South African ambassador to Zambia Moses Chikane has wished Zambians peaceful campaigns as the country prepares for the forthcoming general elections.

Ambassador Chikane says Zambia being a pace setter in African politics, has worked so hard to liberate most countries in the region.

In an interview with Qfm, Ambassador Chikane says tolerance among politicians should excel during and after elections for the maintenance of peace in the country.

The South African envoy has since appealed to electorates and politicians to peacefully conduct themselves during elections.

PARLIAMENTARY Chief Whip Vernon Mwaanga has said Patriotic Front (PF) leader Michael Sata’s popularity in Mporokoso has gone down by 21 per cent while that of President Rupiah Banda is up by 14 per cent.

Mr Mwaanga, in an interview in Lusaka yesterday, said President Banda received 26 per cent of the total votes cast in 2008 while Mr Sata got 72 per cent.

He said in the parliamentary by-election held last week, MMD got 40 per cent while PF had a reduced figure of 51 per cent, showing loss of 21 per cent of its popularity.

“Assuming voting is aligned to parties, we are in a better position today than we were in 2008,” Mr Mwaanga said.

He said it was clear that Mr Sata was losing ground in the rural areas of the country and that would reflect in the 2011 presidential polls.

Meanwhile, MMD national chairperson Michael Mabenga has said the ruling party has often performed badly during the parliamentary and ward by-elections but reclaimed the seats during the presidential and general elections.

He said PF candidate Maynard Misapa’s victory would be short-lived because the party was aware that its leader Mr Sata spent almost a month holding more than three public rallies everyday, which gave him an edge over the ruling party.

Mr Mabenga, who is Deputy Minister of Lands, said the opposition party was involved in corrupting voters in Mporokoso, but that the ruling party would not waste time petitioning the poll results.

He said there were irregularities committed by PF in Mporokoso but the known critical election monitors were tactically transferring that blame to the ruling party to camouflage the election frauds committed by the opposition party.

Mr Mabenga said the MMD would defeat Mr Sata’s party in most parts of Northern Province because people did not like him.

He said Mporokoso did not represent Zambia but was only one constituency in Northern Province where the MMD remained popular.

He said the case was similar with the Chilanga by-election scooped by the United Party for National Development (UPND) candidate Cosmas Moono, where UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema held about 20 public rallies while the MMD only had two, which was the reason the UPND won.

Mr Mabenga said the MMD had realised the mistake and would ensure that it matched the presence of the opposition each time there was a by-election.

He said almost all the seats that had been scooped by the opposition during by-elections had been reversed during the general elections and the same was being anticipated in this year’s elections.

According to Mr Mabenga, the margins by which the ruling party lost were very comforting and would easily be overturned when the general elections are held.

The Mporokoso parliamentary by-election followed the defection of Mr Misapa to the PF, after he was dismissed as deputy Sports minister.

Mr Misapa, who contested on the PF ticket, polled 2,844 votes against MMD’s Dominic Musonda, who got 2,217.

Other contestants were National Restoration Party candidate Joyce Mukando who got 435 votes while UNIP’s Anthony Nkonde only managed 71 votes.

We have in the past asked people to stop using Internet Explorer 6 because this browser is almost 10 years old and a lot has happened on the internet and there are so many bad issues affecting it that are well documented on the internet.Using Internet Explorer leaves you very vulnerable as a net user in terms of security. We pray you don’t use it for Internet payments or banking!!

Understandably, most people in Zambia are using IE6 because they are still using a copy of Windows XP and it works great on their old hardware and IE6 is bundled with Windows XP, a decision Microsoft now realises has created a monster hard to get rid off.

Last week, Microsoft announced that it is ready to move beyond Internet Explorer 6. The software giant has launched a new website, The Internet Explorer 6 Countdown, that bears the slogan: “Moving the world off Internet Explorer 6.”

On its new website, IE6Countdown.com, Microsoft is making its most concentrated effort yet to get users to move away from the decade-old browser. As the site says in its preamble, “10 years ago a browser was born. …It’s time to say goodbye.” The goal of the website is to get Internet Explorer 6 usage to drop to less than 1% worldwide.

As Lusakatimes.com, we want to join Micrposoft in this effort. 20 % of people visiting Lusakatimes.com are still using Internet Explorer 6. This is really a huge number for us to just ignore. In fact, our site upgrades and redesign tend to take longer than required because we have to meet the needs of this 20% group.

If you are still using IE6, we want to beg you to get off it please. All the best modern and secure browsers are now free. You have a whole variety to choose from: Firefox, Google Chrome, Internet Explorer 7-9, Mozzila, Safari, Opera and many more. All these are free as in Free Beer. NI VA MAHALA!!!. Upgrade Today.

LT Team

UNITED Party for National Development (UPND) president Hakainde Hichilema has announced his party’s withdrawal from its ill-fated pact with the Patriotic Front (PF) and declared that he will stand as presidential candidate in this year’s elections under the UPND.

