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The Economic Association of Zambia (EAZ) has praised government for its continued efforts in attracting more Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the country.
Association President Mwilola Imakando says government should be commended for the role that it has played in ensuring that it instills investor confidence in the economic development of the nation.
Speaking in an interview with ZANIS in Lusaka , Dr. Imakando said increased investment is important in any country’s developmental agenda as it helps in uplifting the living standards of the people.
He explained that when they are increased investment opportunities in the country, new technologies are also invented that can create employment chances consequently reducing poverty levels among the citizens.
He noted that this is because improved FDI also acts as a source towards addressing effects of poverty and unemployment.
Dr. Imakando has also urged people in the country to supplement government’s efforts in attracting more investors in the country.
He said that citizens have a duty of ensuring that investors continue investing in the country through avoiding bad language and criminal activities that can scare away potential investors.
He added that negative attitude towards investors in the country has the possibility to also scare potential investors that can boost the country’s economic growth.
Dr. Imakando challenged Zambians to also be productive and be part of the country’s economic transformation.
He has also reiterated government’s predication that Zambia can become the second largest investment destination in the Southern African Developing Community (SADC).
Government has announced that the country’s FDI for this year is likely to exceed US$ 3 billion due to increased investment existing in the Tourism, Manufacturing and Mining sectors among others.
Faz has postponed all league games scheduled for this weekend.
This is due to the weekends international football programme in both the Caf confederation Cup and Africa U17 cup qualifiers.
Zanaco on Saturday will host Haras el Hodoud of Egypt in a Confederation Cup group B match at Sunset stadium in Lusaka.
And on Sunday, the under-17 side will host their Ghanaian counterparts in a Rwanda 2011 CAF U17 Cup first round qualifier at Woodlands stadium also in Lusaka.
However, there will be three league games on Wednesday September 1 with two Super Division week 20 games and one week 14 match.
The two Week 20 games will see Kabwe warriors host Zesco United at railways
Grounds in Kabwe and Power Dynamos traveling to Lusaka to play national Assembly at woodlands.
On the same day, Zanaco will host Choma Eagles at Sunset.
CONGOLESE Rhumba giant Koffi Olomide and his Orchester Quartier Latin 001 back-up band jets in the Zambian capital Lusaka today, at 14:00 hours for what could be best described as a memorable launch of his Mandra Manda Skol album that follows heels of the Bora Zenga.
The Paris-based music mogul and four-time Kora award winner including continental awards is expected to enter into his serious business scheduled for Lusaka’s Taj Pamodzi Hotel on Friday, August, 27.
According to the programme made available to the Times Entertainment, the self-acclaimed King of Universal Tcha -Tcho, who is coming with an entourage of eight dancing queens and a backline of 19 members, will upon arrival address members of the Press from the Zain headquarters.
Not wanting to detach himself from the things of He who created and gave him the talent that arguably makes him Africa’s top singer, dancer, composer and producer and best artiste of the decade, Koffi will on the eve of his performance make a donation to Jesus Souls Winning Ministry – a Church in Lusaka’s Matero Township.
For those that might not afford to raise K250,000 for the Pamodzi show, they would have less to worry about because the man will put up yet another family show at Barclays Bank sports complex at K70,000 on August 28.
The show has been sponsored by Kayembe Kaloji’s international dancing club – Chez ntemba – in conjunction with Kaya Gold Bureau De Change, Mad Max Auto Spares and Zain Zambia while the Matero gym musclemen will ensure the visiting star is well-protected while keeping at bay any gate-crashers.
THE Government has disclosed that latest figures by the International Council of Nurses (ICN) estimate a shortfall of about 12,000 nurses and midwives in Zambia in order for the country to attain health-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Acting Health Minister, Brian Chituwo said ICN also estimated a shortfall of more than 600,000 nurses and midwives in sub-Saharan countries for them to attain the MDGs.
Dr Chituwo said this in Lusaka when he officially opened the 9th East, Central and Southern African College Nursing (ECSACON) scientific conference and 3rd quadrennial meeting at Mulungushi International Conference Centre.
Dr Chituwo challenged ECSACON and country chapters to take the lead and work with the governments of the day to determine and implement effective and sustainable strategies to increase the numbers of nurses and midwives and to pay them appropriately.
