Communications and Transport Minister Geoffrey Lungwangwa says Zambia has shown growth in attracting investment in the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), Sector.

Prof. Lungwangwa says the sector has recorded over 32 percent penetration rate growth compared to 0.02 percent recorded 14 years ago.

The Minister said this in an interview with ZANIS at the ongoing 14th African Union summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

He said investments in the ICT sector have continued to pour in since the country launched the policy in 2007 adding that the policy has created an environment for the growth of the sector.

Prof. Lungwangwa said the country now has eighteen (18) participants within the ICT sector compared to one (1) that existed before.

He cited the mobile manufacturing company and various internet service providers as some of the investments that the country has attracted.

The Minister said the government expects more investments in the sector as soon as the country completes the development of the optic fibre infrastructure back bone.

The installation of the optic fibre is expected to make the provision of ICT cheaper.

Prof. Lungwangwa, however, said that the increase in investment in the ICT sector has been achieved amid a number of challenges.

He said the country needed to roll out ICT to rural areas so that people can access internet that they could use to better their living standards.

Prof. Lungwangwa and Foreign Affairs Minister Kabinga Pande who arrived here last night are among African Foreign Affairs Ministers attending the 16th ordinary session of the executive council meeting which opened this morning.
The meeting is expected to adopt the agenda for the heads of state and government summit slated for 31st of January to the 2nd of February, 2010.

ZANIS

President Rupiah Banda is tomorrow expected to join 50 other African Heads of State and government in Addis Ababa for a three-day 14th Ordinary Session of the African Union (AU). According to the programme released by the Zambian Mission here, President Banda is among Heads of State and government scheduled to address the summit.

Mr. Banda is particularly expected as chairperson of the International Conference of Great Lakes Region, to report to the summit on the progress made so far from the time he took over the chairmanship. The President is also expected to be among ten Heads of State and government expected to attend the committee of ten on the United Nations Reforms.

Zambia is a member of the committee of 10 tasked to see how best Africa can increase its representation at the UN Security Council. Currently Africa is only represented on the Council by Libya, Garbon, Uganda and Nigeria. Mr. Banda will also attend the 12th summit of the Africa Pear Review Mechanism forum.

On the sidelines of the summit, President Rupiah Banda is expected to hold meetings with Professor Luis Marianno Joubertt Mate of Venezuela among others.

Meanwhile, the 16th ordinary session of the executive council comprising Ministers of Foreign Affairs opened in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia this morning with call for decisive action towards the improvement of the living standards of the African people.
Foreign Affairs Minister Kabinga Pande who arrived here last night was among African Foreign Affairs Ministers attending the meeting held at the AU building.

In his opening statement, Chairperson of the AU Commission Jean Ping said time has come for African leaders to strengthen organs and institutions of the AU to eradicate poverty among the people of Africa. Mr. Ping said it was the duty of African leaders to strengthen and empower the AU organs and institutions in order for the body to effectively carry out its mandate of improving the living standards of the African people.

He also called on African leaders to find lasting solutions to conflicts that have rocked most parts of the continent. The AU Commission Chairperson also emphasized the need for peace and security on the continent saying this is the only way Africa can improve the living standards of the people.

And officially opening the meeting, Council Chairperson who is also Libyan Foreign Affairs Minister, Mousa Kousa called on member states to expedite the process of transforming the AU into the United States of Africa. He said once transformed into the United States of Africa, the AU will be an effective tool to carrying out the goals of Africa.

Mr. Kousa also called on member states to honour their contributions to the Union. He said the outstanding arrears are a source of concern to the AU. The meeting is expected to adopt the agenda for the Heads of State and government summit slated for 31st January to 2nd February, 2010.

The Heads of State and government summit is expected to unpack the theme of the summit which has been widely viewed as one of the areas with the potential to enhance the development of the continent. The summit is also expected to discuss the report of the commission on unconstitutional changes of governments before considering adopting various reports, among them, the peace and security situation in Africa.

In addition, the summit will discuss the report of the ministerial meeting on the Rome statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC). The summit will also launch the AU flag and present awards to two African scientists who won the continental science prizes before climaxing into the 14th ordinary session of the heads of state and government summit.

ZANIS

THE National Constitutional Conference (NCC) has agreed to include in the Constitution a clause that will categorically state that a former president who loses immunity should have it restored if he is cleared by the courts of law.

The NCC plenary also adopted a clause that will give former presidents the right to appear before a parliamentary ad-hoc committee to give their side of the story on criminal allegations before the whole Parliament considered the motion for the removal of immunity.

Debating Article 136, the NCC plenary observed that the Constitution had been silent on a president that had been cleared by the courts on whether their immunity could be restored or not.

Vice-President George Kunda said, in order to remove any doubts, there should be a clause that would say immunity should be restored to a former president after he had been cleared by the courts of law.

Defence Minister Kalombo Mwansa agreed and said there should be a clause for the restoration of the immunity.

Deputy Minister in the Office of the Vice-President Gaston Sichilima said if a former president was cleared by the courts, then the immunity should automatically be restored.

Lawyer Patrick Mvunga concurred with Mr Sichilima and explained that if someone was cleared by the courts then there should not be talk of immunity.

But Mbabala MP Emmanuel Hachipuka said Parliament was procedural and if a former president was cleared by the courts of law then there should be communication between the courts and Parliament.

