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Zambia Water and Sanitation Engineering and Allied Workers Union members have began a sit-in protest following the elapsing of a 48-hours ultimatum given to government to withdraw a circular directing water utilities in the country to award workers a 5 percent salary increment.
And some water utilities are reportedly threatening and intimidating their workers who are staging a sit-in protest.
Union president, Joseph Musapa, has however urged water utility managements to calm down and allow for the protest to go ahead as planned because it is not targeted at them.
Mr. Musapa said the protest is meant to send a message of displeasure to government over its decision to award the workers a 5 percent salary increment when civil servants were awarded a 15 percent pay rise.
He has urged water utility managements to stop intimidating workers and allow them to go ahead with the protest because it is for a good cause.
Workers at Nkana and Mulonga water and sewerage companies on the copperbelt have lead the way in staging the protest which expected to spread to Lusaka soon.
Mr. Musapa says failure by the MMD Government to listen has caused the protest by the workers
QFM
The Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) says it is deeply concerned about the recent harassments of The Post newspapers,worsened by the prosecution and detention of editor in chief Fred M’membe.
In a statement released to QFM today, MISA Regional Director Kaitira Kandjii said MISA views the prosecution and detention of M’membe as a deafening attack on media freedom and freedom of expression.
He said MISA’s regional secretariat and its 11 chapters throughout southern Africa outrightly reject the judgement by Magistrate David Simusamba and regard it as a betrayal of media freedom and freedom of expression.
Mr Kandjii said the words used by the Magistrate Simusamba when passing sentence that the sentence is meant to reform M’membe as well as to deter would-be offenders are a threat to every Zambian and are meant to instill fear.
He said The Post Newspaper has been a major critic to Zambia’s bad governance and that its prosecution is a sign by the Zambian government to avenge dissenting voices.
Mr Kandjii added that it is disturbing to note that The Post and M’membe are being prosecuted for giving a platform to a citizen to express himself on an issue of public concern.
He stated that the Zambian media has a responsibility to publish and broadcast news and information and that in this case The Post had the right to publish an opinion article by Professor Muna Ndulo, adding that the fact that the Kabwela case was before the Court did not override the rights of people to express their opinions about the ongoing trial.
M’membe was last week sentenced to four months imprisonment with hard labour after being found guilty for contempt of court.
QFM
President Rupiah Banda has described the sale of Zamtel to Libyan firm LAP Green as the single most successful transaction since the MMD commenced the privatization process of parastatals in the country.
President Banda has also revealed that the sale has enabled the Government to raise a total of 384 million US dollars.
President Rupiah Banda said this when he officially opened the first session of the third House of Chiefs in Lusaka today.
The President further described the sale of ZAMTEL as professional and transparently done and has since called on Zambians to refrain from politicizing the sale and wait until the results of the sale start showing.
And President Rupiah Banda said a substantial amount of the total proceeds from the sale of Zamtel will be allocated towards settling the terminal benefits of Zamtel workers as agreed with the unions.
Through the Chiefs the President assured Zambians of transparency in the settling of the terminal benefits of the workers.
He added that LAP Green is a competitive and reputable firm in Africa that will offer modern communication solutions to Zamtel which was on a brink of collapse.
QFM
Over 10,000 poor young Zambians and Angolan refugees in the soccer-crazy country’s remote areas will watch some of the World Cup matches in South Africa live on specially mounted huge flat screens, a UN agency said on Friday.
UNICEF spokesman Patrick Slavin said large open-air screens and projectors had been set up in western Zambia to enable refugees and young people without access to electricity and television sets to watch some of the live broadcasts of matches in South Africa.
“More than 10,000 young people in remote parts of Zambia who are passionate about football will be accorded the opportunity to watch the World Cup games on big screens,” Slavin told Reuters.
Slavin said the public viewing places would also be used to provide the viewers with information about education, health, child protection and HIV/AIDS, one of major problems affecting the poor southern African country.
“The young people will be encouraged to do more than just watch the games,” he said.
Slavin said the project dubbed, “the World Cup in My Village,” would also be implemented in Mongu, some 600 km west of Lusaka.
Zambia, which has never been to the World Cup, missed out on the opportunity to be one of African countries at the first World Cup on African soil, when it was pipped for a qualification place by Algeria during the qualifiers.
Slavin said the UN refugee agency UNHCR was helping organize the screening of the games in Mayukwayukwa refugee camp about 500 km west of Lusaka but the funding had been provided by
UNICEF.
