Transparency International of Zambia (TIZ) says the removal of abuse of office clause from the Anti Corruption Commission Act will have serious consequences on the fight against corruption in the country.

TIZ Executive Director Goodwell Lungu said Zambia has diverted from the United Nations convention against corruption and the southern African developing community SADC protocol against corruption which it signed.

Mr. Lungu said the removal of the clause which acted as a deterrent to would be offenders, will be an opportunity for individuals to misappropriate public funds.

He appealed to President Rupiah Banda to ensure that the bill is not passed into law as it will be a tragedy for the country.

And the TIZ executive director has advised employers in the country not to take advantage of Zambian employees who do not know their rights.

Mr. Lungu said casualization of labour is a sign of bad governance amongst employers.

He noted that there is need for the Ministry of Labour to intervene in the workers plight for better conditions.

Mr. Lungu was commenting on the recent shooting of eleven miners at the collum coal mine in Sinazongwe and the rioting by Zcon construction workers at the levy business park.

Both working groups were fighting for better conditions of services at their work places.
[ QFM ]

Ministry of Health Permanent Secretary Peter Mwaba has taken Shangombo District Commissioner (DC) to task for allowing Food Reserve Agency (FRA) to use the unfinished infrastructure meant for a health centre as a storage shade.

Dr. Mwaba said much as he appreciate the role of FRA, they should not disturb construction works at the site.

The Permanent Secretary is in Shangombo to see progress on the district hospital which is being constructed.

The PS and his team also inspected ten staff houses and nurse’s hostels and an abandoned administration block.

Commenting on the administration block, the PS directed the DC to terminate the contract of the contractor for the block and find possible means to make him pay back the K30 million down payment.

The contractor is said to have disappeared with the money after doing a slab.

However Shangombo DC Masheke Kabayo commended FRA for purchasing all the maize in his district.

Mr. Kabayo said farmers in the area who supplied maize to FRA have since been paid.

He said that FRA had released about K1.3 billion to pay farmers.

He said farmers are happy and encouraged to work even harder to produce another bumper harvest in the starting season.

Mr. Kabayo however urged FRA to quickly transport the commodity before the onset of rains to avoid the maize going to waste.

The maize is currently stored in one of the unfinished buildings at the newly constructed Shangombo District Hospital.

[ ZANIS ]

Lusaka High Court Judge Gregory Phiri has ordered Inspector General of Police Francis Kabonde to avail himself in  court this afternoon and  the police officer who was in charge when police disrupted a meeting of state advocates at Simenza Sangwa and associates law firm

Judge Phiri has ordered that the police officer should be in court by 14:30 hours this afternoon to give a full account of what transpired.

The judge described last evenings disruption of the meeting as unbelievable.

He said this is because police and state advocates meet each other and should always work together in prosecuting matters.

Judge Phiri was prompted to make the order after Law Association of Zambia President Stephen Lungu placed on record that the association is deeply concerned about what transpired last evening.

Mr Lungu told the court that every legal practitioner should be allowed to operate independently and without fear.

This is in a matter in which Inktech Managing Director Matthew Mohan and two others are facing murder charges of Lusaka businessman Sajid Itowala.

Police last evening stormed Simeza Sangwa law firm and disrupted an official meeting called by state advocates from the Director of Public Prosecutions chambers, Sajid Itowala’s family and a member of the Law Association of Zambia.

[ZNBC]

Chief Mukuni Munokalya of the Toka Leya people of Southern Province has said the PF/UPND Pact has merely confused Zambians more than trying to serve the purpose it was founded upon.

Chief Mukuni said in Lusaka yesterday that it was difficult for any ordinary Zambian to clearly understand what the pact was up to except the leaders in it and that it was difficult to know if they were serious.

“I do not understand the pact, only the people in it know and it’s just confusing the people of this country. Outsiders cannot follow what is going on. We Zambians, do not know if they are serious or serving any purpose,” he said.

The chief expressed happiness at the decision by the various political party leaders to sit down and denounce political violence.

The violence witnessed mainly during by-elections did nothing for the ordinary Zambians except that it traumatised them.

The chief said the move by candidates contesting the Chilanga by-elections to denounce violence was the first step to good politics in Zambia and hoped the pronouncements would not end there but spread to the whole country.

“Besides, this violence is being championed by parties hoping to intimidate voters during by-elections so that their opponents stay away, but we have a general election coming, they will not be able to transport violent people to all constituencies,” the Chief said.

Zambians could not be cheated anymore and that any party or group that would not have a good manifesto might as well forget about making the next Government.

Government has engaged the Chinese Government through its embassy in Lusaka to pay the Zambian employees at the Chinese-run Collum Coal mine in Sinazongwe district, Southern province.

And Government has appealed to foreign investors to abide and respect the Zambian labour laws failure to which appropriate punishment will be meted on them.

Home Affairs Minister Mkhondo Lungu told parliament on Wednesday that government is saddened by the Collum Coal mine shooting which occurred a few days ago where 11 mine workers and a passerby where shot at by two mine managers.

Delivering a ministerial statement in parliament yesterday , Mr. Lungu disclosed that his ministry, in collaboration with ministries of Mines and Mineral Development and the Labour and Social Services has engaged the Chinese Government on discussions on the incident.

He said government is considering a ‘Fast-Track Court’ to deal with such matters in the near future.

