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President Banda talks closely to vice president George Kunda
President Rupiah Banda is in South Africa at the invitation of Thomson Reuters Foundation to speak at its first ever Africa Investment Summit.
The President who left aboard the Presidential Challenger Monday afternoon is accompanied by First Lady Thandiwe Banda.
He was seen off by Vice President George Kunda, Defence Chiefs and some Cabinet Ministers.
President Banda has been invited by the foundation, which is a leading global news and information company, to speak at its first ever Africa Investment Summit to be held in South Africa.
The President is expected to join top politicians, Executives and investors to explore the opportunities and challenges facing investors in Africa.
The inaugural Africa Investment summit will be held from the 7th to 10th of March 2011.
Reuters Bureau Chief for Southern Africa, Marius Bosch said foreign investors and many Reuters clients are increasingly interested in Zambia and its investments prospects.
Special Assistant to the President for Press and Public Relations Dickson Jere said in a statement released to ZNBC ahead of the President’s departure that delivering economic prosperity to all Zambians has been at the heart of President Banda ‘s policies.
Mr. Jere said the President and his government have worked successfully to build strong foundations for tomorrows’ Zambia.
Great achievements have been made in improving economic stability.
Flashback: Former president Frederick Chiluba talks to Chief State of Protocol Bob Samakai after the funeral of late former Minister Gabriel Maka in Lusaka
The Ministry of Works and Supply has an allocation of 1-billion Kwacha in this year’s budget, to start constructing Second Republican President FREDERICK CHILUBA’s house.
Works and Supply Permanent Secretary WATSON NG’AMBI said this in an interview in Lusaka on Monday.
Mr NG’AMBI however said the Ministry is waiting for the Office of the Second Republican President and the Ministry of Lands to identify land where the house for the former Head of State will be built.
He says once Dr. CHILUBA and the Ministry of Lands agree on the land, his Ministry is ready to start construction works.
Mr. NG’AMBI said works on Dr CHILUBA’s house had stalled because the former Head of State preferred his house to be constructed on BAOBAB land on Kafue road.
However the BAOBAB land belongs to Legacy holdings a situation which has necessitated the Ministry of Lands to take up the matter of negotiating with Legacy Holdings or identifying another piece of land.
National Sports Council of Zambia chairman Chifumu Banda
The National Sports Council of Zambia will soon engage the Football Association of Zambia on the inclusion of a vote of No Confidence notice on the agenda of the FAZ AGM.
This follows FAZ’s refusal to include the motion on the agenda as agreed during a meeting held with FIFA last year.
National Sports Council of Zambia Chairperson CHIFUMU BANDA says the role of the National Council of Zambia and the ministry of Sports who attended a meeting in Zurich was to ensure the motion was included on the agenda.
BANDA said the Sports Council will issue a comprehensive statement on the matter.
He said in an interview that it is the wish of the Sports Council that the problems that have rocked FAZ come to an end for the development of football in the country.
On Saturday, FAZ Interim General Secretary SIMATAA SIMATAA said the Kalusha Bwalya led FAZ executive had rejected the vote of no confidence motion by Mazabuka United to be included on AGM agenda.
SIMATAA who is also Amakumbi Stars proprietor however said only Mazabuka United had written to FAZ to include the vote of no confidence motion at the March 26 FAZ Annual General Meeting and not the two thirds majority.
SIMAATA said the petitioners had therefore called for an Emergency Council Meeting in Ndola on March 25, 2011 for members to make their final decision.
And FAZ Vice President Boniface Mwamelo also confirmed that that only MAZABUKA united had written to the association and NOT the two thirds majority to have the vote of no confidence included as an agenda item at the March 26 AGM in Kitwe.
Mwamelo said FAZ was however still open to receive submissions and requests from clubs for inclusion on the agenda of the AGM.
Gender Minister Sarah Sayifwanda talks to United Nations Development Programme Country Director Viola Morgan
Gender and Women in Development Minister Sarah Sayifwanda has warned Zambian women involved in drug trafficking curtails cartels to desist from the practice.
Mrs Sayifwanda says women should instead engage in other development activities such as agriculture.
Mrs. Sayifwanda says Government is saddened by the increasing number of Zambian women involved in drug trafficking and illegal activities saying that this trend is denting the name of the women folk in the country.
The Minister was speaking in Lusaka on Monday during the International Women’s Day motivational talk hosted by Standard Chartered Bank Zambia.
She said there are a lot of things that women can engage themselves in to raise funds other than drug trafficking.
“As the country joins the rest of the world in commemorating the International Women’s Day which falls tomorrow (Tuesday) Zambian women should learn from other countries who have strived to succeed by engaging in meaningful
Activities”, she said.
Mrs Sayifwanda encouraged women staff at the bank to compete for higher posts as their male colleagues.
She said women staff and the rest in the country should shy away from contesting various positions in their work places and respective political parties.