[Reuters]
By Wesley Ngwenya
Because of the overwhelming email responses I got from the earlier published article on Lusakatimes.com called “Zambia: Night Life and Prostitution in Lusaka” I feel obliged to give the readers just one story from the book in progress. Instead of sending numerous emails, let me publish an excerpt, from the book, so that other readers can benefit as well. The stories are fascinating, frightening and sometimes funny. Here is one of the thirty stories you will find in “Judge Me Not” (proposed name).
First time I met Cindy (not her real name) was in the Northmead area. We had a short conversation after I declined her request to buy her a drink. My usual reply to the girls when they ask me to buy them a drink is, “Why should I buy you a drink?” This unexpected response usually surprises them. Some will respond by saying, “You don’t buy drinks to girls who ask you?” This then leads to a conversation and before you know it we are talking about many other things. But no drinks.
Cindy and I had chatted briefly that night. Couple of years later, I met her at the Makeni Casino. Something seemed very different about her. She immediately recognized me but was too busy to talk to me since she was with the company of some Asian men. I looked for an opportunity to talk to her. When that opportunity came I talked to her. She joked with me about having given me a chance the last time we met. I talked to her about my mission and that I will tell her story without ever using her real name. She reluctantly agreed and we arranged to meet a week later.
Cindy lives in the upper middle class neighborhood of Ibex Hill on the East Side of Lusaka. She moved in with her grandparents after she completed school a couple of years earlier. Although she never seemed to have invested much time in job searching she blames the “Zambian System” for failing to provide jobs for people like her. Cindy speaks very good English and has very good high school grades.
It all started one night when Cindy and her cousin stayed out late at a drinking place. They were just enjoying a game of the English Premier League Football. She is a big fun of Manchester United. That night a man offered them to buy some beer. They accepted. She loved the attention she got from this man and the other men in the nightclub. This particular man was ready to spend that day. She had never had a man spend so much on her. It downed on her that nigh that, as a girl, she possessed certain powers that she could use to manipulate men.
The man took them home that night after exchanging numbers. Later in the week she met up with him and things escalated from there onwards. The man gave her money and other things she badly needed. He often took her out on weekends to nightclubs and afterwards would spend the night with him at a guesthouse. She never bothered to ask if this man was married or not. According to her she didn’t want to know besides she didn’t want to spoil the relationship with him.
Though they had sort of developed a relationship with this man she confesses that it was not serious. She was not in love with him. She liked that he gave her the opportunity to have certain things and go places around town. It was during these night adventures that other men gave her a lot of attention. She gave her phone number to some and would then link up with them during the week and on weekends. Suddenly, she had a busy schedule meeting all kinds of men who mostly wanted to sleep with her.
She recalls that her life turned around the night she asked the man how much money he was going to give her if she slept with him. The money had offered about $50. She could not believe the offer. She thought she can do it just this once and no one would ever know. She did it and it became a habit thereafter.
Soon she started getting offers from other men. The money was so good that she decided to be proactive. This is when she started hanging out at Alpha Bar in Northmead. Here she met all kinds of people. It was here that she was introduced to white men who were frequent patrons of the bar. The white men paid better.
The day I met her was one of her first visits at Alpha Bar. She is a skinny girl, tall and a fair dark and smooth complexion. She has thick black hair she likes to tie in a ponytail like. When she walks, her steps are deliberate like she is on a catwalk. She knows she is beautiful and loves to be watched by all the admiring eyes in the nightclub.
Cindy has gone out with all kinds of men from all corners of the globe. She has gone out with men who are older than her grandpa. She is quick to point out that these men are good men and treat her well. That is why she likes the white men especially.
When I pointed to her why she had graduated from the white men to the Asian men that day at the casino, she responded, “to me they are the same.” However, she liked the Chinese men because they loved the casinos and was learning a lot of card games and using the slot machines.
The story of Cindy is not an uncommon one. Both her parents are alive and well. Both sets of her grandparents are alive and well. “What happened then, one may ask?” Could it be that the parents and grandparents took things for granted? Is it the rebellious spirit of humans? Is it the lack of career guidance? Is it that we place so much emphasis on exams and not skills development? Is it the “System”? Many questions come to mind as I recount the story of Cindy…
Before the book comes to print, I need to identify a publisher. Ideas are welcome. In addition, I would welcome readers who want to help as advisors and be part of the editorial team. Please send me an email and we can discuss the details. [email protected]. Thanks to those of you who contacted me directly. I really appreciate your comments and support. Keep them coming.
Nelson Mandela’s 13-year-old great-granddaughter was killed in a car crash on the way home from a concert in Soweto on the eve of the World Cup, his office said Friday.
