BY DAVIS MATAKA

Oh! What a week and if you are a keen follower of the Press and politics in Zambia, these last seven days must have gone down as some of the most interesting in a long time. The issues of infidelity, or alleged infidelity, the so called “secret families exposé’s- haa! What a mouth full.

As the foray continues to unfold, I decided it would be of utmost interest to the public to again dedicate this week to some of the developments, which occurred, and what the implications to society this could have.

Not so long ago, the international Press was awash with headlines about the other life of golf icon Tiger Woods who was almost clubbed by his wife for alleged infidelity and was only saved courtesy of a fire hydrant in which his car rammed as he dared an escape from his enraged wife. He ended up with a concussion.

The fall-out, an emotional apology to his wife, the golfing fraternity and a couple of few millions of dollars in lost franchises from what the morally upright, seemingly unblemished and judgmental business society felt would harm their cause.

Another scandal was that of Chelsea Football club captain John Terry who reportedly took the lover of a teammate and I can assure you they never lived happily ever after- for the footballer; he lost the England captain’s armband and a lot of respect from his colleagues.

Nearer home, the story of Jacob Zuma and his many wives spiraled out of control with critics calling him all manner of names.

But the Zulu South African president came out of it almost unscathed and believe it or not, we hear he is about to take another wife into his kraal, man he must be a charmer!

I know this may not settle well with most of our women folk who may not resist to call me a “Male chauvinist………” but look here, it takes two to tangle and I doubt so much if the numerous Mrs. Zumas could be bundled in the category of vulnerable.

Anyway, Zuma himself has acknowledged that he is a Zulu traditionalist and his culture permits him to take on as many wives as he can afford.

And depending from which pedestal of high moral standard you are criticising there is always justification for what you are doing or not doing.

Factors like cultural orientation: Western or African, religious standing, Christian, Buddhist, Muslim, atheist or otherwise, all these situations in their variation will determine how to live your life and by what standard you will be judged.

The problem I seem to have is where people want to employ double standards in their lives- wanting to have the best of all worlds.

Mr Michael Sata inadvertently questioned the morality of Dr Frederick Chiluba who was traversing the length and breadth of the Copperbelt singing praise of President Rupiah Banda’s sound economic policies.

When Mr Sata touched on the marriage of the former president to his blushing bride Regina, he did not realise that he would open a Pandora’s box.

Now we are privy to all sorts of carefully tucked away family secrets, which surely should have remained where they were, away in the closets.

I am very disappointed with the clergy and especially the Roman Catholic Church leadership in Zambia who have conspicuously kept quiet over these allegations of impropriety on the part of Mr Sata.

Several Press queries over the matter to the Catholic Church over the same have gone unanswered or the people spoken have continued to dodge the questions.

What I am seeing here is a case of double standards being employed by the Church, (Roman Catholics) why have they not made a stand over the matter up to now.

Or do we take it that there is indeed substance in the allegations that Mr Sata’s “concubine” is indeed related to some senior Church leader.

The Catholics themselves have not been immune to such allegations over sexual misbehavior and the Pope is on record apologising to victims of those sexually abused by some too “active” prelates, some of whom have been accused of homosexuality.
Why the fuss about Mr Sata?

Well he is a national leader seeking to take over the reigns of power at the highest order and the sooner he publicly apologises to all, the better the chances of him getting on the track of his national agenda.

The Catholics are not doing him a favour either by trying to mask him from the shame and fall from grace after the revelations.

The questions are still begging for the Catholic fraternity to either publicly condemn him or defend and praise him for what he has done.

Or do we conclude that for some Catholic priests there is too much to hide that the moment they condemn Mr Sata, someone from their past will spill the beans about children they sired and hid from society just to gain acceptance in the eyes of the public and to be able to sway in the robes and gowns of the Church as they drink wine from the chalices of copper and break the holy Eucharist bread?

We all look up to the Church for spiritual direction and blessings and keeping quiet about such scandal and only crying wolf when an honorable member of Parliament is captured on camera blinking, but with his eyes closed is an abuse of this God given calling.

Let us as Catholics be seen to also condemn our flock when there is a wrong or injustice done.

At the rate things are going, the partisan stance that some leaders of the Church have taken, especially the Catholic Church which is very respected around the world can be its undoing.

Maybe we should instead petition the Pope to put this matter to rest?
Leaders regardless of which religious orientation they subscribe must live by their doctrines and not to want to borrow what they think is the best for them.

[Times of Zambia]

PRESIDENT Rupiah Banda yesterday held talks with the governor of the Chinese province of Guangdong, where the two leaders discussed issues concerning cooperation in trade, mining and tourism.