She observed that all the Ministries and Constituencies headed by women have performed better which only indicates that women are better leaders.
Mrs Sayifwanda said government has shown its commitment to championing issues affecting women by creating a gender desk and a Ministry of Gender to represent women in Cabinet.
And Standard Chartered Bank Managing Director Mizinga Melu observed that women have contributed greatly to the world’s Growth Domestic Product (GDP).
Ms. Melu however says despite their valuable contribution, women globally do not enjoy the full benefits in the workforce as the wage gap remains sizeable with women earning 15 percent less than men for the same job.
The bank’s Managing Director noted than the unemployment levels of women is also higher than that of men.
She has called on companies to adopt measures to support stronger female talent pipelines.
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.
FLASHBACK: President Banda with DRC Katanga Governor Moses Katumbi at the Umutomboko ceremony in Mwansabombwe.
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.
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 ]
FAZ interim Committee secretary General Simataa Simataa
AMAKUMBI Stars proprietor, Simataa Simataa has charged that the Kalusha Bwalya led FAZ has defied Republican President Rupiah Banda, FIFA and CAF by excluding the no-confidence vote motion on the agenda for the crucial March 26 annual general meeting (AGM).
Simataa said President Banda, who is FAZ patron, went out of his way to organise a meeting with FIFA at a great cost to help resolve the squabbles that beset the local football administration.
He said the FIFA meeting held in Switzerland on December 20 last year resolved that a no-confidence vote could be tabled at the next FAZ AGM as long as some members requested for its inclusion on the agenda.
Simataa, who is acting general secretary for the Andrew Kamanga-led FAZ faction, said despite FIFA giving guidelines, FAZ opted to go against the Zurich meeting decisions by throwing out the motion.
He said it was shocking that FAZ were being defiant to President Banda, FIFA and CAF as the decisions made at the home of FIFA last year were meant to help end the local leadership wrangles.
On FIFA, Simataa said the world football governing authority was the only body that recognised Kalusha as the legitimate FAZ president but it was surprising that the association could still go against decisions made in Zurich.
During the meeting chaired by FIFA president Sepp Blatter, Simataa said FIFA overruled the FAZ constitution by suggesting that a vote of no-confidence motion could be tabled at the next council meeting.
[pullquote]During the meeting chaired by FIFA president Sepp Blatter, Simataa said FIFA overruled the FAZ constitution by suggesting that a vote of no-confidence motion could be tabled at the next council meeting.[/pullquote]
“FAZ’s decision to exclude the no-confidence vote motion means they have defied the FAZ patron, who is the Republican President Rupiah Banda. They have also defied FIFA, the only body that recognised them (FAZ executive) as legitimate. FAZ has also defied
CAF who were witnesses to the Zurich meeting,” he said.
Simataa said according to the Zambian law and the Sports Council of Zambia (SCZ), the current FAZ executive was dissolved after four officials resigned last year but for the sake of peace, the interim committee subordinated to FIFA’s decision.
The former FAZ president accused the association of also breaching its constitution by throwing out a request from its member, saying it was the right of FAZ members to raise a motion for the agenda.
He said when a FAZ member requested for an item for the agenda, the motion became constitutional as per association’s statutes.
Simataa said as an interim team, they had since notified FIFA and CAF about the development.
He said SCZ and FAZ members had also been informed of a proposed emergency council meeting (ECM) on the eve of the AGM to get the feelings of the councillors.
Last Friday, FAZ general secretary George Kasengele threw out the vote of no-confidence motion requested by Mazabuka United and seconded by Pemba United, saying it was not provided for in the constitution.
At the Zurich meeting attended by Kalusha, Kasengele, FAZ disciplinary committee chairperson Anthony Kasolo, Sport, Youth and Child Development Minister Kenneth Chipungu, SCZ chairperson Chifumu Banda, Kamanga and Simataa, FIFA advised aggrieved members to submit the motion of no-confidence at the council meeting.
[pullquote]Last Friday, FAZ general secretary George Kasengele threw out the vote of no-confidence motion requested by Mazabuka United and seconded by Pemba United, saying it was not provided for in the constitution.[/pullquote]
The FIFA statement reads in part: “During the meeting, it was confirmed that Kalusha Bwalya is the legitimate FAZ president. In the event that some FAZ members want to table a motion of non-confidence against him and his executive committee, such a motion would have to be presented at the next general council scheduled for March 2011, following the proper procedures established in the FAZ statutes.
“As such, if FAZ members would like to lodge such a request for inclusion on the agenda of a council meeting, it shall notify the FAZ general secretary at least 21 days before the date of the meeting. This notification can be copied to FIFA and CAF, which in turn will make sure that it is properly-addressed by the FAZ general secretariat.”
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.
Flashback: Former Mayor of Lusaka, Robert Chikwelete with Rotary International President, Ray Klinginsmith
Lusaka City Council last year awarded a tender worth K4.7 billion for the construction of Kulima Tower bus station to the younger brother of immediate past Lusaka Mayor Robert Chikwelete.
