UNIVERSITY of Zambia (UNZA) students on March 11 held a march from the university grounds to Manda Hill to denounce violence ahead of this year’s general elections.

UNZA Students Union president Timothy Lumba said in an interview on March 11 that students wanted to remind the Zambian society that there is no better ingredient in national development than peace and stability.

Mr Lumba said the march past was predicated on showing solidarity for peaceful elections following the political violence the country experienced in by-elections in Mufumbwe and Chilanga.

He said it is important for Zambia to maintain its reputation for peace in Southern Africa and the entire world.

“Our country is a model of peace unmatched. It is an example in terms of unity in diversity amid political differences,” Mr Lumba said.

He urged youths not to be lured into political violence by politicians.

“We organised the march to caution youths that they should not be used as tools of violence by politicians,” Mr Lumba said.

He said the students wanted to send a message to their fellow youths ahead of this year’s Youth Day which falls on March 12. Mr Lumba said violence is retrogressive.

He urged politicians to avoid politics of slander and character assassination as the country prepares for the general elections as it does not add value to the pursuit of development.

Mr Lumba said politicians should instead engage in issue-based political campaigns.

He also said losers in the general elections should accept defeat and not resort to violence.

And Mr Lumba has denounced people advocating political violence before, during and after this year’s elections.

He said this at a sensitisation campaign for a bigger peaceful demonstration slated for March 18. The demonstration will be held in partnership with other student organisations and youth groups in Lusaka.

“This year, Zambia celebrates 47 years of independence and holds its tripartite elections.

Since independence in 1964 and the introduction of multi-party politics in 1991, our electoral process has been free of violence.

“That is not to say the process has been without shortcomings. Our people have demonstrated, despite the odds, that the ties that bind us together by far supersede political affiliation,” Mr Lumba said.

[Zambia Daily Mail]

Bweengwa Member of parliament Highvie Hamududu says there is need for a national qualifications network that will evaluate the type of educational documents that people get in high learning institutions.

He was contributing to the debate on the Zambia qualifications board bill in parliament on Thursday.

Mr. Hamududu observed that the influx of institutions offering degree programmes has contributed to the valueless qualification that some people have in Zambia.

Mr. Hamududu is further surprised to note that a degree programme can be offered in a period of one year.

He wants the ministry of education to inspect the caliber of institutions that are offering worthless degrees to Zambians.

The bill has since been passed to second reading stage.

[ZNBC]

Clerk of the National Assembly, Doris Mwiinga has said the involvement of the cross section of Zambians in Legislative process is an important part of the reforms of the National Assembly.

In a speech read on her behalf by National Assembly Deputy Clerk of Administration Cecilia Mbewe, Ms. Mwiinga says there is therefore need to put in place an appropriate communications process that will ensure a two way flow of information between the National Assembly, parliamentarians and citizens.

She was speaking during the stakeholders workshop for the Formulation of a Communication Strategy for the National Assembly of Zambia in Lusaka on Thursday.

The National Assembly has engaged PANOS Institute of Southern Africa to carry out the task of formulating a Communications Strategy.

Ms. Mwiinga called for the formulation of a strategy that will enhance the two way communication, encouraging increased feedback from a cross section of the Zambian citizens.

And Chairperson of the Reforms and Modernization Committee, Faustina Sinyangwe said the National Assembly has during the past ten (10) years been implementing parliamentary reforms with the prime objective of improving upon the parliamentary overseer activities of the Executive while facilitating increased citizen participation in the affairs of the country.

Ms. Sinyangwe says the Reforms have among other things included the establishment of Parliament Radio and the setting up of offices for Members of Parliament in all the one hundred and fifty (150) Constituencies.

She says an enhanced communications process is now needed to allow citizens to participate more actively in ensuring that their needs are better represented and that their Members of Parliament visit their Constituencies and facilitate development in communities.

Ms. Sinyangwe further says meaningful development could be realized by having a communications strategy that will fill the communication gaps between the Members of Parliament and their Constituents.

Panos Institute of Southern Africa Executive Director Parkie Mbozi said that an effective communications strategy is critical in ensuring enhanced accountability in the governance process.

Mr. Mbozi said, formulating an effective communications strategy should be done at a right time.

