Africa Institute for Democracy and Good Governance (AIDGG) spokesperson Thabo Kawana has urged Patriotic Front (PF) leader Michael Sata and sections of society to stop linking the first lady Thandiwe Banda’s charitable works to corruption and political campaigns.

Mr. Kawana has in an interview with ZANIS in Kapiri Mponshi today, observed that Mr. Sata’s and some politician’s comments in the media linking the first lady to politics and corruption are irresponsible and politically aimed at tarnishing her image.

The AIDGG spokesperson said Mrs. Banda’s activities across the country should be supported as they are aimed at strengthening women and improve their welfare.

He said the first lady is going across the country to support women clubs which consisted women from various political parties and hence accusing her of campaigning for the ruling MMD through this activity is baseless.

Mr. Kawana noted that the first lady had resolved not to form her own Non Governmental Organization (NGO) like her predecessors to help women but opted to work with existing ones a move which is commended.

He said the move was a clear indication that Mrs. Banda wanted to support and work with all individual women and women clubs in the country regardless of political affiliation.

He said the first lady needs to be supported and not disturbed for her activities therefore it is regrettable that some politicians and critics want to destroy her good name and works.

Mr. Kawana has since urged Mrs. Banda not to relent or be disturbed by these politicians and critics of her works but be focused to helping the needy in society.

Meaniwhile, First Lady Thandiwe Banda has commended the women of Chiengi District in Luapula Province for taking farming seriously in the Chiefdom.

The first Lady said this today in Chiengi when she donated 40 by 50 kg bags of fertiliser, 20 bags of maize and sunflower, sewing machines and a hummer Mill to Women Clubs in the area.

ZANIS reports that Mrs Banda also promised the Women that she would request the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) to teach them how to apply the fertilisers using new farming methods.

She thanked the people in the area for voting for President Banda during the 2008 presidential by elections. And speaking during the same occassion, Chief District Association Chairperson Alice Mtine said Women were part and parcel of all Government programmes in the district adding that they played a significant role in national development.

Mrs. Mtine said some of the challenges women Clubs faced included lack of access to equipment such as hummer mills and sowing machines adding that the donation the first lady rendered to the organisation would go a long way in mitigating some of the problems they were facing.

Meanwhile, the First Lady paid a courtesy call on Senior Chief Puta’s wife Agnes in Chiengi district who thanked Mrs Banda for visiting the area for the first time.

The traditional Leader’s wife further appealed to Government through the First Lady to adequately empower women in the area to enable them look after the
vulnerable in society and fight against the HIV and Aids respectively. The First Lady is in Chiengi District for a one week tour of Luapula Province.

She is accompanied by Mrs. Edina Mukuma, Wife of Presidential Affairs Minister at State house Rolnald Mukuma, Mrs. Felisty Mushosha, Mrs. Agnes Chinyanta and Mrs. Gloria Sichilima.

ZANIS

The Lusaka Water and Sewerage Company (LWSC) has disclosed that there would be low water supply in areas that are on higher ground than in areas that are on lower ground during the hot season.

Chief Engineer at the LWSC Wilson Shan said it was quite common to experience low water supply during the hot season in places that were on higher ground because the ground water table was at its lowest.

Mr. Shan also attributed the water shortage during the hot season to water wastage by people in lower areas.

He explained that various activities that people engaged in like taking longer showers, car wash using the hose pipe and brushing teeth on running water resulted in water shortage causing other people to experience a low water supply during the hot season.

He disclosed this during a live programme called Water Chat on MUVI Television and monitored by ZANIS in Lusaka yesterday.

Mr. Shan stated that Lusaka Water and Sewerage relied on ground water and during the hot season the water table receded reducing water supply and increasing the pumps working capacity. This he noted caused some areas on higher ground to experience low or no water supply during certain times.

He named areas mostly affected by low water supply during the hot season, as Chudley, Upper Ibex Hill, Chalala, and Garden township.

“Demand for water supply during the summer is at its highest but the supply is low because our water sources are equally low during this period in time” the Engineer said.

He noted that there was need to continue sensitising people on the importance of water conservation especially during the hot season in order for everyone to have access to the commodity.

