The United Party for National Development (UPND) says the fielding of different candidates in the Mutaba ward local government by-elections was as a result communication breakdown within the pact.

UPND deputy spokesperson Cornelius Mwitwa says lack of proper communication within the pact is resulting in the two parties to act without consultation.

Mr. Mwitwa says it is unfortunate that things are happening like this as it is contrary to the Memorandum of Understanding between the two political parties.

He, however, says the adoption of different candidates in the area by the pact members is good as it will give a clear indication on what the people on the ground think of the pact.

The memorandum of understanding signed between the two parties forbids them to compete against each other in the by-elections leading up to the forthcoming general elections.

Contrary to the memorandum of understanding, the two parties have separately fielded candidates in the forthcoming by-elections in Masaiti District on the Copper belt.

According to a statement made available to QFM by the electoral commission of Zambia (ECZ) the PF is fielding West Phiri while John Tuseko is contesting on the UPND ticket.

The ruling MMD is being represented by Gilbert Kayindu.
[ QFM ]

Vice-President George Kunda yesterday presented to Parliament the Republican Constitution Bill number 60 of 2010 that will provide for the printing and publication of the amended Constitution.

Mr Kunda said the Bill, which was presented to the House for the first reading, would provide for savings and transactional provisions of the existing State organs, institutions, administrations, offices, institutions and laws.

He said the Bill would also provide for the savings of succession to assets, rights, liabilities, obligations and legal proceedings, and also to provide for matters connected with or incidental to the foregoing.

Meanwhile, Speaker of the National Assembly Amusaa Mwanamwambwa has formed a special committee comprising 13 members of Parliament who would look into the Republican Constitution Bill.

Mr Mwanamwambwa urged the committee to conclude and report back to Parliament by March 20, this year.

And Education Minister Dora Siliya presented the Zambia Qualifications Authority Bill number 62 of 2010 that provides for the development and implementation of a national qualifications framework.

Ms Siliya, however, withdrew the Bill for further consultation with various stakeholders.

Local Government and Housing Deputy Minister Moses Muteteka told the House that his ministry, through the National Housing Authority, between 2000 to 2010 spent K544 billion on constructing 2, 676 housing units in Lusaka and Ndola.

Mr Muteteka said in Lusaka, 2,438 houses were at a cost of K538 billion while in Ndola, 138 houses were built at a cost of K6.1 billion.

Communications and Transport Minister Geoffrey Lungwangwa said K509.4 billion was spent on paying retrenchment packages to 2,330 former Zambia Telecommunications Company (Zamtel) employees.

Professor Lungwangwa told Parliament yesterday that all the former Zamtel workers had been paid their benefits.

He was responding to a follow-up question by Chipili Patriotic Front (PF) Member of Parliament Davis Mwila, who wanted to know how many workers had been re-engaged as at September 2010, after the partial privatisation of the telecommunications company.

Communications and Transport Deputy Minister Mubika Mubika said 696 employees had been retained out of an establishment of 751 employees.
[Times of Zambia]

MMD Luapula Province chairperson Emmanuel Chungu has said Patriotic Front (PF) leaders are panicking over the popularity of the ruling party in the area, and the opposition political party is now fabricating stories in order to gain political mileage.

Mr Chungu said the party in Luapula Province was working well with PF ‘rebel’ Members of Parliament (MPs) contrary to reports in yesterday’s The Post that he had complained that some of them had outlived their usefulness.

“Whatever was reported in The Post is not true, this is a blatant lie. Our relationship with the PF MPs in Luapula is good and to us they are not rebel MPs but cooperating partners.

“I have never said what was attributed to me. Our relationship with our cooperating partners is very fruitful and people saying this just want us to differ,” Mr Chungu said.

The February 22 edition of The Post quoted sources as having said Mr Chungu had, during the MMD NEC meeting on Saturday, expressed doubt over the popularity of some PF ‘rebel’ parliamentarians from Luapula.

Mr Chungu said as provincial chairperson of the ruling party, he had a duty to engage all the people in the area, including those from the opposition parties, to promote unity regardless of political affiliation.

