First lady Thandiwe Banda has called for concerted efforts in addressing major issues affecting women in the country.

Mrs. Banda says this is the only way women can play a role towards the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MGDs) especially goal number three that aims at promoting gender equality and women empowerment.

Speaking in Lusaka today when she launched the Habitat for Humanity Women Build 2010 project, Mrs. Banda noted that women have an inner resilience
and strength that is key to moral, psychological and economic health of a country.

She said it is for this reason that government and other cooperating partners should work closely and ensure that all imbalances that affect effective women’s participation in national programmes are fully addressed.

She cited lack of decent accommodation, low education levels, access to food and quality health facilities as some of major challenges that women
in the country have continued to face.

The First Lady has further commended Habitat for Humanity for alleviating housing poverty among the vulnerable groups especially women and children
in the country.

And Habitat for Humanity Zambia Patron Dr. Kenneth Kaunda disclosed that the organisation has so far built 2,200 housing units for the orphaned and
vulnerable people in different communities across the country.

Dr. Kaunda said there is need for Zambians to support initiatives that are targeted at uplifting the living standards of the less privileged in society.

He has since pledged that his organisation will continue to supplement government’s efforts in providing low cost but decent and affordable houses
for people.

[ZANIS]

PATRIOTIC Front (PF) president Micheal Sata has sued the Times of Zambia for libel.

Mr Sata has also applied for an interim injunction to restrain the newspaper and its servants or agents from publishing any defamatory words concerning him.

Mr Sata’s lawyers from Ituna Partners have also filed a certificate of urgency claiming that the matter was of extreme urgency and required expeditious determination as the Times of Zambia had allegedly continued to write, publish and print defamatory articles concerning Mr Sata.

In an affidavit in support of an interim injunction, Mr Sata stated the Times of Zambia published articles concerning him in the editions of February 22, 23, 24 and 25 this year.

He indicated that the articles titled some ‘Sata leads polygamous life’, ‘Forget about presidency’, Sata told, ‘Sata is not credible’- Mumbi, Chimumbwa.
He stated that the articles were allegedly defamatory.

“The words in the said articles in their ordinary and natural meaning meant and were understood to mean that I am not a law abiding citizen, I have a criminal record, I am not a sincere Christian, I do not abide by the rules and teachings of the Catholic Church, and I am a dishonest person with no integrity,” Mr Sata claimed.

Mr Sata said he was a staunch Christian in the Catholic Church which did not allow people leading polygamous or polyandrous lives to receive Holy Eucharist.

That he was a politician and alleged repetition of false imputation of a criminal character would only lower his estimation in the minds of voters.

He stated that unless the defendant was restrained by law of a court order from repeating the publication of defamatory matters, he was likely to suffer irreparable injury as his political ambitions and standing in the Catholic Church could not be atoned for by damages.

Mr Sata was claiming for aggravated or exemplary damages, an injunction restraining the defendant from further writing, printing or circulating or otherwise publishing of the plaintiff the said or any similar libel.

High Court judge handling the matter, Evans Hamaundu has set March 15 as the hearing date.
Times of Zambia

President Rupiah Banda today visited flood affected areas in Lusaka where he disclosed that K11billion has been set aside to help mitigate the impact of the floods.

President Banda toured Chawama, Msisi, Chibolya and Kanyama compounds and the Independence stadium where over 600 flood victims have been temporally relocated.

He said his idea of visiting flooded areas was meant to get first hand information about the impact of the floods so that government could find ways of mitigating the problem.

President Banda also said government would work with many other stakeholders to find a lasting solution to the problem of floods in the city.

He called on the opposition political parties in the country to come on board to find a lasting solution to the problem of floods.

The President said it was not good for the opposition political parties to politicize problems in the country.

He has since called for unity when it comes to developing the country.

“The opposition must not always oppose. I would like to see Mr. Sata or Mr. Hichilema say what we can do to help these people. We have to work together sometimes instead of cheap politicking.” President Banda said.

He said in China where he was recently, there are many political parties but the country has managed to emerge as an economy to reckon with because of the unity in purpose.

President Banda said Zambia can also do the same for the sake of development.

He also thanked Lusaka District Commissioner, Krista Kalulu, the Lusaka Provincial administration, Zambia Red Cross, the Zambia Army and all those that have devoted their time to assisting the flood victims.

