THE Patriotic Front (PF) has resolved to pull out of the pact with the United Party for National Development (UPND) although it is afraid of informing Zambians, some PF sources have said.

The sources said in Lusaka yesterday that the PF leadership did not want to shoulder any blame for the collapse of the pact despite being convinced that the two parties could not work together.

The party officials, who withheld their identities, said an emergency meeting called by the PF top leadership last week agreed that the alliance with UPND was not workable.

They said party leader Michael Sata, who was in Luapula Province at the time, had given a go-ahead to the meeting where those in attendance were told that the PF president had even instructed secretary general Wynter Kabimba not to respond to concerns raised by the UPND over the need for the two parties to harmonise economic and governance issues.

“Those that attended the meeting were also told that Mr Kabimba had been instructed not to respond to the so-called ultimatum by the UPND because the PF does not need the UPND and would go it alone given the margin by which Mr Sata lost in the last elections.

“At this same meeting, PF members were told that this is the reason why Mr Sata has shifted attention from the UPND and has now started calling upon other opposition political parties to gang up with the PF,” the sources said.

Forum for Leadership Search executive director Edwin Lifwekelo said he was aware of the PF meeting at which it was resolved that the pact was going nowhere.
[pullquote]“Those that attended the meeting were also told that Mr Kabimba had been instructed not to respond to the so-called ultimatum by the UPND because the PF does not need the UPND and would go it alone given the margin by which Mr Sata lost in the last elections.

“At this same meeting, PF members were told that this is the reason why Mr Sata has shifted attention from the UPND and has now started calling upon other opposition political parties to gang up with the PF,” the sources said.[/pullquote]
Mr Lifwekelo, a former secretary general of the PF, said in Lusaka yesterday that he had information that the opposition party had a meeting last week at which it was agreed that they should discontinue with the pact and instead focus on promoting the PF.

According to Mr Lifwekelo, the irregular land allocation by PF councillors at Lusaka City Council was also discussed.

He challenged Mr Sata to tell the nation why he had never bothered to address any rally with UPND president Hakainde Hichilema if the pact was in force.

But when contacted for comment, Mr Sata said Mr Lifwekelo was lying.

“First of all who is Edwin Lifwekelo? Tell Mr Lifwekelo that the pact is none of his business, he is lying,” Mr Sata said.

UPND spokesperson Charles Kakoma said the party had not yet received official communication from the PF on its position.

“The resolutions of that meeting have not yet been communicated to us and it will be premature for us to make a comprehensive comment on the matter,” Mr Kakoma said.

Asked whether his party still considered the pact as being intact, Mr Kakoma said “the pact has not been officially dissolved. Until it is officially dissolved or one of the parties pulls out, we take it we are still working together.”

[ Times of Zambia ]

Ink tech managing director Mathew Mohan has been sentenced to two and half year’s simple imprisonment for obtaining goods by false pretences.

Mohan who has another pending judgement in a case of alleged murder of cyclone hardware director, Sajid Itowala was this morning jailed by Lusaka principle resident magistrate Mwaka Mikalile.

He is alleged to have obtained fifty radios, nine batteries and one motor bike all valued at over sixty million kwacha from one Rolf Pfeifer Magistrate Mikalile on February 4th, 2011 convicted Mohan on charges of obtaining fifty radios and nine batteries but acquitted him on a charge of obtaining a motor bike.

And in passing the sentence magistrate Mikalile said she had heard all that mohan’s lawyer likando kalaluka had said in mitigation but that she took note of the fact that Mohan was in custody for a long time because of other matters he was facing in other courts.

She said she was sentencing Mohan to thirty months simple imprisonment not considering other matters in other courts.
[ MUVI ]

Former Finance bank chairman, Rajani Mahtani has been sued by his former legal counsel, Zahedah Essah.

Ms. Essah, who is also former legal counsel for Mahtani group of companies and finance bank, has also sued the Post Newspapers and two of its journalists.

Ms. Essah is suing for defamation of character over an article published in the post newspaper, January 28 2011 edition, titled DEC arrests, charges Mahtani with forgery.