He said some countries including Zambia had started implementing innovations to address the challenges.
Dr Chituwo said it was important for ECSACON to work with the World Health Organisation (WHO) at regional and country offices to ensure that the innovations were adopted by many countries for the benefit of their people.
He said it was common knowledge that nurses and midwives were a catalyst in the health systems to improve the health of especially women and children.
“We all know that health is a key determinant of economic growth, a driver of overall development and a strategy for poverty reduction,” he said.
And in a keynote address, Africa’s Heath in 2010 director, Doyin Oluwole said the private sector and civil society organisations had also participated in adopting the MDGs as their framework for international development cooperation.
Professor Oluwole also said besides being advocates for the MDGs, private foundations in developed countries had become an important source of funding for a wide range of activities intended to achieve them.
THE Road Development Agency (RDA) has awarded three contracts for construction of 221 km of the Sesheke-Senanga Road in Western Province at a cost of K706 billion.
And the people of Sesheke are impressed with the Government for disbursing huge resources to upgrade major roads, which have been in poor state for several years.
RDA senior manager for construction and maintenance Stephen Malubila said RDA had awarded China New Era International Engineering the first contract to upgrade 85km from Senanga to Maziba on the Sesheke-Senanga Road at K274 billion.
The second of 70 km stretch from Sesheke at Katimamulilo to Senanga was awarded to China Jangxi Cooperation for International Economic and Technical Cooperation at a cost of K223 billion.
The remaining stretch of 66kms had been awarded to China Geo Engineering Co-operation at a cost of K209 billion.
Mr Malubila said this yesterday when he addressed stakeholders during a sensitisation meeting for the construction of the Sesheke-Senanga Road at the council chambers in Sesheke.
The K706 billion which would be spent on the construction of the Sesheke-Senanga Road was part of the US$300 million, which Government sourced from Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA).
Mr Malubila said RDA would soon award a contracts for construction of two bridges on the Zambezi River.
Once complete, the roads would open up the Western corridor and link the country to neighbouring countries in the Southern African region such as Namibia, Botswana and Angola.
He said the Government had recognised the need to upgrade road infrastructure because of the effective role the sector played in the socio and economic emancipation of the country.
Sesheke District Commissioner Wanyambe Mwiya said the people of Western Province were happy with the Government’s concerted efforts of uplifting the welfare of people through the implementation of development programmes.
Information Minister Ronnie Shikapwasha
Chief Government Spokesperson Ronnie Shikapwasha says those opposing the decision by High Court Judge Evans Hamaundu to dismiss the London Court judgment case involving second republican president Frederick Chiluba (FTJ) to be registered in Zambia are off-side.
Lieutenant General Shikapwasha challenged those who are not happy by the court verdict on Dr. Chiluba to seek legal re-dress than fight in the media.
Lt-Gen. Shikapwasha implored the Zambians to respect the decision of the courts.
The government Chief spokesperson wondered why people do not discredit the Zambian courts acquitted opposition Patriotic Front (PF) leader Michael Sata on motor theft charge, Post Newspaper Editor Chansa Kabwela on has been acquitted of the charges of circulating obscene materials but the people are too naïve on Dr. Chiluba’s case.
Speaking in an interview with ZANIS in Lusaka today, Lt-Gen. Shikapwasha, who is also Information and Broadcasting Services Minister , urged the Zambian people to study the Chiluba judgment instead of criticizing from a layman point of view.
He said it is unfair to always lambaste that the judicial system is Zambia is ‘not working’ when instead it is working very hard to handle serious cases brought before the courts.
Judge Hamaundu last week refused to register the London High Court judgment in Zambia. He instead dismissed the applications for the registration of the London High Court which found Dr. Chiluba and his co-accused liable for the theft of US$46 million.
Meanwhile, Lt-Gen. Shikapwasha has lashed out at the PF leader Michael Sata’s claims that it has taken over 20 years to construct the Choma-Namwala road.
He challenged Mr. Sata that he is the one who failed to deliver because his was directly in charge as Local government and Housing Minister and Minister Without Portfolio.