The president, who arrived in Guangdong Province of China around 17:10 hours local time, told the governor, Huang Huahua and his delegation that Zambia intended to attract more tourists from China.

Special assistant to the president for Press and public relations, Dickson Jere said in a statement yesterday that Mr Banda wanted Chinese tourists to consider Zambia as one of the priority tourist destinations in the world.

In response, Mr Huang assured the president and his delegation that China would do everything possible to help market Zambia’s tourism to the Chinese people.

And the Chinese government in Guangdong Province said trade between Zambians and the Chinese in the region has drastically improved in recent years.

Many Zambian traders source their products from Guangdong Province of China.

The governor said he would like to see more cooperation between Zambia and his province in areas of mining and tourism.

He said Zambia offered a great opportunity to many foreign investors who wished to invest in Africa.

President Banda is today expected to tour Lianzhog Stainless Steel Corporation in Guangdong before proceeding to Shenzhen City on his last stop of his State visit to China.

While in Shenzhen, the president and his delegation will tour ZTE Corporation and Huawei Technologies Limited, which also have offices in Zambia.

More than 40 million tourists leave China to visit various tourism sites in the world annually.

[Times of Zambia]

Official launch and presentation of the vision of the National Restoration Party (NAREP)
Beyond change: towards transformation

Ladies and gentlemen. Invited guests. Fellow Zambians.

It is indeed both an honour and a pleasure for me to welcome you all to the official launch and presentation of the vision of the national restoration party – a party that we believe will transform the way politics is conducted in this country. I know you are all probably wondering why we have found it necessary to

launch yet another political party. Before explaining the reasons for this decision, let me say a little about the background to the journey we feel compelled to

undertake.

It was the Chinese philosopher Lao Tse who once said: “the journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step”.

The journey we are about to undertake is an exciting one. In many ways, this is the first major step. But it is not entirely new. And mine are not the only feet that will walk it. It is a journey based on a bold and ambitious vision and the desire held by our forefathers and our mothers in a time gone by. It is a journey

towards the realisation of a vision built upon the dreams of every Zambian man and woman, boy and girl.

A vision founded upon the belief that existed at the time of our independence:

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– when everyone could dare to dream of the freedom to choose their destiny

– when the yoke of colonialism could finally be cast aside

– when the foundation of a new beginning for a new nation could be laid down firmly with eager and determined hands.

A time when we could believe in who we wanted to be as a nation because the spirit of our dreams was so alive within us. A time when nothing could hold us back.

And it was a collective desire. A feeling that compelled us to work together: beyond tribe, beyond religion, beyond gender.

Indeed, the journey I speak about today is a journey of both hope and faith. Hope that there is more that can be offered to the people of Zambia. Faith in what god has in store for us, if only we can believe that he will use us to restore the nation to the glory he always intended for it. But before I share the purpose of this journey with you, let me first take a moment to outline where we are as a nation today in order to remind us of who we are; what we need to do; and why we need to do it.

Our nation has not had a long history. We have been independent for less than 50 years. During that time, having moved from colonialism to multiparty

democracy under a form of universal voting rights, we took a major detour along the way – venturing into a

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period of one-party rule. It was a time when the best intentions produced results that limited the individual’s drive to excel in his or her own thoughts and aspirations. For the right reasons and with the best intentions, we did the wrong thing. After eighteen years this path was eventually abandoned and we reembraced multiparty democracy. But again, and in spite of the best intentions, re-embracing multiparty politics took some getting used to and ended up producing some unwelcome results. We did not fully embrace the responsibility that should have accompanied the pursuit of our rights. Power became a goal in itself rather than a means to an end. Personal advancement at the expense of the majority defined the relationships between us.

The return to multiparty politics promised the type of prosperity and peace we should be enjoying in 2010 and beyond. But anybody living in Zambia today knows that while we are indeed a rich country, our human index statistics portray a nation that is poor. And while we are not at war with any of our neighbouring states, we are not really a nation that is at peace with itself. Our politicians seem to be at constant war with one another. We call ourselves a Christian nation yet our conduct is more reflective of a nation that never has the love of Christ as its goal.

And while all the shouting is going on, development remains stunted:

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– death and disease knock on the door of every household that is unable to afford drugs to treat complicated as well as common ailments

– poor feeder roads constrain rural development

– flooding and related diseases like cholera occur every rainy season in high density areas with no solution in sight

– constant disruptions in energy and fuel supplies have become an accepted part of business and daily living

– employment remains elusive for the many including our youth and the nation’s school leavers and in the middle of all this, we seem shamelessly proud that we can still convince foreign nations to pay for the problems we have largely brought upon ourselves.

Our politicians seem to have no long term vision or plan to take us to new heights as a nation. At a time such as this, every Zambian should be asking the question: what can I do for my country?

