Ministry of health spokesperson Kamoto Mbewe says construction works at Lusaka General Hospital have neared completion.

ZANIS reports Dr.Mbewe saying during a press briefing at his office today that construction works at the latest government hospital is nearing completion saying currently the road to the hospital was being constructed.

The water reticulation works and ZESCO substation construction have also reached an advanced stage.

“We would also like to report that the equipment has arrived and is currently being installed. The Hospital has a bed capacity of 150
which will be increased to accommodate more patients” he said.

The commissioning of the hospital is likely to take place next month. When fully operational, the demand for health services and congestion currently expirienced at the University Teaching Hospital (UTH ) will be minimized as new hospital will be an alternative.

And in another development the ministry has procured 13,000 pairs of shoes for nurses country wide.

Ministry of Health Spokesperson Kamoto Mbewe said the provincial health offices are collecting the shoes for distribution. Earlier in the year 13,000 uniforms were procured and have since been distributed.

Health minister Kapembwa Simbao, launched the distribution of shoes for nurses last week on 5th May , 2011 during the International
Nurses Day commemoration in Chipata, Eastern Province.

Meanwhile the ministry has received K10 billion towards the dismantling of the debt owed to all health workers.

Dr. Mbewe said earlier this year K 12 billion was released which covered leave travel arrears for the workers country wide.

He stated that K 50 billion has been set aside for this year for the dismantling of the debt saying a total of 22 billion kwacha
has been released so far.

ZANIS

President Rupiah Banda held talks with International Judo Federation (IJF) President Marius Viser and discussed a number of issues concerning the development of sports and, in particular, the construction of an ultra-modern judo centre in Zambia.

Viser told President Banda in Instanbul, Turkey, that his federation has agreed to set up a multi-million judo centre in Zambia, the first of its kind in Africa, ahead of the 2012 Commonwealth Games in London.

The IJF boss said the centre will be used to train judokas from African countries.

The construction of the centre is scheduled to begin in a few months’ time once suitable land is identified in the Zambian capital, Lusaka.

President Banda thanked the IJF for considering Zambia as the first African country to have the centre. He assured Viser that Zambia will look after the facility very well once constructed.

The meeting was also attended by IJF goodwill ambassador Nicholas Buzaiunu.

Judo is one of Zambia’s reliable sports disciplines in terms of winning medals at international sports events.

President Banda is an ardent follower of sport and has for many years also been involved in sports management in various disciplines.

This is contained in a a statement signed by the Special Assistant to the President for Press and Public Relations , Dickson Jere.

ZANIS

The Patriotic Front (PF) Party in Lusaka has accused the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) of manipulating the voters register ahead of the tripartite elections this year.

Some PF members from Mandevu last evening stormed Muvi TV with claims that they have documents of untallied figures of the number of registered voters in the area.

PF Constituency Secretary, Lusale Kanyanta also claimed the documents show that some polling stations registered no voters during the registration period, which he says can never be the case for Mandevu.

They further appealed to ECZ to clarify the issue.

But ECZ Public Relations Manager, Chris Akufuna says the claims by the PF members are not justified.

Mr. Akufuna says the documents in question are old and are not a true representation of the current register as at now.

He has,therefore, urged the general public to seek consultation from the commission for any query.

Mr Akufuna further said the ECZ has also announced a voter verification period to allow people to verify their registration and details.

Meanwhile, Mr. Akufuna says the ECZ has managed to cover all the nine provinces in the delimitation exercise.

Mr. Akufuna says the commission is overwhelmed with the response from the various submissions.

He says most of the demands from public are that the number constituencies should be increased.

Mr. Akufuna says the ECZ will have to compile the data then submit to the relevant authorities.
[ MUVI ]

Government has urged the people of Western province to guard against opposition political parties that want to use mere politicking to destroy the peace that is prevailing in the province.

Lands Deputy Minister Michael Mabenga said Zambia is a Christian nation which should continue to enjoy the peace it has enjoyed since independence.

Mr. Mabenga said this when he addressed a mammoth rally in Winela area in Mongu District yesterday.

He also urged women and youth to use their votes wisely by voting for credible leaders who can foster development in the whole country.