He said President Rupiah Banda is on track to taking development not only in Southern Province but the country as a whole.
He said President Banda has managed to open up a lot of developmental projects among them health centers, schools and road infrastructures among others.
On the PF/UPND Pact, Lt-Gen. Shikapwasha said UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema is blindly following Mr. Sata in the Pact.
The Chief Government Spokesperson described the PF/UPND as a dead alliance which is bound to crack anytime because the two opposition leaders were selfish and cannot be entrusted with power.
“The Pact is non-existence because Mr. Sata and Hichilema are very selfish to govern the nation,” he said
THE retrenchment of the more than 2,400 Zambia Telecommunications Company (Zamtel) employees has started and some employees have started receiving their redundancy packages.
Zamtel, which is now managed by LapGreen Network of Libya, has appointed Hans Paulsen as the new managing director and a new management team in which Mr Paulsen’s predecessor, Mukela Muyunda is the interim chief of operations.
According to an internal memorandum seen yesterday by the Times from Mr Paulsen to the employees, the implementation of the new organisational structure had started.
“The new company structure guarantees full realisation of goals and objectives under a five-year business plan.
“A detailed programme of all activities that will be communicated in the next 100 days will be finalised in the coming few days,” he said.
The retrenchment of the employees which started on August 16 was expected to be concluded by August 31.
A skeleton staff would remain in office for three months after which new and re-engaged employees would start work.
Some workers who received their letters of termination of service last week said they were given their retrenchment packages within 48 hours.
The packages include three months basic salary for each year served, two months salary for repatriation and a month’s basic salary in lieu of notice.
Mr Paulsen said consultation was being done with relevant stakeholders, including external experts, to ensure the best results were achieved.
The former managing director, Mr Muyunda has been appointed to head a five-member team of senior Zambian managers to head the Zamtel transitional process.
On July 5, 2010, LapGreen Network officially took over 75 per cent shares in Zamtel after successfully concluding a US$257 million equity purchase deal with the Zambia Development Agency.
The new company is expected to pump in an additional $75 million in existing vendor financing and a further $62 million to cover network expansion.
National Union of Communication Workers general secretary, Clement Kasonde said in an interview in Ndola that the union leadership was confident that the payment of redundancy packages and the management of the period in which the company would change hands would be smooth.
Lucy Shirley Changwe, MP: one of her immediate ambitions is to build a girls' high school in her constituency. Photograph: Natalie Bennett
The Zambia Police Service says it will soon issue a comprehensive statement on the progress made in investigating Gender Deputy Ministe, Lucy Changwe, over a bounced cheque.
Zambia Police Deputy Public Relations Officer, Dandula Siaman, told QFM in a telephone interview that the Inspector General of Police will soon issue a statement. Mrs. Siamana however says she is yet to get the details of the investigations from the officers handling the investigations.
She explains that once all the details are gathered, she will handle them to Inspector General of Police, Francis Kabonde, for further action. President Rupiah Banda said on Monday that he does not need to tell the police what to do when someone has broken the law.
He said it is up to the police to act on Gender Deputy Minister, Lucy Chanwe, who bounced a K10 million cheque. The Civil Society has been calling for the arrest and prosecution of Ms Changwe for the offence.
Patriotic Front leader, Michael Sata, has challenged President Rupiah Banda to tell the nation how much government spent on the Choma-Namwala road. And Mr. Sata has called for the formation of a ‘Truth Commission’ to reveal how much the MMD government stole over the Choma-Namwala road.
In an interview with QFM, Mr. Sata alleges that the money the MMD government has stolen on the road could have also catered for the Monze-Namwala, the Monze-Siavonga, and the Namwala-Itezhi-Itezhi roads.
He says if the MMD government did not steal any money during the construction of the road, President Rupiah Banda should come out in the open and tell the nation how much was spent for the tarring of the road.
Mr. Sata has also challenged government to explain why it took over 20 years to tar the Choma-Namwala road.
Meanwhile, the United Party for National Development, UPND, says there is nothing for President Banda to celebrate about on the completion of the Choma-Namwala road.
UPND Secretary General, Winstone Chibwe, told QFM in an interview that the tarring of the road was done by the President’s predecessors, and not him.