The Nelson Mandela Foundation said Zenani Mandela died in a one-car accident and no one else was injured. Tummi Shai, a police spokeswoman, told The Associated Press that a case of probable homicide – not unusual in traffic accidents where negligence is suspected – had been opened. Shai would not give any further detail, including the location of the accident.
Thursday’s World Cup concert had drawn tens of thousands of people to Soweto, and traffic was congested into the early hours of Friday.
Zenani, who celebrated her 13th birthday on Wednesday, was one of the anti-apartheid icon’s nine great-grandchildren.
“The family has asked for privacy as they mourn this tragedy,” the foundation said in a statement.
Mandela, who turns 92 on July 18, has largely retired from public life although as of Thursday it had been anticipated he would make a brief appearance at the World Cup opening ceremony Friday, depending on his health and the weather conditions.
In a statement Thursday, the Foundation said it had been “inundated with requests for meetings, and it will be impossible for Mr. Mandela to accede to even a small fraction of these.” But Mandela met this week with members of the Black Eyed Peas, one of the main acts at Thursday’s concert, and Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo and coach Carlos Queiroz – the latter a former coach of South Africa.
[AP]
The Movement for Multiparty Democracy MMD is scouting for over 6 billion Kwacha to hold its National convention and elections of its leaders at lower organ level.
Party National Chairman Michael Mabenga told QFM in an interview that the party could not afford to luxuriously spend party resources as it has a budget to meet before the convention.
He said this is the reasons that have caused the delay in holding the National convention.
Mr Mabenga said the money required for the party to hold the convention is colossal.
And Mr Mbenga noted that no National Executive Committee Member has been paid to endorse president Rupiah Banda as the sole candidate of the party for the 2011 elections.
He said the decision to endorse President Banda as the sole candidate at both the national convention and the 2011 Presidential elections is entirely dependent on the members of the Party themselves through their provincial leaders.
Mr Mabenga, however, stated that anyone is free to challenge president Rupiah Banda at the convention.
[ QFM ]
President Rupiah Banda has said the partial sale of Zamtel to a Libyan company is irreversible because it has been done legally.
The president said United Party for National Development (UPND) president Hakainde Hichilema is exhibiting ignorance by saying the sale will be revoked.
Mr Banda said the sale of Zamtel to Lap Green Network was binding on the Zambian Government as it had been done within the law and there was no way of reversing the process.
He said Mr Hichilema was exhibiting lack of political and legal understanding by asserting that he would reverse the privatisation of Zamtel if he comes into power.
Lap GreenN, which had bought 75 per cent shares in Zamtel at US$257 million, would have long paid the money to Zambians and investment would have taken place, which would render the process irreversible.
On arrival from Mfuwe where he went for a three-day working holiday, President Banda wondered where the money to pay Lap GreenN of Libya would come from especially that everything had been done within the requirements of the law.
President Banda said Mr Hichilema was merely exposing his failure to understand politics and wondered where he was getting the muscle to condemn a process that had been widely accepted by the workers and stakeholders.
“Where will he get the money to pay those Libyans? He does not understand politics. Most of the privatisation in this country was done by Mr Hichilema and we have not reversed what he did,” President Banda told journalists in an interview.
Government at the weekend concluded the sale of Zamtel to Lap Green N of Libya. Finance Minister Situmbeko Muskotwane said Zamtel had become a drain on the treasury as it was making losses.
And Mr Banda dismissed sentiments by Mr Hichilema that the ruling party was shaken by the launch of the Patriotic Front and UPND (PF/UPND) Pact going by the huge support his Government continues to enjoy.
Mr Banda said huge crowds of people welcome him wherever he goes, citing Mfuwe where he was well received during his three-day working holiday.
“Do I look like I am shaken? Even last year they launched the pact and now we thought they would announce their leader. I don’t understand what they launched,” the president said.
The president was reacting to sentiment by Mr Hichilema on ‘Let the People Talk’ programme on Radio Phoenix on Tuesday that the MMD had been shaken by the launch of the pact last Saturday.
Meanwhile, Mr Banda has said The Post newspaper editor-in-chief, Fred M’membe should not kill himself to put the Government on a black spot in view of his continued attacks on the Government over his contempt case.
Mr Banda said Mr M’membe’s problems were with the courts that cited him for contempt and had nothing to do with the Government.
The life of Mr M’membe could not be said to be in danger on account of his court appearances over an offence committed in court.
The president said he was not a man-hunter and that Mr M’membe’s allegations were far from the truth.
Mr Banda also said he sympathised with Health Deputy Minister Solomon Musonda who shot and wounded a PF cadre identified as Jackson Musaka last month.