In her statement of claim filed in the high court, Ms. Essah claims that the four jointly caused to be published the said article, which contained defamatory words, which have caused immense damage to her reputation and considerable distress to her and her family.

Ms. Essah claims that the article, alleging that she was offered immunity from prosecution, was false and was published with malice.

She says she was not pressurized or threatened or under duress when she signed an affidavit against Dr. Mahtani.

Ms. Essah, however, says she voluntarily went to the authorities to tell them the truth of the happenings in the Mahtani group of companies, finance bank and the wrong doings of Dr. Mahtani before November and December 2010.

She also claimed that all the anonymous sources quoted in the story attributed to Dr. Mahtani, are in fact Dr Mahtani himelf as it is he who drafted the initial story and he caused the two post Newspapers journalists, Chibabula Silwamba and Mwala Kalaluka, to use their bylines on the said article.

Ms. Essah has also explained that the post newspapers and the two journalists never bothered to verify the story or get her side of the story.

She is since claiming damages and an unqualified withdrawal of the allegations leveled against her.
[ MUVI ]

THE Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) has opposed the re-introduction of windfall taxes in the mines, as doing so will stifle the growth of the industry in Zambia in the medium and long term.

ZRA commissioner general Wisdom Nhekairo said this in Lusaka yesterday when he appeared before the Parliamentary Committee on Estimates chaired by Bweengwa Member of Parliament (MP) Highvie Hamududu.

“Objectively it is not good to impose taxes which risk suffocating the mining industry. Thus the re-introduction of the windfall tax on sales has the potential to stifle the growth of Zambia’s mining sector,” Mr Nhekairo said.

He said increasing taxes when other countries were not changing their tax systems would make Zambia uncompetitive in the area.

Mr Nhekairo said removal of windfall tax on sales would not necessarily lead to loss of Government revenue as the variable tax still captured any windfall gain that could arise in the mining sector.

“A fundamental economic argument is that low taxation is one of the key determinants for attracting foreign investment and, as such, relatively higher taxes especially in the form of windfall taxes on sales may be a major disincentive to long-term investment,” Mr Nhekairo said.

To inspire investment, Zambia needed a policy that was certain and stable with reduced risks to long-term investment decisions.

“Shifting policies within a short period of time may not inspire continued investments.

“The momentum with the current investment inflows into the mining sector need to be maintained as it has desirable forward and backward linkages such as employment creation and a guaranteed revenue stream,” he said.

He said windfall taxation of sales posed a threat on the profit realisation of some mines and could lead them to spending less on workers in terms of salaries through lessened Pay as You Earn (PAYE) to the Government.

“Moreover, variable profit taxation, by it being based on profit taxation, is administratively consistent with the current practices within ZRA.

“This notion of taxing super profits is currently applied in the financial sector and will be applied to the telecommunications sector as announced in the 2011 Budget,” he submitted.

Mr Nhekairo also said administratively, mining taxation was an immense challenge to even the most developed tax authorities.

The commission had since established a dedicated mining tax unit to ensure efficient and effective taxation of the mining sector.

Mr Nhekairo said there was need for continued support, both financially and materially, to enable the tax authority to keep pace with the complexities associated with mining taxation such as tax avoidance by mining firms.

[Times of Zambia]

Political Activist Dante Saunders has observed that the problems that have rocked the UPND/PF pact are being caused by the party members at lower organs.

Mr. Saunders says from the meetings that he held with both UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema and PF’s Michael Sata, it is clear that the two opposition leaders are still interested in the Pact and that all the wrangles in the pact were being caused by the leadership at lower organs.

The veteran politician says it is evident that some members of the two parties in the Pact are scared of losing their positions in their respective parties once the Pact leader is announced hence the misunderstandings.

Mr. Saunders noted that there is need for all the leaders in the two opposition political parties to reach a compromise and ensure that whatever decision they make is for the benefit of the nation.

Mr. Saunders added that there is need for the political leaders to prioritize the interests of the entire nation before their personal interests.

Meanwhile, Mr. Saunders has urged all the political parties to consider empowering the youths in their parties instead of using them to ignite violence during elections.

