DEPUTY Minister of Labour and Social Security Simon Kachimba yesterday rebuked a Chingola-based foreign investor for allowing his workers to share sleeping space with goats.

The workers sleep in a garage which the investor also uses to keep goats.

Mr Kachimba said when he inspected Wang-Kong Company Limited that it is inhuman for the firm to allow its workers to sleep in a garage that also houses goats.

“I am giving you up to Monday to move these people out of the garage. Give them money so that they can go and rent good houses in the townships,” Mr Kachimba said.

He said Government appreciates the contribution investors are making to economic growth, but it is important for them to respect human rights.

He also said it is unbelievable that the investor is paying his workers a monthly salary of less than K350,000.

The visibly annoyed Mr Kachimba urged management to move the workers from the garage and give them better salaries to secure alternative accommodation.

“Let us have respect for workers, without workers there can be no production. Government recognises the role workers play in national development. It is important for our partners, investors, to do the same by giving them good conditions of service,” Mr Kachimba said.

He said Government supports progressive investors who are adding value to the economy.

[pullquote]“I am giving you up to Monday to move these people out of the garage. Give them money so that they can go and rent good houses in the townships,” Mr Kachimba said.[/pullquote]

Mr Kachimba also toured the National Pensions Scheme Authority (NAPSA) housing complex in Kalulushi.

He called on Zambians to ignore disgruntled politicians who are criticising the developmental projects Government and its partners are undertaking.

Mr Kachimba said it is unfortunate that some people have politicised the developmental projects NAPSA is undertaking countrywide.

He said President Banda and his administration will not be derailed from implementing viable projects which are positively impacting on the lives of Zambians.

He is happy that the Kalulushi NAPSA housing project is progressing well, but advised the contractor, Yangts Jiang Enterprises, to provide workers with protective clothing.

He also advised the workers against stealing protective clothing from the company.

[Zambia Daily Mail]

The Zambia Centre for Interparty Dialogue (ZCID) has appealed to cooperating partners not to provide financial support to some Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) for conducting election monitoring.

ZCID has bemoaned the partisan manner in which some CSOs are going about performing their role.

This was agreed upon by political parties that are members of the ZCID at an inter party dialogue summit held in Lusaka on Thursday.

ZCID spokesperson Njekwa Anamela says cooperating partners should not provide CSOs with support for conducting election monitoring as this may be misunderstood and lead to acrimony.

Mr. Anamela, who is also United National Independence Party (UNIP) vice president, has, however, implored cooperating partners to support the ZCID in enabling the institution assist political parties in deploying polling agents.
[ QFM ]

Hope for Human Rights has asked Government to treat the Lusaka central Prison as a disaster and quickly move in to provide a solution.

Organisation Executive director Smart Chanda says Hope for human rights is saddened by the revelations by the prison authorities that they are forced to come up with a sleeping timetable for the inmates at Lusaka central prison-Chimbokaila.

A group of prisoners is allowed to sleep and later exchange with the other group due to inadequate space.

He says the international human rights law dictates that all persons deprived of their liberty shall be treated with humanity and respect.
[ MUVI ]

President Banda was this morning among SADC heads of State and Government who attended the opening session of the on-going SADC extraordinary summit in Windhoek, Namibia.

The meeting is the first SADC summated devoted to regional economic development.

Other leaders who attended the summit include Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe, Amando Guebuza of Mozambique, Joseph Kabila of DRC, Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania, Ian Karma of Botswana and host Hefikepunye Pohamba.

And speaking during the opening ceremony of the extraordinary summit, Southern African Development Community (SADC) chairperson Hefikepunye Pohamba called on SADC member countries to take an active role in global economic affairs.
Mr. Pohamba said this is important because it would be easy for the region to chart a clear course of the global economy with certainty.

ZANIS reports that the Namibian President said SADC cannot afford to be a passive bystander in the process of global economic transformation.

He said there was need for SADC member countries to actively help shape the global economic landscape and create better conditions for the citizens.

“We share a common vision for a region that is more closely integrated in line with our commitments as set out in the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP), the Strategic Indicative Plan for the Organ (SIPO) and the various protocol s that our Regional organization has adopted over the years in order to pursue our integration agenda more effectively,” he said.
Mr. Pohamba said today’s summit which has been devoted to the economic development of the region should be seen in the context of leaders’ recognition of the need for active participation in the global economy.

The SADC chair noted that over the years, substantial resources have been spent while many meetings on economic issues have also been held.

Mr. Pohamba noted that as the region looks at the efforts it has made in the last thirty years and to the future, there was need for leaders to remain focused on the fact that whatever they do, the aim at achieving the ultimate goal of improving the living conditions of citizens in the SADC region.

He noted that millions of people in the region have continued to live in abject poverty and suffer from hunger, preventable diseases, lack of access to quality education, health care and other basic amenities.

He said in order to address such challenges and other developmental gaps, there was need for leaders to take actionable decisions at the on-going summit.

“The challenges we face are manifold and indeed, formidable. But, they must be met, so that we may truly translate the vision of our founding fathers into material well-being of our people,” said President Pohamba.

He cited lack of adequate resources from the region and ineffective implementation of decisions taken by the regional body as some of the persistence challenges.
Mr. Pohamba said it was critical that the decisions taken by the leaders in SADC are seriously and effectively implemented for the region to move forward.
He called on SADC leaders to mobilize domestic resources and marshal the necessary political will in order to give concrete meaning to the regional integration agenda.

President Pohamba noted that while foreign funding by development partners has been generous and welcome, dependence on it alone could constrain development efforts.