President Banda said the matter would be left in the hands of the police and the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to resolve.
The president said he would not take any action against Dr Musonda to allow the law enforcement agencies to deal with the matter professionally.
“I feel sorry for him. He is a very professional man but I will leave the matter with the police and the DPP,” Mr Banda said.
The president also called for more investment in the vast game reserves, forests and national parks in the countryside.
Mr Banda said he was taken to areas in the Northern parts of Luangwa National Park and discovered that massive forests were under-invested which must be changed.
He said there was so much potential for huge investments in the valley areas around Luangwa National ?ark.
Vice-President George Kunda, Information Minister Ronnie Shikapwasha, Home Affairs Minister Mkhondo Lungu, State House Minister Ronald Mukuma, Agriculture Minister Peter Daka welcomed the president on arrival at City Airport.
[ Times of Zambia ]
Government has revealed that the country’s domestic debt stock currently stands at $1.93 billion (K10 trillion ).
Principal economist of domestic debt under the investment and debt management department at the ministry of finance and national planning, William Kabwe said government is rolling over the domestic debt and has decided to only engage into further borrowing to manage the already matured domestic debts.
Mr. Kabwe however said that government is well aware of the fact that domestic borrowing is on the increase and should be effectively managed because it is dangerous for the economy.
He said government has already began working on the reduction of the Treasury bill restricting the debt management office at the ministry to bring it to appreciable international standards.
But a report on domestic debt management in Zambia by AFRODAD in conjunction with the Civil Society for Poverty Reduction has divulged that government has failed to put in place adequate legal frameworks that are all encompassing to forge for efficient domestic debt management.
Presenting the report for validation in Lusaka this morning, to the civil society, the private sector and some government officials, CSPR Programmes Manager, William Chilufya,called on government to urgently implement the national domestic debt management strategy.
QFM
Government has challenged United Party for National Development UPND president Haikainde Hichilema to explain what happened to the hundreds of millions of dollars that went missing when he engineered the privatization of RAMCOZ and other parastatals.
Chief Government spokesperson Ronnie Shikapwasha in an interview with QFM said Mr Hichilema should not try to come out clean on the sale of RAMCOZ but explain the criteria and procedures used to sell off the mine which subsequently resulted in the suffering of the ex-workers of the company.
He said Government has all the information with regards the manner in which Mr Hichilema handled the privatization of parastatals.
Leutenant General Shikapwasha expressed shock that the UPND leader is now condemning and attacking Government on what he described as a well calculated move to the sell Zamtel.
He said Mr Hichilema should not mislead the Zambian people on Government’s decision to sale Zamtel because it is in the interest of the nation.
And General Shikapwasha has dared Mr Hichilema to tell the Zambian people how he acquired the house that he is currently leaving in situated in Kabulonga residential area.
QFM
President Rupiah Banda has recalled Zambia’s High Commissioner to South Africa Leslie Mbula.
Mr Mbula has been recalled after the expiry of his contract.
Foreign Affairs Minister Kabinga Pande confirmed this in an interview with ZNBC News.
Mr Pande said it is not strange for a High Commissioner or Ambassador serving abroad to be recalled after their contracts expire.
He said that Mr Mbula has served more than the required three year contract.
President Rupiah Banda has dismissed as untrue allegations by Post Newspapers Editor In Chief Fred Mmembe that the state is plotting to eliminate him.
President Banda says he has nothing personal against Mr. Mmembe.
He told Journalists in Lusaka Thursday afternoon, that Mr. Mmembe ‘s problems do not relate to him but the Judiciary.
The President was speaking to Journalists shortly upon arrival from Mfuwe where had gone for a three day working visit.
Mr. Banda said Mr. Mmembe should not kill himself and accuse the state of clearing him.
Mr Mmembe is quoted as telling First Republican President Kenneth Kaunda in a story published by the Post newspapers that President Banda’s Government wanted to eliminate him.
And Mr. Banda said he is sorry about an incident in Chitambo constituency where Health Deputy Minister Solomon Musonda shot and wounded a Patriotic Front cadre, Jack Musaka.
The President said the Police and the Director of Public Prosecutions should be left to handle the matter.
ZNBC
Second Republican president Frederick Chiluba has said the Patriotic Front (PF) and its supporters who are against his visits to Ndola are afraid he will expose the poor state of PF-run councils and bring it to the attention of the central Government.
Dr Chiluba said the PF must not panic each time he visits other provinces because he is still a free citizen of the country.
