developmental programs if the country was to sustain and subsequently increase its rate of economic development.
Zanaco came from behind to beat their rivals Zesco United in the “Zed” derby this afternoon at Sunset Stadium in Lusaka to move into second place.
Zanaco beat Zesco 2-1 in their rescheduled Week 2 game to move from 5th to the number 2 spot displacing Red Arrows.
Zesco took the lead in the 45th minute through midfielder Arthur Kasoloki to give the defending Faz Super Division champions 1-0 lead into the break.
However, Zanaco equalized four minutes before the hour-mark through defender Mwelwa Sakala.
Striker Moses Phiri scored his fourth goal of the season to seal the three points in the 63rd minute.
Zanaco are now on 15 points, four points less than leaders Nakambala Leopards, ahead of their Week 9 game against Konkola Blades at the same venue this Saturday.
The Post Newspaper has again lost its bid to stay contempt proceedings, instituted when the paper defied a court order not to publish libelous articles on President Rupiah Banda during the 2008 Presidential by-elections.
Supreme Court Judge Gregory Phiri has ruled that the application to stay proceedings filed by the Post Newspaper lacks merit.
Judge Phiri has dismissed with costs the application by the Post Newspaper to stay the proceedings, pending the out-come of the appeal to compel President Banda to personally appear in court for cross-examination.
He stated that the contempt matter can only be halted if the High Court rescinds its leave issued to effect the proceedings.
The Post Newspapers applied to stay the contempt proceedings after the High Court turned down its demands to cross-examine President Rupiah Banda.
The court ruled that it is disrespectful to parade the incumbent Republican President in court for cross-examination.
Last year's Maize from the bumper harvest in Kapiri Mposhi
The Zambia Consumer Association (ZACA) has praised government for initiating sound agricultural policies that have seen the country record a successive bumper harvest.
ZACA Assistant Executive Director Samuel Simutunda says the successive bumper harvest is testimony enough of government’s good agriculture policy.
Mr Simutunda told ZANIS in an interview in Lusaka today that his association is impressed with government’s pronouncement of a second but historic bumper harvest.
The ZACA Assistant Executive Director has since urged government to put in place measures to ensure no maize goes to waste.
“The big challenge now lies with government to provide enough storage space to safeguard the produce from going to waste. If we let the maize go to waste, we’ll be eroding the efforts small scale farmers have put in place to ensure we have a bumper harvest yet again”, he said.
He also appealed to government to improve the road infrastructure especially in rural areas for easy transportation of the maize to the markets.
And the ZACA Executive Director says there is need for government to come up with strategies that will ensure that consumers benefit from the bumper harvests that the country has been recording.
He said consumers have not really benefited from the subsidized maize that government is selling to millers because the millers have failed to respond favourably to government efforts to ensure consumers benefit from the country’s successes in the agriculture sector.
And Farmers and stakeholders in the agricultural sector are impressed that the country is headed for another record bumper harvest.
The farmers are confident that with government’s continued support, it is possible for the country to sustain the same path.
The Zambia National Farmers Union- ZNFU- says the bumper harvest shows that with government support farmers can respond positively in turning the country into the bread basket of the region.
ZNFU president Jervis Zimba has also congratulated farmers across the country for the bumper harvest which he says is a positive achievement.
He has also indicated that farmers expect smooth marketing arrangements following government’s assurance that it will buy off the entire crop across the country.
And the Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection-JCTR says Mealie meal prices on the local market are expected to reduce following the three point two million metric tones of maize.
JCTR Social Conditions Programs Manager Miniva Chibuye says the surplus maize should steer millers to reduce the price of mealie meal.
Ms Chibuye has praised farmers in the country for recording another bumper harvest.
The submerged minibus in the Chifubu stream.This accident claimed 13 lives
President Rupiah Banda has directed the Zambia Police Service to thoroughly investigate the cause of Sunday’s minibus accident which claimed the lives of 13 people in Ndola.
The President has also directed the Road Traffic Regulators and the Zambia Police Service Traffic Unit to bring sanity to the Zambian roads.
He says overloading, wreckless and drunken driving must be curbed so as to reduce road carnage through out the country.
The President says he is greatly saddened and touched by the death of many young people who could have contributed immensely to the country’s development in various areas.
President Banda is displeased that the bus that caused the accident on Sunday was overloaded.
Mr Banda says he is short of words to understand how a bus which was supposed to carry 26 passengers carried 45 passengers at the time of the accident.
The President was speaking in Ndola Wednesday morning when he addressed mourners at the Reformed Church in Zambia.
Thirteen young people from the RCZ girls and boys brigade perished on Sunday after the bus they were in from a church mission in Luanshya plunged into the Chifubu stream in Ndola.
President Banda who is clad in black openly wept when he paid his last respects to the 13 accident Victims.
The President also spent time meeting the family members at the Church before addressing the mourners.
And Reformed Church in Zambia Synod Moderator Lucas Mwale thanked President Banda for the moral, financial and material support given by government to the bereaved families.
The President arrived in Ndola at Chifubu High School grounds at 09: 30 Hours.
He is accompanied to the copperbelt by Mines Minister Maxwell Mwale and Works and Supply Minister Gabriel Namulambe.
President Banda has since left Ndola for Kitwe where he is scheduled to open a new mine and launch the One trillion kwacha Urban Road rehabilitation exercise.
