ZESCO and the International Commercial Bank of China have signed a facility loan agreement worthy over 1 point 3 trillion Kwacha for construction of a new 3 hundred and 30 KV power line in Northern and Eastern Provinces.

The loan agreement facility will ease construction of the 6 –hundred and 84 kilometer, 330 KV power line from, Pensulo substation to the proposed Kasama substation and from Pensulo substation through Msoro to the proposed Chipata West Substation to be constructed by the TBEA of China.

ZESCO Managing Director Ernest Mupwaya signed the Agreement on behalf of the Power utility company while International Commercial Bank of China Chairman Mr. Jing Jianging signed on behalf of the Bank.

And Energy Minister Kenneth Konga says the project will increase access to energy for the rural community.

Mr. Konga says the project will create one thousand direct jobs and 2 thousand indirect jobs in the supply chain.

Mr. Konga was speaking during the signing ceremony for the facility agreement between ZESCO and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China in Lusaka.

He also called for more investment in the energy sector.

And Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Chairman Jinag Jianging said Zambia is the most important market for the bank.

Mr. Jinag says the 2-hundred and 85 million United States Dollar project will boost the social- economic status of Zambia.

Earlier, ZESCO Board Chairman Kwalela Lamaswala said that the project to be undertaken aims at increasing transmission capacity and supply to its customers.

Mr Lamaswala says the improvement of transmission supply will also enhance investment in the two provinces.

Meanwhile, ZESCO Managing Director Ernest Mupwaya says the project will enable ZESCO have the opportunity to also export to neighbouring countries.

And TBEA Chairman Li Biangu says his company is determined and committed to quality works on the 3-hundred and 30 KV line.

The project is expected to commerce before October 2011.

ZNBC

United Party for National Development President Hakainde Hichilema has called on the electoral Commission to extend the voter verification exercise.

Mr Hichilema says this will allow people enough time to verify particulars on their voters’ cards ahead of the tripartite elections.

He was speaking in Lusaka on Sunday when he presented a 10 million Kwacha Cheque to the Disabled Persons Development Enterprise.

Mr Hichilema also called for peace and unity in the party ahead of the elections.

And Mr Hichilema says it is important to look out for underprivileged especially the disabled.

He says leaders should not seek public office for selfish gain but to uplift the living standards of people.

And Disabled Persons Development enterprise Coordinator John Changwe says youths can play a critical role in the development if given the platform.

He thanked Mr Hichilema for his generous donation to the disabled.

Meanwhile, the United Party for National Development (UPND) President, Hakainde Hichilema says the year 2011 should one to retire old politicians.

Mr Hichilema has explained that people should ensure that they scrutinize old politicians before casting their ballots.

He has observed that some old politicians have served in government since the first republic.

Mr Hichilema has challenged Zambians to move in tandem with the current developments of putting into public offices youthful leaders.

ZNBC

The Foundation for Democratic Process (FODEP) has charged that the intensification of developmental projects by government as the country heads to the polls should be discouraged.

FODEP president Dr. Alex Ng’oma has told Qfm in an exclusive interview that development projects must take place every year.

Dr. Ng’oma has observed that Zambia has a strange phenomenon where projects of development are carried out in an election year.

He says development should be encouraged at all levels and every time in order for the lives of Zambians to be improved.

Dr. Ng’oma who is also a political scientist and senior lecturer at the University of Zambia adds that even though such projects may be carried out in good faith, they tend to sway the decisions of voters during election.

And Dr. Ng’oma has welcomed the plan by government to refurbish the University of Zambia infrastructure adding that the development is long overdue.

QFM

THE Committee of Citizens has alleged that the Department for International Development (DFiD) is using the Press Freedom Committee of the Post to fund the Patriotic Front (PF) and its agent Bob Sichinga’s countrywide tours through seemingly innocent electoral programmes.

Executive director Gregory Chifire said in a statement yesterday that it is wrong for DFiD, a British government sponsored donor agency, to sponsor a political party, and has since called on relevant authorities to investigate the matter.

Mr Chifire said Mr Sichinga has been going round the country using the platform of the Press Freedom Committee of The Post to campaign for the PF with donor funds, strengthen PF structures and prepare for Mr Sata’s rallies to enhance his chances in this year’s elections.

“We, therefore, condemn this donor agency and the Press Freedom Committee, which is sponsoring PF campaigns.
“This agency is a development wing of a well-respected foreign government, and should never take political sides or embark on activities that openly undermine the MMD government,” Mr Chifire said.

Mr Chifire alleged that Mr Sichinga is currently running the PF, and that he was the one who organised Mr Sata’s tour to the United Kingdom’s Oxford University and the Foreign Office of the United Kingdom.

He said his organisation is aware that certain donors have heightened activities against Government and are funding the opposition through dubious entities such as media bodies.

“We appeal to the government and security wings to immediately probe the huge funding being given to the Press Freedom Committee of The Post by the donor agency and establish if it is being used for the intended purpose.

Press Freedom Committee (PFC) of The Post chairperson Chansa Kabwela declined to comment.