Dr Chiluba said in an interview in Ndola yesterday that the PF was worried that he was seeing for himself the damage they were causing to the councils under their control which they wanted to blame on the administration of President Rupiah Banda.
Dr Chiluba said he enjoyed freedom of movement and no one could stop him from seeing for himself what was happening in some areas.
“What I see, I can’t keep to myself, I will pass it on to the president,” he said.
Dr Chiluba said he was extremely pleased that on Tuesday when he toured Chifubu Township, people including PF cadres were expressing their anger over the poor state of the township directly under the leadership of the PF councilors.
“I totally agree with them that we need to change the current PF leadership at local government level and replace them with MMD. The PF has clearly failed to run the councils,” he said.
Dr Chiluba said it was unacceptable that Chifubu Market, which was one of the oldest in the city, still had no electricity and marketeers were forced to close as early as 18.00 hours.
[pullquote]“What I see, I can’t keep to myself, I will pass it on to the president,” he said.
Dr Chiluba said he was extremely pleased that on Tuesday when he toured Chifubu Township, people including PF cadres were expressing their anger over the poor state of the township directly under the leadership of the PF councilors.
“I totally agree with them that we need to change the current PF leadership at local government level and replace them with MMD. The PF has clearly failed to run the councils,” he said.[/pullquote]
He wondered where the PF councillors were using the K600 million constituency development fund if areas such as Chifubu had heaps of garbage and sanitation was lacking.
“I am in total consonance with them that we need change because the councillors there have clearly failed the people. Modern government is not about central government but about local government. PF councilors are responsible for areas like Chifubu and they must be held responsible for the poor state of the township,” he said.
He said when he left office, the CDF was only K30 million but it had since been raised to K600 million which was a lot of money that could be translated into tangible development projects.
Dr Chiluba said people in areas such as Chifubu appreciate his housing policy legacy hence the reason why their reception was warm when he visited the township.
He said Chifubu residents must agitate for repairs of the roads and electricity and hold their councillors responsible for failing to deliver on such services.
“Our people are not resentful or insane, they are nice law abiding citizens who respect their leaders,” he said.
Excited crowds followed Dr Chiluba when word went round that he was in Chifubu Township.
He visited the home of an elderly widow Lise Bwalya who said electricity had been disconnected as she was struggling to make a living.
And Dr Chiluba, through his spokesperson Emmanuel Mwamba, said PF should not remain constantly pre-occupied and obsessed with his movements to any part of the country.
“Dr Chiluba is a former head of state. He is not seeking any party or Government office. He will be engaged in non-partisan issues that he deems helps our people,” he said.
Mr Mwamba said while on the Copperbelt, residents with difficult and longstanding problems have requested Dr Chiluba’s intervention in many issues.
He said Wusakile residents, whose households share communal toilets that have been neglected and have not been serviced by the new sewerage company requested his intervention.
He said the former miners had also made Dr Chiluba their patron and he has coordinated the search for a solution with Government for their numerous problems ranging from failure to access title deeds, unpaid dues and other issues.
Dr Chiluba also visited former ZAFFICO houses in Kalulushi where residents want the houses sold to them as sitting tenants and former workers.
He said the residents had also requested for his intervention on many issues as the local councillors had paid a deaf ear to their plight.
The former president expressed surprise at the deliberately twisted media reports arising from his presence on the Copperbelt Province.
[ Times of Zambia ]
Government has charged that first republican President Dr Kenneth Kaunda’s reaction to the conviction and incarceration of Post Newspapers editor-in-chief Fred M’membe has exposed his short sightedness.
Chief government spokesperson Ronnie Shikapwasha says Dr Kaunda is short-sighted by trying to say that M’membe is an innocent soul. This was in reaction to a story in yesterday’s Post about Mr M’membe and Dr Kaunda’s conversation shortly after M’membe was released from prison on bail on Monday. The story quotes Dr Kaunda as saying the Post editor-in-chief is an innocent soul.
Lieutenant General Shikapwasha says the same man Dr. Kaunda is referring to as innocent had at one point accused him of being after his Life.
And Gen. Shikapwasha says government is surprised by Mr M’membe’s claims that President Rupiah Banda and former president Dr Fredrick Chiluba are after his life.
He said Mr M’membe is afraid of his own shadow and that his claims are baseless and not new to the government. He stressed that Mr. M’membe has accused all of Zambia’s four Presidents of wanting him dead.
He maintained that the government of President Rupiah Banda is not interested in anything that pertains to M’membe and that they have nothing to do with his case.
Gen. Shikapwasha has also accused Mr M’membe of making cheap and false allegations to divert the attention of the people from his conviction for contempt of court.
[QFM]