More than five hundred kilometers of the road network will be rehabilitated in Lusaka, Kafue, Kapiri Mposhi, Kabwe and the Copperbelt province.
The country’s leading comminications service company, Airtel Zambia limited , has commended the Zambian government for maintaining a favourable market environment.
Managing Director Fayaz King says his company will for this reason continue launching exciting products as the market for doing business in the country is conducive.
Mr. King was speaking in Lusaka yesterday when his company launched an extraordinary double sim in one pack offer, a first of its kind in Zambia and Africa.
The 2-sim offer comes with two consecutive numbers in one single starter pack and will enable Airtel customers to enjoy cheap calls between the two numbers and free sms’s for the lifespan of the sim.
The product will also offer 50% discount on all calls between the two customers and two free sms’s every day upon buying airtime for K10, 000.
The product also has innovative value added services like push e-mail, Ring Back Tunes, news alert & facebook notifications will also be offered at a price of K10,00 per month.
Customers on the dual Sim product will also have access to Push –email, a facility aimed at bringing revolution to the country adding that customers who can not afford phones like blackberry or i-phone can access email on ordinary handsets.
Meanwhile, Mr. King noted that the launch of the double Sim product also comes in line with today’s theme for the celebration of the World Telecommunications and Information Society Day (WTISD).
The theme which is dubbed ‘Better Life in Rural Communities with ICTs’ is aimed at providing solutions to many problems faced in rural areas among them being increase in illiteracy levels and unemployment thereby reducing on urban migration.
Mr. King noted that the double Sim Product will enable access to internet in rural areas hence giving the rural community in all the districts around the country affordable internet services.
Police in Solwezi have recovered explosives worth millions of kwacha and a motor vehicle used by a group of criminals suspected to have been involved in spate of robberies that has rocked the district in the recent past .
Northwestern Province Police Chief Charles Lungu who confirmed this to ZANIS in Solwezi yesterday.
Mr. Lungu said one of the suspects he named as Manfred Phiri has been arrested and is in police custody.
He said four others are on the run and police have since instituted a manhunt.
Police have also recovered a Toyota Corolla registration number ACJ 4526 believed to have been used as a backup by the criminals.
Other items recovered included cell phones and a laptop suspected to have been stolen from Mutanda high school, motor vehicle lubricants and house breaking instruments commonly known as ‘bobojani’.
Northwestern Province Police Chief Charles Lungu who confirmed this to ZANIS in Solwezi today said one suspect Manfred Phiri has been arrested and is in police custody.
Mr Lungu said four others are on the run and police have since instituted a manhunt and appealed to members of the public with information leading to the apprehension of the suspects to report to the nearest police station.
Eastern province Permanent Secretary Euleria Mwale has called for concerted efforts from all stakeholders to combat challenges faced by the family.
Mrs.Mwale says there is need for concerted efforts to enable Zambian families to fight various social-economic factors among them HIV and AIDS pandemic, juvenile delinquency and high crime rates.
She said this in a speech read on her behalf by Chipata District commissioner Moses Nyirenda at the commemoration of the International Day of the family held at Jubeva College of Education in Chipata yestrday.
This year’s theme is “Confronting Family Poverty and Social Exclusion”.
The Permanent Secretary said that better understanding of the family would enabled families carry out activities that would better their living conditions.
” Unprecedented increase in child headed households, divorce , female headed families streetism should be an eye opener that the family has lapsed over the years hence the observance of the day which offer a valuable chance for a better life, ” Mrs Mwale said.
She noted that government was appreciative to all stakeholders that were supplementing its effort to improve living condition of the vulnerable in society urging them to continue with the good works of supporting and strengthening families.
Mrs Mwale stated that it was important for all the citizens to strive for families to be free from poverty, hunger and disease for the betterment of the country.
She said the family was the first and most important socializing institution where shelter and protection were to be found when facing difficulties in life.
Government had put in place policies and programmes aimed at cushioning the effects of social-economic ills affecting the Zambian family.
Among these programmes are the Public Welfare Assistance Scheme, the Food Security Pack, the Social Cash Transfer Scheme and other Safety Net Programmes which target at uplifting conditions of the vulnerable.
President Rupiah Banda is today expected in Kitwe to commission a new Urban Roads Rehabilitation Programme which will cost about K1 trillion and officiate at a groundbreaking ceremony for a new $690 million copper and cobalt mine in Kalulushi.
More than 500 kilometres of road will be rehabilitated in Lusaka, Kafue, Kapiri Mposhi, Kabwe and the Copperbelt province.
President Banda notes that while Government through the Road Development Agency has embarked on major rehabilitation and upgrade of main and trunk roads countrywide, urban roads have so far not received the same urgent attention due to limited funding.
The President says he expects the programme road rehabilitation to alleviate hardships faced by road users owing to the poor state of the roads.
And President Banda says the new Ichimpe Mine which will be developed by Zhonghui Mining Group of China will be Kalulushi’s second mine.
He says the construction stage alone is expected to create 1700 jobs.
Mr Banda explains that the mine’s ore body forms part of the Mindolo ore body but could not be developed much earlier as it was seen to be uneconomical.
He since noted that that Chinese investment in Zambia continues to grow particularly in the mining industry.
President Banda will during his visit to the copperbelt take time to attend the funeral service of bus passengers who died when a minibus plunged into Kafubu stream in Ndola last weekend.
This contained in a statement released to QFM by the President’s special assistant for press and public relations Dickson Jere.