He said he was very touched by the flood situation in the district saying he was open to receive ideas that can help find a lasting solution to the problem.

The President said it would be unrealistic to take people back in their flooded areas hence the need for dialogue to have standing solutions.

He appealed for support from the business community, churches, NGOs and other well-wishers to assist flood victims as they will need assistance in among other things, food and blankets when the floods subside.

ZANIS

Change Life Zambia Executive Director Fr Frank Bwalya says republican president Rupiah Banda is slowly driving the country into dictatorship.

Fr Bwalya says president Banda’s continued protection of alleged corrupt people in his government is clear a sign that the country is being driven into dictatorship.

He charged that the current government has failed to provide leadership and has continued to plunge the country into further disaster.

He stated that his organization would not rest until the country has a change of government in 2011.

Speaking last night on Muvi TV’s the Matter at Hand, Fr Bwalya alleged that the current government is corrupt and does not deserve to lead the country.
QFM

The Electoral Commision of Zambia (ECZ), with the assiatnce of the United Nations (UN), will this year use Biometric technology to conduct voter registration. Biometric technology is used to measure and analyze human body characteristics, such as fingerprints, for for either identification or verification purposes.

The UN, through its Development Programme (UNDP), has already selected a company called Smartmatic to provide the new technologies for the improvement of the electoral register for ECZ.

For the first stage of the project, Smartmatic will supply ECZ with 1,000 mobile electronic biometric registry units, known as PARkits. This kit will include all hardware and software components, with their respective protective cases, training services, technical assistance and a one-year warranty.

Smartmatic, a leading provider of technological solutions for governments, was selected after the UN conducted a rigorous testing of numerous identity and registry technologies.

“We are very excited to be selected by the UNDP for this important project and to have the opportunity to provide the Republic of Zambia with our advanced technology to enhance their electoral register”, said Antonio Mugica, Smartmatic’s CEO. The PARkit units that will be used in Zambia are all equipped with Smartmatic’s registration application and with electrical backup components that ensure its autonomy for 8 straight hours.

The UNDP expects recruiting of operators to start on the second week of April and the electoral registration operations to begin in May 2010.The voter registration project in Zambia is part of the UNDP’s ongoing commitment to improve the performance of democratic governments. The UNDP invests 34% of its resources each year in projects in support of democratic governments and provides on-the-ground services in 166 countries.

Smartmatic specialises in fully-automated, electronic voting systems which they claim are completely secure, reliable and auditable. In January this year, their electronic voting system was successfully used in a parliamentary elections in ,Curaçao, an island in the southern Caribbean Sea, off the

Venezuelan coast. The big test for the company’s voting system will be in Phillipines, where that country’s Electoral Commission has deployed an automated electronic system by Smartmatic for use in this year’s May elections.

It is however not clear weather the ECZ will use Smartmatic’s automated electoral systems or just use their voter registration component. While automated voting system are claimed to deliver results timely and with confidence, many people are still sceptical of the successful deployment of such an operation in Zambia at the moment because of infrastructure challenges.

Timely release of results has been at the centre of frustration that many a Zambian voters and Political parties have had to endure in the last couple of elections. Any solution to address this problem will roundly be welcomed by all parties involved.

CHIEF Government spokesperson Ronnie Shikapwasha has said the statement by Patriotic Front (PF) secretary general Wynter Kabimba that President Rupiah Banda’s recent trip to China was a tourism stint showed arrogance and cheap politicking by the PF.

Lieutenant-General Shikapwasha, who is Information and Broadcasting Services Minister, described Mr Kabimba’s statement as cheap and part of the PF’s orchestrated anti-China campaign to undermine the positive accomplishments being made by President Banda in accelerating Zambia’s economic development.

He said President Banda was the first African head of State to be invited by President Hu Jintao to China this year, and that his delegation included businessmen who took the opportunity to establish contacts in China.

The minister said the PF secretary general needed education on the role China was playing in the global economic development.

He said Zambia had undertaken to diversify its economy from copper, and the delegation to China took advantage to sample the tourism potential in that country.

Gen Shikapwasha urged Mr Kabimba to focus on addressing the many problems the PF was facing in the face of its leader’s recent declaration as the sole candidate for the pact with the United Party for National Development.

