Join our community of SUBSCRIBERS and be part of the conversation.
To subscribe, simply enter your email address on our website or click the subscribe button below. Don't worry, we respect your privacy and won't spam your inbox. Your information is safe with us.
A parent blessed with triplets, has appealed to well-wishers, to help her and her husband manage to bring up their three one year three months old triplets.
Mrs. Doreen Mubanga, 36, of Chibanga of Mpima area in Kabwe, told ZANIS today that as a couple they were finding it difficult to support their children especially now that they have the triplets among them.
Mrs. Mubanga said before the triplets, she and her husband had seven (7) children three boys and four girls but the number shot up drastically, when last year in April they sired three more baby girls bringing the number to ten (10) children in all.
She explained that, though the girls were now walking, to find sufficient food, clothing and other support, was not easy.
Mrs. Mubanga said the triplets, Dorothy, Doris and Deborah still required much attention if they were to grow well.
She said at the stage they were, the milk she was producing from her breasts, was not sufficient and this was the time she thought the children needed much attention in all areas.
“Any assistance from well-wishers can be appreciated a lot. It is not easy and I thank God that through hardships, we have managed to raise them up to where they are. And I know God will still be with us all the way,” she said.
Mrs. Mubanga was in town with the triplets and two other daughters to help her carry the little girls.
Meanwhile, the triplets drew the attention of other people at ZANIS offices in Kabwe who admired them and also commended the two parents for their efforts.
A senior citizen on the copperbelt has expressed concern over the picture published in today’s spot newspaper showing buttocks of a dancing queen at Kambele lodge in Lubuto in Ndola over the weekend..
Mr Issac Chelishe told ZANIS that such pictures should not be published because they were exposing the women to ridicule and indecent exposure .
He also wondered why the vocal women groups were quite on the matter because they needed to protect and defend the dignity and integrate of the women folk.
Mr Chileshe wondered what the motives of the photographer and picture editors of the publication was because the buttocks of a women should not be subjected to public exposure in the print media as the African cultural was not loose.
He called for responsibility, good judgment and society morals in the execution of the media duties.
Mr Chileshe urged media personnel to ensure that they publish materials that would not lead the public into moral disorderliness and sensual impulses that could open youths to wanton sexual behavior.
The Ndola Magistrate Court has granted former Defence Minster George Mpombo a bail of K2 million and three working sureties.
ZANIS Ndola reports that in a case heard in Chambers, Magistrate Kelvin Limbani granted the former Defence Minster after hearing submissions from both the prosecution and the defence teams.
“I have considered the application before me and the filled documents, indeed bail is a constitutional right that is granted at the discretion of the court, after considering all the circumstances of the case and the fact that there is no objection from the state, I shall therefore grant the convict bail under the following circumstances, cash bail of 2 million and he shall provide three working sureties in their own recognisance,”he said.
And in part the defence team submission read that the record showed that the notice of appeal against the sentence had been filled and suggested that the repellent be admitted to bail on grounds that the 60 days imposed sentence was short and that by the time the high court would hear the appeal and render the judgment the accused would have already served the custodial sentence.
And in reply state prosecutor Lawrence Mudednda said the sate appreciated the fact that bail was a constitutional right and left the decision to the court.
“We have received the summon of cause and notice of appeal, we appreciate that bail is a constitutional right and therefore leave that decision to the court to decide,” he said.
Mr. Mpombo was on Monday 9th August 2010 sentenced to 60 Days simple imprisonment and fined K 4 million for bouncing a cheque amounting to K10 million.
Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane and Chinese Ambassador to Zambia Li Quiangmin exchange documents after signing various bilateral agreements in Lusaka
Zambia and two Chinese companies signed an agreement on Friday to build the Kafue Gorge Lower Power plant at a cost of $1.5 billion, Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane said.
Musokotwane said construction of the new power plant, key to boosting power supply in Africa’s largest copper producer, would start in April 2011, with the initial $1 billion funding expected to come from the Chinese.
“Zambia together with China Africa Development Fund and Sino-hydro will form a company which will develop the Kafue Gorge Lower project,” Musokotwane told journalists.