Many of us sit idly by as our politicians fight with each other; when the nation is being torn apart at the core.

We can no longer blame only the politicians for the state of politics in our country. We must all examine our lives and see where we have individually failed our

nation. Each one of us regularly faces the choice about whether to embrace or reject a culture of hate;

A new political party the National Restoration Party (NAREP) has been launched with its leader Elias Chipimo Junior calling for the reintroduction of value based politics in Zambia. Mr Chipimo has since announced his resignation from his law firm Corpus Legal Practitioners where he was managing Partner and from all the Boards he was serving.

Speaking during the launch of the party at Mulungushi International Conference Centre this morning Mr Chipimo a Lawyer said while Zambia is in desperate need of change, it should not be change driven by a sense of desperation but change based on a vision and deep conviction on what needs to be done in order to restore the values that make everyone responsible for upholding principles of honesty, humility, respect, tolerance, hardwork and a commitment to serve.

He said his Party’s vision is to see a transformed Zambia, directed by leaders who want to be judged by performance and principle rather than power and possession secretly accumulated while in office. He further states that the National Restoration Party will introduce flat low taxes for all and make Zambia the preferred destination for business, business that will support development of local talent and raise the standards of the country’s products and services to levels comparable to the best in the world.

Mr Chipimo says the party’s manifesto will be launched within 90 days to set out how the goals will be achieved.

And Mr Chipimo said many existing political parties have become relevant only to their leadership. He said the political parties have abandoned the very communities for which they are suppose to exist, and no longer seem relevant to creating meaningful change in people’s lives.

He adds that they have not created a tolerant political climate, possess limited vision and have failed to inspire the development and emergence of youthful, energetic and people centered leadership.

QFM

Oil major BP Plc has announced today that it will pull out of five countries in southern Africa following a strategy review, but will still invest to grow its market share in Mozambique and South Africa.

The company said it plans to sell its marketing businesses in Namibia, Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia and Botswana, but said Mozambique and South Africa offered better synergies with its supply portfolio.

“I would like to stress that BP is and will stay committed to Africa,” BP Africa’s Chief Executive Sipho Maseko said.

“We have significant operations in Angola, Mozambique and South Africa and in Algeria, Egypt and Libya. We will continue to grow and invest in those markets, especially in the value chain infrastructure.”

BP said it had informed the governments of the five countries it is exiting of its plans, but did not specify when the assets would be sold.
BP Zambia plc is an oil industry heavy weight supplying petrol, diesel and heavy fuel oils (HFOs), which are used in copper production. It has a refinery and blending plant in Kitwe.
Reuters/ LT

INSPECTOR General of Police Francis Kabonde has warned civil society organisations (CSOs) planning to launch protests against various national issues they would face the wrath of the law.

Mr Kabonde advised people planning to honk against whatever they were not in agreement with to rescind their decision as the laws of Zambia were clear for anyone to interpret.

He advised those planning to honk to instead engage the Government and other stakeholders in dialogue.

He said in an interview in Lusaka yesterday that according to the laws, honking aimlessly was a crime and wondered why people should take to the streets instead of embracing dialogue.

“As police, we will not allow people to honk because as far as the law is concerned, it is a crime and those found to be involved in such acts will have themselves to blame, lawlessness will not be allowed,” he said.

Last weekend, some CSOs which met in Kitwe resolved to, starting this Friday, hoot and demonstrate over the alleged failure by Government to fight corruption.

Mr Kabonde said it was sad that every time some people were aggrieved, they wanted to demonstrate and cause unnecessary unrest.

He warned police should not be blamed for the action to be taken against those found flouting the laws.

He said honking was an offence under the Road Traffic Act and appealed to the public to avoid engaging themselves in acts that could cause anarchy in the country.

He said while the police acknowledged the right to freedom of expression, they would not allow people to destabalise the peace Zambia enjoys.

And Home Affairs Minister, Lameck Mangani said it was not true the Government, under the leadership of President Rupiah Banda, had failed to fight corruption.

Mr Mangani said it was sad some people with hidden agendas were trying to gain political mileage at the expense of national development.

In an interview in Lusaka, he said the Government had put in place measures aimed at scaling up the fight against corruption, which include strengthening the laws to protect whistle blowers.

“It is not that the Government has failed to fight corruption. To show its commitment, the Government is even introducing more laws to ensure the fight against corruption is a success, so what more do people want?” he said.

Meanwhile, Mr Mangani has said his ministry had not received the bulletproof jackets that were bought for the Zambia Police Service.

He said the jackets would be delivered on time, as the issue had been outstanding for a long time.

The minister said the supplier, who had already been paid for the jackets, had not informed the ministry on when the goods could be delivered.

[Times of Zambia]