Mr Hichilema said the UPND will also field candidates in all parliamentary constituencies and wards during this year’s general elections.

Featuring on Joy FM Radio’s Tikambilane live programme in Lusaka on yesterday, Mr Hichilema wondered what he should be doing in the PF-UPND pact when “somebody” has already killed it.

“The issue of the pact does not arise any more. I mean, if somebody has decided to kill the pact, what should I be doing?” he asked.

In an apparent reference to PF president Michael Sata, Mr Hichilema said it is unacceptable and inhumane in the modern world for someone to bully and intimidate his colleagues, and that political leaders with such behaviour should not be allowed into public office.

He condemned the PF’s unilateralism, and described as disgusting accusations by Mr Sata that he is a tribalist during the recent Mporokoso parliamentary by-election campaigns.

“I read an article in the press where my pact partner was saying Hakainde is a tribalist. That was disgusting; that is propaganda meant to discredit,” Mr Hichilema said.

He said the pact was formed with the main aim of uniting the people of Zambia, winning this year’s elections and the provision of better services to the people.

Mr Hichilema said Zambia belongs to all its citizens, regardless of where they live and it is important for people to understand one another because it is the only way to maintain peace in the country.

Responding to callers who wanted to know why a pact presidential candidate has not yet been chosen, and why this was not done from the alliance’s inception, Mr Hichilema said people should understand that there is always need to work with one another by learning to tolerate one another, and not to dominate or bully others.

[pullquote]“Instead of sitting to talk about how the pact government is going to run the country, somebody only agrees to meet on condition that he is going to be made pact president. I think that is talking upside down,” he said.[/pullquote]

The UPND president said there is a lot of propaganda going on against his party, orchestrated by the PF, which has made it difficult for the pact to make progress.

“Instead of sitting to talk about how the pact government is going to run the country, somebody only agrees to meet on condition that he is going to be made pact president. I think that is talking upside down,” he said.

Mr Hichilema said there has never been commitment from the side of Mr Sata and his party to talk about serious national issues for the good of the country.

He said it is unfortunate that the people who are now expressing disappointment on the problems brewing in the pact want to also pile the blame on UPND when they know well that such problems are coming from the PF.

Mr Hichlema said there is no way UPND can go into government with PF without first discussing and agreeing on how the two parties are going to run the country because the two parties will be quarrelling everyday and will become a nuisance to Zambians once in power.

He said UPND recently received a letter from the PF saying it was not going to deal with its pact partner if the former did not discipline its national youth chairman Joe Kalusa.

“Now, should I write a letter back that we won’t deal with PF until you discipline Wynter Kabimba? Should I write a letter like that? I haven’t written because that is degenerating matters,” he said.

[pullquote]“Now, should I write a letter back that we won’t deal with PF until you discipline Wynter Kabimba? Should I write a letter like that? I haven’t written because that is degenerating matters,” he said.[/pullquote]

Mr Hichilema said there is need to get to the table and talk things through instead of writing letters of that kind.

“There are a lot of undisciplined people in PF. They are known, and if I respond in that manner, we are destroying the pact,” he said.

“We have now come to conclude that our colleagues did not want us to discuss how we are going to run the country. By 2010, we should have had a common manisfesto on how we would run the country,” he said.

Mr Hichilema said even if the issue of presidential candidate was to be tabled at the very beginning of the pact, it would not have been possible to make progress because PF has never shown commitment to dialogue on the matter.

“So, even if the people want us to choose the candidate, how can we do it? You stand up, if you’re talkative, if you’re a bully in a meeting and say I am the president from now own, is that what you wanted?” he said.

He said Zambians must understand that whatever politicians do should be done with seriousness, mutual respect and with a mind to serve the people rather than serving themselves as leaders.

“And for me, as Hakainde, I won’t be part of the team that wants to be in government if they are not willing to agree on how they will run to serve the people of Zambia. What do they want to do in government? They want to do what they are doing now?” he asked.

[pullquote]“And for me, as Hakainde, I won’t be part of the team that wants to be in government if they are not willing to agree on how they will run to serve the people of Zambia. What do they want to do in government? They want to do what they are doing now?” he asked.[/pullquote]

When contacted for a comment over the matter, both Mr Sata and Mr Kabimba said they will react to the UPND’s withdrawal from the pact when it writes their party an official notification.

On the issue of the PF demanding to have Mr Kalusa disciplined as a condition for working with UPND, Mr Sata said all his party asked for in its letter was an apology and nothing else.

“There was nothing for them to dramatise the Kalusa issue. We shall react when they are brave enough to write to us,” Mr Sata said.

[pullquote]On the issue of the PF demanding to have Mr Kalusa disciplined as a condition for working with UPND, Mr Sata said all his party asked for in its letter was an apology and nothing else.[/pullquote]

Mr Hichilema’s remarks have literally dealt the final blow to the tottering PF-UPND pact, which has for months been on life support.