Meanwhile, Mr. Pohamba has announced that in June this year, a tripartite summit to be attended by Heads of State and Government of SADC, COMESA and the Eastern African Community which will focus on the finalization of the process of establishing the envisaged tripartite free trade area will be held in South Africa.
He said the meeting will also look at the harmonization of trade arrangements among the three Regional Economic Communities, free movement of goods and people, joint implementation of intra-regional infrastructure programmes as well as institutional arrangements on the basis on which the three regional bodies would foster cooperation.

Mr. Pohamba stressed that the establishment of the envisaged Tripartite Free Trade Area was critical towards revitalizing the economies of Southern, Eastern and Central Africa besides being a crucial building block towards achieving the African Economic Community as outlined in the Abuja Treaty.

Meanwhile, President Banda is this afternoon expected to present reports to the closed door session of the Heads of State and Government on on-going mediation efforts in Zimbabwe and Madagascar.

President Banda is the chairperson of the Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation of SADC.

ZANIS

Expelled former ruling Movement for Multiparty Democracy MMD chairman for elections Mike Mulongoti has challenged Republican President Rupiah Banda to prove that he is legally ruling the country.

Mr. Mulongoti has said that  President Banda should clear the air on whether he is qualified to rule the country or not.

Yesterday, MMD founder member and former Zambian ambassador to Malawi and Botswana Milton Phiri charged that President Rupiah Banda has been leading the country illegally.

Mr. Phiri said President Banda breached the Republican constitution by contesting the 2008 elections when he was not eligible.

Mr. Mulongoti has however distanced himself that he is behind the allegations brought forward by the former ambassador.

He wonders why his name keeps coming up each time certain allegations are made.

He says he is not a guardian to Mr. Phiri, and has no business in the allegations that were made by the former Zambian envoy.

Mr. Mulongoti adds that President Rupiah Banda should take a leaf from US president Barrack Obama who produced his birth certificate following questions on whether he was born in the United States or not.

Mr. Mulongoti said this in an interview with QFM this Morning.

QFM

RYAN LESLIE

Ryan Leslie has recently become one of my favorite RnB singers/producers. I wasn’t really a fan of his until I listed to his second album “Transition”. That is what I can consider a perfect album. All the songs are written, produced, arranged and engineered by Mr. Leslie himself. The album is said to be inspired by a lady whom he met during a rehearsal for a show at New York’s S.O.B nightclub.

The album that got me

Transition review

Stand out track: Something that I like

If you have never listened Ryan Leslie I would suggest you listen to “something that I like”. Leslie shows some diversity in this song, by both rapping and singing. That’s not say he is the best rapper, but merely tells listeners not to put him in a box. It has a smooth mid tempo beat and a funky baseline. Pasha t comes in with the third verse adding that extra something to the song.
What really stands out on this album is his production and arrangement, as the album to flow nicely from track to track. “You’re not my girl” is radio friendly and was made for the dance floor with its 80’s synths and harps.
His lyrics may seem simple and straight to the point, but that is not necessarily a bad thing. In “All my love“, lyrics like “I want to give u all my love/ even if I don’t have all your trust” are simple but so effective.
The bonus track could have been left off the album as “I choose you”, while somewhat mediocre, is a perfect way to end the album.

Brief history of the man

At the age of 14, Leslie got a perfect score on his SAT’s. He applied to prestigious universities such as Stanford, Yale and Harvard. He was accepted to Harvard where he graduated at the age of 19 with a degree in Political science and macroeconomics. During his stay at Harvard he devoted a lot of time to creating and developing music. He spent many hours perfecting his craft.

Sometime after his graduation, as he continued working on his music, he got a 30 day internship with a producer named Younglord. Within a week a produced a song that would be performed by Beyonce, called “Keep giving your love to me”. Sean “Diddy” Combs was impressed with his production and offered him a management contract.

He was later offered the chance to have his own imprint under Universal music group. It is called Next Selection and his first artist was Cassie. Leslie wrote and produced Cassies break out record “Me & u”.

Leslie plays a number of instruments and produces all of his own song. Here is a video of the making of one of his hits “Addiction”

Making of Addiction

What’s he doing now?

Leslie has worked with and produced hits for a number of artists such as Fabolous, Lloyd Banks, Britney spears, Mary j Blige, and numerous others.

He is currently working on his third album tentatively titled les is more. The lead single for the project is “Glory”. He raps about how he is underrated but is determined to “…spill my guts so I could get my glory”

Glory Video

Other notable songs that may appear on the album are, “beautiful lie” and “Joan of arc”

Early this year Leslie performed “beautiful lie” in Paris.

Beautiful Lie Performance

By Kapa187

The National Restoration Party (NAREP) has predicted an increase in corruption if the MMD government is voted back into power in this year’s elections.

NAREP president Elias Chipimo Junior told QFM that the MMD government has completely failed to curb graft which has led to increased levels of poverty in Zambia.

Mr. Chipimo has also condemned the move by the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) to drop money laundering charges against former Western Province Permanent secretary Ikanuke Nooyo.

He has described government’s commitment to fighting corruption in the country as a non starter.

The DEC dropped charges of laundering amounting to K46 million, through unretired imprest against Mr. Nooyo adding that the money has been recovered from his gratuity.

The NAREP president says it is unfortunate that government is letting loose those who pay back resources obtained through corrupt practices without prosecution.

He explains that the gesture shown by the commission clearly demonstrates how selective the law is being applied in the country.

Mr. Chipimo has further said once voted into power, his government will ensure that corruption in all systems of governance is eradicated and perpetrators will be brought to book