ZANIS

Second Republican President, Frederick Chiluba, has accused donors of attacking genuine nationalists and Pan-Africanists.
And Dr. Chiluba said he remains part of State House in the wake of his acquittal and the refusal by government to appeal against the High Court ruling on the registration of the London judgment.

Speaking in an interview with journalists in Lusaka this morning, Dr. Chiluba who was flanked by his spokesperson, Emmanuel Mwamba, said donors are in a habit of looking for countries to identify as puppets and later use them to bring division among themselves.

Dr Chiluba explained that donor also look for genuine nationalists and Pan-Africanists whom to attack because they are against their agenda in Africa.

The former head of State noted that in Pan-Africanism, they espouse the ideas and principles of sovereignty, independence, and autonomy which he says puppets fails to address.

Dr Chiluba said those who espouse these virtuals in principle and rights of the African people become enemies of diplomats.

And when asked to comment on the High Court ruling on the London Judgment, Dr Chiluba said: “ I am is smiling and my smile is genuine. ”

Dr Chiluba added that he would now concentrate on doing the work of a former head of State like what former US President, Jimmy Carter and other world former heads of State are doing.

He said being part of State House, he would do everything he can to assist the government of president Rupiah Banda.
[QFM ]

The Supreme Court has adjourned judgement in an appeal case involving former President Frederick Chiluba’s wife Regina Mwanza to October 30, 2010.

Mrs Chiluba is appearing before Court judges Evans Hamaundu, Eddie Sikazwe and Catherine Makundu in her appeal case in which she is accused of having received property alleged to have been stolen.

ZANIS reports that last year, Magistrate Charles Musonda convicted Mrs Chiluba to three and half years simple imprisonment for allegedly receiving property believed to have been stolen contrary to section 319(a) cap 87 of the Laws of Zambia.

Mrs Chiluba appealed against her conviction to the Supreme Court.

The matter has been adjourned because Judges who are supposed to preside over the case were still handling other cases in the Supreme Court.

And the Lusaka High Court has set aside judgement in an appeal case involving former Lands Minister Gladys Nyirongo to September 30, this year.

Early last year, Magistrate Newa slapped Reverend Nyirongo with two and four years simple imprisonment after she was found guilty on two counts respectively for abuse of authority. However, the sentence was to run concurrently.

Reverend Nyorongo was going to serve four years simple imprisonment from the date of her arrest.

Facts before the court were that Ms Nyirongo being a person employed in the public service at that time was accused of having abused her office by directing Lands officer Daisy Mulenga to generate offer letters of land to 10 people in Fox dale Chamba Valley between January 1 and February 2006.

In the second count, Ms Nyirongo was accused of having abused her position by directing a Mr Chewe, a junior technician in the Ministry of Agriculture to subdivide a farm belonging to the Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines (ZCCM) farm number f/309a in contravention of the land alienation procedures and created property number 1/19634/m for herself.

[ ZANIS ]

THE Committee of Citizens (CC) yesterday said the British government is misleading Zambians by distancing itself from the prosecution of second Republican president Frederick Chiluba after using funds from the State institutions such as the Serious Frauds Office to finance the court process.

In a media release in Lusaka yesterday, CC executive director Gregory Chifire accused the British government of lying to the Zambian people because it was public knowledge that Britain provided funds through the Taskforce on Corruption to prosecute Dr Chiluba and his co-accused.

He said it was clear that the British government was deeply involved in this matter and their technical advisors persuaded the Taskforce on Corruption to commence this process in the London High Court.

Mr Chifire was commenting on a statement by the Public Affairs Office on Friday that the United Kingdom did not have any role to play in the prosecution of Dr Chiluba but that the Zambian Government was the one that was pursuing him.

“We are surprised by the Press statement from the British High Commission issued on Friday August 27, 2010.

“The attempt by the British government to disassociate itself now from the London judgment amounts to hypocrisy. In our view, the statement is crafted to merely play with words so that they can lie to the people of Zambia,” Mr Chifire said.

He said it was public knowledge that during the fight against corruption, the British government provided technical and financial assistance to the Taskforce on Corruption.

