Chief Government spokesperson Ronnie Shikapwasha has said Patriotic Front (PF) leader Michael Sata wants Zambians to suffer by calling on donors to withdraw aid.

Liuetenant General Shikapwasha said Mr Sata was being unpatriotic through his calls to donors to withdraw aid and make people suffer .

He instead appealed to Mr Sata to be patriotic and moot ideas which will better the lives of Zambians.
[pullquote]“Mr Sata should be patriotic. The Government is here to work with donors and it is the Government that sets the vision.

“Appealing to the donors to make people suffer by withdrawing aid is unpatriotic.

“We should be people of integrity and speak on things that will help people. Zambia is a sovereign State and if he has issues, he is free to go to any ministry and lodge a complaint,” he said.[/pullquote]

Commenting on Mr Sata’s statement that donors should put pressure on President Rupiah Banda’s administration, Gen Shikapwasha said the appeal by Mr Sata was not in the best interest of Zambia.

Gen Shikapwasha said in an interview in Lusaka yesterday that Government was the one which set the country’s vision and donors were merely there to help it achieve the set goals.

“Mr Sata should be patriotic. The Government is here to work with donors and it is the Government that sets the vision.

“Appealing to the donors to make people suffer by withdrawing aid is unpatriotic.

“We should be people of integrity and speak on things that will help people. Zambia is a sovereign State and if he has issues, he is free to go to any ministry and lodge a complaint,” he said.

Zambians were looking for leaders who would better their lives and Government under the leadership of Mr Banda had made great strides economically and socially.

He said more schools, roads, health centres and various development projects were being undertaken countrywide.

Despite Zambia not being spared by floods last year, the country was able to record a bumper harvest, which was twice more than that of the previous farming season.

“This is a great achievement for our people as they will have more food. On the other hand if you go to the streets of Lusaka, even Choma or Livingstone there is traffic congestion a sign that more people can afford to buy cars. All these are indications that the Government is delivering,” he said.

He said what Mr Sata and his UPND counterpart Hakainde Hichilema should do was to encourage President Banda to work even harder instead of looking out for faults to advance their political agendas.

Gen Shikapwasha wondered why when there was a report of misappropriation of funds at the Ministry of Health, Mr Sata never condemned the acts.

He challenged him to come out in the open and publicly condemn the alleged theft of funds at the Ministry of Health.

On Mr Sata’s allegations that civil servants were delaying to get paid an indication that the Government was misapplying funds, Gen Shikapwasha who is Information and Broadcasting Services minister said the delay in the payments of salaries was an information technology (IT) problem which was being worked on.

Gen Shikapwasha said Secretary to the Cabinet Joshua Kanganja had explained and apologised to the nation on the delay caused by the IT problem which was being rectified.

“The delay for civil servants to get their dues has nothing to do with lack of money. There is plenty of money. It is an IT problem unless Mr Sata has a hand in messing up the IT. This problem has nothing to do with politics,” he said.
[ Times of Zambia ]

A court in Zambia on Tuesday ruled that two opposition lawmakers must face trial for honking their car horns in protest after former president Frederick Chiluba was cleared of corruption.

Jean Kapata and Mumbi Phiri of the main opposition Patriotic Front were arrested last August after taking part in a mass honking jam to protest Chiluba’s acquittal on charges he embezzled $500 000 in public funds.

Magistrate Charles Kafunda Chiluba found a “prima facie case has been established” against the duo who must now present their defence against charges of conduct likely to cause the breach of peace on July 19.

The acquittal of Chiluba, who led Zambia from 1991 to 2001, sparked dismay among opposition parties and anti-graft campaigners.

The former president still faces legal action in a separate matter stemming from a graft conviction in Britain, where a court in 2007 found him and former aides guilty of stealing nearly $50-million of state funds.

[AFP]

The Global Fund has suspended more than $300 million in health assistance to Zambia because of concerns about corruption — the latest graft scandal to hit President Rupiah Banda before an election due next year.