Mr. Chibwe emphasizes that President Banda has just seen the last drop of the other people’s work.
Several village headmen from Namwala and Itezhi-tezhi area have hailed President Banda for the various projects he has undertaken in the province.
The headmen also urged Government to consider addressing various social economic issues such as roads and water among others which affect the people of Namwala and Itezhi Tezhi.
This was in Namwala yesterday when President Rupiah Banda addressed about 500 village headmen from Namwala and Itezhi-Tezhi.
Headman Machipi of Mukobela Chiefdom said the United Party for National Development (UPND) and their leader Hakainde Hichilema had taken the people of the province for granted.
“Other previous Zambian presidents neglected us but you (President Banda) has shown us that you don’t hate us,” he said
Headman Lubanda, who was also happy with development projects being undertaken, appealed to the Government to consider drilling more boreholes in his area.
He appealed to Government to consider tarring the Niko–Monze Road.
Senior Headman Simpede said the current Government had recognised and appreciated the people of the province as part of the Zambians.
He, however, appealed to the Government to work on the feeder roads in the area to facilitate for maize haulage.
He said the maize harvested in 2007 was still in holding depots because of the poor state of the roads in the area.
The headmen also appealed to Government to work on improving the road network which links Namwala and Itezhi-Tezhi.
And responding to concerns raised by traditional leaders, President Banda said he had taken note of the requests and that the ministers n charge would submit a report.
“The issues you have raised are very important for our people. We were aware that you were going to raise issues on health, education, agriculture and infrastructure, that is why I asked the ministers in charge of these ministries to accompany me,” he said.
Mr Banda directed the three ministers in his delegation who included Education Minister Dora Siliya, Local Government and Housing Minister Eustackio Kazonga as well as Works and Supply Minister Mike Mulongoti to submit a report on what Government would do to address the issues raised.
And Mr Mulongoti said Government was looking for ways to address the concerns to improve the connection between Namwala and Itezhi-tezhi on Kafue River.
He also said Government would seek various ways of improving the road network in Namwala and Itezhi-Tezhi areas.
Meanwhile, President Banda said his campaigns in 2011 would be based on the work he has done for the people of Southern Province during his tenure as president.
Mr Banda said traditional leaders at the level of headmen are the foundation of the unity and peace of any nation.
He said as a leader, President Banda understood the problems of the people of Zambia and Namwala in particular.
He said he would continue to facilitate for development in Namwala by building more schools, clinics and roads.
[ Times of Zambia ]
NATIONAL Milling Corporation (NMC) has reduced the price of breakfast mealie meal by K2, 000 per 25 kilogramme bag with effect from yesterday.
Managing director Peter Cottan confirmed this in an interview in Lusaka yesterday.
“National Milling Corporation today has effected the reduction in the price of breakfast mealie meal by K2, 000 in all Shoprite, Spar and Pick n Pay supermarkets,” he said.
Mr Cottan said the price reduction has also been effected in all the 60 NMC depots around the country.
He said NMC has also effected the prorater price reduction on 5 kilogramme and 10 kilogramme bags of breakfast mealie meal.
Mr Cottan said the reduction in mealie meal prices has been necessitated by the bumper harvest recorded this year and the subsequent lower cost of maize flowing into individual milling companies.
He said this follows numerous reductions prices of roller meal which has fallen from about K46,000 to K23,000 per 25 kilogramme bag over the past three to four months.
“Therefore, we have been able to pass the lower prices of maize on to the consumers,” he said.
And in a statement issued in Lusaka yesterday, Mr Cottan said the Millers Association of Zambia (MAZ) members have indicated that they are experiencing an excellent flow of maize into various mills across the country as a result of the bumper harvest.
Mr Cottan, who is MAZ chairman, said the steady flow of lowly priced maize into the mills has forced down the price of the commodity well below the Food Reserve Agency recommended price of K65,000 per 50 kilogramme bag of maize due to market forces.
He said since the cost of production for both breakfast and roller mealie meal has gone down by about 85 percent, millers have been compelled to pass on the benefits to consumers through regular reductions in prices of the commodity with further cuts commencing this week.
