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Kasama central Member of Parliament Geoffrey Mwamba and the his wife, Chama
By A. Sinyama
Non-Governmental Coordinating Council (NGOCC)Southern Province Cordinator, Florence Nakazwe has warned that violence against women hinders the attainment of the Millenium Development Goals(MDGs).
Ms Nakazwe lamented the increasing cases of gender based violence against women involving political leaders and described it as unfortunate.
She said violence against women is retrogressive and hinders womens development contrary to Governments wish to empower women.
She advised couples to embrace dialogue if they are to resolve conflicts in homes.
During the opening session of Parliament,Republican President Rupiah Banda said his Government would rather empower women than batter them.
Few days ago Livingstone District Commissioner,Francis Chika was suspended for beating his wife Mutinta following some marital conflicts.
Mrs Chika withdrew the case from Police earlier this week.
She furthermore issued a counter-statement disputing that she never had a physical confrontation with her husband as reported in the
Press.
Chika’s case is second in a row of high profiled leaders involved in wife battering the first being the one involving Kasama MP,Godfrey Mwamba alias GBM
Citizen’s Forum (CF) Executive secretary, Simon Kabanda has challenged political leaders in the country to look beyond tribal lines if Zambian politics is to mature.
And Mr Kabanda has challenged the opposition UPND/PF pact to resolve its challenges or Zambians will bid farewell to it.
Mr Kabanda said it is clear that the issue of the pact presidency would reap the pact apart if not resolved properly, calling for the issue to be addressed with urgency.
He said the pact problems could be resolved but it would require focus from both political parties.
Mr Kabanda observed that tribalism is not what is the problem in the UPND/PF pact but the issue of the presidency.
He said members of the two parties in the pact would want to see their president emerge as pact president, warning that if a decision is not made any time soon, the pact will crumble on that basis.
[ GFM ]
Farm produce and farming inputs worth millions of Kwacha have been burnt to ashes in an inferno at New Kapiri-Mposhi Market in circumstances the local authorities have said point to foul play.
The inferno which started around midnight on Wednesday burnt down the entire depot where farmers and marketeers stored their merchandise.
Kapiri-Mposhi District council secretary, Venture Kafula confirmed the incident and said he suspected the fire was ignited by some unknown people.
The value of gutted items had not yet been established, but they included fertiliser and farm produce such as maize and groundnuts.
The council fire brigade and some marketeers who arrived at the market about 30 minutes after the start of the fire managed to salvage part of their goods.
Mr Kafula said the fire was only put out around 02:00 hours with help from the Kabwe City Council fire brigade.
He said the local fire team could not extinguish the inferno because it did not have a fire tender.
Mr Kafula said the fire brigade from Kabwe arrived after much of the market had been gutted.
He said the council had been facing a challenge in responding to fires from the time its fire engine was involved in a road traffic accident.
Mr Kafula, who disclosed that plans were underway to buy a new fire tender, said currently the Kapiri Mposhi council relied on Kabwe City Council whenever there was a fire in the district.
[ ZANIS ]
Finance and National Planning Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane today presents the 2011 national Budget to Parliament as he among others issues, spells out how Government intends to apportion the proposed K17 trillion Budget to achieve the projected 6.6 per cent growth.
As Dr Musokotwane climbs up the stairs of Manda Hill to unveil the contents in the copper-coated briefcase, the country will be anxiously waiting to hear how the Government would achieve some of the pronouncements by President Rupiah Banda during the official opening of the fifth session of the 10th National Assembly.
In September this year, Secretary to the Treasury Likolo Ndalamei announced that the Government was proposing a K17 trillion budget for 2011.
The Government also announced that the economy was expected to grow by 6.6 per cent this year, an upward revision from the projected five per cent that was contained in the previous Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF).
When the president opened Parliament last month, he said in the year 2010 there were some challenges that included declining domestic tax revenue and reduced donor support for the health and road sectors.
There was, therefore, need for continued economic growth and for the Ministry of Finance to review tax policy and administration.
Zambians will thus, be expectant about how the Ministry of Finance will review the tax policy and administration in view of the declining domestic tax revenue and reduced donor support for the health and road sectors.
Some analysts have recently said that there was need to broaden the tax base to capture the informal sector to lessen the burden on the close to 400,000 citizens in the formal sector.
