President Rupiah Banda has said Government is constructing 26 hospitals countrywide including the upgrade of Lusaka General Hospital to improve access to health care in the country.

The president said Government took a bold decision to convert health centres into hospitals in Lusaka to meet the demand of the increasing population that has been causing congestion at the University Teaching Hospital (UTH).

Commissioning the newly-built theatres at the upgraded Chawama Hospital in Lusaka yesterday, President Banda said eight out of the 26 hospitals would be completed this year.

“Undoubtedly, this will improve the access to health care for our people. This is a clear indication of the great desire by my Government to provide services for all the people of Zambia,” the president said.

He said the upgrading of the five health clinics in Lusaka to level one hospital had cost Government K65 billion, which has been paid from the treasury.

Mr Banda said it was important to decongest the UTH so that it could concentrate on referral cases.

“The increased burden of disease has also been responsible for the congestion. It is important to mention that the UTH is a referral hospital for the whole country that is why it is critical to decongest it,” he said.

Mr Banda said before the upgrade of Chawama Hospital, all operations including caesarean sections, cleaning of injuries and draining of abscesses were done at the UTH.
[pullquote] “The increased burden of disease has also been responsible for the congestion. It is important to mention that the UTH is a referral hospital for the whole country that is why it is critical to decongest it,” he said.
“This means that apart from alleviating the work load at UTH, you will be able to care for your loved ones [/pullquote]closer to your homes. I know most of you have to spend money on transport and on providing your relatives and friends with personal care after they have been operated on at the UTH,” he said.

President Banda said with the commissioning of the theaters, work would immediately start at Chawama Hospital.

“Additionally, some of the specialists at the UTH will be coming to Chawama and indeed other hospitals to provide the required services. The necessary equipment that will be used in these facilities has been mobilised,” he said.

The president thanked health workers who work tirelessly to ensure that Zambians get good health care.

And in a vote of thanks, Chawama resident Potipher Tembo commended Government for the timely action to upgrade the Chawama Hospital.

Mr Tembo said because of the increased population in Chawama, the upgrading of the hospital would help the people in the area.

“The upgrading of the hospital is testimony of your Government’s care for the people of Chawama,” he said.

Mr Tembo appealed to the president to consider buying a standby generator for the hospitals.

The president then assured the podium and the crowd that came to witness the commissioning that a standby generator would be procured and delivered immediately.

And a health practitioner Tuckson Lambart has said the upgrade of the five hospitals in Lusaka will greatly help healthcare delivery.

Some Chawama residents spoken to by the Times expressed happiness with the upgrade of the Chawama Hospital.

Forum for Progressive Politics (FPP) secretary general Charles Kafumbo who is a resident of Chawama said the upgrade demonstrates that President Banda’s Government has a vision for the people.

Another resident Rhoda Phiri who has lived in the area for 26 years said she was happy that the hospital had been upgraded because now mothers could deliver at the hospital.

Meanwhile President Rupiah Banda yesterday said Zambians should not tolerate men who batter their wives.

The president said jokingly in response to the Master of Ceremony Herbet Mutabi that his Church should join hands with women to protest against wife battery.

Last week Kasama Central Patriotic Front (PF) Member of Parliament Geoffrey Mwamba was arrested for beating his wife Chama.

[ Times of Zambia ]

Three officers at Chipata Central police have been apprehended in connection with the murder of three suspects.

Eastern Province Police Commanding Officer Mary Chikwanda told journalists this morning that the officers have been detained to help with investigations leading to the shooting of the suspects who escaped police by jumping off a moving vehicle in Chadiza.

Ms Chikwanda explained that the officers would be charged after police have carried out an investigation on the intent of the shooting.

She stated that the incident occurred when the suspects were leading police to places where they were hiding caucuses of stolen cattle when they jumped off a moving vehicle.

Ms Chikwanda said the suspects did not stop when police fired warning shots, a move which forced the officers to gun down the suspects.

She stated that the suspects are reported to have been stealing cattle in various villages in Chipata and Chadiza districts and supplying the meat to butcheries at Kapata market in Chipata district.

In another event, police are investigating a matter in which a middle aged man was last Thursday found unconscious and later died in Chief Maguya’s area in Chipata district.

The man identified as David Mwamba, a teacher at Kabele Basic School was found lying on the road between Kabinga and Kalunga villages with multiple body injuries before he was rushed to Chipata general hospital where he later died.

[ ZANIS ]

Sinazongwe District Commissioner (DC) Oliver Pelete has disclosed that government will work on damaged bridges along the controversial bottom road from Sinazongwe to Siavonga.

Mr Pelete told ZANIS that all the damaged bridges from Sinazeze/Chiyabi bottom road have already been advertised for construction.

He said major bridges such as the Sikalamba, Nangombe, Nakula and Sialwele have been earmarked for construction to alleviate the suffering that people in the areas face during the rain season.

