The Southern Centre for Constructive Resolutions of Dispute (SACCORD) has urged the United Party for National Development (UPND) and Patriotic Front (PF) Pact to quickly work out their differences before the 2011 general elections.

SACCORD Information Officer Obby Chibuluma says there is need for the two parties to find lasting solutions to their problems if they are to remain as a strong opposition alliance.

Mr. Chibuluma told ZANIS in an interview in Lusaka today, that the current confusions in the Pact are likely to weaken the position of an opposition Political Party in the country.

He charged that in a democratic country it is important to have a strong opposition Party hence the need for the leadership of the two parties to promptly sort out their differences for the benefit of Zambians.

He said this is why leaders of the two Political Parties should meet and make decisive action whether their alliance is sustainable or not.

Mr. Chibuluma noted that the current revelations were the two parties are issuing contradicting statements is a clear indication that there is no unity between them.

He added that other problem that is weakening the Pact is because members have too much power therefore making the leadership of the two Political Parties with little control.

He further advised that it is for this reason that the Pact should come out in the open and let the Zambians know they position if their still in an alliance or they are working as two separate entities.

There has been growing misunderstandings in the UPND/PF Pact were members from both Parties are castigating each other in the media.

PF Vice President Guy Scot is today quoted in the media having said that the UPND is trying to build its image at the expense of PF, a statement which has argued UPND Deputy Spokesperson Cornelius Mweetwa and since urged PF to clearly state its position whether it is still interested to be in the Pact.

Yesterday over 350 opposition UPND and PF from Kanyama constituency were reported to have defected from their parties to join the ruling MMD accusing their entities of having lost direction and focus.

ZANIS

Vice President George Kunda says while government is doing its best to create an enabling environment for investors to invest in the country, it is important for such investors to plough back part of their profits into the communities they are operating in.

Mr. Kunda says government is mindful that investors are using Zambian resources to make money, saying it was therefore the responsibility of every investor to identify themselves with the people in areas they are operating in.

He said investors should always practice good Corporate Social Responsibility so that they ordinary Zambians can benefit from their resources.

Mr. Kunda was speaking at Mailo Basic School yesterday when he received a donation of 70 desks and sports attire valued at over K 50 million from ZAIN Zambia.

He commended ZAIN for not only providing cellular phone network but also assisting vulnerable communities especially in areas of education.

Mr. Kunda said government has been following with keen interest what ZAIN Zambia has been doing not only in urban areas but rural areas of the country as well.

He said the donation will go a long way in creating a good learning environment for children in the area.

“Investors can tap natural resources of Zambia and make money because as a government, we have provided a conducive business environment for them”, he said.

Mr Kunda said this is important because investors who come into the country also provide the much needed revenue for government to initiate other development projects in all parts of the country.

Meanwhile, Mr Kunda has appealed to ZAIN to provide mobile telephone network coverage in Chief Mailo’s area.

He said this was important because the area can provide good business for the company, adding that government through the Ministry of Transport and Communication was looking at ways through which communication can be improved in all parts of the country.

Mr. Kunda said this will enable all Zambians to understand what is going on in their country and other parts of the world as well.

He said communication is a key factor in national development.

Speaking earlier, ZAIN Zambia Managing Director Yayaz King said in line with ZAIN’s Company policy, education is one of the top priority in its Corporate Social Responsibility programme.

Mr King said under the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility flagship programme “Build our Nation” ZAIN has since 2005 supported schools in all the 72 districts of Zambia by rendering support to communities through school expansions, infrastructure renovation and donation of desks and literacy materials.

The ZAIN Zambia Managing Director said this in a speech read for him by ZAIN Manager DTH projects, Martin Mambwe.

Meanwhile, government has devised a programme through which it wants to rehabilitate Mailo Basic School and construct an additional 1X3 classroom block.

Mr. Kunda said t the same occasion that money for the project has already been set aside and all that is been awaited is for the District Education Board Secretary (DEBS) in Serenje to release the money.

Mr Kunda said government is committed to ensuring that as many schools as possible are constructed so that children can have the opportunity to access an education.

ZANIS

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE

“Provide for those who grieve…a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of His splendor”
(Isaiah 61:3, NIV)

TODAY’S WORD from Joel and Victoria

Do you need a new garment today? I’m not talking about a physical garment. I’m talking about what’s covering your mind and emotions. Are you clothed with despair and disappointment? Are you wearing ”heaviness?” If you’ve gone through a hurtful situation, the Bible says there is a time to grieve, and it’s important to release that hurt to the Lord. But the Bible also tells us that God wants to give you a garment of praise instead of a spirit of heaviness and despair.