Still on this front, Zambians are expected to hear whether Pay As you Earn (PAYE) would be reviewed in this year’s Budget. In the 2010 Budget, the PAYE threshold was raised from K700,000 to K800,000.
Dr Musokotwane will also stipulate how Government will shift focus from the current scenario to create fiscal space through the expansion of domestic revenues, the reduction of lower priority expenditures and the allocation of more resources to infrastructure and human development.
This is the year when the Government will be launching the sixth National Development following the expiry of the 5th NDP which was a success as it has achieved most of the targets set out.
It is also expected that the minister will also announce how Government will apportion the K17 trillion in a year Zambia is expected to go to the polls.
In his Green paper presented last month, Mr Ndalamei said the projected growth of 6.6 per cent is on account of the better than expected performance in several sectors of the economy during the first half of 2010.
During the last farming season, Zambia recorded the largest maize harvest in history of approximately 2.7 million tonnes compared with the 1.8 million in the previous season. This owing largely to the good policies to support smalls scale farmers.
The president in his opening speech indicated that the Government intends to maintain the positive developments in the agriculture sector by increasing the number of beneficiaries on the Farmer Input Support Programme from 500,000 upwards.
The Government also realises the importance of not depending on rain-fed crop and has embarked on putting up irrigation facilities to ensure farming is an all year round activity.
Mr Banda in his address said this year’s projections are that growth will remain at about 6.6 per cent or even higher.
“This growth is being driven by the mining, agriculture, tourism and construction sectors,” he said.
This being the first year since the Budget cycle was changed, it is expected that the minister will give an update on its performance with regard to the economy and infrastructure development.
FIFA has said it is not the mandate of the National Sports Council of Zambia sub-committee set up to decide the constitutionality of the current Faz executive following the resignation last week of four exeutive committee members who include association vice president Emmanuel Munaile.
FIFA director of member associations and development Thierry Regenasss said in a statement to Faz president Kalusha Bwalya dated October 7 that it did not object to them appearing before the NSCZ sub-committee.
“Generally speaking FIFA favors good relationships between member associations and the authorizes and we advise you to attend the meeting requested by the national sports council of Zambia in order to brief it about the different measures you have taken following the said resignations,” Regenasss said.
“However, it is important to inform the authorities that it is not up to them to determine the validity of your decisions since FIFA is very strict in terms if non-interference by any third party un the internal matters of its member associations.”
However, Regenesss added that if any Faz councilors feel they are not happy with the constitutionality of Faz after the resignations, then they could turn to the Faz statutes.
“We consider that you the members of the FAZ executive committee have been duly elected for a term of four years,” Regeness said.
“If any of your members are unhappy with the current situation, they have to act according to the current FAZ statutes. In particular they have the possibility to express their opinion during the next annual general meeting or at the next FAZ election to take place in 2012.”
400 meters female runner Rachel Nachula has crashed out of the Commonwealth Games on a day that saw only the Zambian bowlers dominate in India.
Nachula finished 5th in heat 1 of the 400 meters semifinals today in New Delhi with a time of 53:44 seconds, over three seconds slower than winner in heat one Amantle Montsho who qualified for Fridays final with a time of 50:80 seconds.
There was more heartbreak this time in the boxing ring after a bright start on Wednesday when today flyweight Christopher Katango lost 6-3 against Jason Lavigilante of Mauritius.
Also bowing out was welterweight Brian Mwabu who also lost 6-3 this time to Mohd Subrie of Malaysia.
The two boxers departure leaves two boxers still in medal contention.
Lightweight Martin Chibela still in the hunt and he faces Omalito Moala of Tonga in a pre-quarterfinal fight on friday.
Godfrey Mumba is the other one of two boxers remaining at the commonwealth games and he will face Dilbag Singh of India in a pre-quarterfinal welterweight bout.
In the bowling, the Zambia ladies team beat New Zealand in a tie break after finishing 1-1.
Zambia lead section A on 10 points level with second placed South Africa with five wins and two defeats from seven matches played hoping to make next Wednesday quarterfinals.
National Revolution Party (NRP) President Cosmo Mumba
By A. Sinyama
National Revolution Party (NRP) leader Cosmo Mumba has said Patriotic Front(PF) leader Micheal Sata’s conduct is more premature than that of the ‘under-five politicians’ he mentioned in a story carried by The Post yesterday. Mumba also said his party does not consider old people like Sata to be Zambians but Northern Rhodesians and therefore does not entertain them.