The DC urged Sinazongwe residents to be patient with government so that the right channel is followed in choosing the right contractor.

Most of the bridges along the Sinazeze/ Chiyabi bottom road were washed away during last rain season affecting the surrounding communities.

[ ZANIS ]

[ ZANIS ]

The late Gladys Mabenga Chitika daughter of Lands Deputy Minister Michael Mabenga has finally been buried at the Leopard Hill Memorial Park.

The burial which failed to take place on Tuesday was finally conducted after the family had a second and independent postmortem.

Family representative, Raphael Mabenga said the family is happy with the methodology that was used in the second postmortem that was conducted by a Russian Doctor at the University Teaching hospital (UTH) today.

He told a gathering at the burial site that the family is,however, waiting for the results of the postmortem which will be released by the Ministry of Health.

“We conducted a second postmortem today but the results are not yet released to us, we are told to wait for a go ahead on the results by the ministry of health. We are however happy that this has been conducted, we are happy with the methodology used and it was transparent” he said.

Mr Mabenga further disclosed that police have instituted fresh investigations into the matter adding that there was also a new set of police officers present to witness the postmortem.

Meanwhile, Information and Broadcasting Minister, Lieutenant General Ronnie Shikapwasha urged the family to look up to God saying the cause of death will be revealed.

He said although it was appointed for every person to die, it was saddened by the unexpected death of the late Mrs Mabenga Chitika.

Lt. Gen. Shikapwasha described Mrs. Mabenga Chitika who was an Executive Officer in his ministry as a dedicated worker and an asset to both the family and the government.

And President Rupiah Banda has sent a message of condolences to the Mabenga family.

The President said in a letter addressed to the family and read by Mabenga’s family spokesperson Colonel Patrick Lubinda that he was deeply saddened by the sadden death of their daughter.

And in a sermon at the church service at the Cathedral of the Child Jesus, Father Sylvester Ngandu called on people to have love for one another.

He said there are high cases of gender based violence, child abuse and the like because people have neglected the simple teaching of the Bible on love.

Fr Ngandu said the greatest tragedy that has befallen the human race is stopping caring and loving one another.

The late Gladys Mabenga Chitika is survived by a husband, and two children.

First lady Thandiwe Banda and wife to the Vice President Irene Kunda were among cabinet ministers, deputy ministers and other senior government officials who attended the funeral procession.

[ ZANIS ]

The Lusaka High Court has found Inktech Managing Director, Mathew Mohan, and his two co-accused, Idris Patel and Shabia Patel, with a case to answer in a matter where the trio is charged with the murder of Cyclone Hardware Director, Sajid Mohammed Itowala.

Supreme Court Judge,Gregory Phiri, sitting as High Court Judge found the trio with a case to answer and has consequently put them on their defense.

In his ruling this morning, Judge Phiri said the prosecution produced a mixture of evidence which indicate that the trio had nothing to fear as they murdered Itowala during the day in his vehicle.

He said this took place after the deceased was captured and abducted in the early hours of July 21, 2009.

The matter has since been adjourned to October 18 and 19,as the dates for the commencement of defence while the trio remains in custody.

The trio is charged of murdering Cyclone Hardware Director, Sajid Itowala, on July 21, 2009 in Lusaka, contrary to section 200 of penal code.

[QFM]

The former finance minister is reported to be planning to form a political party.

SACCORD information officer, Obby Chibuluma said the ruling party will be most threatened if Magande goes ahead to form a political movement as reported.

Mr Chibuluma said Mr Magande has been an all time MMD sympathizer and would find it easy to draw most of his party membership from the ruling party.

He noted that the fact that he once served in government and most people within the MMD have openly supported him means that most of his party membership would be drawn from the ruling party.

He has since warned the MMD to brace itself for the worst because if Mr Magande forms a party as reported,the ruling party would suffer the most casualties.
[ QFM ]

Vice-President George Kunda has advised councillors not to interfere with the role of council officers because that is contrary to the principles of separation of powers at local government level.

Speaking yesterday at the installation of new Lusaka Mayor Daniel Chisenga and his deputy Harry Hapwende, Mr Kunda said councillors should effectively coordinate Government programmes and projects from the grassroots to council level.

“You have a civic responsibility to explain projects initiated by both the central Government, your local authority and cooperating partners which are aimed at alleviating poverty and benefit the people,” he said.

Mr Kunda also advised councillors and council officers to prudently manage public resources and avoid corrupt practices because they received huge amounts of public funds.

He said the role of councillors was to provide policy guidance and pass decisions as well as interfacing with citizens, potential investors and other stakeholders in matters of local economic development.
[pullquote]“You have a civic responsibility to explain projects initiated by both the central Government, your local authority and cooperating partners which are aimed at alleviating poverty and benefit the people,” he said.
[/pullquote]
He said council employees should implement policies aimed at fulfilling development aspirations to accelerate socio-economic development in all corners of the country.