Are the garments of yesterday weighing you down and holding you back? It’s time for a new garment. The garment of praise is light and filled with peace and joy. Don’t carry those heavy burdens around anymore. Choose to forgive those who have hurt you and praise God for what He’s doing in your life today. If nothing else, start thanking Him for the beautiful sunrise. Thank him for restoring you, even if you don’t see it yet. Just like this verse says, you will be as strong and secure as a tall oak tree, displaying His splendor all the days of your life!

A PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, I come to You today and ask that You take off my old, heavy garments of despair and heaviness. Make me new today. Give me a garment of praise so that I can be a display of Your glory and splendor. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

— Joel & Victoria Osteen

Partriotic Front (PF) youths have said the United Party for National Development (UPND) should leave the pact instead of insulting and antagonising their president Michael Sata and secretary general Wynter Kabimba.

PF national youth secretary Eric Chanda said the UPND leaders had shown that they entered into the pact in bad faith.

Mr Chanda was reacting to a statement by UPND national youth chairperson, Joe Kalusa who claimed that Mr Sata had lost wisdom despite having served in Government for a long time.

Mr Kalusa said as an old man, the UPND had expected Mr Sata to provide wisdom in the pact, but that he had failed to do so.

But Mr Chanda wondered what Mr Kalusa had done for the country to attack Mr Sata who he said was liked by many Zambians. “Who is Joe Kalusa to tell the man who has suffered for the people that he has lost wisdom? Can he tell the Zambian people what he has done compared to Mr Sata?” he asked.

Mr Chanda said even UPND Mazabuka Central Member of Parliament Garry Nkombo and his Siavonga counterpart Douglas Syakalima could not be compared with Mr Sata.

He said Mr Syakalima and Nkombo should have sought dialogue with their pact partners instead of rushing to the media to air their grievances.

“To us as PF youths, it is clear that they are not interested in the pact and let them go. PF is the largest political party in Zambia and therefore we can stand alone without the help of any political party,” Mr Chanda said.

He instructed all the PF youths in Zambia to launch a vigorous campaign and mobilisation as a single party and not as a pact with the UPND.

Meanwhile, the PF in Eastern Province said yesterday it was in support of Mr Kabimba’s statement that UPND did not join the pact in good faith.

In a statement released in Chipata, PF Eastern Province publicity secretary Mung’omba Ngoma accused the UPND of de-campaigning the PF in the Milanzi Constituency by-election in Katete this year.

He said UPND provincial officials “camped” in Mufumbwe instead of assisting the PF in the polls.

Mr Ngoma said the PF was better off without the UPND and warned that UPND risked being further weakened with the formation of a party by former Finance minister Ng’andu Magande.

He charged that the UPND was a provincial party which was only strong in Southern Province.

Mr Ngoma said if UPND party was serious with the pact, it should not have allowed its members to castigate Mr Sata and other senior party officials in the manner they did.

But UPND chairperson for youth and child development, Micheal Chuuzu refuted the claim by PF that the UPND leaders did not support their pact partners in Milanzi.

“PF has no party structures on the ground in Milanzi, they used our party structures during the Milanzi by-election” Mr Chuuzu, who is one of the national management committee members from Eastern Province, said.
On assertions that the formation of a party by Mr Magande would weaken UPND, Mr Chuuzu said Mr Magande’s party would instead weaken the PF because Mr Magande was targeting to woo all the PF rebel MPs to his side.
[ Times of Zambia ]

SECOND Republican president Frederick Chiluba rejected attempts by Patriotic Front (PF) leader Michael Sata to take over the presidency in 2001 after realising that the opposition leader’s conduct did not match that of a head of State.

Dr Chiluba, alongside the national executive committee, supported the candidature of late president Levy Mwanawasa when his second five-year tenure of office expired in 2001 which was the reason Mr Sata does not like the former President.

MMD chairperson for information and publicity Dora Siliya said this when she addressed a public rally at Kasakalabwe Middle School in Mpulungu Constituency to drum up support for the October 28, 2010 parliamentary by-election.

The Mpulungu parliamentary by-election follows the death of Lameck Chibombamilimo.