The Kafue Gorge project is expected to add 600 megawatts of power to the national grid in Zambia, where power demand is expected to rise due to the opening of new mines.
Zambia, which has had no major investments in power generation for decades, has previously been forced to import power from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) following regular power outages, partly caused by ageing equipment.
Fire
Two children of the same family in Nanchele area in chief Chilyabufu’s chiefdom in Itezhi-tezhi district in southern province have been burnt to ashes while two others have survived when fire swept through their house.
And property worth millions of kwacha has been destroyed in the inferno which started around 18:00 hours on Wednesday.
Both the police sources and the Itezhi-tezhi District Commissioner Mary Mukwiza have confirmed the incident and named the two children named as Precious Nenkombo,2, and Faustina Nenkombo 1-year- and 9 months old to ZANIS today.
And the ZANIS crew which rushed to the scene found the two bodies of the children burnt beyond recognition.
[pullquote]”I was cooking some sample in the house and later decided to pound some groundnuts at the neighboring village, they were four children but when I came back, I just found that the house was on fire and two children together with other household properties were burnt to ashes,” she explained.
[/pullquote]
The mother of the children Gertrude Nenkombo told ZANIS in an interview that her children were burnt on Wednesday around 19:00 hours.
Nenkombo explained that she left a pot of sample boiling in the kitchen when she went to the nearby village to pound groundnuts but upon arriving back around 18 hours she found the house was on fire and two children were dead while two others survived.
She explained that at the time she left the house, there was no adult person to look after the children.
‘I was cooking some sample in the house and later decided to pound some groundnuts at the neighboring village, they were four children but when I came back, I just found that the house was on fire and two children together with other household properties were burnt to ashes,” she explained.
Meanwhile the father to the deceased children said that he was away for two weeks at Itezhi-tezhi Namwala pontoon with his second wife when the incident happened.
Further Itezhi-tezhi police who are investigating the matter have not yet established the cause of the fire which has the two infants dead.
The ruling Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD) and opposition Patriotic Front PF) cadres this morning clashed at the funeral service of late Mpulungu Member of Parliament Lameck Chibombamilimo at Seveth Day Adventist Church at Roma congregation.
This was after MMD cadres tried to stop their PF counterparts from attending the funeral service of the late MP.
MMD cadres ordered the PF cadres to takeoff their party t/shirts sparking the clashes after the opposition cadres refused to take off their party attire.
The opposition cadres were forced to run for their lives after being outnumbered by the MMD cadres who were equipped with whips and catapults which they used on their rivals.
This was happening in the presence of the police officers deployed at the church service and only managed to calm the situation after some time.
When approached for a comment on the violence MMD Lusaka province chairman,William Banda expressed ignorance about the incident despite being seen filming the whole incident.
Meanwhile scores of people from different walks of life attended the funeral service of the late Mpulungu Member of Parliament to bid farewell.
Among those that attended the service are UPND president Hakainde Hichilema, All People’s Congress (APC) leader Ken Ngondo, former first lady Maureen Mwanawasa, deputy speaker of the national assembly Mutale Nalumango, Ministers, Member of parliaments and members of both the opposition and ruling party.
And a family representative during the service called on politicians not to politicize the death of Mr. Chibombamilimo.
Mr Chibombamilimo who died in India on Monday will be put to rest at Leopards Hill Memorial park.
[ QFM ]
Ministry of Education Director of Standards and Curriculum has challenged Mathematics, Science and Technology teachers in the country to make the three subjects more appealing and enjoyable to their pupils.
Florence Mfula said at the 2010 National Junior Engineers, Technicians and Scientists ((JETS) fair held at Hillcrest National Technical High School in Livingstone that the trend would assist in eradicating of the myth that the three subjects are difficult and are for the tough tested.
Mrs Mfula said that JETS should design tailor made programmes for the colleges of education for the trainee teachers to be introduced to JETS early on in their training.
She emphasized that Mathematics is important in terms of producing learners with problem solving and analytical skills that ultimately create a productive workforce and thereby contributing to the economic and healthy growth of the Zambian population.
Mr Mfula noted that JETS has a number of challenges, the major ones being publicity and lack of exposure for of prize winning projects.