He emphasizes the importance of human interaction at all levels.

The formulation of a good communications strategy is among other things expected to enhance the National Assembly’s ability to communicate and relate with key stakeholders, who include the Members of Parliament, civil society organizations, constituents, and the cooperating partners, thereby taking parliament closer to the people.

[ZANIS]

A massive 8.9 magnitude earthquake has struck off Japan’s northeastern coast, triggering a 10 meter tsuanami that swept away boats, homes and cars along the coastline.

Video footage showed widespread inundation as mud waves carried debris over farmland in Sendai, the capital of Miyagi prefecture. Large-scale damage could be seen in various locations along the coast. In Chiba prefecture, a massive oil refinery fire has broken out.

Adressing the nation, Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan said the government would do anything it can to minimize the effects of the disaster.

The Japanese Meteorological Agency issued a tsunami warming for the entire Pacific coast of Japan following the quake, which struck Friday about 125 kilometers off the eastern coast, at a depth of 10 kilometers. Residents in the coastal areas were urged to immediately evacuate to higher ground.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said a tsunami warning was in effect for Russia, Marcus Island, New Zealand, Hawaii, Wake Island, the Northern Marianas, Australia and the South American Pacific coast. Warnings were also issued for Guam, Taiwan, the Philippines and Indonesia. The Hawaii-based center said waves could reach six to ten meters high.

The massive quake was felt in Tokyo, where it shook buildings and caused several fires. The Tokyo metro system says all train and subway traffic in the city has been stopped. Tokyo’s Haneda airport has reopened its four runways to accommodate traffic from other airports, including Narita. Aftershocks have also been reported in Tokyo.

[VOAnews.com]

The Zambia Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) has demanded that the K4.7 billion tender for the construction of Kulima Tower bus station awarded to Chimwenda Investment Limited by the Patriotic Front-controlled Lusaka City Council be reviewed.

ZCTU president Leonard Hikaumba has also called on the Government to take action on the deteriorating standards at the LCC, saying the congress had followed events at the country’s biggest council with concern.

Mr Hikaumba said in Lusaka that the process leading to the awarding of a tender to Chimwenda Investment Limited should be reviewed and urged the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to investigate the matter comprehensively.

The tender for the construction of Kulima Tower bus station was last year awarded to a company owned by the younger brother of immediate past Lusaka mayor Robert Chikwelete, a PF member.

Mr Hikaumba said tender procedures and rules should not be breached and the ACC should establish whether Mr Chikwelete had declared interest at any stage and that such minutes should be produced.

He said the Government had launched a decentralisation policy, whose implementation would need well-organised councils.

Mr Hikaumba said the Government needed to come up with long-term measures to stem the misuse of public resources.

He said continuous audits were needed in councils, backed by an institutional framework to oversee the operations of all councils.

The ZCTU leader said there had been a deliberate departure from such norms and that should there be need to dissolve LCC, the Government should not hesitate to do so.

He said street lighting and drainage upgrades should not be a problem in Lusaka because of the huge amounts of money the council was collecting, but that the services were not being provided.

Mr Chikwelete, who is a councillor for John Howard Ward 2 in Chawama Constituency, is the older brother of the proprietor of Chimwenda Investments Limited, Charles.

The minutes obtained in Lusaka revealed that Chimwenda Investment was awarded a tender despite the company losing to its competitor, China Jiangsu International.

China Jiangsu bid for K4,792,070,200 and Chimwenda lost because of its high bid of K5,177,493,029 but was later awarded the tender and was almost finishing the construction of the bus station.

Documents containing the whole bidding process dated September 16, 2010 also revealed that Chimwenda Investment lost at the engineers’ estimate stage when it scored 10 percentage deviation from the set standards while China Jiangsu International only had two per cent.

The lower figure represents the company’s closeness to winning the tender because it shows that the firm has lesser deviations from the engineers’ parameters.

The bids were advertised in the Times of Zambia and The Post newspapers and 15 firms responded while 13 were short-listed.

Meanwhile, Moomba Member of Parliament Vitalis Mooya has advised people holding influential positions to declare interest in writing when the institutions under their authority are awarding tenders.

Mr Mooya also questioned how LCC awarded a contract without considering the drainage and electric system at the Kulima Tower bus station.