“Our Party is made up of people who were born after 1964 because those are the Zambians unlike those who where born before…those are Northern
Rhodesians,”he said.
He said Zambia would be lead by young people who are Zambians after Rupiah Banda.
Mumba argued that Sata’s sentiments that an under-five cannot lead this nation is not true and is a dangerous statement.
He said the PF leader risks losing membership from young people who are the majority in his party if he continues to make statements that are offensive to young politicians.
Mumba said the PF leader’s remarks are unfounded.
“I would like to differ with PF leader Mr.Micheal Chilufya Sata over his remarks that an under-five can not lead this nation because if anything I think his conduct is worse than that of an under-five,”he said.
But a PF cadre who sought anonymity wondered why Cosmo Mumba could comment on Sata.
He said Cosmo was an insignificant figure who could not say anything about the Sata.
“You guys have time to waste talking about Cosmo,who is he? Mr 15million? Come on that chap can’t talk about Sata, atleast people like
Miyanda,”he said.
He was speaking in an exclusive interview this morning in Livingstone.
Meanwhile the NRP President said the PF-UPND Pact cannot work because of the Inferiority-Superiority complex existing between the two
Parties.
He said members from either side look at themselves as being superior to the other.
He said in 1964 a similar Pact failed to succeed because of tribalism.
PF leader Micheal Sata was quoted in the Press saying an under-five cannot lead Zambia.
The body of a 24 year old trainee enumerator Alex Mukuta Junior who drowned in Kifubwa river in Solwezi last
Sunday has been retrieved.
The body was found at about 08:40 hours this morning by a team of six divers from commando unit in Ndola who were called in to the search.
The body which was in a decomposed state was found about 100 meters away from the spot where he drowned from.
On hand to witness the retrieval of the body was Solwezi District Commissioner (DC) Frobisher Fulayi, Northwestern Regional Statistician Martin Tolosi, family members and scores of Solwezi residents.
The deceased who was undergoing a 10 day training at Solwezi college of education is believed to have stood on a slippery stone where he slipped into the water and was swept away by heavy current.
The late Mr Mukuta had gone swimming at Kifubwa national monument in the company of five other trainee enumerators when he met his fate.
This is the third life to be claimed at Kifubwa national monument intwo years.
The Zambia National Farmers’ Union (ZNFU) has said the agriculture sector should be competitive for it to effectively contribute to the national economy.
Speaking in an interview ahead of the 105th annual congress, ZNFU head for outreach member services and administration Coillard Hamusimbi said the only way that agriculture could be competitive was by farmers striving to produce high quality products.
The annual congress starts today and President Rupiah Banda is scheduled to officially open the meeting whose theme is “Productivity, competiveness and market development,” which Mr Hamusimbi said was meant to highlight the importance of competitiveness in the sector.
“We have noted that production efficiency is still low particularly among the small-scale farmers as they are only able to produce 2.5 tonnes per hectare but using conservation farming, they can produce five tonnes per hectare and if we make agriculture competitive, we can export at reasonable cost,” Mr Hamusimbi said.
The problem that has led to Zambia fail to export was the cost of production and transport which were on a higher side than others in the region.
[pullquote]“We have noted that production efficiency is still low particularly among the small-scale farmers as they are only able to produce 2.5 tonnes per hectare but using conservation farming, they can produce five tonnes per hectare and if we make agriculture competitive, we can export at reasonable cost,” Mr Hamusimbi said.[/pullquote]
The livestock sector was cardinal and Government needed to control livestock diseases which were a perennial problem for many farmers.
During the congress, Mr Hamusimbi anticipated that the problem of livestock diseases would be tackled as the union had invited experts from 10 regional countries.
The experts from other countries would be able to highlight how their respective nations had overcome the problem of livestock diseases.
The congress is expected to bring together about 400 delegates from 65 districts and others from neighboring countries.
[ Times of Zambia ]
Chief Government Spokesperson Lieutenant General Ronnie Shikapwasha
Government has said attacks by Patriotic Front (PF) leader Michael Sata will not derail its programmes to deliver development to the people of Zambia.