And at the same function National JETS Coordinator and Dean, school of Engineering at the University of Zambia, Dr. Zebedia Phiri announced the selection of three former grade 12 and JETS participants from Zambia are scheduled to attend the international baccalaureate course early next month.
Dr Phiri said that the selected three are Joseph Zimba (formerly Chamboli High School – Copperbelt Jets region), Jeff Makungu( formerly Samfya high school, luapula JETS region) and Kondwelani Nthaka(formerly hillcrest high school, Southern JETS region).
A guard aged between 63 and 65 years old, was on Wednesday night killed in cold blood by suspected thieves in Kabwe.
Confirming the development to ZANIS in Kabwe today, Central division police commander Simon Mpande named the deceased as Yohane Tonga of Kamakuti area.
Mr Mpande said the security guard was allegedly fast asleep at a shop he was guarding at railway market he was attacked because he was discovered dead after uncovering the body.
He explained that the body was discovered by another guard, Kandolo Zulu who was also guarding another shop within the premises.
He said the deceased old guard’s body had deep head injuries especially on the left side and the victim’s body is lying in Kabwe General Hospital (KGP) mortuary.
The owner of the shop, Rodgers Zimba, expressed shock and wondered what the thieves wanted because they did not pick anything from the shop.
Mr Zimba told ZANIS at the scene that a check in the morning discovered that the thieves had broken into his shop but to his surprise, they left everything intact though they moved a few items here and there.
He said it was unfortunate that Tonga was killed and appealed to the police to intensify their investigate to ensure the culprits were brought to book.
SYLVA Professional Catering Services has entered into an agreement with a United States-based firm, Kanzam International, to market Zambian food products to the American market.
The agreement between the two companies was made during the African Growth Opportunities Act (Agoa) forum in Washington DC in America last week.
Sylva Professional Catering Services was one of the Zambian firms that attended the forum.
Speaking in an interview in Lusaka yesterday, Sylva Professional Catering executive chairperson, Hector Banda said Zambian food products were on demand in the US and it was imperative that concrete arrangements for exports were made, hence the agreement between the two companies.
“We have an agreement with Kanzam and the idea is for them to represent us in America so that our products are sent fast.
‘‘Apart from this company, others well over 10 have shown interest to do business with us both in the region and outside,” Mr Banda said.
He said they were exporting to the American market dried food, vegetables and canned Zambian products, among others.
He said the company would increase its food exports to the US market from the current 300 to 500 tonnes, saying he envisaged more development taking place in the next three months.
Mr Banda said the American government should reduce the barriers to export in their market.
Currently, he said there were many impediments for Africans to export in the US market although he was happy that through Agoa, some were being addressed.
He was grateful to the Government for facilitating their attendance at the forum, as well as the Americans for inviting them and paying for their expenses.
Through such incentives, Mr Banda said the Government was promoting the growth of the private sector.
“We thank our Government for promoting the growth of the private sector and putting in place favourable investment opportunities,” Mr Banda said.
THE Bankers Association of Zambia (BAZ) is lobbying regulators to put in place a law that will deter businesses from quoting in United States (US) dollars as the tendency increases transaction costs.
BAZ vice chairperson Mizinga Melu said dollarisation is also a serious issue since it increases costs of doing business in Zambia.
“Dollarisation is an issue because quoting in dollars translates in cost of doing business…We are lobbying the regulators to put a law to stop quoting in dollars,” she said.
Mrs Melu, who is also Standard Chartered Bank managing director, was answering a question on what the financial market was doing on dollarisation during the bank’s second quarter performance media briefing in Lusaka yesterday.
Recently, the Bank of Zambia (BoZ) conducted a survey whose findings were outlined in a publication entitled ‘Issues on the Zambian Economy’.
The findings noted that the Zambian economy has been highly dollarised.
BoZ recommended the introduction of measures to cushion commercial banks from some of the effects of dollarisation.
According to the study findings, the major contributing factor to dollarisation is volatility in the exchange rates and the high levels of inflation.
The study also found that dollarisation has also arisen due to uncertainty about donor inflows and balance of payment support.