Katuba Member of Parliament Jonas Shakafuswa said the ad-hoc committee was a democratic idea as it would give Parliament both sides of the accusations before removing the presidential immunity.

Parliamentary chief whip Vernon Mwaanga said there should be at least one third of all MPs to move a motion to remove a former president’s immunity to avoid frivolous motions.

Bahati MP Besa Chimbaka said former president Chiluba had his immunity removed without prima facie evidence.

Mr Chimbaka said Dr Chiluba had his immunity removed as a result of some allegations which were different from the ones that he appeared in court for.

Chief Kashiba said the country should be careful with the way it treated its former presidents because mistakes should not be repeated.

The clauses that were adopted say not less than one-third of the MPs should petition the Speaker stating allegations that a former president had committed a criminal offence in his private capacity during his tenure in office.

The notice should specify the allegations and the Speaker would within seven days serve the notice to the former president and the National Assembly.

After that, the National Assembly would then constitute an ad-hoc committee to determine the matter on whether immunity should be removed or not and the accused president should be given a right to be represented to give his side of the story.

The NCC agreed that the select committee would recommend to the National Assembly for the removal of the immunity but the resolution should be supported by a vote of not less than two-thirds of all MPs and the court would only try the president on charges for which the immunity was removed.

[Times of Zambia]

PRESIDENT Rupiah Banda yesterday held closed-door talks with a delegation of bishops of the Roman Catholic Church where they discussed wide-ranging issues concerning the nation.

Special Assistant to the President for Press and public relations Dickson Jere, said in a statement that the meeting between the president and the representatives of the Zambia Episcopal Conference (ZEC), at State House lasted for about three hours.

“Some of the issues discussed at the meeting concerned education, health, infrastructure, politics and the economy,” he said.

Mr Jere said President Banda and the bishops agreed to have another meeting at a date to be communicated.

He said the president thanked the Catholic bishops for the meeting and urged them to feel free to engage Government on any issues concerning the nation.

President Banda was accompanied by Vice-President George Kunda, Works and Supply Minister Mike Mulongoti and State House aides.

ZEC was represented by its president Bishop George Lungu, Bishop of Ndola Alick Banda and the Archbishop of Lusaka Telesphore Mpundu.

And MMD national secretary Katele Kalumba has said he has lodged a complaint to ZEC seeking the Catholic Church’s official position on the priests who have become partisan through their conduct.

Dr Kalumba said in an interview the party was seeking clarity from the ZEC, which should state the official church position over some Catholic priests who have continued displaying partisan tendencies.

He said, as a Catholic and MMD national secretary, he wrote to ZEC through Archbishop Telesphore Mpundu.

He said the partisan conduct of some priests was offending some church members who expected them to be non-partisan because the church drew its members from different political parties.

Dr Kalumba, who refused to give the full details of the letter because he was still waiting for a response from ZEC said the MMD, wanted the matter to be dealt with locally and that was the reason why the party was not part of the group, which wrote to the Vatican complaining about some partisan priests.

But ZEC spokesperson Paul Samasumo said some priests who were alleged to be partisan were only doing so in their individual capacity and whatever they said was not the official position of the Catholic Church.

“The official position of the Catholic Church on various issues is only expressed when bishops speak collectively as ZEC through a statement or a pastoral letter which is used to express the church’s concerns on political and security issues which affect the country,” Father Samasumo said.

{Times of Zambia]

Over 113,200 pupils who sat for their grade nine school examinations last year have been selected to grade ten.

This is out of 247,247 pupils that sat for the grade nine examinations in 2009.

Ministry of Education Permanent Secretary James Mulungushi announced the results in Lusaka today and said the selection of 113,241 pupils to grade ten represents a progression rate of 45.8 per cent compared to the 39.8 in 2008.

Dr. Mulungushi said out of the 247,247 candidates selected to grade ten this years, 51,921 are girls while 61,320 are boys.

He also announced that 128,467 candidates have obtained full certificates out of the 247,247 pupils who sat for the 2009 grade nine examinations.

This represents a pass rate of 51.96 per cent in 2009 compared to 48.57 per cent 2008.

He said 72,445 out of 130,224 boys who sat for exams last year have managed to obtained full certificates while 56, 022 out 117,023 girls have also managed to get full certificates.

Dr. Mulungushi however disclosed that all the candidates who have obtained full grade nine certificates in Northern, Luapula, North Western and Central provinces have been selected to grade ten while in Western province all the female candidates who obtained full certificate will been admitted to grade ten.

The overall results show that the Copperbelt Province has recorded the highest pass rate of 59.19 per cent while Northern Province recorded the least pass rate of 43.44 per cent during last year’s grade nine examinations.

He said only 62 candidates were involved in examination malpractice, some of whom were being assisted by teachers in the examination rooms.

He also announced that out of 196 candidates with education special needs that sat for grade nine examinations last year, 188 candidates have been selected to grade ten.

Dr. Mulungushi has since appealed to the members of the public to obtain the results from the schools where the pupils wrote their examinations.

He said no results will be given by his ministry headquarters or the Examination Council of Zambia (ECZ).

Dr Mulungushi has also announced that grade ten classes will open on February 8, 2010 adding that pupils, who will fail to report to their respective schools by February 19th, will lose their place.

ZANIS