[Zambia Daily Mail]

OPPOSITION political parties, major trade unions, the Church and the Commuters’ Rights Association have hailed President Rupiah Banda for the launch of an all-round road refurbishment process in some selected parts of Lusaka as a process that will create a new path of th eeconomic development.

President Banda on Saturday launched a K300 billion project for the construction of roads in Lusaka to provide quality service to the Zambian people.

The president also said Government, through Zesco Limited would start providing solar panel geysers for free to its citizens while connection fee for electricity to homes had been spread to many months to reduce the impact and suppress the cost.

Mine Workers Union of Zambia (MUZ) secretary general Ozwell Munyenyembe said the gesture to improve road infrastructure would benefit the mine workers.

Mr Munyenyembe said the Zambian workers must support the efforts bythe Government and noted that some workers had failed to procure geysers for their homes because of the high costs.

Zambia Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) president Leonard Hikaumba noted that the road rehabilitation project had come at the right time when economic activity was increasing in Zambia.

Mr Hikaumba appealed to the Government to scale up similar efforts in the rural areas to spread the benefits of development because some areaswere impassable.

United Liberal Party (ULP) secretary general, Langton Sichone said the Government should not lose focus following some destructive statements that development should not be given to the people because of elections.

Mr Sichone said the restructuring of connection fees for electricity and the provision of solar energy geysers to the people was a great initiative taking place for the first time in the history of Zambia and should be commended.

Mr Sichone said the MMD party was elected to deliver development to the people for a period of five years and the Constitution allows Government to construct roads even when there are elections taking place in the country.

Zambia Consumers Association (ZACA) commended Government’s decision to allow consumers to access electricity by paying a nominal fee as opposed to the past when the huge amounts of money were inhibiting access to electricity.

ZACA executive director Muyunda Ililonga said the move shows Government’s commitment to poverty reduction among the people of Zambia.

Mr Ilionga said the decision would also accelerate Zambia’s move towards meeting the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) number one on cutting poverty by half by the year 2015.

He said the introduction of prepaid meters by Zesco had helped the consumers and Zesco to conserve power which could now be spread to other users.

And the Christian Coalition spokesperson John Mwendapole commended President Banda’s relentless effort to develop thecountry through the rehabilitation of roads and easy access to electricity.

Mr Mwendapole said most houses in township areas have not been electrified for a long time and this would give them an opportunity to electrify their houses and venture into various businesses.
[ Times of Zambia ]

FORMER republican vice-president Lupando Mwape says he is still a faithful member of the MMD and has condemned people trying to alienate him from the party.

Mr Mwape said in a telephone interview yesterday he resigned as party trustee in 2006 to facilitate his appointment into the diplomatic service by then President Levy Mwanawasa.

“You can assure the nation that I am a faithful member of the party, and I shall remain loyal to the government and the people of Zambia. I have never gone on any platform to announce that I am not MMD. I have never relinquished my membership,” he said.

He said the government is doing very well under President Banda, and needs encouragement.

The former vice-president, who was Zambia’s ambassador to China from 2006 to 2009, thanked President Banda for allowing him to complete his contract when he assumed the presidency in 2008.

He said people expected President Banda to recall him from diplomatic service, but the President allowed him to complete his three-year contract.

“I wasn’t fired or recalled. I am grateful to the President because he would have recalled me. But he allowed me to complete my contract. What else can one do but appreciate?” Mr Mwape said.

He said he wants to lead a quiet life because he does not want to cause any political controversies.

“I want to remain a loyal member of the MMD, but lead a quiet life until I am approached. I am a politician, and if I am approached by any political party that feels I have a role to play, I will make my position known,” Mr Mwape said.

He said he was shocked by the way he was misquoted by a private tabloid on the remarks he made recently in Ndola at the burial of former Zambia Postal Services Corporation postmaster general Chewe Lupili.

Mr Mwape said he was even more surprised at the reactions to the report, with no-one approaching him to give his side of the story.

[Zambia Daily Mail]

The MMD in Kitwe District on the Copperbelt has denounced calls by catholic Priest Richard Luonde that the stand up for Zambia television programme by freelance journalist Chanda Chimba should be banned.

MMD District Vice Treasurer Suzyo Ngulube says the Stand Up For Zambia TV programme which runs on both ZNBC TV and Muvi TV is informative as it has exposed a number of issues which the Zambians could not have otherwise known.

Mr. Ngulube wondered why Father Luonde wants the programme banned saying every citizen has the right to freedom of expression.

He accused Father Luonde of being afraid of the truth and has described his calls to ban the programme as baseless and illogical.

Mr. Ngulube says it is surprising that the catholic clergyman is not calling for the banning of sensational publications which have taken a deliberate and confrontational stance to discredit Government.

And the MMD in Kitwe has accused the Patriotic Front (PF) run councils in Lusaka and the Copperbelt of failing residents.

Mr. Ngulube says government has now undertaken the task to rehabilitate township roads because councils which were supposed to take on this mandate have failed.

He condemned PF Chairperson for Local Government Given Lubinda for politicizing the road rehabilitation programme.
[ ZNBC ]