PRESIDENT Rupiah Banda has said Government cannot constitute an independent enquiry to probe the violence that led to loss of life and property in Mufumbwe as demanded by a consortium of non-governmental organisations.

Speaking to journalists on arrival at the Lusaka International Airport from Tanzania yesterday, President Banda said it would be contradictory to set up an enquiry when the matter had already gone to court.

“We have gone to court. It’s better to leave the matter with the court. We do not need an enquiry we will be contradicting ourselves,” he said.

The Anti-Voter Apathy Project (AVAP), Southern African Centre for Constructive Resolution of Disputes (SACCORD) and Caritas Zambia on Wednesday demanded that President Banda should immediately set up a commission of enquiry to probe the violence in Mufumbwe.

The NGOs said the enquiry should exclude the police because they were part of the violence.

On the just ended World Economic Forum, President Banda said the meeting discussed issues affecting Africa as a continent.

He said the meeting discussed how the continent could be brought together to speak with one voice.

President Banda said problems facing the continent could only be resolved through unity.

“I was so proud for Tanzania to host such a big, big conference, they did it so well,” he said.

He said he had learnt a lot by talking to other delegates and by listening to specialised speeches from people with a lot of experience in agriculture and education.

He explained that Education Minister Dora Siliya accompanied him to Tanzania because the conference had a lot to do with education.

President Banda was responding to Patriotic Front (PF) leader Michael Sata who questioned why Ms Siliya accompanied the head of State to Tanzania.

The president was welcomed at Lusaka International Airport by acting Vice-President and Defence Minister Kalombo Mwansa, senior Government and party officials.

Meanwhile, President Banda held consultative talks with Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and his Tanzanian counterpart Jakaya Kikwete on the security situation in the Great Lakes Region.

President Banda is the current chairperson of the Great Lakes Region.
Special assistant to the president for Press and public relations Dickson Jere said this to Zambian journalists in Dar-es Salaam shortly before Mr Banda left for Lusaka.

“In his capacity as the Great Lakes Region chairperson, President Banda held consultative talks on the security situation in the region,” Mr Jere said.

The president also held discussions with TAZAMA Pipelines regional manager Abraham Sawanyama and Tanzania Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA) manager for special duties Pascal Mulenga.

The Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD) has confirmed that it has intentions to enter into a pact with the United National Independence Party (UNIP) as the country heads towards the 2011 tripartite elections.

MMD National Secretary Katele Kalumba said the ruling party has always been a movement from which most political parties in the country originated from.

Dr. Kalumba said the MMD has never closed its doors to anyone who wants to join its ranks.

He said it is not strange that UNIP could find a common ground with the ruling party even though it was an adversary party during the early 1990s.

The MMD Chairperson said a pact between the UNIP and the MMD cannot be peculiar in any way stating ANC and National party did it at the time Zambia was fighting for independence.

Dr. Kalumba said it is not only UNIP which has shown interest in forming a political pact with the MMDbut also other parties he did name.

He said there are possibilities of discussions with what he called ‘Very Big Political Parties’ in the country which he refused to mention.
[ QFM ]

A Government official has revealed the underlying reason behind Government’s decision to scrap off the windfall tax in the mining sector.

Deputy Minister in the ministry of Mines, Boniface Nkata says if Government had continued to charge windfall tax on excess profits in the mining sector amid the Global financial crisis the affairs of the country would have become ungovernable.

He said the pulling out of most foreign mining firms from the mines created a lot of job losses which created tension in the country which, he stressed, was almost going to lead to a vote of no confidence by the Zambians in the incumbent Government.

In an overheard conversation with fellow government official, Mr Nkhata explained that government had predicted a situation where people would have been up against government because of the loss of jobs and thereby advantaging the opposition over the ruling party.

He said that the opposition parties had also contributed to inciting people to rise against Government.

He said that Government feared a situation where an early election would be called because of failure by Government to Govern the Country through its strategic revenue earner the mines.

Mr Nkhata said that after the abolition of the windfall tax, Government has been able to  restore jobs that were lost following the closure of most mines.