Apart from working as a popularity gauge for the main political parties the contest will be about numerical advantages in the 150-member National Assembly, currently dominated by the ruling party.
Ms Siliya said Mr Sata started showing lust for power when he served under Dr Chiluba but it was clear that Zambia deserved a better candidate to promote national economic development and unity.
She told the residents to reject the candidate the PF would adopt for the by-election and encouraged them to judge Government on the basis of its performance and not the lies being told by Mr Sata against President Rupiah Banda and the Government.
Dr Chiluba, alongside the national executive committee supported the candidature of late president Levy Mwanawasa when his second five-year tenure of office expired in 2001 which was the reason Mr Sata does not like the former president.

Ms Siliya, who is Education minister, said Dr Chiluba was a good president who promoted unity while Mr Sata did not like people from many parts of the country and had continued to demonstrate this by promoting politics of ethnicity.

She warned that the disunity being promoted by the opposition could lead to civil war as the leader continues to divide the nation on tribal lines.

She said the MMD Government would continue to work for the people despite the criticism by the opposition and the allied civil society organisations.

Ms Siliya said the people of Mpulungu had demanded that Mpulungu Harbour should be repossessed and the Government had done just that.
The harbour had the capacity to employ many people and feed the whole district if well managed and that Government would ensure that the people benefit from the investment.

Meanwhile, residents of Mpulungu have demanded that the MMD should adopt prominent Mpulungu business executive Given Mung’omba as the candidate for the ruling party.

Ms Siliya said part of her mission was to involve the residents in selecting the candidate to assess whether the constituency officials had picked the candidate the voters want.

Another applicant for the position is former MP Griever Sikasote who is Northern Province MMD chairperson.
[ Times of Zambia ]

By Elias Munshya wa Munshya

In an earlier article, I had given the so called UPND/PF Pact until November 2010 to survive. After November, I predicted that it was going to disintegrate into stark factions and rancour. November is two months away and all the signs are all here. The Pact has
collapsed. The winner in this break-up is unfortunately, Michael Sata and the loser of course is his counterpart Hakainde Hichilema. In this article, I wish to examine how HH lost the battle for the Pact because of his political naiveté.

Hakainde Hichilema failed to control his message going into the pact. He was undoubtedly motivated by a modest desire to see that the MMD does not retain power in 2011. But that is where the problem lay. HH did not care about the disparate manifestos that his party had with PF. Instead, his actions were characteristically opportunistic. He was ready to compromise his pro-business principles, pro-constitution values and the democratic character of his UPND. He was willing to sacrifice all these ideals at the altar of the PF’s anti-business and dictatorial trends. I do wonder why it never occurred to HH that the PF he wanted to go to bed with had never conducted intra-party elections at any level, from its branches to its Central Committee, in the 9 years of its existence.

Hakainde Hichilema lamentably failed to keep and enforce political discipline within his UPND ranks. As a party under Anderson Mazoka, the UPND was very well rallied around its party president. Mazoka was undoubtedly a respected leader within the UPND. But as HH took over, it was clear that he was no match for Mazoka. HH found it difficult to escape Anderson’s shadows. An incessant comparison between him and Kambela yielded miserable outcomes. When problems started to develop within the UPND/PF Pact, HH tried and failed to articulate to his people to give the pact a chance. It looks like more junior UPND structures had no hope in PF’s sincerity about the Pact. And as such, they just saw no reason why their leader wanted to insist on it.

The greatest show of indiscipline came when the UPND national Youth Chairman Joe Kalusa expressed doubt about the leadership abilities of the UPND and PF leaders in pact. HH had all but failed to whip and rally his troops.

Hakainde Hichilema’s public insistence that he cannot win the 2011 elections if the UPND went it alone shows his political naïveté. Politics is a game of posturing. It never is a game of veracity and actuality. It is a game of cards, opportunity and courage. But HH just recently told his followers not to cheat him into thinking that he can win the 2011 elections singlehandedly. This defeatist mentality is contrary to the spirit of Zambian politics. HH’s insistence that he needs a Pact to dislodge the MMD from power is perhaps one single statement that seals his fate as a political neophyte.

Even leaders of smaller parties in Zambia, without parliamentary presence, never display such defeatism. They go on fighting. Parties such as Heritage Party, or even Reform Party or indeed UNIP do go into elections with a courage and belief that they are in it to win. None of party presidents ever say that they cannot win an election. Michael Sata himself as leader of the PF never says that he cannot win the presidency unaided. In fact, what HH said made him appear politically immature compared to his counterpart. That it is the UPND that needed the Pact more than the PF needed it can be comfortably inferred from HH’s statements. In politics, many would rather vote for a ten-man party whose leader believes that he can win, than vote for a millions’ party whose leader displays spineless attitudes. HH has lost the battle for the Pact because he as evidenced by his recent statements cannot win the 2011 election unless he stood on the Pact’s ticket.