Mr. Saunders suggested that each political party should reserve at least 30 percent of their parliamentary adoptions for the younger generation.

He says this will help in grooming the youths for future political responsibilities.
[ QFM ]

The United Party for National Development (UPND) has intensified campaigns for party leader Hakainde Hichilema as presidential candidate in this year’s elections in a campaign strategy dubbed ‘HH 2011 Formula’.

Meanwhile, sources in UPND and pact partners, the Patriotic Front (PF) have hinted to the Times of Zambia that the two parties have spent millions of Kwacha to print campaign T-shirts and chitenge materials bearing portraits and symbols of the individual party leaders.

[pullquote]“Even if we are in the pact we still remain as individual parties until such a time that the pact candidate is chosen. There is nothing wrong with any of us campaigning,” he said.
[/pullquote]
UPND deputy spokesperson Cornelius Mweetwa said in Lusaka yesterday that the opposition party had intensified its campaigns.

“In fact we are calling on all our supporters to go flat out and spread the good news of HH 2011. This is the year we have been waiting for, so we are intensifying our campaigns for Mr Hichilema,” he said.

Mr Mweetwa said there was nothing wrong with the UPND campaigning for Mr Hichilema because there was no pact candidate in place.

“Even if we are in the pact we still remain as individual parties until such a time that the pact candidate is chosen. There is nothing wrong with any of us campaigning,” he said.

Yesterday, the HH campaign team for 2011 was seen on Lusaka’s Cairo Road in a convoy of motor vehicles led by a Mitsubishi Pajero which had speakers mounted on it playing campaign jingles for the UPND leader.

Sources in UPND and PF confirmed that the two leaders had printed campaign materials.

The UPND source revealed that Mr Hichilema had since paid for the chitenge and T-shirts that were being printed in South Africa while the PF had some of their materials already printed and were being stocked at a house in Kabulonga in Lusaka.

The two parties that entered into a pact in June 2009 have failed to agree on, among other issues, a common economic and governance agenda for the country.

Last month, the UPND gave the PF a one-month ultimatum for the two parties to harmonise their manifestos with a view to come up with a common economic agenda but the PF has to date not responded.

The UPND has gone on to accuse the pact partners of being elusive and insincere.
Meanwhile, UPND youths on the Copperbelt have warned Zambians against voting for PF president Michael Sata and his members of Parliament (MPs) because they are allegedly violent.

UPND national youth spokesperson Ronald Manenga advised the electorate against voting for leaders such as Mr Sata and Roan Constituency MP Chishimba Kambwili because they had no respect for anyone.

Mr Manenga said in an interview in Kitwe that the PF leadership exhibited unacceptable behaviour and wondered how they could govern the country with such kind of behaviour.

He said he did not expect Mr Kambwili as an MP to use vulgar language against UPND members.

“We wonder what kind of government PF would be because all of them, starting from their leader to the MPs have vulgar language and beat up women.

“We will make sure Mr Sata does not go to State House because the PF behaviour is unacceptable,” he said.

Mr Manenga said the UPND on the Copperbelt would never support Mr Sata and his members, and accused them of resorting to insulting UPND members.

Efforts to get a comment from PF proved futile.

Last week, PF spokesperson Given Lubinda said he would not respond to queries from Times reporters.

[ Times of Zambia ]

Police in Kitwe have arrested two suspects in connection with the murder of a small-scale tomato farmer last week.

Shadrek Mukosha 29 and Robert Ngonga are suspected to have beaten the farmer to death, after a quarrel over his tomatoes.

Copperbelt Police Chief Martin Malama has named the farmer as Pascal Malaika 27 of Kakolo Farm Block in Kitwe.

Dr. Malama told ZNBC in Kitwe that the farmer sustained internal injuries from fists by the two suspects.

He said the cause of the fight between the farmer and the suspect has not yet been established.

But Dr. Malama said that it appears the two suspects wanted some tomatoes from the farmer, and when the deceased refused to give them some, they beat him up.

The body of the farmer is in the Kitwe Central Hospital mortuary while the two suspects are in custody at the Kitwe Central Police Station.
[ ZNBC ]