He added that the issue of windfall tax raises so much dust and disturbances in the Governance of the country and that Government would not consider re-introducing it.

QFM

Government has warned Patriotic Front (PF) to rescind its decision to ferry over 200 cadres to Luapula province to attend the developmental conference slated for May 15-16 in Mansa which will be graced by former president Fredrick Chiluba.

Acting Chief Government Spokesperson Mike Mulongoti says Government will not allow Patriotic Front (PF) to ferry cadres to Luapula province because their aim is to create confusion at the conference that Dr Fredrick Chluba will hold.

Mr .Mulongoti urged PF to organize its own conference if it wanted to discuss developmental issues as opposed to creating commotion at the forthcoming conference that has been organized for a good cause.

Mr Mulongoti said the PF youths will have themselves to blame if they decide to go to Mansa.
He pointed out that it is such violent and ill motivated activities that are causing violence on the political scene in the country.

He wondered what the PF was up to by embarking on such a move stressing that Dr Chiluba is on a mission to garner support for the MMD and that if the PF wanted a forum to campaign for its leaders they should arrange for a separate one.

The conference in Mansa has been organized by the chiefs and some members of Parliament in Luapula Province to discuss development issues pertaining to the province.
[ QFM ]

The Patriotic Front intends to ferry more than 200 youths from Lusaka and Copperbelt provinces to attend the developmental meeting in Mansa in Luapula province expected to be graced by second republican president Dr Fredrick Chiluba, from the 15th to the 16 of May 2010.

PF national secretary Erick Chanda has told QFM in Lusaka today that he believes that youths are partners in development and that PF youths have what he describes as excellent developmental ideas.

He says the PF youths will not sit back and watch former president Chiluba take his alleged dirty and corrupt ideas to the people of Luapula province.

[pullquote]He says the PF youths will not sit back and watch former president Chiluba take his alleged dirty and corrupt ideas to the people of Luapula province.[/pullquote]

Mr Chanda says the PF youths are prompted to take their developmental ideas to Luapula to ensure the people of that province are not denied access to good development.

He has since appealed to the police in Luapula not to provoke the PF youths but work professionally to with maximum diplomacy to ensure there is no violence in Mansa.

Asked whether the PF youths have been invited to the developmental meeting and why youths are being ferried from other provinces instead of using PF youths from Luapula ,Mr Chanda says being a meeting that will be discussing development in Luapula province,he sees no reason why they should be denied entry to the meeting.

The meeting will also be attended by Chiefs from the province and Members of Parliament.

QFM

SECOND Republican president Frederick Chiluba has said stakeholders in Luapula Province have a duty to discuss development issues affecting the province and confirmed that he will officiate at a meeting to be held on May 15 and 16.

And Luapula Royal Foundation chairperson Chief Chisunka has welcomed the convening of the meeting.

Speaking through his spokesperson Emmanuel Mwamba, Dr Chiluba said provincial stakeholders had a duty to discuss development issues affecting the province.

The former president dispelled assertions that it was a political meeting.
“The stakeholders of the meeting have every right and duty to convene a meeting especially that this is a development meeting,” he said.

It was important for members of Parliament (MP) and traditional leaders in the province to discuss development issues affecting the province.

“The MPs are responsible for the management of Constituency Development Funds and the traditional rulers are the custodians of land,” he said.

In an interview from Mansa yesterday Chief Chisunka also said the meeting would discuss development issues.

“The people who are coming to the meeting are our subjects so there is no way we can chase them. In fact, they are welcome,” he said.

The traditional ruler also refuted assertions that the meeting has been convened to launch President Rupiah Banda’s campaign in the province.
“Even the opposition are welcome to discuss with the traditional rulers,” he said.

And Mr Mwansa Mbulakulima who is Chembe MP and co-coordinator of the meeting said in an interview yesterday that preparations for the meeting were well on course.

Both Mbulakulima and his co-coordinator Kawambwa MP Elizabeth Chitika refuted reports that the meeting would be used to launch President Banda’s campaign in the province.