Mr. Lungu further disclosed that the two managers at the Mine have since been sent to Choma Central Prison pending court proceedings.

The Minister however regretted that Police have arrested some workers who are alleged to have stolen property from management offices.

Meanwhile, Mr. Lungu has appealed to political players to stick to the electoral code of conduct and desist from engaging their cadres in violence ahead of the Chilanga and Mpulungu parliamentary by-elections.

The Minister said political party leaders and their supporters should at all times maintain peace.

[ ZANIS ]

Former president Kenneth Kaunda has said homosexuality should not be tolerated in Zambia because it is against Bibilical teachings.

Dr Kaunda said yesterday that Zambians should learn to uphold good morals according to Christian values.

He said homosexuality was against God’s commandments and that leaders should instead advocate for laws that prohibited such wicked vices especially that Zambia was a Christian Nation.

Speaking when he and Champions for an HIV-free generation held a meeting with civil society organisations in Lusaka, Dr Kaunda implored citizens to allow the Government to enact laws to stop promotion of homosexuality.

“This is a very serious human activity that should be handled very carefully and we need to fight against it,” he said.

Former Botswana president Festus Mogae, who is the chairperson of the Champions for an HIV-Free Generation, said they had not come to advocate for the promotion of homosexuality in Zambia.

Meanwhile, a Kitwe clergyman, Bernard Nwaka has challenged opposition parties to state their positions on homosexuality instead of keeping quiet.

And International Fellowship for Christian Churches president, Simon Chihana has said homosexuality will never be a human right issue because God created men to perform some special roles, which should only be done by men.

Forum for Leadership Search executive director Edwin Lifwekelo recently revealed that Patriotic Front president Michael Sata was having meetings with donors where he was assuring them that he would legalise homosexuality and revert the country to a secular state provided they backed his candidacy.

And President Rupiah Banda said on Tuesday that the Government was aware that some sections of the donor community had embarked on a campaign aimed at making Zambians believe that homosexuality was a human rights issue.

Bishop Nwaka of Living Water Global Ministries said in an interview yesterday in Kitwe that the Church wanted to know the stance of the leaders aspiring to be future presidents since Mr Banda had indicated his position.

Bishop Nwaka said Zambians wanted to know where the opposition leaders stood so that they could make informed decisions during elections next year.

“Homosexuality or same-sex affairs are serious issues political parties should not ignore because Zambia is a Christian Nation,” he said.

Bishop Nwaka said the Church was happy that President Banda and his Government had condemned the acts because it was not a human rights issue in a Christian nation.

And in an interview yesterday, Bishop Chihana said homosexuality was not a human rights issue but a demonic right which was unacceptable.

He said his own findings showed that most people practising homosexuality were victims of the act who were finding it difficult to fully recover and were now being forced to perform the act on others.

[ Times of Zambia ]

General workers engaged by Lusaka’s ZCON construction today fought running battles with Zambia Police officers during a riot sparked by the company’s alleged reluctance to offer them job contracts.

The workers are engaged to do construction works at the Levy junction, near government printers.

The irate workers complained that they have been working for over a year without signing job contracts.

The workers who sung solidarity songs flashed placards with messages denouncing ZCON management.

They accused their Corporate Affairs Manager Emmanuel Chilekwa of employing his relatives whom he has allegedly given job contracts.

But Mr. Chilekwa dismissed the accusations as false and malicious.

He said ZCON Management is discussing with South African based officials on the best way to improve the workers conditions of service.

Mr. Chilekwa appealed to the general workers to maintain calm while their plight is being addressed.

Police had to fire tear gas canisters to disperse the irate workers who scampered for safety.
[ ZNBC ]

Alliance for Democracy and Development (ADD) president, Charles Milupi has observed that the MMD government is too mesmerized by anyone called a foreign investor so much that indigenous people are becoming second class citizens in their own country.
[pullquote]”Zambians are being made to suffer because their government has been made to surrender to the investors,” Mr . Milupi said[/pullquote]
Mr. Milupi said this is evident by the failure by the government to condemn the Chinese mine owners who shot at 11 miners in Sinazeze who were protesting over improved working conditions.

ADD president noted that the shooting at Collum coal mine is a clear tragedy and an indication that government has given too much priority to the foreign investor above their own people.

He said government has made foreign investors feel that they are kings in this country and weigh above the Zambians who are hosting them.

Mr. Milupi further blamed government for the failure by the foreign investors to respect the laws of this country.

He said it is for this reason that the government could not lift a finger against the investors no matter how serious what they have done is.

“Zambians are being made to suffer because their government has been made to surrender to the investors,” Mr . Milupi said
[ QFM ]

Judgment in the Mufumbwe constituency by-election petition has been deferred to November 2010.
The judgment in the matter which was expected to be delivered today by High Court Judge Philip Musonda, will now take place next month on a date to be announced.

This is in a matter in which loosing MMD candidate Mulondwe Muzungu, has petitioned the election of United Party for National Development (UPND)’s Elliot Kamondo as Member of Parliament for Mufumbwe constituency in the April 29, 2010 by-elections.

Mr Muzungu wants the court to nullify the results of the by-elections on the basis that the elections were marred with violence.

The Mufumbwe by elections campaigns were characterized by some of the worst violence in recent times with three people losing their lives in the process and others being injured.
[ QFM ]