Mrs Melu, however, said there is need to develop infrastructure as it has been identified as a major contributing factor to the cost of doing business.
“The cost of doing business remains high.
It is important to continue to develop infrastructure, hence diversification in other sectors thereby create jobs.”
On the recent fraud activities that affected some banks, Mrs Melu said although confidence has been affected, the players in the market remain vigilant and those affected were reimbursed.
“Although it was a very small quantity of people affected in our market compared to other markets, it is not acceptable but not unusual. We remain vigilant as a bank,” she said.
Recently, BAZ issued a notice advising customers to be watchful when using debit cards especially abroad.
FIRST Quantum Minerals Limited (FQM) will trim the workforce at its Bwana Mkubwa mine in Ndola which will be placed under care and maintenance this monthend due to lack of copper ore for processing at the plant.
FQM’s Bwana Mkubwa mine has run out of raw materials which were sourced locally and from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Operations and production manager Scott Andries confirmed the development in an interview yesterday.
“There are no raw materials for processing at the mine. The copper ore has finished, we expect to close the mine by end of this month,” he said.
Mr Andries said the mine has more than 200 workers, some of whom will be laid off while others will remain to carry out the care and maintenance programme.
However, he could not state the number of employees that will be retrenched.
“We are going to lay off some employees and maintain some to carry out care and maintenance of the mine,” he said.
Mr Andries said the company is currently sourcing for raw materials locally to enable it resume activities once proved viable.
He said FQM was undertaking new projects such as the Kulungila where it has embarked on drilling activities in North-Western Province.
Mr Andries said once the Kulungila project is found to be feasible, the company will put up required infrastructure at the would-be mine.
He said the concentrator for processing of copper ore will also be constructed at the site. He said the report on the project will determine whether the processing facilities should be established at Kulungila in North-Western Province or elsewhere.
“If everything goes by our plans, then we will be relocating our production activities nearer to the raw materials,” he said. Mr Andries said the project in North-Western is likely to take three years to be completed. He said the Bwana Mkubwa project took one year six months to be completed.
Former Lusaka Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo
Former Lusaka Catholic Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo will this weekend be installed as a patriarch of Africa in charge of the southern African region.
The outspoken cleric will be installed as the third patriarch of Africa on Sunday at Barlastone Park School near Twikatane Farms in Lusaka by several church denominations.
Archbishop Milingo told the Times in Lusaka that the ceremony would follow a similar one held in Cameroun which was organised by five churches.
He said the gathering would be held under the auspices of the Ecumenical Catholic Apostolic Church of Peace and would be witnessed by several married bishops.
Archbishop Milingo said he would be installed as a patriarch of Africa in charge of southern Africa which includes Cameroun, Congo Brazzaville and all the other countries in the neighbourhood.
He said he was humbled to be honoured and expressed confidence that he would competently represent the churches that had recognised his contributions to humanity.
Among the churches which would be represented are the Old Catholic Church, Orthodox, Liberal Catholic of Spain, Charismatic Church of Brazil, Independent Catholic and others from the United States of America and other parts of the world.
[pullquote]“My installation has two meanings: The first one is that the African Church leaders think I have reached the age to be an elder of bishops.
“Secondly, they look at me and feel that using my spiritual experience I have greatly contributed to the Church unity. They have seen how I have silently suffered many injustices,” Archbishop Milingo said.[/pullquote]
Founder of Imani Temple of America, Augustus Stallings is among the clerics expected from the US.
Archbishop Stallings is a former Jesuit bishop in the Roman Catholic Church.
“My installation has two meanings: The first one is that the African Church leaders think I have reached the age to be an elder of bishops.
“Secondly, they look at me and feel that using my spiritual experience I have greatly contributed to the Church unity. They have seen how I have silently suffered many injustices,” Archbishop Milingo said.
Archbishop Milingo, who stunned the world when in 2001, while serving as a Roman Catholic archbishop married Maria Sung, said most of the churches involved followed almost all the Roman Catholic Church doctrines and conducted mass in a similar fashion.
He said the ceremony on August 15 would start with a traditional prayer service from a Ngoni traditional group and would be followed by a Catholic mass.