“MMD is enjoying massive popularity in Luapula as can be seen by most of the by-elections which we have won in the recent past.
“Such reports by the opposition will not deter me to continue working hard so that the party gets even stronger,” he said.

He said MMD was working hard to ensure that more investments was taken to the province so that there could be extra income and jobs for the people.

[ Times of Zambia ]

The Ministry of Education has transformed the Academic Production Unit-APU- into what is called Open Learning classes.

Education Permanent Secretary, James Mulungushi says the Open Learning classes will be controlled by the Ministry of Education rather than by individual schools.

Dr Mulungushi said this in a statement issued to ZNBC news in Lusaka on Tuesday.

He said the Ministry will develop an open learning operational policy to guide how the program should be managed.
DR MULUNGUSHI said under Open learning classes, pupils will pay the same fees that apply for the rest of the learners at each school.

He said out of the user fees paid by open learners, teachers will receive an allowance for the extra work.
Government last week announced the abolish ment of APU classes.
[ ZNBC ]

The United Party for National Development (UPND) has declared that it has sufficient ground to win this year’s elections even without its PACT partners, the Patriotic Front.

UPND Secretary General Winston Chibwe says the UPND was formed as a political party with an intention to form government and that it has remained focused to its objective.

Mr. Chibwe explained in an interview with QFM that the party has continued to gain popularity.

He was reacting to UPND Luapula province Chairman Chishimba Chilufya’s Statement that the two opposition leaders Michael Sata and Hakainde Hichilema should resolve the issue of the pact presidency as the pact is the only solution to remove the MMD from government.

Mr. Chibwe maintained that UPND will only agree on the presidential candidate of the pact with the PF after the two parties meet to draw a national development plan.

He has since appealed to UPND members across the country to remain calm and continue campaigning for the party ahead of this year’s elections.

[QFM]

Mr. Mulongoti says he is proud of what he did and does not regret his decision to challenge vice president George Kunda.

In an interview with QFM, Mr. Mulongoti says it is one of his democratic rights to challenge for any position of his choice adding that his rights are protected by the republican and party constitution.

And when asked what his next step would be after his suspension from the ruling party as party, Mr. Mulongoti says he is patiently waiting for the formal letter from the national executive committee (NEC).

Mr. Mulongoti was on Saturday fired as works and supply minister by President Rupiah Banda on grounds that he had been attacking Vice-president George Kunda and the president.

And the MMD National Executive Committee (NEC) has recommended to its party convention for the expulsion Mr. Mulongoti from the party as chairman for elections.
[ ZNBC ]

Kajilo Muzungu, son of losing MMD Mufumbwe constituency candidate Mulondwe Muzungu, has been sentenced to 10 years imprisonment on each of three counts of manslaughter contrary to section 199 of the penal code Cap 87 of the laws of Zambia.

The sentences will run concurrently and this means he will only serve a 10 year sentence on all the three counts.

Kitwe High court Judge, Justice Isaac Chali sitting in Solwezi found Kajilo with a case to answer on all the three counts after the state called in 10 witnesses to testify.

Particulars of the offence were that on 30th April 2010 in Mufumbwe district on the Mutanda- Chavuma road, Kajilo unlawfully caused the death of three juveniles aged between eight and 12 years old by hitting them with a vehicle.

He had in his plea, pleaded not guilty.

Giving evidence in defence, Kajilo said while driving from Kakikasa, where the MMD had set up its camp going to Chizela area around 05:00 hours, he saw a mob comprising mostly youths who had machetes and sticks in front of him that had covered the entire road.

He said he hooted and flicked the lights of the vehicle as a way of asking his way through but the crowd did not respond.

Kajilo said from the non response of the crowd, he realized that his vehicle had been identified because of the posters that it carried.

He says because of the prevailing political situation during the campaign period and his own experience of being attacked, Kajilo realized that his life was in danger.

He added that it was then that he decided to maneuver in the crowd to find his way and in the process knocked down five people three of whom died and two sustained injuries.

But passing judgment, Justice Chali said from the evidence given by prosecution witnesses and the postmortem reports, there were no intervening circumstances to show that the deceased died from other injuries other than those sustained from the accident.