The freeze, which is likely to affect the southern African country’s fight against AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, comes a year after Sweden and the Netherlands suspended $33 million in Health Ministry aid due to a missing $5 million.

The European Union has also halted aid earmarked for road construction because of concerns about graft.

“The national authorities have failed thus to provide assurance of appropriate action regarding the fraud against Global Fund grant programmes,” the U.N.-initiated Fund said in a report seen by Reuters on Tuesday.

University of Zambia economist Oliver Saasa said the latest suspension should serve as another warning to Banda to get serious about graft, a growing concern to the donors who pay for 30 percent of the budget in Africa’s biggest copper producer.

“This touches directly on life and should send a signal to the government on the importance of accountability,” he said.

Banda’s anti-corruption credentials have been called into question since a junior court in Lusaka cleared former president Frederick Chiluba of graft in August and the government refused to appeal the decision.

Chiluba was accused of stealing $480,000 in Treasury funds but the court said prosecutors had failed to prove their case beyond reasonable doubt, raising an outcry from anti-graft groups and the political opposition.

Banda’s Movement for Multi-Party Democracy narrowly won an election in 2008 but is facing a serious challenge from populist opposition leader Michael Sata.

The Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria gets the bulk of its funds come from the United States, Europe and Japan, and magnates such as Bill Gates also chip in.

[Reuters]

THE National Association for Peasant and Small-Scale Farmers of Zambia (NAPSFZ) has said it is opposed to the suggestion to revive the defunct National Agriculture Marketing Board (Namboard).

Association President Roger Phiri said his association would continue supporting the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) maize marketing system and was ready to go into partnership with it.

Mr Phiri said in a statement in Lusaka yesterday that instead of agitating for the disbanding of FRA, the NAPSFZ would offer alternative solutions to improve maize marketing system in Zambia.

“The Namboard system of maize marketing was condemned by many that it was too big and had many functions outside maize buying and we all agreed to restructure the institution,” he said.

He said the Zambian farming community had not forgotten that they demanded the establishment of a new maize buying institution in the country arguing that the re-introduction of the Government maize board would reverse the earlier decision.

Mr Phiri said in a liberalised economy, any maize marketing system has teething problems and are expected when setting up a national maize buying institution like the FRA.

“It is better to offer alternative solutions to maize marketing system with relevant facts supporting argument for reviving an old maize marketing institution like Namboard,” he said.

Mr Phiri urged institutions in the agricultural industry not to mislead the Zambian people on maize marketing systems.

The Ministry of Defence has discovered that some opposition political parties have embarked on a propaganda campaign aimed at discrediting the leadership of President Rupiah Banda’s Government through music being distributed on CDs in some military cantonments.

Defence Minister Kalombo Mwansa said all political parties must not extend their political activities and campaign to any military cantonment.

Dr Mwansa said in a statement released in Lusaka yesterday that it was not only a matter of grave concern but also unfortunate.

“It is an act of extreme desperation and not in line with public opinion. Military cantonments house officers – men and women, who have dedicated their lives to provision of security in our country,” he said.

He said the men and women in uniform must be allowed free room to execute the provision of security undisturbed by political propaganda and campaigns.
“[pullquote]It is an act of extreme desperation and not in line with public opinion. Military cantonments house officers – men and women, who have dedicated their lives to provision of security in our country,” he said.[/pullquote]
Dr Mwansa said their loyalty was to the Government of the day and the people of Zambia.

“We appeal to all political parties to respect the non-partisan position of the military personnel and encourage our officers to pursue their calling undisturbed,” Dr Mwansa said.

Dr Mwansa said the military personnel shoulder heavy responsibilities in order for them to keep peace, stability, unity and territorial integrity of the country.

“In this regard, partisan campaigns may detract them from this noble cause and create a situation that may compromise our nation’s