Africa currently has two such patriarchs in Alexandria, Egypt, and in Ethiopia, and Archbishop Milingo said his installation would mark a milestone for southern Africa.
The 80-year-old priest heads the Married Priests Now Prelature, which he founded following his marriage.
[ Times of Zambia ]
FLASHBACK: President Banda talks to PF leader Michael Sata at Good Friday celebrations at Saint Ignatius church
PATRIOTIC Front (PF) president Michael Sata has told the United Party for National Development (UPND) to stop being jittery over observations his vice president, Guy Scott made over the party’s poor showing in last week’s Luena parliamentary by election.
Mr Sata has defended Dr Scott’s analysis of the election in which the UPND garnered a paltry 20 percent of the votes as his own personal opinion and not of the PF as a party.
But in a sharp response, UPND spokesperson Charles Kakoma has insisted that in fact whether or not Dr Scott wrote the statement in his individual capacity, it was wrong to celebrate the party’s loss in Luena because it did not reflect the position of the PF/UPND pact.
Mr Kakoma said Dr Scott did not follow the PF-UPND pact’s communication channels if he had anything to tell the nation but decided to rush to the press.
“So on that score, Dr Scott was definitely wrong. He shouldn’t have used the press but should have used the right channel to air his views through the pact working group or if not satisfied, the national governing council of the pact,” he said.
Dr Scott wrote in his weekly column in the Post newspaper that “UPND must be ruing the day it ‘won’ the argument about who should contest.”
[pullquote]“So, it was not correct for Dr Scott to pour scorn on UPND or write in such a mocking manner. He did not respect the pact’s spirit even if he was writing as an individual. He is PF vice-president who should have known what he was writing about,” he said.[/pullquote]
The UPND fielded Mr Muyunda Ililonga in the Luena by-election.
Mr Kakoma said there was no need for Dr Scott or other PF members to celebrate Mr Ililonga’s loss especially that he was jointly fielded by the UPND/PF pact.
He said UPND did not rejoice when the PF candidate in the Milanzi parliamentary by-election lost as the membership knew that the contestant was jointly fielded.
“So, it was not correct for Dr Scott to pour scorn on UPND or write in such a mocking manner. He did not respect the pact’s spirit even if he was writing as an individual. He is PF vice-president who should have known what he was writing about,” he said.
But Mr Sata said in an interview in Lusaka yesterday that the UPND should not be jittery over Dr Scott’s remarks in his column because what he wrote reflected his individual opinion as a political and economic consultant and not as PF vice-president.
“This is not the first time Dr Scott has written such articles. He has been writing as an individual and has never written as PF vice-president. What he writes are his own opinion. So, there is no need for our friends (UPND) to be jittery,” Mr Sata said.
[pullquote]“This is not the first time Dr Scott has written such articles. He has been writing as an individual and has never written as PF vice-president. What he writes are his own opinion. So, there is no need for our friends (UPND) to be jittery,” Mr Sata said.[/pullquote]
And when contacted, UPND president Hakainde Hichilema declined to comment on Dr Scott’s remarks.
When reminded that his pact co-leader Mr Sata had already commented on the matter, Mr Hichilema said: “I don’t discuss those issues in the press. For those who have commented, that is their way of doing things. People are different and I am not like that,” Mr Hichilema said.
Meanwhile, Chief Mwanachingwala of the Tonga people in Mazabuka has accused Mr Hichilema of having caused all the differences currently brewing in the pact.
The traditional ruler said he told the nation the first time the pact was formed that it was not going to work but that people doubted him.
Chief Mwanachingwala said Mr Sata is his good friend and he knows what is happening in the PF-UPND pact.
He said Mr Hichilema is the one to blame over the pact problems and not Mr Sata because the former is the one who joined the latter.
Chief Mwanachingwala said he advised Mr Hichilema to form a pact with the MMD but he rejected the advice.
“I told Mr Hichilema to make a pact with President Banda and the MMD because that is the only way he can have a chance to probably come and stand for the presidency in 2016. He came here and I slaughtered a buffalo for him but he only ate one piece. I was very annoyed,” he said.