Justice Chali observed that the witnesses said Kajilo drove in a zig-zag manner which had been confirmed by the sketch plan drawn by the police officer who went to the accident scene and his own evidence that he tried to maneuver to find his way from left to right.

He inevitably concluded that despite the volatile environment in the area and the danger that Kajilo claimed to have faced amidst the mob, his vehicle was not scratched or damaged which showed that the mob was not armed.

The Judge said Kajilo’s conduct was bad as he should have avoided driving through the crowd by driving back upon discovering that the mob was hostile but proceeded to hit people on either side of the road.

Kajilo pleaded for maximum leniency from the court saying he regretted the incident that happened adding that he was currently on medication for a liver complication and had family and civic duties as he represented the Chizela royal establishment in the council.

Justice Chali said the circumstances under which the incident occurred compelled him to punish Kajilo severely.
[ ZNBC ]

Change Life Zambia Executive Director Father Frank Bwalya has commended former works and supply Minister Mike Mulongoti for his bold stance on democracy.

Father Bwalya says Mr Mulongoti should be commended for the stance he has taken to preach democracy in the ruling MMD even before he was fired.

He says if the former works and supply minister had wanted, he would have chosen to defend the undemocratic tendencies of the ruling MMD.

Father Bwalya says Mr Mulongoti’s decision to sacrifice his well-paying job and presidential favours are some of the attributes Zambian politicians should emulate.

He added that Mr. Mulongoti’s conduct that subsequently led to his suspension from the party pending expulsion shows that he is a man who believes in democracy.

Father Bwalya further says that he has always known the MMD party to be undemocratic from the way it conducts its activities.

Father Bwalya hoped the undemocratic treatment Mr. Mulongoti has suffered at the hands of the MMD will help him in his political future.
[ QFM ]

A Linguistic Expert Dr. Nkolola Wakumelo has expressed concern over the use of English in Parliament.

Dr. Wakumelo who is a Language and Linguistics Lecturer at the University of Zambia says a lot of people have not been able to participate in parliamentary debates due to the use of the Foreign Language.

She has called on Parliament to allow vernacular in parliament to ensure that people’s views are taken on board.

It has been observed that some parliamentarians with great ideas refrain from the debates due to the language barrier.

It has also been observed that the use of English at an early age in childhood is detrimental to the preservation of mother languages.

In some urban areas in Zambia, there is a growing trend among educated parents to teach their children English before they learn their original language.

To make matters worse, most gadgets that children play with use English for instructions of operations.

With this realization, the world yesterday commemorated International Mother Language day with focus on Information Communication technologies.

Should Zambian parents teach their children their local languages and discourage the use of English in the home?

[adapted from Muvi TV]

Lawyers representing Second Republican President Frederick Chiluba’s spokesperson Emmanuel Mwamba have asked the high court in the matter in which he is facing contempt of court charges to acquit and set him free.

This is the case in which Mwamba is alleged to have authored two documents deemed contemptuous as they were analyzing evidence of murder suspect Mathew Mohan.

Mwamba denies that he is the author or publisher of the said documents.

Simeza, Sangwa and Associates have submitted that the procedure adopted in the case is a novel and without any foundation at law.

Making their submissions yesterday, the lawyers say it is a violation of the Constitution hence it will be unsafe to find Mwamba guilty under the circumstances.

They added that the nature of the contempt involved in this case is known as contempt by publication as it emanates from the anonymous articles, which were published, as the order of the Court reads “by the Zambia Watchdog on the internet on 22nd October 2010, and 2nd November”.

They noted that for one to be convicted for such type of contempt, the prosecuting authority must prove the actus reus and the mens rea.

The lawyers state that the facts of the case are largely not in dispute adding that the proceedings were triggered by first prosecution witness Amos Malupenga.

They submitted that Malupenga was upset by the article headlined: “Mathew Mohan: Has his Testimony Damaged the Judiciary: A Murder case that threatens the judicial system”, an article published on the Zambia Watchdog website and which he read on 27 October 2010.

The lawyers stated that Malupenga immediately called the accused and accused him of being the author of the article.

They claimed that Malupenga was enraged because the article linked the Post newspaper to the Mohan case.