Chief Government spokesperson Ronnie Shikapwasha said in a statement yesterday that it was cheap politicking for Mr Sata to constantly attack President Banda that his trips abroad were for personal gain.
He said President Banda’s trips abroad were on behalf and for the benefit of the people of Zambia.
Lieutenant General Shikapwasha said Mr Sata should concentrate on the problems in the pact instead of raising accusations that he could not prove.
He said the achievements scored by the Government under the leadership of President Banda were causing Mr Sata sleepless nights.
The minister said Mr Sata was a desperate and frustrated person, and that was the reason he had resorted to baseless attacks on the president and his Government in his fruitless pursuit for power.
Zambia was now one of the prime investment destinations in the world because of the prudent economic policies the Government of President Banda had put in place.
Gen Shikapwasha said the country had been posting a trade surplus since January, and that inflation was at single digit, international foreign reserves had swelled to an all-time high of US$2 billion, while the economy was projected to grow to more than six per cent this year.
He said foreign direct investment had continued to flow into the economy, resulting in the resurgence of the mining, tourism, construction, agriculture and other key social and economic sectors.
[ Times of Zambia ]
The United Party for National Development(UPND) and the Patriotic Front (PF) have been told to avoid taking Zambians for granted.
Former Church of God overseer Bishop John Mambo said if it is true that the pact was founded in response to calls by Zambians for a united opposition, then recent statements by Pact partners prove otherwise.
Bishop Mambo said it is important that the UPND/PF pact partners stand by what was agreed when it was formed last year.
He noted that the bickering that has rocked the pact should not persist as it threatens its existence.
Bishop Mambo disclosed that the PF/UPND pact has a lot to learn from the previous political alliances the that country had in the past.
He said for the pact to work, there is need to desist from putting the issue of the pact presidency top of the agenda.
Bishop Mambo has since called for a united and strong opposition stressing that this will give the ruling MMD stiff competition.
[ QFM ]
Zambian boxers made bright starts at the Commonwealth Games in India today with win in lightweight and welterweight bouts.
Martin Chibela beat Felix Mwamaso of Malawi 4-3 with a scorecard of 2-0, 2-1 and 0-2 in the three-round lightweight bout.
Welterweight Godfrey Mumba beat Reece Shagourie of Jamaica 3-1 in a fight that came alive in the final round.
Boxing is usually Zambia’s biggest medal prospect event at the Commonwealth Games.
On Thursday, light flyweight Christopher Katanga and flyweight Brian Mwabu begin their campaigns when they face Jacob Lavigilante of Mauritius and Mohd Kamis of Malaysia respectively.
And on the track, Rachel Nachula qualified to 400 meters semifinals after finishing third in first round heat 2 to stay in the medal hunt.
Meanwhile, the bowling team is now at two wins, two draws and as many defeats.
Libyan based player Felix Katongo will join the Zambia team in Tripoli ahead of Sundays 2012 Africa Cup Group C qualifier against Libya.
The midfielder plays in Libya for Al Ittihad is in the country for a family commitment and is expected to link-up with the team in Tripoli on Friday.
Zambia take on Libya in Tripoli on Sunday in both sides second Group C match.
Also joining the team in Tripoli on Friday will be 17-year-ol defender Emmanuel Mbola of TPO Mazembe in DR Congo who was denied a visa to join the team in Roma where they have gathered for a brief camp.
The Italian Embassy in Lusaka denied Mbola a visa because he was a minor and could not file in an application without his parents’ consent nor travel without a legal guardian.
Also joining the team in Tripoli will be Felix’s brother Christopher of Xanthi in Greece.
Kickoff for Sunday’s game will be at 20:00 Zambian time.
Zesco United this afternoon dealt a serious psychological blow to Zanaco’s title ambitions when they beat the defending league champions 3-1 at the Trade Fair Grounds in Ndola.
The wins sees Zesco go three points clear of the chasing pack following their victory in this rescheduled Faz Super Division Week 16 game to 50 points from 25 games played.
Zanaco are stuck in 12th place on 27 points from 18 games played with eight games in hand.
The two sides went into the break 1-1 t after Yona Mwango had put Zesco ahead in the 3rd minute before Venacious Mapande leveled scores nine minute later
John Chingandu restored Zesco’s lead in the 57th before Maybin Mwaba cemented the three points in the 90th minute with the third and final goal of the game.
