The United Party for National Development (UPND) has said its leader Hakainde Hichilema Hichilema has enough experience in leadership to make a very good President.

UPND Secretary General Winston Chibwe said time has come for the country to have a new crop of leaders because old politicians have failed to deliver development to the people despite claiming to have political experience.

But when asked to clarify on the alleged pull out of the UPND from the pact, the UPND secretary general declined to comment.

The UPND has reportedly pulled out of the PF/UPND pact which has been rocked by wrangling between the two parties.

Meanwhile the UPND has said the proposals made by the party chairperson for International Relations Professor Clive Chirwa on the UPND-PF pact have not been discussed at the party’s national management level.

UPND secretary general Winston Chibwe said Professor Chirwa’s proposals were just one of the many proposals that were made but that the PF was quick to publicize them.

Mr. Chibwe was reacting to a statement made by UPND Luapula province coordinator Jones Mutimushi that that the proposals made by the Professor Chirwa on the pact are realistic and that the UPND president should accept them.

QFM

The African Institute of Democracy and Good Governance AIDGG has challenged Colonel Panji Kaunda to name the people the late President Levy Mwanawasa sent inviting him to join the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD).

AIDGG Head of Public Relation Thabo Kawana has challenged Colonel Kaunda to name the emissaries which the late president sent promising him the post of vice presidency if he joined the MMD in order for the people of Zambia to believe his story.

Mr Kawana has also called on Colonel Kaunda to tone down on his statements in the media. He told ZNBC News in Kitwe today that Colonel PanjiI’s continued use of the term “bloodshed” in his media interviews is not good for the peace of the nation.

He said that Colonel Kaunda has continued to issue inflammatory statements to the media which have the potential to incite violence in the country especially among the youths.

Mr Kawana was reacting to a story in today’s edition of the Post Newspaper story in which Colonel Kaunda was quoted as saying that the MMD would kill to stay in power.

He said that Colonel Kaunda is free to participate in the political debate of country without referring to killing every time he issues a statement to the media.

ZNBC

The Anti Voter Apathy Project (AVAP) has advised foreigners to keep away from Zambia’s political scenario.

AVAP Executive Director Bonnie Tembo has said that the Democratic Republic of Congo Katanga province Governor Moses Katumbi should be reminded that Zambia is both a Christian and Democratic nation and that no one has the right to suppress those with divergent views.

Mr. Tembo said in a democracy a strong opposition and vibrant civil society are necessary to provide checks and balances.

He said Katumbi’s remarks describing opposition leaders as making noise like empty tins is an insult to Zambia’s hard won democracy.

He added that Zambia is in an election year ad does not need foreign interference in the country’s politics.

Mr. Tembo has since advised opposition political party leaders and Zambians to dismiss the statement attributed to Mr Katumbi with the contempt it deserves.

He has further appealed to Zambians to observe law and order to ensure elections are held based on real issues and promotion of clean and peaceful campaigns.

QFM

The youths are optimistic that President Banda will do well because of good policies his Government has put in place to empower youths.

District Youth ChairmanMacpherson Mumba says President Banda’s Government has clearly demonstrated and set aside an agenda for young people’s development.

Mr. Mumba says the youths are now empowered to effectively contribute to the development of the country.

He says most youths in the country are self-reliant because they are beneficiaries of resources from the Youth Empowerment Fund and from the Citizens Economic Empowerment Commission (CEEC).

Mr. MUMBA has also urged youths in the country to play a key role in this year’s elections by ensuring that President Banda is given a fresh mandate in office.

Mr. Mumba told ZNBC News in Mufulira that youths should not be used as tools of violence by selfish political leaders.

The MMD youths in the border town have also declared their support for President Banda and vice president George Kunda at the forthcoming MD party convention.
[ ZNBC ]

Two Zambian women have been arrested in Pakistan and South Africa for drug trafficking, the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) has said.

DEC spokesperson, John Nyawali said in a Press statement yesterday that, Christine Musonda Banda, 35, was arrested at Benazir Bhutto International Airport in Islamabad after she was found carrying 860 grammes of heroine concealed in her pedicure brushes.

He said Banda, a resident of Libala Stage one in Lusaka, was arrested by the Anti-Narcotics Force during a routine check-in process as she was about to go to Mozambique on an Emirates Airline flight.

She was detained at a prison in Rawalpindi waiting for her case to be concluded.
Mr Nyawali said Banda was believed to have sourced the drugs from Afghanistan.

And a 24-year-old woman has been arrested in South Africa for trafficking in 332 grammes of heroin.

Mr Nyawali said Catherine Mukala was arrested at Oliver Tambo International Airport on her arrival from Pakistan.

He said Mukala had swallowed the heroin as a mode of concealment.
Mr Nyawali said this brings the number of Zambian women arrested abroad for drug trafficking in the last two years to 47 out of which, four have since died in different Asian prisons.

He appealed to Zambians to take advantage of this year’s commemoration of the International Women’s Day to denounce the increasing cases of women drug traffickers and reflect on finding solutions to the growing problem.

Mr Nyawali also said 59 people were arrested countrywide in the last seven days for trafficking in different quantities of cannabis with a total weight of 1.5 tonnes.
[ Times of Zambia ]

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.