According to information obtained by the Times, the chiefs will start arriving in Mansa on Friday May 14.

[Times of Zambia]

THE Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) will review the Electoral Code of Conduct (ECC) before the 2011 general elections to strengthen adherence to the code by various stakeholders during polls.

ECZ public relations manager Cris Akufuna said the commission would review the ECC in consultation with political parties and civil society organisations.

“We shall get suggestions from both political parties and civil society organisations on what should be reviewed in the ECC. The approach will be similar to that we took in 2006,” he said.

He cited the Anti-Voter Apathy Project (AVAP), which had identified specific areas that need to be reviewed in the code of conduct.

Mr Akufuna said the commission would be taking necessary steps to find a possible solution to the increasing levels of political violence as witnessed in the Mufumbwe by elections.

On Monday, the ECZ protested the violence that was witnessed in the Mufumbwe by-elections.

Mr Akufuna, however, said it was important that all stakeholders complied with the provisions of the code that they pledged to uphold.

“The code provides for duties of all stakeholders.
“It is incumbent upon all these stakeholders to ensure that the code is complied with,” he said.

Currently, the commission has ensured that candidates and political parties signed a declaration form (ECC1) that they would comply with the provisions of the code.

Mr Akufuna said the code in section 1 (2) provides that the commission and police shall enforce the code of conduct and shall promote conditions conducive to the observance of the code.

He said matters that bordered on violence and criminality were supposed to be dealt with by the police and not the commission.

All complaints arising during elections and campaigns should be channeled to the conflict management committees.

Mr Akufuna could not comment on the complaint by the MMD that the UPND had connived with some election agents in Mufumbwe to under-count the results of the ruling party because it would be prejudicial.

[Times of Zambia]

NORTHMEAD Assemblies of God Bishop Joshua Banda has advised the donor community to channel their funds to development programmes rather than supporting practises such as homosexuality that are alien to the Zambian society.

And Bishop Joe Imakando of Bread of Life Church International said homosexuals and lesbians had no room in society because Zambia had been declared a Christian nation.

In an interview in Lusaka yesterday Bishop Banda said it was unacceptable for some donor agencies to be considering funding such acts, which were of little benefit to the majority of Zambians.

He condemned the decision by some donor countries such as the Swedish government coming out in the open and supporting such acts, which were against the traditional values of the country.

He questioned the motive behind the offering of support to lesbians and gays.
And Bishop Imakando in a separate interview said the issue of homosexuality had been discussed several times and it was clear Zambians were not in support of such practises.

He said the Church would continue to speak out on such matters to ensure that such acts were not given room in Zambia.

Recently, the Swedish government said it would support various groups of people fighting for their rights including lesbians, gays, bi-sexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTIs).

Swedish Ambassador to Zambia Marie Andersson de Frutos said it was important that rights of people under the universal human rights declaration were respected and that judging people based on their sexual orientation was not the best way to treat people.

[Times of Zambia]

The Patriotic Front/United Party for National Development pact has charged that the planned formation of a pact between the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) and the United National Independence Party (UNIP) will have no impact on the opposition pact.

UPND Spokesperson Charles Kakoma told Q fm in a telephone interview that there is no pact in the country at the moment that can undermine the PF/UPND pact.

Mr. Kakoma said the MMD should not be misled by the last pact between UPND and UNIP which they managed to defeat in the 2006 presidential elections. He said the pact did not work out because UNIP is no longer a party to rely on in forming pacts with and hoping to win an election.

Mr Kakoma said UNIP is no longer a factor in the country’s politics but that it is simply popular in some parts of the Eastern province.

He said any other party that wishes to form a pact with UNIP hoping to undermine the PF/UPND pact can go ahead as such is of no relevance to the PF/UPND pact.

Mr Kakoma described UNIP as a dead party, adding that president Banda is misplacing his hopes if he thinks that forming a pact with UNIP will have an impact on the PF/UPND pact.
(Q FM)