The vice-president said the Government was committed to implementing a robust fiscal decentralisation framework and had increased allocation to local Government in order to enhance service delivery.

He said that the budgetary allocation to councils was K110 billion in 2009, K113 billion in 2010 and in 2009, K90 billion was allocated as Constituency Development Fund, translating into K600 million per constituency.

He urged councils to support the ‘Make Zambia Clean and Healthy’ campaign to improve community and personal hygiene.

He said the Government would soon announce the appointment of commissioners for the Local Government Service Commission that would have powers to employ, appoint, confirm, discipline and transfer councils officers.

Out-going Lusaka mayor Robert Chikwelete said there should be no politicking because people should not suffer because of differences in political opinion.

He said that government should also release funds for the clearing of drainage on time to avoid flooding in townships because the council had finances to do it alone.

New mayor, Mr Chisenga said challenges faced by the council could only be fought if all stakeholders partnered with the council.

Mr Chisenga said there was a huge task ahead and he would personally see to it that street lighting was done and drainage was improved in flood-prone areas.

And the Government has implored Solwezi Municipal Council to be transparent in the utilisation of money collected from rates, especially colossal amounts it receives from Kansanshi Mine, and warned that the State will not tolerate abuse.

North-Western Province Minister, Daniel Kalenga said during the installation of Sandang’ombe MMD councillor, Jameson Kapumba as mayor that accountability should be extended to other funds.

He warned that Government would not hesitate to take punitive action on any council, councillor or officer cited in audit reports for misapplication or misappropriation of public funds.

Mr Kalenga said the administration of President Banda would continue with its development programmes designed to lessen people’s suffering.

And the new Mayor, Mr Kapumba, who takes over from Peter Kikatula after serving his two mandatory terms, conceded that challenges awaited him in his new office, and called for support from the people to move forward the district.

Mr Kikatula said his tenure was not easy, but projects including construction of a new chamber, extension of council offices and street lights were undertaken through team work.

In Ndola, Local Government and Housing Minister, Eustarkio Kazonga has warned Ndola City Council to desist from politicising the office of mayor at the expense of service delivery.

He said if the councillors failed to heed the advice he would not hesitate to suspend the entire council.

Dr Kazonga said on Monday that it was important for the mayor and councillors to perform their duties diligently because residents were looking up to them for service delivery.

Officiating at the installation of the new mayor, Friday Sikazwe and his deputy Oscar Himanga at the civic centre grounds, Dr Kazonga said councillors had a responsibility to provide services for the benefit of the community.

The new mayor, Mr Sikazwe called on Government to construct more modern markets after the opening of Ndeke and Chisokone markets at a cost of K13 billion.

Former mayor, Charles Chiwala advised the new mayor and his deputy to ensure that there was a good work relationship between the councillors and the council management to ensure that there was effective delivery of service.

Copperbelt Minister Mwansa Mbulakulima advised councillors against pre-occupying themselves with private agendas at the expense of providing civic services to the people whom they are mandated to serve.

Mr Mbulakulima said being a councillor entailed being with the people within the wards and not just to be found at council offices all the time.

He was speaking when he officiated at the installation ceremony of new Mufulira Mayor, Andrew Msiska and his deputy, Catherine Mutale at the Mufulira Municipal Council on Monday.

Mr Mbulakulima said in a speech read for him by Copperbelt Provincial Local Government Officer, Solomon Sakala that Government’s expectation of councils was for them to come up with programmes that related with the people.

Outgoing mayor, Thomson Ngulube called on the Government to address the problem of poor road infrastructure in the district.

And Works and Supply Minister Mike Mulongoti has implored the new mayor of Chingola McDonald Mulongoti to be accountable to the people and avoid being influenced by partisan politics.

He said relying on advice from outside Chingola council would mislead him and betray the people of Chingola that put him in office.

Officiating at the installation of the mayor in Chingola on Monday afternoon, Mr Mulongoti advised the new mayor to be proactive in order to deliver to the people who
entrusted him with responsibility.

The minister said the local government authorities were an agent of the central Government charged with the responsibility of implementing projects initiated by the the State.

The new mayor thanked Government for a grant of K2.4 billion to his council coming in form of K1.2 billion general grant and K1.2 billion as constituency development funds.

Mr Mulongoti called for team work and promised to do everything possible not to betray his fellow councillors and the people of Chingola.

Copperbelt Province Police Commanding Officer Martin Malama has directed police in the region to remove all unnecessary check points on the roads.

Dr. Malama says he is surprised with the increasing number of unnecessary checkpoints mounted on most highways on the Copperbelt.

He told ZNBC News in Kitwe tuesday that the unnecessary check points are a public nuisance.

Dr. Malama says he has received numerous complaints from the travelling public regarding the numerous check points.

He has promised that the system will be addressed this week.

Dr. Malama says only check points that are vital to the security of the country will be maintained.

ZNBC