In another development, the United Liberal Party (ULP) is disappointed by Mr Ililonga’s claims that ULP allegedly distributed tribal literature during campaigns.
[pullquote]“I told Mr Hichilema to make a pact with President Banda and the MMD because that is the only way he can have a chance to probably come and stand for the presidency in 2016. He came here and I slaughtered a buffalo for him but he only ate one piece. I was very annoyed,” he said.[/pullquote]
ULP national chairperson for women Charity Katilungu said in a statement yesterday that the literature her party distributed in Luena was not tribal but was based on facts aimed at selling its candidate Sikatala Musole to the electorate.
“We wish to appeal to Mr Ililonga not to blame the ULP for his loss in the Luena by-election and to stop crying over spilt milk. His loss is due to his long absence from Luena constituency and UPND’s countrywide loss of political fortunes,” she said.
Ms Katilungu said Mr Ililonga should accept the fact that UPND has lost popularity in Western Province and other parts of Zambia since Mr Hichilema allegedly uttered words that only a Tonga could lead UPND at the 2006 party convention.
She said Dr Scott properly analysed UPND’s fortunes in his column and urged Mr Ililonga to study the analysis before he can blame any one.
Example of a Mobile Hospital recently donated to Zambia
Outgoing United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) resident coordinator Macleod Nyirongo yesterday said the procurement of mobile hospitals has been politicised and the debates around them lacked proper cost-benefit analysis.
He said at a media breakfast meeting hosted by the Lusaka Press Club that a rural community clinic in Itezhi-Tezhi had just been given an award for using a similar concept to promote access to health, which was similar to the mobile hospital concept.
Mr Nyirongo will step down as UNDP country representative next week having served in Zambia since July 2008.
“Don’t dismiss mobile hospitals outrightly. Avoid politicising the debate but use facts and figures.
“For me as an economist, the cost-effective analysis has not been done but the media are the ones who have taken up the matter without the cost-effective analysis,” Mr Nyirongo said.
He said it was unfortunate that politicians in the country had misrepresented the facts and this had resulted in the media taking it up negatively.
“So I think the debate has jumped from the economists to the Press,” he said.
And Paramount Chief Mpezeni of the Ngoni people in Eastern Province and Senior Chief Chisunka of the Ushi people in Luapula Province urged the Government to ensure the speedy implementation of the mobile hospital concept because people in their areas were anxious.
Chief Mpezeni said in an interview that the Government had made a good decision and urged Zambians to ignore Patriotic Front president Michael Sata and United Party for National Development leader Hakainde Hichilema who were constantly criticising the purchase of mobile hospitals.
Chief Chisunka, who is chairperson of the Luapula Province Royal Foundation, said people from Kasongole area walked a long distance to the nearest clinic in Luwingu and that mobile hospitals would provide relief for them.
The Zambia Red Cross Society also said there was nothing wrong with introducing mobile hospitals because they were aimed at alleviating people’s suffering.
Secretary general Charles Mushitu said what was important was the impact of the project on the targeted population.
“I believe the mobile hospitals will be in the same line with the (Zambia) Flying Doctor Service which works well to provide quality health care service to the people,” he said.
Copperbelt Health and Environmental Project executive director, Roy Mwilu said mobile hospitals could play a big role in enhancing health service delivery if well implemented.
He said in Kitwe yesterday that taking a leaf from mobile voluntary counselling and testing programmes, mobile hospitals would contribute positively to Zambia’s health care delivery.
[ Times of Zambia ]
ZESCO transformer
ZESCO will tomorrow shut down two generators at Kafue Gorge power station to facilitate for maintenance works on generators number one and two.
Senior manager for marketing and public relations, Lucy Zimba said yesterday in a statement that as a result of the generator outage, 330 mega watts would not be available on the national grid.
She said this would create a power deficit that would necessitate power rationing in form of increased load-shedding during the peak period.
“Zesco would like to inform its customers of the shutdown of two generators at Kafue Gorge power station with effect from Saturday, August 14 at 21:00 hours to Sunday 15th 2010 at 21:00 hours,” she said.
Ms Zimba appealed to its customers to switch off as many electrical appliances as possible, particularly during the peak hours.
[ Times Zambia ]