“The only negative factors limiting the price reductions are the recent hikes in electricity tariffs and potential depreciation of the Kwacha as most of our members fund the purchase of their maize in US dollar loans,” he said.
Mr Cottan assured the nation that MAZ will continue putting consumer interest first and will work with the government of the day and other maize sector stakeholders in the best interest of the nation.
Recently, President Banda directed his special assistant for policy, implementation and monitoring Ben Kapita to visit all major milling companies to ascertain whether they were being responsible in their pricing of mealie meal following the bumper harvest the country has recorded.
The President wanted to establish whether millers were passing on the benefits of reduced maize prices to consumers.
The club-less little midfielder on Sunday hit headlines again with another misdemeanor this time with a car accident after an alleged social outing with some female companions just outside Ndola.
This guy has not played any competitive football for eight months, has sulked at the prospect of going to play for Zamalek in Egypt on loan because of a phobia of facing harsh treatment by Arabs and has basked in the glory of self-indulgence.
He is now an outcast at Portuguese side Braga who want to loan him out but it seems no suitors are willing to take him on.
Kalaba has shown little respect for his profession, the green shirt of Zambia that is keeping his profile going.
It is insulting to see a player, worshiped by many, resigned to just working out and vigorously raising his elbow rather than his foot or knee on the weekend.
A player with little regard for his trade has no place in our national team no matter how good he is.
To flirt with players like Kalaba is a recipe for disaster for the team and is bad PR for an already fallen giant like Zambia who will be seen to be in begging desperately for their star players.
He should be thinking of his own welfare and that of his family. But is he?
Kalaba is misguided to think that people dish out money for free just to sit at home for doing nothing.
Bonetti be warned, rouge players like Kalaba using a national team call-up to try and caps to spice up their CV’s with the prospect of finding a new club should not be entertained.
We have seen this happen with a lot of indiscipline players in Zambia and they have all been but a burden to tax payers money who foot their bonus while on national duty.
It is a tough decision but Bonetti a harsh example has to be made of where one is coming from and where they are going.
KONKOLA Copper Mines plc has today agreed to halt its outsourcing programme after a tripartite meeting involving the two national mineworkers unions convened by the Government at the company’s Corporate Head Office in Chingola.
KCM has also offered to re-advertise the post of Vice-President Human Resources in the Zambian media in an effort to identify a suitably qualified local person after previously considering taking on an expatriate when the incumbent retires at the end of the year.
Hiring an expatriate was considered a short-term measure, allowing a number of possible candidates within the company to gain the necessary experience for the top HR post at Zambia’s largest private sector employer.
Both decisions were taken in the interest of industrial harmony and to allow more time for KCM to foster an understanding of the benefits of its outsourcing plans amongst employees as well as the Government.
KCM is pleased that as a result of the outcome of the meeting, the two national unions, the Mineworkers Union of Zambia (MUZ) and the National Union of Mineworkers and Allied Unions (NUMAW) have agreed to call off the planned demonstrations set for August 28, 2010.
President Banda has warned UPND leaders Hakainde Hichilema that he will soon know who Mr. Sata really is.
Mr. Banda was speaking when he addressed a mammoth rally at the community grounds in Namwala this afternoon.
President Banda said Mr. Sata was not a right person Mr. Hichilema can work with because both have different backgrounds and beliefs.
“HH is educated and is a young man but Sata has none of these things and all he wants is to become President,” he said.
He said he is happy that the two pact leaders were being questioned by their members on the motives behind the formation of the pact.
[pullquote]“HH is educated and is a young man but Sata has none of these things and all he wants is to become President,” he said.[/pullquote]
President Banda said out of the 42 PF MPs, the majority from Luapula and Northern provinces have turned against him because they do not believe in what he was doing.
He said Mr. Hichilema was jumping in a sinking boat because Mr. Sata just wants to use the UPND to become president.
The President appealed to the people in the province to form a formidable pact with the ruling MMD because it is ready to work with him.
He appealed to all MMD members and leaders in the country to keep their doors open to those who wish to work with the MMD government.
“Politics is the game of numbers and we need numbers to continue ruling so allow whoever wishes to work with us do so,” said Mr. Banda.
The President thanked the chiefs and the people of Namwala for inviting him to visit their area.