The UPND and Hakainde Hichilema do still have a huge role to play in the political arena in Zambia, however. As a party that is rising in its popularity, HH should not have discouraged his supporters that the UPND cannot triumph. He instead needed to encourage them if they are to continue with their resurgence in Northwestern Province and beyond. As HH is telling us about his inabilities, a new National Movement for Progress (NMP) under Ng’andu Magande is reverberating in Monze and beyond.

Magande does believe that he is the right man for Zambia and is coming to the year 2011 with the audacity to win. If HH continues with his naivety, the people of Southern Province may switch their allegiance from his UPND to NMP or worse still the MMD.

All Ng’andu needs to tell the South, the North, the East and the West is that he has become the heir of their desire to see a developed Zambia. If it is time for a southerner to lead their beloved country, Magande may be the man. At least, unlike one Hakainde Hichilema, he believes it.

The Christian Council of Zambia (CCZ) General Secretary Susan Matale has advised political parties to educate their cadres against engaging in violence.

And Reverend Matale has observed that ferrying party cadres from one place to another creates an enabling environment for political violence.

Rev Matale said peace is an ingredient for development advised party presidents to strongly condemn the violent acts ahead of the forth-coming Chilanga and Mpulungu parliamentary elections set for next month.

Speaking in an interview with ZANIS in Lusaka on Friday, Rev.Matale said Zambia needs peace and it should not be deliberately spoiled for the sake of an election.

Rev Matale said political leaders should strongly come out in open in condemning violence perpetrated by their members.

She hoped that the parliamentary elections in the two constituencies in Chilanga and Mpulungu would be held in a free and fair environment adding that the violence that rocked Mufumbwe to the run-up parliamentary elections were unfortunate.
[pullquote]
“ There is no reason for hating or causing harm to each other for a sake of campaigns because this country needs peace. It is our sincere hope that the elections in Chilanga and Mpulungu will be conducted in a free and smooth atmosphere,” Rev Matale said.[/pullquote]
“As a Church, we are asking the party presidents to restrain their cadres from engaging themselves in violent acts. Party leaders should come out in open and denounce violence because this country needs peace

“ There is no reason for hating or causing harm to each other for a sake of campaigns because this country needs peace. It is our sincere hope that the elections in Chilanga and Mpulungu will be conducted in a free and smooth atmosphere,” Rev Matale said.

The CCZ-GS advised political leaders to talk about development as opposed to advancing petty issues based on individualism.

The Electoral Commission of Zambia has set October 28, 2010 as the date for holding the parliamentary by-elections for both Chilanga and Mpulungu seats respectively.

The Mpulungu seat fell vacant following the death of area MP Mr Chibombamilimo while the Chilanga seat fell vacant after the expulsion of area MP and former Finance and National Planning Minister Ng’andu Magande from the ruling MMD party for gross indiscipline.

Mr Chibombamilimo who passed away in India after an illness was Deputy Minister of Energy and water Development.

Meanwhile, the Southern African Centre for Constructive Resolution of Disputes (SACCORD) Executive Director Lee Habasonda has bemoaned the lack of implementation to translate the election materials into Braille to be used for people with disabilities.

Mr Habasonda told ZANIS in an interview that ECZ should consider meeting the demands of disadvantaged people in society.

He urged government through the Ministry of Home Affairs to look into the plight of people with disabilities noting that such people are denied secrecy during election periods because their ‘tools’ for reading and writing is usually not available at Polling Stations.

“It is common knowledge that people with disabilities here in Zambia do not vote because of lack of Braille materials. As SACCORD, our concern is the lack of the Electoral Body to translate the election materials into Braille to benefit the people with disabilities,” Mr Habasonda lamented.

According to Mr Habasonda, people with disabilities use other people to vote during elections which he described that the vote is ‘no longer a secret’ because it has been exposed to the second party.
[pullquote]”It is common knowledge that people with disabilities here in Zambia do not vote because of lack of Braille materials. As SACCORD, our concern is the lack of the Electoral Body to translate the election materials into Braille to benefit the people with disabilities,” Mr. Habasonda lamented.[/pullquote]
He further said some of the people with disabilities do not go to vote because they are frustrated in the first instance.

[ ZANIS ]