The two partners have been embroiled in endless wrangles over a number of issues, including the choice of a common candidate and how to harmonise their manifestos.

Recently, Mr Sata wrote the UPND saying his party had stopped dealing with it until Mr Kalusa apologises to him for allegedly insulting him in the media but the former has refused to force its official to meet the PF leader’s demand.

Before that, the PF dramatically revealed contents of a letter written by UPND chairman for international affairs Clive Chirwa in which he made a number of proposals, including that on the pact presidency, at a press briefing.

Mr Hichilema refuted the proposals the same day, and accused Mr Kabimba, who had addressed the briefing, of being mischievous.

The PF hit back by backing Mr Kabimba, saying his press briefing had had the full backing of the party.

The UPND has also written the PF, asking for a national council meeting to iron out contentious issues, but the latter has rebuffed the overture, saying it will respond to the letter at its own pace.

The two parties have been openly campaigning for their respective presidents separately for this year’s presidential elections, while Mr Sata has also announced that the PF will field its own candidates in all the constituencies.

[Zambia Daily Mail]

United Party for National Development (UPND) President Hakainde Hichilema has charged that there is lack of commitment in the UPND/PF pact to deliver a common agenda for the people of Zambia.

Mr. Hichilema described the recent statement by the Patriotic Front president Michael Sata that he runs a tribal party as disgusting.

Mr. Hichilema said that it is important that political leaders in the country remove the dent of tribalism in Zambian politics.

He said that it is wrong for the Patriotic front leader Michael Sata to say things that only benefit him.

He has further described the statement as propaganda meant to divert Zambians freedom of choice of leadership that will bring economic and social development.

Mr. Hichilema also said it is unfortunate that the Patriotic Front has failed to meet the UPND to discuss the progress of the Pact.

The UPND leader was speaking this morning on Tikambilane program on Joy FM radio.

[QFM]

United Party for National Development (UPND) in Luapula province has told their party leader Hakainde Hichilema to accept the proposals made by Professor Clive Chirwa on the future of the UPND-PF pact.

Luapula province UPND Coordinator Jones Mutimushi told QFM news that the fact the PF party is stronger than the UPND could not be ruled out.

Mr. Mutimushi says Mr. Hichilema should compromise on the Pact by accepting the proposal that Pro. Chirwa made concerning the political alliance of the UPND and PF if the two parties are to have sufficient ground to defeat the ruling MMD party.

He added that there is need for the UPND to listen to the will of the people on the need to have a united opposition.

Mr. Mutimushi advised the UPND leader not to listen to people who may have selfish motives and misguide him on the issues relating to the pact.

And UPND in Luapula has called on the UPND’s Charles Kakoma and PF’s Wynter Kabimba to resign from their party positions.

Mr. Mutimushi says Mr. Kakoma and his counterpart Mr. Kabimba have been issuing conflicting statements on the Pact a situation he said has led to the current problems being faced in the UPND/3PF pact.

Professor Chirwa who is the UPND chairman for international relations made the proposal on the UPND-PF pact which among them included that Michael should be the pact presidential candidate in this year’s elections.

However, UPND later announced that the proposal did not come from party but that they were made by an individual and therefore should not be seen to be the party’s decision.
[ QFM ]

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE

“…His favor is for a lifetime…”
(Psalm 30:5, AMP)

TODAY’S WORD from Joel and Victoria

One definition of the word “favor” is an advantage for success. When you put God first, when you obey His commands, you open the door for His favor — you have the advantage for success! Even if someone has wronged you and it looks like they have the upper hand, even if it looks like things are never going to change, you need to keep reminding yourself, “I have an advantage. God is in control of my destiny. He’s fighting my battles for me. He is my vindicator, and it’s just a matter of time before things change in my favor.”

I love the scripture in Hebrews that says, “Don’t cast away your confidence.” One translation says, “…for payday is coming.” In the difficult times, you have to remind yourself that payday is on its way! God is a faithful God. If you’ll keep doing the right thing, honoring Him and expecting His favor, God has promised He will pay you back. He will restore everything in your life that the enemy has stolen so you can live the abundant life He has promised to you.

A PRAYER FOR TODAY

Father in heaven, thank You for Your grace, mercy and everlasting favor. I open my heart and mind to You and receive everything You have for me. Thank You for restoring and healing every area of my life. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

— Joel & Victoria Osteen

Tourism and Environment Minister Catherine Namugala has urged all major political parties to ensure that the current female parliamentarians return the seats in this year’s elections.

Ms. Namugala says the female parliamentarians who would be clocking five years in office need to be given a second chance as this will enable them to gain more experience and contribute meaningfully to the country’s national development.

Ms. Namugala, who is also Isoka East Member of Parliament, however, says it is encouraging to note that the number of female parliamentarians has continued to increase.

She added that women need to be encouraged to take up leadership roles for them to manage national affairs.

Ms. Namugala has been a parliamentarian for Isoka East for almost ten years now.
[ QFM ]