Mr Chikwelete is a councilor for John Howard ward 2 in Lusaka’s Chawama constituency and when he was the mayor, Chimwenda investments limited, which is owned by his younger brother Charles Chikwelete, was awarded a tender after the company apparently lost to its competitor, China Jiangsu International.
China Jiangsu bid for K4,792,070,200 and Chimwenda lost because of the high bid of K5,177,493,029 but was later awarded the tender and is almost finishing the construction of the bus station.
This is according to the comprehensive set of minutes containing the whole bidding process dated September 16, 2010. The minutes have further revealed that Chimwenda investment also lost at the engineers’ estimate stage when it scored 10 percentage deviation from the set standards while China Jiangsu International only scored 2 per cent.
The lower figure represents the company closeness from winning the tender because it shows that the firm had less deviations from the engineers parameters.
The Lusaka City Council last year invited sealed bids for the construction of the Kulima Tower Bus station following concerns that the place was too open and subjected commuters to heat, rains and the cold depending on the weather.
The bids were advertised in the Times of Zambia and the Post Newspaper and 15 firms responded but 13 were short-listed.
After the opening of the tender box, the acting town clerk established a seven-man tender committee and started sittings on June 4, 2010. The committee adopted a three-phased evaluation process which included preliminary evaluation where bids that were close to qualifying were carried forward and the rest dropped.
The other stages were the technical evaluation which involved issues related to engineering capacity and finally, the financial stage where firms that asked for lower but reasonable figures were considered.
In all the three stages, China Jiangsu International, which is currently constructing the new Lusaka General Hospital in Chainama, scored the highest.
The documents also state that at the evaluation stage, the committee recommended that the contract should be awarded to China Jiangsu International and the report was submitted to the Head of Procurement who was also a member of the committee.
However, in an interview from Kitwe where Chimwenda Investments Limited is based, Mr Chikwelete (Charles) said the firm was big and was awarded the tender because it won the bid on technical reasons.
Mr Chikwelete said his firm was big and had done works with big mining firms in the country and that all the firms that competed for the Kulima Tower works lost.
He explained that the term Chimwenda is formed from the first three letters of his second name, Chikwelete while Mwenda is the second name for his wife.
Mr Chikwelete confirmed that the immediate past mayor of Lusaka was his elder brother but that he never influenced the tender process.
However, the former mayor’s mobile number went un-answered from Saturday afternoon.
Lusaka City Council has been serving a 90-day suspension following massive land scandals that included the distribution and sharing of 102 plots at Lusaka’s Lilayi Housing project without advertising to members of the public in line with the law.
The council does not have jurisdiction over state land, according to the Land Act. The country’s biggest council is now being run by Copperbelt provincial administrator Solomon Sakala who has also occupied the Mayor’s office.
Recently, the Times exposed another scandal in which the current mayor Daniel Chisenga has sold one of the 10 Lilayi plots allocated to him at a cost of K30 million.
The Mayor has allegedly sold stand number 38, to a Lusaka resident Ernest Mutale who holds National Registration Card (NRC) number 240305/43/1 of Chitanda road in Chunga township and box number 30252.
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.
GOVERNMENT has released a total of over K2.2 trillion for infrastructure development in all 17 constituencies of Western Province.
The biggest projects are in the road, education and health sectors.
According to a summary of Government infrastructure development programme obtained by the Zambia Daily Mail in Mongu at the weekend, Kalabo Central Constituency has received the biggest allocation of K1.3 trillion, which is the total amount Government committed to the construction of the Mongu-Kalabo road.
President Banda last October commissioned the construction of the road, whose trial section has already been done.
Senanga Central Constituency has received K715 billion, out of which K705 billion is for the construction of the Senanga-Sesheke road.
Third on the queue is Mwandi Central Constituency, which has received K37.5 billion, out of which K33 billion is for the full construction of Mwandi Boarding High School.
Lukulu East Constituency has received K33.4 billion, out of which K26.6 billion is for the construction of Lukulu Boarding High School.
Sinjembela has received K33.3 billion, from which K28.6 billion will go towards the construction of Nangweshi Boarding High School, while Nalikwanda Constituency has received K29.9 billion, out of which K25.7 billion is for the construction of Nakanyaa Boarding High School.
A total of K29.1 has been allocated to Mangango Constituency, from which K27.6 billion is for the construction of Mayukwayukwa Boarding High School.
Other allocations are Liuwa Constituency (K11.8 billion), Mulobezi (K9.7 billion) and Nalolo (K8.3 billion).
The rest are Mongu Central (K6.9 billion), Sikongo (K4.8 billion), Kaoma Central (K4.6 billion) and Lukulu West (K1.4 billion).
The constituencies that have received least allocations are Luampa (K950 million), Sesheke Central (K934.2 million) and Luena (K540 million).