Mwamba’s lawyers further submit that Malupenga made it clear to the accused that he was going to expose him.
[ QFM ]

UNITED Party for National Development (UPND) president Hakainde Hichilema’s chief adviser Douglas Syakalima has said Patriotic Front (PF) leaders would be a danger to national stability and development if Zambians made a mistake of voting for them in this year’s elections.

He has also advised the PF leadership to stop basking in past glory that the party was popular because the situation had changed.

Mr Syakalima, who is Siavonga Member of Parliament, said in Lusaka yesterday that the behaviour of PF leaders who rushed to expose what he termed as a confidential document to the public reflected poorly on their leadership qualities.

“Decisions are made by Cabinet in Government, now just imagine that the PF was in Government and if one of the members says let’s declare war against our neighbour based on an individual opinion, the country will be put on fire.

“Professor Clive Chirwa himself regrets that the PF decided to leak a confidential letter which PF secretary general Wynter Kabimba has now gone ahead to publish. What type of a party is PF that is so unethical? The entire PF is so unethical and uncouth,” he said.

He said no amount of propaganda would stop Zambians from believing that the PF had “assassinated the pact.”

Mr Syakalima said Mr Kabimba and some PF leaders had always looked for an opportunity to quit the pact and they had now found it through Prof Chirwa’s letter.

“Evidently, the PF have exited from the pact and Zambians should now judge them for who they are. [pullquote]Mr Sata has reportedly removed Kabwata parliamentarian Given Lubinda as the spokesperson and that he was now sidelining him from party activities for fear of being challenged for the position of party president.

[/pullquote]

“We were genuine partners and intelligently so. Wynter Kabimba has been looking for an opportunity to exit, he tried in Chadiza and Kaoma,” Mr Syakalima said.

He said the PF, through Mr Kabimba and party president Michael Sata, had stopped all the meetings involving the pact working groups that were trying to harmonise the two party manifestos and constitutions.

He said while the UPND leaders were mindful of the ideological differences with the PF, they tried to work with the opposition party to fulfill the wishes of Zambians.

Mr Syakalima insisted that the party leaders were for the idea that they first harmonise the manifestos before rushing to choosing leaders.

“We tried to obey what the Zambians wanted and we don’t regret having gone into a pact with the PF because that’s what Zambians wanted. The only regret is the PF have killed the pact using the most uncouth and unmethodical ways,” he said.

Mr Syakalima said PF leaders should not brag about their past glory because many things had changed since the last elections.

“We had been encouraging our friends that they need to work hard in Luapula because they have lost popularity there and they cannot continue to claim they are the largest opposition party.

“Some of their MPs do not vote with us in Parliament, so how would they claim to be popular?” he said.

Efforts to get a comment from Mr Kabimba failed as his mobile phone went unanswered.

The PF/UPND pact has been rocked by a leadership crisis, which political commentators had concluded is a sign of the end of the opposition alliance.

Meanwhile, Mr Sata has reportedly removed Kabwata parliamentarian Given Lubinda as the spokesperson and that he was now sidelining him from party activities for fear of being challenged for the position of party president.

According to some PF sources, Mr Lubinda was dropped as the party spokesperson because of his pro-pact views, which the top leadership were opposed to.

When contacted yesterday, Mr Lubinda refused to comment on the matter.

Mr Sata, however, confirmed in an interview that Mr Lubinda was removed from the position but dispelled assertions that he was scared of being challenged.

He said Mr Lubinda had been given another position, which was awaiting ratification by the party’s central committee.

Mr Sata said Mr Kabimba was the chief executive and custodian of all party matters, and that he was the right person to speak for the party.

Meanwhile, former PF secretary general Edward Mumbi has said disclosures of alleged witchcraft in the PF are as a result of the party’s refusal to recognise Zambia as a Christian nation.

“The PF through Mr Sata himself is on record stating that they do not support the declaration of Zambia as a Christian nation and if things like witchcraft allegations now start coming out of such a political party, then all what the Zambians can do is just watch and see if their leaders will condemn such vices or not,” Mr Mumbi said in Lusaka yesterday.

[Times of Zambia]