Mr. Mabenga appealed to women and the youth to give President Banda another five year term in this year’s tripartite elections.

He said by voting President Banda into office, government will continue to build more schools, hospitals and roads.

Mr. Mabenga further challenged men who attended the rally to join women and the youth in the good decisions to support good leadership in the country.

Meanwhile, MMD Youth District Chairman Mbangu Mbangu said the votes for Western Province are for the MMD.Mr. Mbangu said the youth in the Mongu district will rally behind President Rupiah Banda during this year’s polls adding that the party is still strong in the district and all its structures are intact.

Information Minister Lieutenant General Ronnie Shikapwasha has disclosed that about US$ 37 million worth of pirated video and audio materials were last year destroyed by government through numerous seizures of pirated and counterfeit products.

Lt. Gen. Shikapwasha says the exercise showed how much artists and government are losing through piracy and counterfeits although most of the works that were destroyed were of foreign origin.

ZANIS reports that Lt. Gen. Shikapwasha said this in a speech read on his behalf by Information Permanent Secretary Dr. Sam Phiri during the official opening of a three-day World Intellectual Property Organisation-Africa regional meeting on copyright and related rights in Lusaka today.

The meeting which has drawn participants from Zambia and other countries in Africa among them Gambia, Kenya and Ghana has jointly been organized by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), the African Regional Intellectual Property Organisation (ARIPO) and government.

Lt. Gen. Shikapwasha stressed that government attaches great importance to the promotion and protection of intellectual property rights as demonstrated by the numerous seizures of pirated and counterfeit products from the markets across the country.

He said intellectual property provides employment to artists and creators hence the need of protecting the Intellectual Property Rights.

The Minister further noted that artists pay taxes such as Value Added Tax among others to government and that it was therefore important that intellectual property in general, copyright and other related rights in particular are respected to safeguard the rights holders.

Lt. Gen. Shikapwasha also announced that government has taken deliberate measures aimed at protecting intellectual property rights which includes the Amendment to the Performance Rights Act.

He added that all statutes governing industrial property are being reviewed to make laws compliant to the international treaties and conventions that Zambia is part of.

Meanwhile, the Minister has indicated that the country still faces a lot of challenges with regards to copyright administration among them lack of capacity to effectively run collective management organizations despite the efforts that government has been making.

He appealed to the two organisations to continue training officers from his ministry and other agencies involved in the administration of copyright and related rights as that would ensure that the country has an effective mechanism for administering intellectual property.

And WIPO Assistant Director General Trevor Clerk said counterfeit products are a serious concern on people’s health and that copyright undermines the rights of creators hence the need to have everyone’s involvement in addressing such issues.

He observed that the 21st century was entered with tremendous copyright challenges and his organization is mandated to protect intellectual property globally.

Speaking on his behalf by ARIPO Director Christopher Kiige, Director General Jeff Sibanda thanked government and the rest of the country for the support it has given to his organisation since its inception.

Mr. Sibanda hoped that the meeting would be used as a platform for crafting appropriate recommendations for full implantation of the mandate on copyright and related rights within the framework of his orgainisation.

ZANIS

Livestock and Fisheries Minister Bradford Machila has cautioned young people in the country not to be swayed into voting for leaders that have no agenda for them as the country heads towards the general elections.

Mr. Machila says it is important for young people to scrutinize leaders and take into consideration their track record of good governance before giving them a vote.

ZANIS reports that speaking when he addressed youths in Mongu during the Western Province youth indaba, the Minister stated that the MMD government is the ideal choice for the youth in this year’s election because of strides government has made in uplifting their living standards.

Mr. Machila urged the youth to be careful with leaders especially from the opposition whose main objective is to use and exploit them in order to get to power.

He said it is imperative for the youth to exercise caution and ensure they vote wisely, saying the decision they make today will not only affect them but the future generation as well.

And Mr. Machila has urged the youth to be wary of the scourge of HIV/AIDS for them to continue contributing effectively to national development.

He said government is depending on the young people to push the development agenda of the nation hence the need for the youth to guard their health jealously.

[ ZANIS ]