“Therefore, the decision to commence a civil case against former president and others in the London High Court began as a process to support the investigations Serious Frauds Office and other private investigators hired such as OVAG were doing in the United Kingdom,” Mr Cifire said.

He said as a result of the British government’s involvement, the Taskforce on Corruption through the Attorney General, obtained from the London High Court a world freezing order on November 17, 2004.

Mr Chifire said the order was obtained to recover the perceived plundered assets and that when no assets were recovered, the order was turned into full fledged legal suit to claim from the defendants the same money they couldn’t find.

He said the British High Commissioners in Lusaka, both the current and previous ones had made numerous public statements on the matter and the fight against corruption.

In most cases the public statements ignored the rule of law and prejudiced these court cases.
[pullquote]“Similarly, there is no reciprocal treaty between Zambia and the United Kingdom to recognise court judgments between the two countries,” Mr Chifire said.[/pullquote]
Zambians will remember that a member of the royal family, the Duke of Gloucester, Prince Richard, visited Zambia during which time London High Court judge Peter Smith was delivering his judgment on May 4, 2007 in London.

He said it was around the same time that Prince Richard issued a statement supporting the London Judgment and castigated Dr. Chiluba accusing him of corruption.

“It was uncharacteristic for any member of the royal family to issue such a disparaging statement,” Mr Chifire said.

Mr Chifire said he was also shocked that the British government was making wild claims regarding the London Judgment in relation to the asset recoveries when the truth was that the Belgium apartments were handed over to the Taskforce on Corruption and yet they belonged to the Zambian Government.

“The property was bought on mortgage by a company created by the Intelligence and was handed over to the Taskforce on Corruption in 2002. So how could these assets have been the subject of the London judgment whose process started in 2004-2005? How could Government recover its own assets?” Mr Chifire wondered.

He said the British Government claims that millions of British Pounds were recovered from Attan Shansonga when the truth was that a mutual agreement was made by the London Court and Mr Shansonga who sold his shareholding in Lunsemfwa Hydro Power Station worth K1.8 billion to pay for his legal fees and repatriate the difference to the State.

He said that it was difficult to bring Mr Shansonga, who is also a British citizen, to Zambia since no extradition treaty exists between Zambia and the United Kingdom.

“Similarly, there is no reciprocal treaty between Zambia and the United Kingdom to recognise court judgments between the two countries,” Mr Chifire said.

Mr Chifire said it was wrong for the British High Commission to demand that a London Judgment be recognised in Zambia when no legal instruments existed to permit such a matter.
[ Times of Zambia ]

LOCAL Government and Housing Minister Eustarckio Kazonga has said the leaders of the pact formed by the United Party for National Development (UPND) president and Patriotic Front leader are exhibiting ignorance by criticising the acquisition of mobile hospitals which will benefit the majority people in the rural areas.

Dr Kazonga said the acquisition of the mobile hospitals would boost the operations of the health departments in all the local authorities in the country and called on Zambians to avoid being cheated by opposition leaders and Kafulafuta MP, George Mpombo who had been condemning the acquisition of mobile hospitals.

Zambia and China have already signed an agreement for the provision of US$53 million loan to acquire mobile hospitals to serve rural communities.

Dr Kazonga said the acquisition of mobile hospitals had been ignorantly politicised but that people on the ground were excited about the development.

The minister said local authorities struggled in the past to mount preventive measures against waterborne and other diseases because patients had to be transported to hospitals to conduct research.

Dr Kazonga said Mr Sata and Mr Hichilema had continued to mislead Zambians without giving them proper facts.

He said he had personally conducted research on how the mobile hospitals had been used to deliver quality health care to the people in countries where the system had been implemented.

Dr Kazonga said local authorities had a responsibility to improve the road network in places that were not accessible to ensure that mobile hospitals reach all parts of the country.

The minister said condemning the acquisition of mobile hospitals because of the poor road network was merely meant to politicise the acquisition of mobile hospitals because it would make the Government popular.

Dr Kazonga said the Ministry of Health would work with provincial and district health authorities to ensure maximum use of the hospital hospitals.
[ Times of Zambia ]