He urged Mr Kabimba to do more research as a lawyer before issuing any statement as he was a learned person.

Meanwhile Agriculture and Co-operatives Minister Peter Daka has said PF leader Michael Sata was exhibiting politics of hatred and ignorance on issues that he does not understand.

Mr Daka said Mr Sata’s condemnation of President Banda’s official visit to China, was a clear indication that the opposition leader had wrong ideas on politics because there was no way he could attack the president when he did not know Zambia’s benefits from the China trip.

He said in an interview yesterday that President Banda went to China to solicit for support in many sectors of the economy.
Mr Daka said agriculture was one sector that would benefit from the projects on electricity that President Banda solicited in China.

He said Mr Sata’s attacks showed that he was now panicking because he had no future in Zambian politics.
The minister also said that Zesco held talks with China Export Bank for assistance to expand Kariba North Bank power station, which would raise the power generation capacity by another 360 megawatts.

The idea was such that if power generation was increased, farmers would have water throughout the year to use in irrigation farming that would help ensure food security.

He said many institutions benefited from the trip and cited a local entrepreneur who signed a US$3 billion partnership with a Chinese company to produce electricity from bio-mass.

Mr Daka said Mr Sata was practicing retrogressive politics by going to Luapula Province, flying and driving round Eastern Province only to talk about him (Mr Daka) and Education Minister Dora Siliya.

He said Mr Sata showed that he could afford to hire a plane but when he went to Eastern Province he wanted to show people that he was poor and went round radio stations condemning President Banda and the two ministers.

Mr Daka said President Banda’s Government was on course and, for the first time in 30 years, the country had achieved $1.8 billion international reserves and saved 1,700 jobs at Luanshya Copper Mines.

Times of Zambia

After years of disagreement, the Zambian government has finally awarded private mobile-phone operators licenses to operate international gateways in a bid to bring down the high cost of communications.

Two service providers have been given licenses to access the international gateway facility that was previously exclusive to the government-run Zambia Telecommunication Co. (Zamtel), which is now being sold in order to bring it back to life financially.

A gateway fee had been paid to Zamtel — in addition to fees for using Zamtel’s satellite system — by private service providers through the Zambian government. This resulted in unfair competition, with private service providers charging their customers exorbitantly in a bid to make profit and to sustain their operations.

Zambia Information and Communication Technology Authority (ZICTA) acting director General Richard Mwanza said in Lusaka last week that the move to award licenses to Zain and MTN would enable the two mobile service providers to lower their high international tariffs. Mwanza made the remarks at a meeting of CEOs at the Zambia Association of Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

The two service providers and various stakeholders, including the World Bank, had for years been expressing concern at the high cost of doing business in the telecom sector in Zambia, emanating from high license fees of about US$12 million that were required to access the international gateway.

But despite approving the licenses, the Zambian government will not say how much the new gateway licenses will cost until a new regulatory framework that will provide guidelines on the use of the gateway is put into place. Zambia’s international gateway fee was the highest in the Eastern and Southern African region and was cited as a barrier to entry in the telecom sector. International gateway fees are pegged at US$214,000 in Kenya and $50,000 in Uganda.

The granting of international gateway licenses to the service providers is, among other things, the culmination of comprehensive consultations that have been carried out by the Zambian government in order to address concerns that service providers were raising.

“The granting of international gateway licenses to the two service providers will result in the competition in international services, which was in the past a monopoly for Zamtel,” Mwanza said.

The international gateway for Zambia had remained closed since liberalization policies were introduced for other areas of the telecom sector 20 years ago. Private operators had wanted to buy their own international gateways but the Zambian government refused, citing security reasons.

“The biggest problem now is the high interconnectivity charges between networks of mobile operators. In other countries in the region, interconnectivity charges are lower,” Khan said.

Other Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) countries are pushing Zambia and other countries where the price of international calls is high to reduce costs by cutting or scrapping termination and roaming charges in a bid to increase traffic flow.

Speaking at a SADC telecommunication operators’ bilateral meeting last month, Botswana Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Transport and Communication, Mabua Mabua, said scrapping the charges will benefit not only operators but also consumers.

Mabua said a large component of transborder call costs is mainly in the form of roaming or termination charges, which have no bearing on the actual true costs of the calls.

[ The Industry Standard]