And at the same rally, Namwala UPND member of Parliament Robbie Chizyuka said he did not regret having differed with UPND Hakainde Hichilema because his alliance with the PF does not make sense.
[pullquote]“Politics is the game of numbers and we need numbers to continue ruling so allow whoever wishes to work with us do so,” said Mr. Banda.[/pullquote]
Major Chizyuka said the UPND was formed to provide leadership to the country and not to be given to other people to control it.
He explained that it was the belief of the founders of the party that people would get alternative leadership through the party.
Maj. Chizyuka said under Mr. Hichilema the UPND has continued to lose its popularity gained during the time of the late Anderson Mazoka.
He stressed that Mr. Hichilema would never be president of Zambia because of his alleged arrogance.
“How can a normal person work with someone who has insulted the people of the region where he (Hichilema) comes from?” he questioned.
He said Mr. Sata had insulted the people of Southern province as dogs and has never even bothered to apologize to the people even after being asked to do so.
Maj. Chizyuka appealed to the people of Namwala to support President Banda and the MMD because they understand what is good for them.
He thanked all the government departs in the province that contributed to the successful completion of the Choma-Namwala road.
At the same rally Southern Province Minister Daniel Munkombwe assured Maj. Chizyuka of the MMD’s support in his struggle to improve the lives of the people of Namwala.
Mr. Munkombwe said he personally has fought battles and would, with the party and government, stand by his side.
He said those referring to Maj. Chizyuka as a fool, will soon see the kind of person he is.
Mr. Munkombwe urged Maj. Chizyuka not to be ashamed to fight for his people but to ‘walk with his head up’.
“The President is always insulted every day and he has never hit back but has continued with his job of providing for the many Zambian people. Don’t look back just go forward,” he advised.
[pullquote]He said Mr. Sata had insulted the people of Southern province as dogs and has never even bothered to apologize to the people even after being asked to do so.[/pullquote]
Earlier, President Rupiah Banda challenged political parties to celebrate events of development with the rest of the country.
President Banda says this is important because all political parties are formed to push for development in various parts of the country.
Referring to the successful completion of the tarring of the Choma-Namwala road, the President noted that it would have been nice for leaders of other political parties to celebrate with the people they wish to lead once given an opportunity.
He said there was no need for people in a democracy to work like enemies because their goal is one and the same.
He called for unity of purpose and hard work from all citizens to propel the much needed development.
“It doesn’t matter who the President is or which political party he is coming from but that whoever is President should recognize that he has a duty to the people that elected him, said Mr. Banda.
He said as President he is duty bound work with all the people regardless of their political affiliations.
Mr. Banda explained that political parties are there for people to choose and join if they agree with their ideologies.
He said people must not be compelled to support a political party on the basis of tribe or regionalism because the tenets of democracy are such that they do it freely.
“We have all been in one party or the other such as UNIP, ANC and now MMD. As for me I am happy that my presidency is an example of a miracle because whilst at my farm my late brother President Mwanawasa invited me to serve the people which I am gladly and happily doing,” he said.
President Banda said together with the ruling MMD he has gone round the whole country to have every one vote for him because he believes that all regions and tribes in the country should work together instead of fighting each other.
And President Banda has said politics of bitterness should be avoided because this was not the right way to conduct the affairs of the nation.
The President wondered why Patriotic Front Leader Michael Sata, whom he described as his traditional cousin, was bitter about him.
[pullquote]“We have all been in one party or the other such as UNIP, ANC and now MMD. As for me I am happy that my presidency is an example of a miracle because whilst at my farm my late brother President Mwanawasa invited me to serve the people which I am gladly and happily doing,” he said.[/pullquote]
He said Mr. Sata has at many occasions insulted him and other people such as traditional leaders without reason.
Mr. Banda said he finds it difficult to understand the source of the hatred towards him from Mr. Sata.
The President appealed to the Ila people and Tongas in Southern Province not to embrace Mr. Sata because they would not work with him.
“It is not possible for anyone to become president if the person creates enmity with the people they intend to serve. You need to humble yourself and go to the people to explain what you want to do for them when they give you an opportunity,” he said.
The rally was also attended by several local chiefs and others from various parts of the country.
